loose, loos

& s. [A. S. leds; cogn. with O. S. los; Dut. lós; Icel. lau ; Sw. & Dan. los; Ger. los; Goth. laus.] [LOOSE.] A. As adjective: I. Ordinary Language: 1. Not tied, fastened, or attached to anything else; unfastened, unbound, free. "We'll tame the terrors of their bow, And cut the bow-string loose." Scott: Lord of the Isles, vi. 22. 2. Not tight or confined; easy; as, a loose dre . 3. Not crowded together; not dense; close or compact. "With horse and chariots ranked in loose array." Milton: P. L., ii. 887. 4. Set free from confinement, restraint, or imprisonment; liberated, free. 5. Disengaged, free. *6. Free from obligation; not bound. (Followed by of or from . ) Loose of my vow." "Now I stand Add is on: Cato. IMG:content-0719.png:[blocks in formation] 11. Not strict in morals; lax, carele , unprincipled. 12. Not restrained in manners; di olute, wanton. "Unrestrained, loose companions." Shakesp.: Richard II., v. 3. 13. Containing or consisting of wanton, obscene, or unchaste language. "When loose epistles violate chaste eyes." Dryden: Ovid; Heroides xvii. 14. Lax of body; the opposite of costive. "What hath a great influence upon the health is going to stool regularly; people that are very loose have seldom strong thoughts or strong bodies."-Locke: On Educa tion . *15. Negligent. "Lay negligent and loose regard upon him." Shakesp.: Troilus and Cre ida , iii. 3. II. Botany : 1. Of a soft, cellular, in cohesive texture, like the pith of mo plants. 2. Having the parts distant from each other, with an open, light kind of an arrangement, as the panicle among kinds of inflorescence. *B. As substantive: 1. Freedom from restraint; liberty, license. "Poets should not. give themselves such a loose in lyrics, as if there were no connection in the world."Felton: On the Cla ics. 2. The discharge of an arrow. "And shot they with the square or forked pile, The loose gave such a twang, as might be heard a mile." Drayton: Polyolbion , s. 26. (1) On the loose : Di ipated, di oluto, wanton. (2) To break loose : To escape from restraint or confinement; hence, fig., to cast off all moral restraint. (3) To give a loose to: To allow to act freely; to give vent or license to. (4) To set loose : To set at liberty; to free from restraint or confinement. *loose-bodied, a. Loose, not tight. loose-box, s. A stable, or part of a stable, without stalls, in which a horse is shut up, but not tied. "Part loosely wing the region, part more wise In common, rang'd in figure, wedge their way." Milton: P. L. , vii. 425. *5. Negligently, carele ly, heedle ly. *6. Vaguely; not fully. IMG:content-0720.png:[blocks in formation] 2. Freedom from restraint; ease; easy manner. "Him even the di olute admired; for he A graceful loosene , when he pleased, put on." Armstrong: Art of Preserving Health , iv. 3. Laxity of manners or life; levity of conduct. 4. Irregularity; failure to observe morality in life; di olutene . 3. To cut off generally. (Usually followed by off .) "His hand had been lopped off for an offense into which he had been hurried by his intemperate zeal."- Macaulay : Hist. Eng., ch. i. 4. To cut down, to maim, to omit a part of. "For particulars and circumstances he continually lops them."-Pope: Homer's Iliad . (Pref.) A. Trans.: To allow to hang down; to let fall; as, to lop the ears. B. In trans.: To hang down, to be pendulous. lop-eared, a. Having ears which hang down; as some kind of rabbits. lõp, *lopp, s . [LOP (1), v.] That which is lopped or cut from trees, shrubs, . "A trembling contribution! Why we take From every tree, lop , bark, and part o' th' timber." Shakesp.: Henry VIII ., i. 2. lo-phi-i-dæ, lõ-phi-a-dæ, s. pl . [Mod. Lat., ., lop hi ( us ); Lat. fem. pl. adj. suff. -idæ , -adœ.] Ichthy.: A family of Acanth opter i. The carpal bones are prolonged, so as to form a sort of arm for the support of the pectoral fins, which sometimes have a faint resemblance to legs; this gives these fishes a frog-like appearance. Called also Pediculati. lophophorus 10-phoph-or-ŭs, s. [Gr. lophos =a crest, and phoros bearing, phoreō =to bear.] Ornith.: Monaul. A genus of Phasianide, subfamily Phasianine (true pheasants). The upper mandible is much curved, the head is feathered, the tail straight and even. They inhabit the higher ranges of the Him a lay as. Lophophorus impeyanus is the Impeyan pheasant (q. v.).