Chapter XLIX: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (46)

Though _lāk_ bears the same sense in Persian, and _lak_ or _luk_ are used in modern Arabic for sealing-wax, it would appear from Dozy (_Glos._, pp. 295-6, and _Oosterlingen_, 57), that identical or approximate forms are used in various Arabic-speaking regions for a variety of substances giving a red dye, including the _coccus ilicis_ or Kermes. Still, we have seen no evidence that in India the word was applied otherwise than to the _lac_ of our heading. (Garcia says that the Arabs called it _loc-sumutri_, 'lac of Sumatra'; probably because the Pegu lac was brought to the ports of Sumatra, and purchased there.) And this the term in the _Periplus_ seems unquestionably to indicate; whilst it is probable that the passage quoted from Aelian is a much misconceived account of the product. It is not nearly so absurd as De Monfart's account below. The English word _lake_ for a certain red colour is from this. So also are _lacquer_ and _lackered_ ware, because _lac_ is used in some of the varnishes with which such ware is prepared.

c. A.D. 80-90.—These articles are imported (to the ports of _Barbaricē_,
on the W. of the Red Sea) from the interior parts of Ariakē:—

"Σίδηρος Ἰνδικὸς καὶ στόμωμα (Indian iron and steel)
* * * * *
Λάκκος χρωμάτινος (LAC-_dye_)."
_Periplus_, § 6.

c. 250.—"There are produced in India animals of the size of a beetle, of
a red colour, and if you saw them for the first time you would compare
them to cinnabar. They have very long legs, and are soft to the touch;
they are produced on the trees that bear _electrum_, and they feed on the
fruit of these. The Indians catch them and crush them, and with these dye
their red cloaks, and the tunics under these, and everything else that
they wish to turn to this colour, and to dye. And this kind of clothing
is carried also to the King of Persia."—_Aelian, de Nat. Animal_. iv. 46.

c. 1343.—The notice of _lacca_ in Pegolotti is in parts very difficult to
translate, and we do not feel absolutely certain that it refers to the
Indian product, though we believe it to be so. Thus, after explaining
that there are two classes of _lacca_, the _matura_ and _acerba_, or ripe
and unripe, he goes on: "It is produced attached to stalks, _i.e._ to the
branches of shrubs, but it ought to be clear from stalks, and earthy
dust, and sand, and from _costiere_ (?). The stalks are the twigs of the
wood on which it is produced, the _costiere_ or _figs_, as the Catalans
call them, are composed of the dust of the thing, which when it is fresh
heaps together and hardens like pitch; only that pitch is black, and
those _costiere_ or figs are red and of the colour of unripe LACCA. And
more of these _costiere_ is found in the unripe than the ripe LACCA," and
so on.—_Della Decima_, iii. 365.

1510.—"There also grows a very large quantity of LACCA (or _lacra_) for
making red colour, and the tree of this is formed like our trees which
produce walnuts."—_Varthema_, 238.

1516.—"Here (in Pegu) they load much fine LAQUAR, which grows in the
country."—_Barbosa, Lisbon Acad._, 366.

1519.—"And because he had it much in charge to get all the _lac_ (ALACRE)
that he could, the governor knowing through information of the merchants
that much came to the Coast of Choromandel by the ships of Pegu and
Martaban that frequented that coast...."—_Correa_, ii. 567.

1563.—"Now it is time to speak of the LACRE, of which so much is consumed
in this country in closing letters, and for other seals, in the place of
wax."—_Garcia_, f. 112_v_.

1582.—"LAKER is a kinde of gum that procedeth of the ant."—_Castañeda_,
tr. by N.L., f. 33.

c. 1590.—(Recipe for _Lac_ varnish). "LAC is used for _chighs_ (see
CHICK, A). If red, 4 _ser_ of LAC, and 1 _s._ of vermilion; if yellow, 4
_s._ of LAC, and 1 _s._ _zarnīkh_."—_Āīn_, ed. _Blochmann_, i. 226.

1615.—"In this Iland (Goa) is the hard Waxe made (which we call Spanish
Waxe), and is made in the manner following. They inclose a large plotte
of ground, with a little trench filled with water; then they sticke up a
great number of small staues vpon the sayd plot, that being done they
bring thither a sort of pismires, farre biggar than ours, which beeing
debar'd by the water to issue out, are constrained to retire themselves
vppon the said staues, where they are kil'd with the Heate of the Sunne,
and thereof it is that LACKA is made."—_De Monfart_, 35-36.

c. 1610.—"... Vne manière de boëte ronde, vernie, et LACRÈE, qui est vne
ouurage de ces isles."—_Pyrard de Laval_, i. 127; [Hak. Soc. i. 170].

1627.—"LAC is a strange drugge, made by certain winged Pismires of the
gumme of Trees."—_Purchas, Pilgrimage_, 569.

1644.—"There are in the territories of the _Mogor_, besides those things
mentioned, other articles of trade, such as LACRE, both the insect lacre
and the cake" (_de formiga e de pasta_).—_Bocarro, MS._

1663.—"In one of these Halls you shall find Embroiderers ... in another
you shall see Goldsmiths ... in a fourth Workmen in LACCA."—_Bernier_
E.T. 83; [ed. _Constable_, 259].

1727.—"Their LACKT or _japon'd_ Ware is without any Doubt the best in the
World."—_A. Hamilton_, ii. 305; [ed. 1744].

LACCADIVE ISLANDS, n.p. Probably Skt. _Lakśadvīpa_, '100,000 Islands'; a name however which would apply much better to the Maldives, for the former are not really very numerous. There is not, we suspect, any ancient or certain native source for the name as specifically applied to the northern group of islands. Barbosa, the oldest authority we know as mentioning the group (1516), calls them _Malandiva_, and the Maldives _Palandiva_. Several of the individual islands are mentioned in the _Tuhfat-al-Majāhidīn_ (E.T. by _Rowlandson_, pp. 150-52), the group itself being called "the islands of Malabar."

LACK, s. One hundred thousand, and especially in the Anglo-Indian colloquial 100,000 Rupees, in the days of better exchange the equivalent of £10,000. Hind. _lākh_, _lak_, &c., from Skt. _laksha_, used (see below) in the same sense, but which appears to have originally meant "a mark." It is necessary to explain that the term does not occur in the earlier Skt. works. Thus in the _Talavakāra Brāhmaṇā_, a complete series of the higher numerical terms is given. After _śata_ (10), _sahasra_ (1000), comes _ayuta_ (10,000), _prayuta_ (_now_ a million), _niyuta_ (_now_ also a million), _arbuda_ (100 millions), _nyarbuda_ (not now used), _nikharṇa_ (do.), and _padma_ (now 10,000 millions). _Laksha_ is therefore a modern substitute for _prayuta_, and the series has been expanded. This was probably done by the Indian astronomers between the 5th and 10th centuries A.D.

The word has been adopted in the Malay and Javanese, and other languages of the Archipelago. But it is remarkable that in all of this class of languages which have adopted the word it is used in the sense of 10,000 instead of 100,000 with the sole exception of the Lampungs of Sumatra, who use it correctly. (_Crawfurd_). (See CRORE.)

We should observe that though a _lack_, used absolutely for a sum of money, in modern times always implies rupees, this has not always been the case. Thus in the time of Akbar and his immediate successors the revenue was settled and reckoned in _laks_ of DAMS (q.v.). Thus:

c. 1594.—"In the 40th year of his majesty's reign (Akbar's), his
dominions consisted of 105 _Sircars_, subdivided into 2737 _Kusbahs_ (see
CUSBAH), the revenue of which he settled for ten years, at the annual
rent of 3 _Arribs_, 62 _Crore_, 97 LACKS, 55,246 _Dams_...."—_Ayeen_, ed.
_Gladwin_, ii. 1; [ed. _Jarrett_, ii. 115].

At Ormuz again we find another LACK in vogue, of which the unit was apparently the _dīnār_, not the old gold coin, but a degenerate _dīnār_ of small value. Thus:

1554.—"(Money of Ormuz).—A LEQUE is equivalent to 50 pardaos of _çadis_,
which is called 'bad money,' (and this _leque_ is not a coin but a number
by which they reckon at Ormuz): and each of these pardaos is equal to 2
_azares_, and each _azar_ to 10 _çadis_, each _çadi_ to 100 _dinars_, and
after this fashion they calculate in the books of the
Custom-house...."—_Nunez, Lyvro dos Pesos_, &c., in _Subsidios_, 25.

Here the _azar_ is the Persian _hazār_ or 1000 (_dīnārs_); the _çadi_
Pers. _sad_ or 100 (_dīnārs_); the LEQUE or LAK, 100,000 (_dīnārs_); and
the _tomān_ (see TOMAUN), which does not appear here, is 10,000
(_dīnārs_).

c. 1300.—"They went to the _Kāfir's_ tent, killed him, and came back into
the town, whence they carried off money belonging to the Sultan amounting
to 12 LAKS. The LAK is a sum of 100,000 (silver) _dīnārs_, equivalent to
10,000 Indian gold _dīnārs_."—_Ibn Batuta_, iii. 106.

c. 1340.—"The Sultan distributes daily two LĀKS in alms, never less; a
sum of which the equivalent in money of Egypt and Syria would be 160,000
pieces of silver."—_Shihābuddīn Dimishki_, in _Notes and Exts._, xiii.
192.

In these examples from Pinto the word is used apart from money, in the Malay form, but not in the Malay sense of 10,000:

c. 1540.—"The old man desiring to satisfie _Antonio de Faria's_ demand,
_Sir_, said he ... _the chronicles of those times affirm, how in only
four yeares and an half sixteen_ LACAZAAS (_lacasá_) _of men were slain,
every_ LACAZAA _containing an hundred thousand_."—_Pinto_ (orig. cap.
xlv.) in _Cogan_, p. 53.

c. 1546.—"... he ruined in 4 months space all the enemies countries, with
such a destruction of people as, if credit may be given to our histories
... there died fifty LAQUESAAS of persons."—_Ibid._ p. 224.

1615.—"And the whole present was worth ten of their LEAKES, as they call
them; a LEAKE being 10,000 pounds sterling; the whole 100,000 pounds
sterling."—_Coryat's Letters from India_ (_Crudities_, iii. f. 25_v_).

1616.—"He received twenty LECKS of roupies towards his charge (two
hundred thousand pounds sterling)."—_Sir T. Roe_, reprint, p. 35; [Hak.
Soc. i. 201, and see i. 95, 183, 238].

1651.—"Yeder LAC is hondert duysend."—_Rogerius_, 77.

c. 1665.—"Il faut cent mille roupies pour faire un LEK, cent mille LEKS
pour faire un _courou_, cent mille _courous_ pour faire un _padan_, et
cent mille _padan_ pour faire un _nil_."—_Thevenot_, v. 54.

1673.—"In these great Solemnities, it is usual for them to set it around
with Lamps to the number of two or three LEAQUES, which is so many
hundred thousand in our account."—_Fryer_, [p. 104, reading LECQUES].

1684.—"They have by information of the servants dug in severall places of
the house, where they have found great summes of money. Under his bed
were found LACKS 4½. In the House of Office two LACKS. They in all found
Ten LACKS already, and make no doubt but to find more."—_Hedges, Diary_,
Jan. 2; [Hak. Soc. i. 145].

1692.—"... a LACK of Pagodas...."—In _Wheeler_, i. 262.

1747.—"The Nabob and other Principal Persons of this Country are of such
an extreme lacrative (_sic_) Disposition, and ... are so exceedingly
avaritious, occasioned by the large Proffers they have received from the
French, that nothing less than LACKS will go near to satisfie
them."—_Letter from Ft. St. David to the Court_, May 2 (MS. Records in
India Office).

1778.—"Sir Matthew Mite will make up the money already advanced in
another name, by way of future mortgage upon his estate, for the entire
purchase, 5 LACKS of roupees."—_Foote, The Nabob_, Act I. sc. i.

1785.—"Your servants have no Trade in this country; neither do you pay
them high wages, yet in a few years they return to England with many LACS
of pagodas."—_Nabob of Arcot_, in Burke's Speech on his Debts, _Works_,
iv. 18.

1833.—"Tout le reste (et dans le reste il y a des intendants riches de
plus de vingt LAKS) s'assied par terre."—_Jacquemont, Correspond._ ii.
120.

1879.—"In modern times the only numbers in practical use above
'thousands' are _laksa_ ('LAC' or 'LAKH') and _koṭi_ ('crore'); and an
Indian sum is wont to be pointed thus: 123, 45, 67, 890, to signify 123
crores, 45 LAKHS, + 67 thousand, eight hundred and ninety."—_Whitney,
Sansk. Grammar_, 161.

The older writers, it will be observed (c. 1600-1620), put the LAKH at
£10,000; Hamilton (c. 1700) puts it at £12,500; Williamson (c. 1810) at
the same; then for many years it stood again as the equivalent of
£10,000; now (1880) it is little more than £8000; [now (1901) about
£6666].

LACKERAGE. (See KHIRAJ.)

LALL-SHRAUB, s. Englishman's Hind. _lāl-sharāb_, 'red wine.' The universal name of claret in India.

[c. 1780.—"To every plate are set down two glasses; one pyramidal (like
hobnob glasses in England) for LOLL SHRUB (_scilicet_, claret); the other
a common sized wineglass for whatever beverage is most agreeable."—_Diary
of Mrs. Fay_, in _Busteed, Echoes_, 123.]

LALLA, s. P.—H. _lālā_. In Persia this word seems to be used for a kind of domestic tutor; now for a male nurse, or as he would be called in India, 'child's bearer.' In N. India it is usually applied to a native clerk writing the vernacular, or to a respectable merchant. [For the Pers. usage see _Blochmann, Āīn_, i. 426 note.]

[1765.—"Amongst the first to be considered, I would recommend Juggut
Seet, and one Gurdy LOLL."—_Verelst_, App. 218.

[1841.—"Where there are no tigers, the LALLA (scribe) becomes a
shikaree."—_Society in India_, ii. 176.]

LAMA, s. A Tibetan Buddhist monk. Tibet. _bLama_ (_b_ being silent). The word is sometimes found written _Llama_; but this is nonsense. In fact it seems to be a popular confusion, arising from the name of the S. American quadruped which is so spelt. See quotation from _Times_ below.

c. 1590.—"Fawning Court doctors ... said it was mentioned in some holy
books that men used to live up to the age of 1000 years ... and in Thibet
there were even now a class of LĀMAHS or Mongolian devotees, and
recluses, and hermits that live 200 years and more...."—_Badāonī_, quoted
by _Blochmann, Āīn_, i. 201.

1664.—"This Ambassador had in his suit a Physician, which was said to be
of the Kingdom of Lassa, and of the Tribe _Lamy_ or LAMA, which is that
of the men of the Law in that country, as the _Brahmans_ are in the
Indies ... he related of his great LAMA that when he was old, and ready
to die, he assembled his council, and declared to them that now he was
passing into the Body of a little child lately born...."—_Bernier_, E.T.
135; [ed. _Constable_, 424].

1716.—"Les Thibetaines ont des Religieux nommés LAMAS."—In _Lettres
Edif._ xii. 438.

1774.—"... ma questo primo figlio ... rinunziò la corona al secondo e lui
difatti si fece religioso o LAMA del paese."—_Della Tomba_, 61.

c. 1818.—

"The Parliament of Thibet met—
The little LAMA, called before it,
Did there and then his whipping get,
And, as the Nursery Gazette
Assures us, like a hero bore it."
_T. Moore, The Little Grand Lama._

1876.—"... Hastings ... touches on the analogy between Tibet and the high
valley of Quito, as described by De la Condamine, an analogy which Mr.
Markham brings out in interesting detail.... But when he enlarges on the
wool which is a staple of both countries, and on the animals producing
it, he risks confirming in careless readers that popular impression which
might be expressed in the phraseology of Fluelen—''Tis all one; 'tis
alike as my fingers is to my fingers, and there is LLAMAS in both."—_Rev.
of Markham's Tibet_, in _Times_, May 15.

The passage last quoted is in jesting vein, but the following is serious
and delightful:—

1879.—"The landlord prostrated himself as reverently, if not as lowly, as
a Peruvian before his _Grand_ LLAMA."—_Patty's Dream_, a novel reviewed
in the _Academy_, May 17.

LAMASERY, LAMASERIE, s. This is a word, introduced apparently by the French R. C. Missionaries, for a LAMA convent. Without being positive, I would say that it does not represent any Oriental word (_e.g._ compound of _lami_ and SERAI), but is a factitious French word analogous to _nonnerie_, _vacherie_, _laiterie_, &c.

[c. 1844.—"According to the Tartars, the LAMASERY of the Five Towers is
the best place you can be buried in."—_Huc, Travels in Tartary_, i. 78.]

LAMBALLIE, LOMBALLIE, LOMBARDIE, LUMBANAH, &c., s. Dakh. Hind. _Lāmbāṛā_, Mahr. _Lambāṇ_, with other forms in the languages of the Peninsula. [Platts connects the name with Skt. _lamba_, 'long, tall'; the _Madras Gloss._ with Skt. _lampata_, 'greedy.'] A wandering tribe of dealers in grain, salt, &c., better known as _Banjārās_ (see BRINJARRY). As an Anglo-Indian word this is now obsolete. It was perhaps a corruption of _Lubhāna_, the name of one of the great clans or divisions of the Banjārās. [Another suggestion made is that the name is derived from their business of carrying salt (Skt. _lavaṇa_); see _Crooke, Tribes of N.W.P._ i. 158.]

1756.—"The army was constantly supplied ... by bands of people called
LAMBALLIS, peculiar to the Deccan, who are constantly moving up and down
the country, with their flocks, and contract to furnish the armies in the
field."—_Orme_, ii. 102.

1785.—"What you say of the scarcity of grain in your army,
notwithstanding your having a CUTWÂL (see COTWAL), and so many LUMBÂNEHS
with you, has astonished us."—_Letters of Tippoo_, 49.

LANCHARA, s. A kind of small vessel often mentioned in the Portuguese histories of the 16th and 17th centuries. The derivation is probably Malay _lanchār_, 'quick, nimble.' [Mr. Skeat writes: "The real Malay form is _Lanchar-an_, which is regularly formed from Malay _lanchār_, 'swift,' and LANCHARA I believe to be a Port. form of _lanchar-an_, as LANCHARA could not possibly, in Malay, be formed from _lanchār_, as has hitherto been implied or suggested."]

c. 1535.—"In questo paese di Cambaia (read Camboja) vi sono molti fiumi,
nelli quali vi sono li nauili detti LANCHARAS, cõ li quali vanno
nauigando la costa di Siam...."—_Sommario de' Regni_, &c., in _Ramusio_,
i. f. 336.

c. 1539.—"This King (of the Batas) understanding that I had brought him a
letter and a Present from the Captain of Malaca, caused me to be
entertained by the _Xabundar_ (see SHABUNDER).... This General,
accompanied with five LANCHARES and twelve Ballons, came to me to the
Port where I rode at anchor."—_Pinto_, E.T. p. 81.

LANDWIND, s. Used in the south of India. A wind which blows seaward during the night and early morning. [The dangerous effects of it are described in _Madras Gloss._ s.v.] In Port. _Terrenho_.

1561.—"Correndo a costa com TERRENHOS."—_Correa, Lendas_, I. i. 115.

[1598.—"The East winds beginne to blow from off the land into the seas,
whereby they are called TERREINHOS."—_Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. i. 234.

[1612.—"Send John Dench ... that in the morning he may go out with the
LANDTORNE and return with the seatorne."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 206.]

1644.—"And as it is between monsoon and monsoon (_monsam_) the wind is
quite uncertain only at the beginning of summer. The N.W prevails more
than any other wind ... and at the end of it begin the LAND WINDS
(_terrenhos_) from midnight to about noon, and these are E.
winds."—_Bocarro, MS._

1673.—"... we made for the Land, to gain the LAND BREEZES. They begin
about Midnight, and hold till Noon, and are by the Portugals named
TERRHENOES."—_Fryer_, 23.

[1773.—See the account in _Ives_, 76.]

1838.—"We have had some very bad weather for the last week; furious
LAND-WIND, very fatiguing and weakening.... Everything was so dried up,
that when I attempted to walk a few yards towards the beach, the grass
crunched under my feet like snow."—_Letters from Madras_, 199-200.

LANGASAQUE, n.p. The most usual old form for the Japanese city which we now call _Nagasaki_ (see _Sainsbury_, _passim_).

1611.—"After two or three dayes space a Iesuite came vnto vs from a place
called LANGESACKE, to which place the Carake of _Macao_ is yeerely wont
to come."—_W. Adams_, in _Purchas_, i. 126.

1613.—The Journal of Capt. John Saris has both NANGASAQUE and
LANGASAQUE.—_Ibid._ 366.

1614.—"Geve hym counsell to take heed of one Pedro Guzano, a papist
Christian, whoe is his hoste at Miaco; for a lyinge fryre (or Jesuit)
tould Mr. Peacock at LANGASAQUE that Capt. Adams was dead in the howse of
the said Guzano, which now I know is a lye per letters I
received...."—_Cocks, to Wickham_, in _Diary_, &c., ii. 264.

1618.—"It has now com to passe, which before I feared, that a company of
rich usurers have gotten this sentence against us, and com doune together
every yeare to LANGASAQUE and this place, and have allwais byn accustomed
to buy by the _pancado_ (as they call it), or whole sale, all the goodes
which came in the carick from Amacan, the Portingales having no
prevelegese as we have."—The same to the E.I. Co., ii. 207-8.

Two years later Cocks changes his spelling and adopts NANGASAQUE (_Ibid._
300 and to the end).

LAN JOHN, LANGIANNE, &c., n.p. Such names are applied in the early part of the 17th century to the Shan or Laos State of _Luang Praban_ on the Mekong. _Lan-chan_ is one of its names signifying in Siamese, it is said, 'a million of elephants.' It is known to the Burmese by the same name (_Len-Shen_). It was near this place that the estimable French traveller Henri Mouhot died, in 1861.

1587.—"I went from Pegu to _Iamahey_ (see JANGOMAY), which is in the
country of the LANGEIANNES; it is fiue and twentie dayes iourney
North-east from Pegu."—_Fitch_, in _Hakl._ ii.

c. 1598.—"Thus we arrived at LANCHAN, the capital of the Kingdom (Lao)
where the King resides. It is a Kingdom of great extent, but thinly
inhabited, because it has been frequently devastated by Pegu."—_De
Morga_, 98.

1613.—"There reigned in Pegu in the year 1590 a King called Ximindo
ginico, Lord reigning from the confines and roots of Great Tartary, to
the very last territories bordering on our fortress of Malaca. He kept at
his court the principal sons of the Kings of Ová, Tangu, Porão, Lanjão
(_i.e._ Ava, Taungu, Prome, LANJANG), Jangomá, Siam, Camboja, and many
other realms, making two and thirty of the white umbrella."—_Bocarro_,
117.

1617.—"The merchants of the country of LAN JOHN, a place joining to the
country of _Jangoma_ (JANGOMAY) arrived at the city of JUDEA ... and
brought great store of merchandize."—_Sainsbury_, ii. 90.

1663.—"Entre tant et de si puissans Royaumes du dernier Orient, desquels
on n'a presque iamais entendu parler en Europe, il y en a vn qui se nomme
LAO, et plus proprement le Royaume des LANGIENS ... le Royaume n'a pris
son nom que du grand nombre d'Elephants qui s'y rencontrent: de vray ce
mot de LANGIENS signifie proprement, miliers d'Elephants."—_Marini, H.
Novvelle et Cvrievse des Royaumes de Tunquin et de Lao_ (Fr. Tr., Paris,
1666), 329, 337.

1668.—LANCHANG appears in the Map of Siam in De la Loubère's work, but we
do not find it in the book itself.

c. 1692.—"LAOS est situé sous le même Climat que Tonquin; c'est un
royaume grand et puissant, separé des Etats voisins par des forets et par
des deserts.... Les principales villes sont LANDJAM et
_Tsiamaja_."—_Kaempfer, H. du Japon_, i. 22-3.

LANTEA, s. A swift kind of boat frequently mentioned by F. M. Pinto and some early writers on China; but we are unable to identify the word.

c. 1540.—"... that ... they set sail from _Liampoo_ for _Malaca_, and
that being advanced as far as the Isle of _Sumbor_ they had been set upon
by a Pyrat, a _Guzarat_ by Nation, called _Coia Acem_, who had three
Junks, and four LANTEEAS...."—_Pinto_, E.T. p. 69.

c. 1560.—"There be other lesser shipping than Iunkes, somewhat long,
called _Bancones_, they place three Oares on a side, and rowe very well,
and load a great deal of goods; there be other lesse called LANTEAS,
which doe rowe very swift, and beare a good burthen also: and these two
sorts of Ships, viz., _Bancones_ and LANTEAS, because they are swift, the
theeues do commonly vse."—_Caspar da Cruz_, in _Purchas_, iii. 174.

LAOS, n.p. A name applied by the Portuguese to the civilised people who occupied the inland frontier of Burma and Siam, between those countries on the one hand and China and Tongking on the other; a people called by the Burmese SHANS, a name which we have in recent years adopted. They are of the same race of _Thai_ to which the Siamese belong, and which extends with singular identity of manners and language, though broken into many separate communities, from Assam to the Malay Peninsula. The name has since been frequently used as a singular, and applied as a territorial name to the region occupied by this people immediately to the North of Siam. There have been a great number of separate principalities in this region, of which now one and now another predominated and conquered its neighbours. Before the rise of Siam the most important was that of which Sakotai was the capital, afterwards represented by Xieng-mai, the Zimmé of the Burmese and the JANGOMAY of some old English documents. In later times the chief States were _Muang Luang Praban_ (see LAN JOHN) and _Vien-shan_, both upon the Mekong. It would appear from Lieut. Macleod's narrative, and from Garnier, that the name of LAO is that by which the branch of these people on the Lower Mekong, _i.e._ of those two States, used to designate themselves. Muang Praban is still quasi independent; Vien-Shan was annexed with great cruelties by Siam, c. 1828.

1553.—"Of silver of 11 dinheiros alloy he (Alboquerque) made only a kind
of money called _Malaquezes_, which silver came thither from Pegu, whilst
from Siam came a very pure silver of 12 dinheiros assay, procured from
certain people called LAOS, lying to the north of these two
kingdoms."—_Barros_, II. vi. 6.

1553.—"... certain very rugged mountain ranges, like the Alps, inhabited
by the people called Gueos who fight on horseback, and with whom the King
of Siam is continually at war. They are near him only on the north,
leaving between the two the people called LAOS, who encompass this
Kingdom of Siam, both on the North, and on the East along the river Mecon
... and on the south adjoin these LAOS the two Kingdoms of CAMBOJA and
Choampa (see CHAMPA), which are on the sea-board. These LAOS ... though
they are lords of so great territories, are all subject to this King of
Siam, though often in rebellion against him."—_Ibid._ III. ii. 5.

" "Three Kingdoms at the upper part of these, are those of the
LAOS, who (as we have said) obey Siam through fear: the first of these is
called _Jangoma_ (see JANGOMAY), the chief city of which is called
Chiamay ... the second _Chancray Chencran_: the third Lanchaa (see LAN
JOHN) which is below the others, and adjoins the Kingdom of Cacho, or
Cauchichina...."—_Ibid._

c. 1560.—"These LAOS came to Camboia, downe a River many daies Iournie,
which they say to have his beginning in _China_ as many others which
runne into the Sea of India; it hath eight, fifteene, and twentie fathome
water, as myselfe saw by experience in a great part of it; it passeth
through manie vnknowne and desart Countries of great Woods and Forests
where there are innumerable Elephants, and many Buffes ... and certayne
beastes which in that Countrie they call _Badas_ (see ABADA)."—_Gaspar da
Cruz_, in _Purchas_, iii. 169.

c. 1598.—"... I offered to go to the LAOS by land, at my expense, in
search of the King of Cambodia, as I knew that that was the road to go
by...."—_Blas de Herman Gonzalez_, in _De Morga_ (E.T. by Hon. H.
Stanley, Hak. Soc.), p. 97.

1641.—"_Concerning the Land of the_ LOUWEN, _and a Journey made thereunto
by our Folk in Anno 1641_" (&c.).—_Valentijn_, III. Pt. ii. pp. 50
_seqq._

1663.—"_Relation Novvele et Cvrievse dv Royavme de_ LAO.—Traduite de
l'Italien du P. de Marini, Romain. Paris, 1666."

1766.—"Les peuples de LAO, nos voisins, n'admittent ni la question ni les
peines arbitraires ... ni les horribles supplices qui sont parmi nous en
usage; mais aussi nous les regardons comme de barbares.... Toute l'Asie
convient que nous dansons beaucoup mieux qu'eux."—_Voltaire, Dialogue
XXI., André des Couches à Siam._

LAR, n.p. This name has had several applications.

(A). To the region which we now call Guzerat, in its most general application. In this sense the name is now quite obsolete; but it is that used by most of the early Arab geographers. It is the Λαρικὴ of Ptolemy; and appears to represent an old Skt. name _Laṭa_, adj. _Laṭaka_, or _Laṭika_. ["The name _Láṭa_ appears to be derived from some local tribe, perhaps the _Lattas_, who, as _r_ and _l_ are commonly used for each other, may possibly be the well-known Rashṭrakúṭas since their great King Amoghavarsha (A.D. 851-879) calls the name of the dynasty Ratta."—_Bombay Gazetteer_, I. pt. i. 7.]

c. A.D. 150.—"Τῆς δὲ Ἰνδοσκυθίας τὰ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν τὰ μεν ἀπὸ θάλασσης
κατέχει ἡ Λαρικὴ χώρα, ἐν ᾗ μεσόγειοι ἀπὸ μεν δύσεως τοῦ Ναμάδου ποταμοῦ
πόλις ἥδε.... Βαρύγαζα ἐμπόριον."—_Ptolemy_, VII. ii. 62.

c. 940.—"On the coast, _e.g._ at Ṣaimūr, at Sūbāra, and at Tāna, they
speak LĀRĪ; these provinces give their name to the Sea of LĀR (LĀRAWĪ) on
the coast of which they are situated."—_Maṣ'ūdi_, i. 381.

c. 1020.—"... to Kach the country producing gum (_moḳl_, _i.e._ BDELLIUM,
q.v.), and _bárdrúd_ (?) ... to Somnát, fourteen (parasangs); to Kambáya,
thirty ... to Tána five. There you enter the country of LÁRÁN, where is
Jaimúr" (i.q. _Ṣaimúr_, see CHOUL).—_Al-Birūni_, in _Elliot_, i. 66.

c. 1190.—"Udaya the Parmâr mounted and came. The Dors followed him from
LĀR...."—The Poem of _Chand Bardai_, E.T. by _Beames_, in _Ind. Antiq._
i. 275.

c. 1330.—"A certain Traveller says that Tāna is a city of Guzerat
(_Juzrāt_) in its eastern part, lying west of Malabar (_Munībār_); whilst
Ibn Sa'yid says that it is the furthest city of LĀR (_Al-Lār_), and very
famous among traders."—_Abulfeda_, in _Gildemeister_, p. 188.

(B). To the Delta region of the Indus, and especially to its western part. Sir H. Elliot supposes the name in this use, which survived until recently, to be identical with the preceding, and that the name had originally extended continuously over the coast, from the western part of the Delta to beyond Bombay (see his _Historians_, i. 378). We have no means of deciding this question (see LARRY BUNDER).

c. 1820.—"Díwal ... was reduced to ruins by a Muhammedan invasion, and
another site chosen to the eastward. The new town still went by the same
name ... and was succeeded by _Lári Bandar_ or the port of LÁR, which is
the name of the country forming the modern _delta_, particularly the
western part."—_M‘Murdo_, in _J. R. As. Soc._ i. 29.

(C). To a Province on the north of the Persian Gulf, with its capital.

c. 1220.—LAR is erroneously described by Yakūt as a great island between
Sirāf and Kish. But there is no such island.[151] It is an extensive
province of the continent. See _Barbier de Meynard, Dict. de la Perse_,
p. 501.

c. 1330.—"We marched for three days through a desert ... and then arrived
at LĀR, a big town having springs, considerable streams, and gardens, and
fine bazars. We lodged in the hermitage of the pious Shaikh Abu Dulaf
Muḥammad...."—_Ibn Batuta_, ii. 240.

c. 1487.—"Retorneing alongest the coast, forneagainst Ormuos there is a
towne called LAR, a great and good towne of merchaundise, about ij^{ml}.
houses...."—_Josafa Barbaro_, old E.T. (Hak. Soc.) 80.

[c. 1590.—"LÁR borders on the mountains of _Great Tibet_. To its north is
a lofty mountain which dominates all the surrounding country, and the
ascent of which is arduous...."—_Āīn_, ed. _Jarrett_, ii. 363.]

1553.—"These benefactions the Kings of Ormuz ... pay to this day to a
mosque which that Caciz (see CASIS) had made in a district called Hongez
of Sheikh Doniar, adjoining the city of LARA, distant from Ormuz over 40
leagues."—_Barros_, II. ii. 2.

1602.—"This man was a Moor, a native of the Kingdom of LARA, adjoining
that of Ormuz: his proper name was Cufo, but as he was a native of the
Kingdom of LARA he took a surname from the country, and called himself
Cufo LARYM."—_Couto_, IV. vii. 6.

1622.—"LAR, as I said before, is capital of a great province or kingdom,
which till our day had a prince of its own, who rightfully or wrongfully
reigned there absolutely; but about 23 years since, for reasons rather
generous than covetous, as it would seem, it was attacked by Abbas K. of
Persia, and the country forcibly taken.... Now LAR is the seat of a
Sultan dependent on the Khan of Shiraz...."—_P. della Valle_, ii. 322.

1727.—"And 4 Days Journey within Land, is the City of LAAR, which
according to their fabulous tradition is the Burying-place of
Lot...."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 92; [ed. 1744].

LARĀĪ, s. This Hind. word, meaning 'fighting,' is by a curious idiom applied to the biting and annoyance of fleas and the like. [It is not mentioned in the dictionaries of either Fallon or Platts.] There is a similar idiom (_jang kardan_) in Persian.

LAREK, n.p. _Lārak_; an island in the Persian Gulf, not far from the island of Jerun or ORMUS.

[1623.—"At noon, being near LARECK, and no wind stirring, we cast
Anchor."—_P. della Valle_, Hak. Soc. i. 3.]

1685.—"We came up with the Islands of Ormus and ARACK ..." (called LARECK
afterwards).—_Hedges, Diary_, May 23; [Hak. Soc. i. 202].

LARIN, s. Pers. _lārī_. A peculiar kind of money formerly in use on the Persian Gulf, W. Coast of India, and in the Maldive Islands, in which last it survived to the last century. The name is there retained still, though coins of the ordinary form are used. It is sufficiently described in the quotations, and representations are given by De Bry and Tavernier. The name appears to have been derived from the territory of LAR on the Persian Gulf. (See under that word, [and Mr. Gray's note on _Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. i. 232 _seq._].)

1525.—"As tamgas LARYS valem cada hũa sesêmta reis...."—_Lembrança, das
Cousas da India_, 38.

c. 1563.—"I have seen the men of the Country who were Gentiles take their
children, their sonnes and their daughters, and have desired the
Portugalls to buy them, and I have seene them sold for eight or ten
LARINES apiece, which may be of our money x _s._ or xiii _s._ iiii
_d._"—_Master Caesar Frederike_, in _Hakl._ ii. 343.

1583.—Gasparo Balbi has an account of the LARINO, the greater part of
which seems to be borrowed _literatim_ by Fitch in the succeeding
quotation. But Balbi adds: "The first who began to strike them was the
King of LAR, who formerly was a powerful King in Persia, but is now a
small one."—f. 35.

1587.—"The said LARINE is a strange piece of money, not being round, as
all other current money in Christianitie, but is a small rod of silver,
of the greatnesse of the pen of a goose feather ... which is wrested so
that two endes meet at the just half part, and in the head thereof is a
stamp _Turkesco_, and these be the best current money in all the Indias,
and 6 of these LARINES make a duckat."—_R. Fitch_, in _Hakl._ ii. 407.

1598.—"An Oxe or a Cowe is there to be bought for one LARIJN, which is as
much as halfe a Gilderne."—_Linschoten_, 28; [Hak. Soc. i. 94; in i. 48
LARYNEN; see also i. 242].

c. 1610.—"La monnoye du Royaume n'est que d'argent et d'vne sorte. Ce
sont des pieces d'argent qu'ils appellent LARINS, de valeur de huit sols
ou enuiron de nostre monnoye ... longues comme le doigt mais
redoublées...."—_Pyrard de Laval_, i. 163; [Hak. Soc. i. 232].

1613.—"We agreed with one of the Governor's kinred for twenty LARIES
(twenty shillings) to conduct us...."—_N. Whithington_, in _Purchas_, i.
484.

1622.—"The LARI is a piece of money that I will exhibit in Italy, most
eccentric in form, for it is nothing but a little rod of silver of a
fixed weight, and bent double unequally. On the bend it is marked with
some small stamp or other. It is called LARI because it was the peculiar
money of the Princes of LAR, invented by them when they were separated
from the Kingdom of Persia.... In value every 5 LARI are equal to a
piastre or patacca of reals of Spain, or 'piece of eight' as we choose to
call it."—_P. della Valle_, ii. 434.

LARKIN, s. (obsolete). A kind of drink—apparently a sort of PUNCH—which was popular in the Company's old factories. We know the word only on the authority of Pietro della Valle; but he is the most accurate of travellers. We are in the dark as to the origin of the name. On the one hand its form suggests an _eponymus_ among the old servants of the Company, such as Robert _Larkin_, whom we find to have been engaged for the service in 1610, and to have died chief of the Factory of Patani, on the E. coast of the Malay Peninsula, in 1616. But again we find in a Vocabulary of "Certaine Wordes of the Naturall Language of Iaua," in Drake's _Voyage_ (Hak. iv. 246): "_Larnike_ = Drinke." Of this word we can trace nothing nearer than (Javan.) _larih_, 'to pledge, or invite to drink at an entertainment,' and (Malay) _larih-larahan_, 'mutual pledging to drink.' It will be observed that della Valle assigns the drink especially to Java.

1623.—"Meanwhile the year 1622 was drawing near its close, and its last
days were often celebrated of an evening in the House of the English,
with good fellowship. And on one of these occasions I learned from them
how to make a beverage called LARKIN, which they told me was in great
vogue in Java, and in all those other islands of the Far East. This said
beverage seemed to me in truth an admirable thing,—not for use at every
meal (it is too strong for that),—but as a tonic in case of debility, and
to make tasty possets, much better than those we make with Muscatel wines
or Cretan malmseys. So I asked for the recipe; and am taking it to Italy
with me.... It seemed odd to me that those hot southern regions, as well
as in the environs of Hormuz here, where also the heat is great, they
should use both spice in their food and spirits in their drink, as well
as sundry other hot beverages like this LARKIN."—_P. della Valle_, ii.
475.

LARRY-BUNDER, n.p. The name of an old seaport in the Delta of the Indus, which succeeded Daibul (see DIUL-SIND) as the chief haven of Sind. We are doubtful of the proper orthography. It was in later Mahommedan times called _Lāhorī-bandar_, probably from presumed connection with Lahore as the port of the Punjab (_Elliot_, i. 378). At first sight M‘Murdo's suggestion that the original name may have been _Lārī-bandar_, from LĀR, the local name of the southern part of Sind, seems probable. M‘Murdo, indeed, writing about 1820, says that the name _Lārī-Bandar_ was not at all familiar to natives; but if accustomed to the form _Lāhorī-bandar_ they might not recognize it in the other. The shape taken however by what is apparently the same name in our first quotation is adverse to M‘Murdo's suggestion.

1030.—"This stream (the Indus) after passing (Alor) ... divides into two
streams; one empties itself into the sea in the neighbourhood of the city
of LŪHARĀNĪ, and the other branches off to the East, to the borders of
Kach, and is known by the name of _Sind Sāgar_, _i.e._ Sea of
Sind."—_Al-Birūnī_, in _Elliot_, i. 49.

c. 1333.—"I travelled five days in his company with Alā-ul-Mulk, and we
arrived at the seat of his Government, _i.e._ the town of LĀHARI, a fine
city situated on the shore of the great Sea, and near which the River
Sind enters the sea. Thus two great waters join near it; it possesses a
grand haven, frequented by the people of Yemen, of Fārs (etc).... The
Amir Alā-ul-Mulk ... told me that the revenue of this place amounted to
60 _laks_ a year."—_Ibn Batuta_, iii. 112.

1565.—"Blood had not yet been spilled, when suddenly, news came from
Thatta, that the Firingis had passed LĀHORĪ-BANDAR, and attacked the
city."—_Táríkh-i-Táhiri_, in _Elliot_, i. 277.

[1607.—"Then you are to saile for LAWRIE in the Bay of the River
Syndus."—_Birdwood, First Letter-book_, 251.

[1611.—"I took ... LARREE, the port town of the River Sinda."—_Danvers,
Letters_, i. 162.]

1613.—"In November 1613 the Expedition arrived at LAUREBUNDER, the port
of Sinde, with Sir Robert Shirley and his company."—_Sainsbury_, i. 321.

c. 1665.—"Il se fait aussi beaucoup de trafic au LOURE-BENDER, qui est à
trois jours de Tatta sur la mer, où la rade est plus excellente pour
Vaisseaux, qu'en quelque autre lieu que ce soit des Indes."—_Thevenot_,
v. 159.

1679.—"... If Suratt, Baroach, and BUNDURLAREE in Scinda may be included
in the same Phyrmaund to be customs free ... then that they get these
places and words inserted."—_Ft. St. Geo. Consns._, Feb. 20. In _Notes
and Exts._, No. 1. Madras, 1871.

1727.—"It was my Fortune ... to come to LARRIBUNDER, with a Cargo from
_Mallebar_, worth above £10,000."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 116; [ed. 1744, i.
117, LARRIBUNDAR].

1739.—"But the Castle and town of LOHRE BENDER, with all the country to
the eastward of the river ATTOK, and of the waters of the SCIND, and NALA
SUNKHRA, shall, as before, belong to the Empire of Hindostan."—_H. of
Nadir_, in _Hanway_, ii. 387.

1753.—"Le bras gauche du Sind se rend à LAHERI, où il s'épanche en un
lac; et ce port, qui est celui de Tattanagar, communément est nommé
LAÛRÉBENDER."—_D'Anville_, p. 40.

1763.—"Les Anglois ont sur cette côte encore plusieurs petits
établissement (_sic_) où ils envoyent des premiers Marchands, des
sous-Marchands, ou des Facteurs, comme en _Scindi_, à trois endroits, à
_Tatta_, une grande ville et la résidence du Seigneur du païs, à LAR
BUNDER, et à _Schah-Bunder_."—_Niebuhr, Voyage_, ii. 8.

1780.—"The first place of any note, after passing the bar, is LARIBUNDA,
about 5 or 6 leagues from the sea."—_Dunn's Oriental Navigator_, 5th ed.
p. 96.

1813.—"LARIBUNDER. This is commonly called Scindy River, being the
principal branch of the Indus, having 15 feet water on the bar, and 6 or
7 fathoms inside; it is situated in latitude about 24° 30′ north. ... The
town of LARIBUNDER is about 5 leagues from the sea, and vessels of 200
tons used to proceed up to it."—_Milburn_, i. 146.

1831.—"We took the route by Durajee and Meerpoor.... The town of LAHORY
was in sight from the former of these places, and is situated on the
same, or left bank of the Pittee."—_A. Burnes_, 2nd. ed. i. 22.

LASCAR, s. The word is originally from Pers. _lashkar_, 'an army,' 'a camp.' This is usually derived from Ar. _al 'askar_, but it would rather seem that Ar. _'askar_, 'an army' is taken from this Pers. word: whence _lashkarī_, 'one belonging to an army, a soldier.' The word _lascár_ or _láscár_ (both these pronunciations are in vogue) appears to have been corrupted, through the Portuguese use of _lashkarī_ in the forms _lasquarin_, _lascari_, &c., either by the Portuguese themselves, or by the Dutch and English who took up the word from them, and from these _laskār_ has passed back again into native use in this corrupt shape. The early Portuguese writers have the forms we have just named in the sense of 'soldier'; but _lascar_ is never so used now. It is in general the equivalent of _khalāsī_, in the various senses of that word (see CLASSY), viz. (1) an inferior class of artilleryman ('_gun-lascar_'); (2) a tent-pitcher, doing other work which the class are accustomed to do; (3) a sailor. The last is the most common Anglo-Indian use, and has passed into the English language. The use of _lascar_ in the modern sense by Pyrard de Laval shows that this use was already general on the west coast at the beginning of the 17th century, [also see quotation from Pringle below]; whilst the curious distinction which Pyrard makes between _Lascar_ and _Lascari_, and Dr. Fryer makes between _Luscar_ and _Lascar_ (accenting probably _Lúscar_ and _Lascár_) shows that _lashkarī_ for a soldier was still in use. In Ceylon the use of the word _lascareen_ for a local or civil soldier long survived; perhaps is not yet extinct. The word _lashkari_ does not seem to occur in the _Āīn_.

[1523.—"Fighting men called LASCARYNS."—_Alguns documentos, Tombo_, p.
479.

[1538.—"My mother only bore me to be a Captain, and not your LASCAR
(LASCARIN)."—Letter of _Nuno da Cunha_, in _Barros_, Dec. IV. bk. 10, ch.
21.]

1541.—"It is a proverbial saying all over INDIA (_i.e._ _Portuguese
India_, see s.v.) that the good LASQUARIM, or 'soldier' as we should call
him, must be an Abyssinian."—_Castro, Roteiro_, 73.

1546.—"Besides these there were others (who fell at Diu) whose names are
unknown, being men of the lower rank, among whom I knew a LASCARYM (a man
getting only 500 reis of pay!) who was the first man to lay his hand on
the Moorish wall, and shouted aloud that they might see him, as many have
told me. And he was immediately thrown down wounded in five places with
stones and bullets, but still lived; and a noble gentleman sent and had
him rescued and carried away by his slaves. And he survived, but being a
common man he did not even get his pay!"—_Correa_, iv. 567.

1552.—"... eles os reparte polos LASCARINS de suas capitanias, q̃ assi
chamão soldados."—_Castanheda_, ii. 67. [Mr. Whiteway notes that in the
orig. _repartem_ for _reparte_, and the reference should be ii. 16.]

1554.—"Moreover the Senhor Governor conceded to the said ambassador that
if in the territories of Idalshaa (see IDALCAN), or in those of our Lord
the King there shall be any differences or quarrels between any
Portuguese LASCARINS or PEONS (_piães_) of ours, and LASCARINS of the
territories of Idalshaa and peons of his, that the said Idalshaa shall
order the delivery up of the Portuguese and peons that they may be
punished if culpable. And in like manner ..."—_S. Botelho, Tombo_, 44.

1572.—"Erant in eo praesidio LASQUARINI circiter septingenti artis
scolopettariae peritissimi."—_E. Acosta_, f. 236_v_.

1598.—"The soldier of _Ballagate_, which is called
LASCARIN...."—_Linschoten_, 74; [in Hak. Soc. i. 264, LASCARIIN].

1600.—"Todo a mais churma e meneyo das naos são Mouros que chamão
LASCHÃRES...."—_Lucena, Life of St. Franc. Xav._, liv. iv. p. 223.

[1602.—"... because the LASCARS (LASCARIS), for so they call the Arab
sailors."—_Couto_, Dec. X. bk. 3, ch. 13.]

c. 1610.—"Mesmes tous les mariniers et les pilotes sont Indiens, tant
Gentils que Mahometans. Tous ces gens de mer les appellent LASCARS, et
les soldats LASCARITS."—_Pyrard de Laval_, i. 317; [Hak. Soc. i. 438;
also see ii. 3, 17].

[1615.—"... two horses with six LASCERAS and two caffres (see
CAFFER)."—_Foster, Letters_, iv. 112.]

1644.—"... The _aldeas_ of the jurisdiction of Damam, in which district
there are 4 fortified posts defended by _Lascars_ (LASCARĪS) who are
mostly native Christian soldiers, though they may be heathen as some of
them are."—_Bocarro_, MS.

1673.—"The Seamen and Soldiers differ only in a Vowel, the one being
pronounced with an _u_, the other with an _a_, as LUSCAR, a soldier,
LASCAR, a seaman."—_Fryer_, 107.

[1683-84.—"The Warehousekeeper having Seaverall dayes advised the Council
of Ship Welfares tardynesse in receiving & stowing away the Goods, ...
alledging that they have not hands Sufficient to dispatch them, though we
have spared them tenn LASKARS for that purpose...."—_Pringle, Diary Ft.
St. Geo._, 1st ser. iii. 7 _seq._; also see p. 43.]

1685.—"They sent also from Sofragan D. Antonio da Motta Galvaon with 6
companies, which made 190 men; the Dissava (see DISSAVE) of the adjoining
provinces joined him with 4000 LASCARINS."—_Ribeyro, H. of the I. of
Ceylan_ (from French Tr., p. 241).

1690.—"For when the _English_ Sailers at that time perceiv'd the softness
of the Indian LASCARRS; how tame they were ... they embark'd again upon a
new Design ... to ... rob these harmless Traffickers in the _Red
Sea_."—_Ovington_, 464.

1726.—"LASCARYNS, or Loopers, are native soldiers, who have some regular
maintenance, and in return must always be ready."—_Valentijn, Ceylon_,
Names of Offices, &c., 10.

1755.—"Some LASCARS and Sepoys were now sent forward to clear the
road."—_Orme_, ed. 1803, i. 394.

1787.—"The Field Pieces attached to the Cavalry draw up on the Right and
Left Flank of the Regiment; the Artillery LASCARS forming in a line with
the Front Rank the full Extent of the Drag Ropes, which they hold in
their hands."—_Regns. for the Hon. Company's Troops on the Coast of
Coromandel_, by _M.-Gen. Sir Archibald Campbell_, K.B. Govr. & C. in C.
Madras, p. 9.

1803.—"In those parts (of the low country of Ceylon) where it is not
thought requisite to quarter a body of troops, there is a police corps of
the natives appointed to enforce the commands of Government in each
district; they are composed of _Conganies_, or sergeants, _Aratjies_, or
corporals, and LASCARINES, or common soldiers, and perform the same
office as our Sheriff's men or constables."—_Percival's Ceylon_, 222.

1807.—"A large open boat formed the van, containing his excellency's
guard of LASCOREENS, with their spears raised perpendicularly, the union
colours flying, and Ceylon drums called TOMTOMS beating."—_Cordiner's
Ceylon_, 170.

1872.—"The LASCARS on board the steamers were insignificant looking
people."—_The Dilemma_, ch. ii.

In the following passages the original word _lashkar_ is used in its proper sense for 'a camp.'

[1614.—"He said he bought it of a banyan in the LASKER."—_Foster,
Letters_, ii. 142.

[1615.—"We came to the LASKER the 7th of February in the
evening."—_Ibid._ iii. 85.]

1616.—"I tooke horse to auoyd presse, and other inconvenience, and
crossed out of the LESKAR, before him."—_Sir T. Roe_, in _Purchas_, i.
559; see also 560; [Hak. Soc. ii. 324].

[1682.—"... presents to the Seir LASCARR (_sar-i-lashkar_, 'head of the
army') this day received."—_Pringle, Diary Ft. St. Geo._, 1st ser. i.
84.]

LĀT, LĀT SĀHIB, s. This, a popular corruption of _Lord Sahib_, or _Lārd Sāhib_, as it is written in Hind., is the usual form from native lips, at least in the Bengal Presidency, of the title by which the Governor-General has long been known in the vernaculars. The term also extends nowadays to Lieutenant-Governors, who in contact with the higher authority become _Chhoṭā_ ('Little') LĀT, whilst the Governor-General and the Commander-in-Chief are sometimes discriminated as the _Mulkī_ LĀT SĀHIB [or BARĒ LĀT], and the _Jangī_ LĀT SĀHIB ('territorial' and 'military'), the Bishop as the LĀT PĀDRĒ SĀHIB, and the Chief Justice as the LĀT JUSTY SĀHIB. The title is also sometimes, but very incorrectly, applied to minor dignitaries of the supreme Government, [whilst the common form of blessing addressed to a civil officer is "_Huzūr_ LĀT GUVNAR, LĀT SIKRITAR _ho-jāeṅ_."

1824.—"He seemed, however, much puzzled to make out my rank, never having
heard (he said) of any 'LORD SAHIB' except the Governor-General, while he
was still more perplexed by the exposition of 'LORD _Bishop_ SAHIB,'
which for some reason or other my servants always prefer to that of LORD
PADRE."—_Heber_, i. 69.

1837.—"The Arab, thinking I had purposely stolen his kitten, ran after
the buggy at full speed, shouting as he passed Lord Auckland's tents,
'Dohā'ī, dohā'ī, Sāhib! dohā'ī, LORD SĀHIB!' (see DOAI). 'Mercy, mercy,
sir! mercy, Governor-General!' The faster the horse rushed on, the faster
followed the shouting Arab."—_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, ii. 142.

1868.—"The old barber at Roorkee, after telling me that he had known
Strachey when he first began, added, 'Ab LĀT-SEKRETUR hai! Ah! hum bhi
boodda hogya!' ('Now he is _Lord Secretary_! Ah! I too have become
old!')"—_Letter from the late M.-Gen. W. W. H. Greathed._

1877.—"... in a rare but most valuable book (_Galloway's Observations on
India_, 1825, pp. 254-8), in which the author reports, with much quiet
humour, an aged native's account of the awful consequences of contempt of
an order of the (as he called the Supreme Court) '_Shubreem Koorut_,' the
order of Impey being 'LORD JUSTEY SAHIB-_kahookm_,' the instruments of
whose will were '_abidabis_' or affidavits."—Letter from _Sir J. F.
Stephen_, in _Times_, May 31.

LAT, s. Hind. _lāt_, used as a corruption of the English _lot_, in reference to an auction (_Carnegie_).

LĀṬ, LĀṬH, s. This word, meaning a staff or pole, is used for an obelisk or columnar monument; and is specifically used for the ancient Buddhist columns of Eastern India.

[1861-62.—"The pillar (at Besarh) is known by the people as
_Bhīm-Sen-kā_-LĀT and _Bhīm-Sen-ka-ḍanḍā_."—_Cunningham, Arch. Rep._ i.
61.]

LATERITE, s. A term, first used by Dr. Francis Buchanan, to indicate a reddish brick-like argillaceous formation much impregnated with iron peroxide, and hardening on exposure to the atmosphere, which is found in places all over South India from one coast to the other, and the origin of which geologists find very obscure. It is found in two distinct types: viz. (1) _High-level Laterite_, capping especially the trap-rocks of the Deccan, with a bed from 30 or 40 to 200 feet in thickness, which perhaps at one time extended over the greater part of Peninsular India. This is found as far north as the Rajmahal and Monghyr hills. (2). _Low-level Laterite_, forming comparatively thin and sloping beds on the plains of the coast. The origin of both is regarded as being, in the most probable view, modified volcanic matter; the low-level laterite having undergone a further rearrangement and deposition; but the matter is too complex for brief statement (see _Newbold_, in _J.R.A.S._, vol. viii.; and the _Manual of the Geol. of India_, pp. xlv. _seqq._, 348 _seqq._). Mr. King and others have found flint weapons in the low-level formation. Laterite is the usual material for road-metal in S. India, as KUNKUR (q.v.) is in the north. In Ceylon it is called CABOOK (q.v.).