Litigate
(Lit"i*gate), v. i. To carry on a suit by judicial process.
Litigation
(Lit`i*ga"tion) n. [L. litigatio, fr. litigare to dispute, litigate; lis, litis, dispute, lawsuit (OL. stlis)
+ agere to carry on. See Agent.] The act or process of litigating; a suit at law; a judicial contest.
Litigator
(Lit"i*ga`tor) n. [L.] One who litigates.
Litigious
(Li*ti"gious) a. [L. litigiosus, fr. litigium dispute, quarrel, fr. litigare: cf. F. litigieux. See Litigation.]
1. Inclined to judicial contest; given to the practice of contending in law; quarrelsome; contentious; fond of
litigation. " A pettifogging attorney or a litigious client." Macaulay.
Soldiers find wars, and lawyers find out still
Litigious men, who quarrels move.
Donne. 2. Subject to contention; disputable; controvertible; debatable; doubtful; precarious. Shak.
No fences, parted fields, nor marks, nor bounds,
Distinguished acres of litigious grounds.
Dryden. 3. Of or pertaining to legal disputes.
Nor brothers cite to the litigious bar.
Young. Litigiously
(Li*ti"gious*ly), adv. In a litigious manner.
Litigiousness
(Li*ti"gious*ness), n. The state of being litigious; disposition to engage in or carry on lawsuits.
Litmus
(Lit"mus) n. [D. lakmoes; lak lacker + moes a thick preparation of fruit, pap, prob. akin to E.
meat: cf. G. lackmus. See Lac a resinous substance.] (Chem.) A dyestuff extracted from certain lichens
(Roccella tinctoria, Lecanora tartarea, etc.), as a blue amorphous mass which consists of a compound
of the alkaline carbonates with certain coloring matters related to orcin and orcein.
Litmus is used as a dye, and being turned red by acids and restored to its blue color by alkalies, is a
common indicator or test for acidity and alkalinity.
Litmus paper (Chem.), unsized paper saturated with blue or red litmus, — used in testing for acids or
alkalies.
Litotes
(||Li"to*tes) n. [NL., fr. Gr. lito`ths, from lito`s plain, simple.] (Rhet.) A diminution or softening
of statement for the sake of avoiding censure or increasing the effect by contrast with the moderation
shown in the form of expression; as, " a citizen of no mean city," that is, of an illustrious city.
Litraneter
(Li*tran"e*ter) n. [Gr. li`tra + -meter. See Liter] An instrument for ascertaining the specific
gravity of liquids.
Litre
(Li"tre) n. [F.] Same as Liter.
Litter
(Lit"ter) n. [F. litière, LL. lectaria, fr. L. lectus couch, bed. See Lie to be prostrated, and cf. Coverlet.]
1. A bed or stretcher so arranged that a person, esp. a sick or wounded person, may be easily carried
in or upon it.
There is a litter ready; lay him in 't.
Shak.
