Lass
(Lass) n. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. &radic123. See
Lad a youth.] A young woman; a girl; a sweetheart.
Lasse
(Lasse) a. & adv. Less. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Lassie
(Las"sie) n. A young girl; a lass. [Scot.]
Lassitude
(Las"si*tude) n. [L. lassitudo, fr. lassus faint, weary; akin to E. late: cf. F. lassitude. See
Late.] A condition of the body, or mind, when its voluntary functions are performed with difficulty, and
only by a strong exertion of the will; languor; debility; weariness.
The corporeal instruments of action being strained to a high pitch . . . will soon feel a lassitude.
Barrow. Lasslorn
(Lass"lorn`) a. Forsaken by a lass. Shak.
Lasso
(Lass"o) (las"so) n.; pl. Lassos [Sp. lazo, L. laqueus. See Lace.] A rope or long thong of
leather with a running noose, used for catching horses, cattle, etc.
Lasso cell (Zoöl.), one of a peculiar kind of defensive and offensive stinging cells, found in great numbers
in all cœlenterates, and in a few animals of other groups. They are most highly developed in the tentacles
of jellyfishes, hydroids, and Actiniæ. Each of these cells is filled with, fluid, and contains a long, slender,
often barbed, hollow thread coiled up within it. When the cell contracts the thread is quickly ejected,
being at the same time turned inside out. The thread is able to penetrate the flesh of various small,
soft-bodied animals, and carries a subtle poison by which they are speedily paralyzed and killed. The
threads, at the same time, hold the prey in position, attached to the tentacles. Some of the jellyfishes,
as the Portuguese man-of-war, and Cyanea, are able to penetrate the human skin, and inflict painful
stings in the same way. Called also nettling cell, cnida, cnidocell.
Lasso
(Las"so), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lassoed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Lassoing.] To catch with a lasso.
