lockjaw See tetanus
lockout Tactic used by employers in labour disputes, in which employ¬ ees are locked out of the workplace or otherwise denied employment. In the 1880s and ’90s, factory owners in the U.S. often used lockouts against the Knights of Labor, which was struggling to organize industries such as meatpacking and cigar making. The lockout has been used less frequently in modern times, usually as part of a pact among members of employers’ associations to frustrate labour unions by closing work facilities in response to strikes.
Locofoco \,lo-ko-'fo-ko\ Party Radical wing of the Democratic Party organized in New York City in 1835. Made up largely of workingmen and reformers, the party opposed state banks, monopolies, tariffs, and special interests. Its name derives from the friction matches, known as locofocos, that radicals used to light candles when Democratic Party regulars tried to oust them from a Tammany Hall meeting by turning out the gas lights. Never a national party, the Locofocos reached the height of their influ¬ ence when Congress passed the Independent Treasury Act (1840), which effected the primary Locofoco aim of complete separation of government and banking. The party was reabsorbed into the Democratic Party in the 1840s.
locomotion Any of various animal movements that result in progres¬ sion from one place to another. Locomotion is classified as either appen¬ dicular (accomplished by special appendages) or axial (achieved by changing the body shape). Aquatic protozoans move by ciliary or flagel¬ lar appendages or by pseudopods, footlike appendages. Other forms of aquatic locomotion include walking on legs (some arthropods), crawling (by contracting the body muscles, anchoring to the substrate, and extend¬ ing), and swimming by either hydraulic propulsion (e.g., jellyfish) or undu¬ lation (fishes). Terrestrial arthropods and vertebrates move by means of jointed appendages, the legs. Snakes and other limbless vertebrates crawl by means of muscular thrusts against the substrate. Flight is achieved by the forward thrust of wings.
locomotive Self-propelled vehicle used for hauling railroad cars on tracks. Early experimental steam locomotives were built in Wales and England by Richard Trevithick from 1803. The first practical steam loco¬ motive, the Rocket, was developed in 1829 by George Stephenson, in whose “steam blast” system the steam from a multitube boiler drove pis¬ tons connected to a pair of flanged driving wheels. The first U.S. steam locomotive was built by John Stevens in 1825, and the first commercially usable locomotive, the Tom Thumb, by Peter Cooper in Baltimore in 1830. Later improvements enabled a locomotive to move up to 200 freight cars at 75 mph (120 kph). Steam from wood or coal fuel was the main source
of power until the mid-20th century, though electric power had been used from the early 20th century, especially in Europe. After World War II die¬ sel power replaced steam because of its higher efficiency and lower cost, though diesel-electric and gas turbine-electric combinations were also used.
locoweed Any of several species of poisonous plants of the genera Astragalus and Oxytropis, in the pea family (see legume), native to the prairies of north-central and western North America. These low-growing plants (up to 1.5 ft [45 cm] high) have variably hairy, fernlike leaves and spikes of pealike flowers. They pose a danger to grazing animals because they contain a toxin that affects muscle control, producing frenzied behav¬ iour, impaired vision, and sometimes death. Because they taste bad, live¬ stock usually eat them only when other forage is scarce. Decaying locoweeds release toxins into the soil that are sometimes absorbed by otherwise harmless forage crops.
Locri Epizephyrii \ , lo- l kri- l e-pi-z9- , fir-e- l i\ Ancient city in Magna Graecia, on the eastern coast of Italy’s southwestern extremity. Founded by Greeks c. 680 bc, it was the first Greek community to have a written code of laws, the Locrian code (c. 660 bc). It founded colonies and resisted Athenian intervention during the Peloponnesian War. Fickle in its alle¬ giance, it was captured by Rome in 205 bc and destroyed by Sicilian Muslims in 915.
locust In botany, any of about 20 tree species in the genus Robinia of the pea family (see legume), all native to eastern North America and Mexico. Best-known is the black locust (R. pseudoacacia ), often called false acacia or yellow locust.
Widely cultivated in Europe as an ornamental, it grows 80 ft (24 m) high and bears long, compound leaves. The fragrant white flowers hang in loose clusters. There are many varieties, some thornless. The black locust has long been used for erosion control and as a timber tree.
The so-called honey locust ( Gledit - sia triacanthos), also of the pea family, is a North American tree com¬ monly used as an ornamental and often found in hedges.
locust Any of several species of grasshoppers (family Acrididae) that undergo population explosions and migrate long distances in destructive swarms. In North America the names locust and grasshopper are inter- changable and used for any acridid; cicadas are sometimes called locusts. In Europe, locust refers to large species and grasshopper to small ones. Locusts are found worldwide. Sporadic locust swarms may be explained by the theory that swarming species have a solitary phase (the normal state) and a gregarious phase. Nymphs that mature in the presence of many other locusts develop into the gregarious type; thus migratory swarms form as a result of overcrowding. Swarms may be almost unimaginably large, towering 5,000 ft (1,500 m) high; in 1889 a Red Sea swarm was estimated to cover 2,000 sq mi (5,000 sq km). Locust plagues can be extremely destructive of crops.
lodestone See magnetite
lodge Originally an insubstantial dwelling, or one erected for a tempo¬ rary occupational purpose (e.g., woodcutting or masonry) or for use dur¬ ing the hunting season. The lodge became a more permanent type of house as the lands around European mansions were developed as parks. The lodge was often the cottage of the gamekeeper, caretaker, gatekeeper, or gardener, or it could be a larger building for occupation by a higher¬ ranking person. Today the word suggests a rustic dwelling or inn in a natural setting, often one used seasonally (e.g., a ski lodge).
Lodge, Henry Cabot (b. May 12,1850, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. Nov. 9, 1924, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. politician. He was the recipient of the first Ph.D. in political science awarded by Harvard University. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1887 to 1893 and in the Sen¬ ate from 1893 to 1924. He supported U.S. entry into World War I but opposed participation in the League of Nations; as chairman of the Sen¬ ate’s foreign relations committee he delayed action on the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles with its covenant establishing the League. He pro¬ posed amendments (the Lodge reservations) that would require Senate
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
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approval before the U.S. would accept certain League decisions. Pres. Woodrow Wilson refused to accept the amendments, and the Senate rejected the treaty.
Lodge, Henry Cabot (b. July 5, 1902, Nahant, Mass., U.S.—d. Feb. 27, 1985, Beverly, Mass.) U.S. politician and diplomat. The grandson of Sen. Henry C. Lodge, he served in the U.S. Senate (1937—44, 1947-52) and as U.S. representative to the UN (1953-60). In 1960 he was the Republican vice presidential candidate under Richard Nixon. During the 1960s he served as U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam and as ambassa¬ dor to West Germany. In 1969 he was the chief U.S. negotiator at the Paris peace talks with North Vietnam. He later served as special envoy to the Vatican.