Glossary 1207laudatio Th e Roman ceremony of displaying and eulogiz-
ing a dead person before cremation or burial.
lay Song of the Anglo-Saxon bard.
lead line A rope to which was tied a lead or stone weight and
that was used to measure water depth; oft en the weight
had a depression fi lled with tallow so that a sample of the
sea bottom could be brought to the surface.
lector priest A ritual specialist who carried out ceremonies
according to the secret books in ancient Egypt.
lee shore A shore toward which the wind blows, constitut-
ing a danger to a ship in a storm.
legion Th e largest independent formation in the Roman
army, consisting of heavy infantry, light infantry, and
cavalry and varying between 4,200 and 6,000 men.
legionary sword A short sword, used in ancient Rome, with
a blade about 30 inches long with two parallel cutting
edges and a long, sharp point.
legionnaires Members of a legion, or the basic unit of the
Roman army.
legume A plant related to the pea family, notable for its pro-
tein content.
léine A long linen tunic worn in Ireland.
leishmaniasis A protozoan skin disorder carried by female
sand fl ies.
lekythos (pl. lekythoi) A Greek vessel used to store olive oil
for the anointing of the dead in preparation for burial or
as a burial off ering
leprosy Chronic progressive bacterial infection aff ecting
the skin and nerves, acquired by close personal contact
over a long period, oft en among members of the same
family.
levee An embankment or barrier meant to prevent fl ooding.
lex frumentaria In ancient Rome, a grain law, which pro-
vided grain to each citizen at a subsidized price.
lex talionis A legal concept of punishment based on equal
and direct retribution, oft en popularly expressed as “an
eye for an eye.”
lexicology A branch of linguistics concerned with the study
of words and their application.
libation Th e act of pouring liquid as a sacrifi cial off ering,
typically to the gods but also to one’s ancestors.
lignifi ed Hardened; used in reference to the hardening of
the outer husk of corn.
limes A border defensive system of the ancient Romans.
limestone Stone formed from sediments laid down over
eons; usually easier to carve than granite.
limitanei Light troops of the late Roman Empire who
guarded the borders and frontiers to hold off invaders
until heavier troops could arrive.
lineage burials Burials in grounds set aside for a single
family lineage.
lineage Family ancestry traced through a line of parent-
hood, either fathers or mothers but not both.
linen A fl exible, durable, and usually soft cloth made from
fl ax.lintel A beam that rests on the uprights, or jambs, of a
doorway and that transfers the weight of the wall above
the door to the uprights and from them to the ground.
lithic Of, relating to, or being a stone tool.
litter A chair or similar vehicle suspended from poles car-
ried by either humans or animals to transport one or
more riders.
litterator In ancient Rome, a teacher of basic literacy and
numbers.
littoral A region near a shore, especially of the sea.
liturgy An institution whereby private citizens in ancient
Athens were obliged to pay for public works from their
own resources.
loan word A word that one culture borrows from another,
either as is or with modifi cations, suggesting contact be-
tween the two cultures.
lodestone A piece of magnetite, having magnetic properties.
loess Chalky clay or silt created by layers of wind-blown
dust over a long period of time.
logic A system or principles of reasoning.
logographic In a writing system, having symbols that de-
note a whole word or a morpheme, a minimal language
unit.
logophonetic In a writing system, having symbols that de-
note the actual sounds of speech.
loincloth A strip of cloth wound about the waist and be-
tween the legs.
long barrows Elongated burial mounds.
lost-wax casting A method of creating metal objects by use
of a wax cast set within a clay mold; the wax is heated and
runs out of the mold to be replaced by molten metal.
ludus (pl. ludi) A show or performance; from the Latin for
“play, game.”
lugal Literally, “great man”; in ancient Sumer, a leading
citizen chosen to take charge in times of crisis.
lunar calendar A calendar that is based on the cycles of the
moon, defi ning one month as the time it takes the moon
to complete one revolution around the earth.
lunation Th e interval from new moon to new moon.
lungi An Indian skirt that resembles a loincloth.
lunisolar calendar A calendar that combines aspects of
lunar and solar calendars, basing units of time on the
earth’s movements relative to both the sun and the
moon.
lur Cast bronze horns from northern Europe, made in dis-
tinctive pairs and thought to have been used for ceremo-
nial purposes.
lustratio A purifi cation ceremony performed for a Roman
male infant at the age of eight days.
lute A stringed instrument with a long neck, rounded body,
and fl at front.
lyra A small type of Greek lyre, oft en with a sound box
made out of a tortoiseshell.
lyre A stringed instrument like a U-shaped harp with
strings fi xed to a crossbar at the top of the U.1195-1234_SocCultAnctWrld-v4_bm.1207 1207 10/10/07 3:30:37 PM