Labefaction
(Lab`e*fac"tion) n. [See Labefy.] The act of labefying or making weak; the state of being
weakened; decay; ruin.
There is in it such a labefaction of all principles as may be injurious to morality.
Johnson. Labefy
(Lab"e*fy) v. t. [L. labefacere; labare to totter + facere to make.] To weaken or impair. [R.]
Label
(La"bel) n. [OF. label sort of ribbon or fringe, label in heraldry, F. lambeau shred, strip, rag; of
uncertain origin; cf. L. labellum, dim. of labrum lip, edge, margin, G. lappen flap, patch, rag, tatter W.
llab, llabed, label, flap, Gael. leab, leob, slice, shred, hanging lip.]
1. A tassel. [Obs.] Huloet. Fuller.
2. A slip of silk, paper, parchment, etc., affixed to anything, and indicating, usually by an inscription, the
contents, ownership, destination, etc.; as, the label of a bottle or a package.
3. A slip of ribbon, parchment, etc., attached to a document to hold the appended seal; also, the seal.
4. A writing annexed by way of addition, as a codicil added to a will.
5. (Her.) A barrulet, or, rarely, a bendlet, with pendants, or points, usually three, especially used as a
mark of cadency to distinguish an eldest or only son while his father is still living.
6. A brass rule with sights, formerly used, in connection with a circumferentor, to take altitudes. Knight.
7. (Gothic Arch.) The name now generally given to the projecting molding by the sides, and over the
tops, of openings in mediæval architecture. It always has a square form, as in the illustration. Arch. Pub.
Soc.
8. In mediæval art, the representation of a band or scroll containing an inscription. Fairholt.
Label
(La"bel), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Labeled (-beld) or Labelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Labeling or Labelling.]
1. To affix a label to; to mark with a name, etc.; as, to label a bottle or a package.
2. To affix in or on a label. [R.]
Labeler
(La"bel*er) n. One who labels. [Written also labeller.]
Labellum
(||La*bel"lum) n.; pl. L. Labella (- la), E. Labellums [L., dim. of labrum lip.]
1. (Bot.) The lower or apparently anterior petal of an orchidaceous flower, often of a very curious shape.
2. (Zoöl.) A small appendage beneath the upper lip or labrum of certain insects.
Labent
(La"bent) a. [L. labens, p. pr. of labi to slide, glide.] Slipping; sliding; gliding. [R.]
Labia
(||La"bi*a) n. pl. See Labium.
Labial
(La"bi*al) a. [LL. labialis, fr. L. labium lip: cf. F. labial. See Lip.]
1. Of or pertaining to the lips or labia; as, labial veins.
2. (Mus.) Furnished with lips; as, a labial organ pipe.
