Occitan language: …the area itself, the names Lemosí (Limousin) and Proensal (Provençal) were formerly used, but those names were too localized to designate the whole range of dialects. The name Provençal originally referred to the Occitan dialects of the Provence region and is used also to refer to the standardized medieval literary…

Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne was a French sculptor chiefly important for his portrait busts. The pupil of his father, Jean-Louis Lemoyne, and of Robert Le Lorrain, he was appointed sculptor to Louis XV. Lemoyne executed many likenesses of the king, either as large sculptures—the statues in the royal

Lempa River, river in Central America. It rises in Guatemala near Esquipulas, crosses a corner of Honduras, and enters El Salvador at Citalá. After cutting across El Salvador’s northern mountain range, it flows eastward for over 80 miles (130 km) and then southward for 65 miles (105 km) across the

telecommunication: The Lempel-Ziv algorithm: …the 1970s by the Israelis Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv. The Lempel-Ziv algorithm works by constructing a codebook out of sequences encountered previously. For example, the codebook might begin with a set of four 12-bit code words representing four possible signal levels. If two of those levels arrived in sequence,…

data compression: The Lempel-Ziv algorithm, invented by Israeli computer scientists Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv, uses the text itself as the dictionary, replacing later occurrences of a string by numbers indicating where it occurred before and its length. Zip and gzip use variations of the Lempel-Ziv algorithm.

GIF: …algorithm commonly referred to as LZW, named after its inventors, Abraham Lempel and Jacob Ziv of Israel and Terry Welch of the United States. LZW was the source of a controversy started by the American Unisys Corporation in 1994, when it was revealed that they owned a patent for LZW…

Ute Lemper is a German singer, composer, and actress considered to be the foremost modern interpreter of the music of 1920s Germany. Lemper’s mother was an opera singer, and she started her daughter on piano, voice, and ballet lessons at an early age. Lemper took children’s parts in operettas and

lemur, (suborder Strepsirrhini), generally, any primitive primate except the tarsier; more specifically, any of the indigenous primates of Madagascar. In the broad sense, the term lemur applies not only to the typical lemurs (family Lemuridae) but also to the avahis, sifakas, indri, and aye-aye of

lemur: Lemur diversity: …known of these is the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), commonly seen in zoos. It is unique both in its habitat (some dry and rocky areas of Madagascar) and for its striped tail (all other lemurs have solid-coloured tails). Troops are made up of several males and females, and the females…

lemur: Lemur diversity: …related genus Eulemur include the black lemur (E. macaco), in which the male is black and the female is reddish brown. The rare black-and-white or black-and-red ruffed lemurs (genus Varecia) live in rainforests on the eastern side of Madagascar. The gentle lemurs, or lesser bamboo lemurs (genus Hapalemur), and the…

Lemures, in Roman religion, wicked and fearsome spectres of the dead. Appearing in grotesque and terrifying forms, they were said to haunt their living relatives and cause them injury. To propitiate these ghosts and keep them from the household, ritual observances called Lemuria were held yearly on

Lemures: …the household, ritual observances called Lemuria were held yearly on May 9, 11, and 13. These Lemuria, reputedly instituted by Romulus in expiation of his brother’s murder, required the father of every family to rise at midnight, purify his hands, toss black beans for the spirits to gather, and recite…

Stone Age: Oceania: , Lemuria, Mu) or direct relations with the Middle East (e.g., the Ten Lost Tribes, migrations of Children of the Sun from Egypt), early India (e.g., Indus Valley–Easter Island connections), or Japan (e.g., supposed language relations). They also insist that, while eastern-voyaging Polynesians could well have…

lemur: Lemur diversity: The “true lemurs” (family Lemuridae) include five genera and about 20 species. The best known of these is the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), commonly seen in zoos. It is unique both in its habitat (some dry and rocky areas of Madagascar) and for its striped tail…

primate: Classification: Infraorder Lemuriformes (lemurs) Family Cheirogaleidae (dwarf, mouse, and fork-crowned lemurs) 5 genera, 25 or more species from Madagascar. The number of species cannot be precisely given, as new species continue to be discovered. Holocene. Subfamily

El Salvador: Military dictatorships: José María Lemus (1956–60), continued these programs, but there was no improvement in the living standards of workers. When faced with open discontent, Lemus resorted to repressive measures, and a military coup deposed him in October 1960.

Lena Horne: One of her albums, Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria (1957), was a longtime best seller, and her first featured performance on Broadway—in the musical Jamaica (1957)—won her a New York Drama Critics’ Poll Award in 1958.

Lena Horne: Her one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music (1981), garnered many awards, including a Drama Critics’ Circle Award and a special achievement Tony Award. In 1984 Horne received a Kennedy Center honour for lifetime contribution to the arts, and in 1989 she was given a Grammy…

Lena River, major river of Russia and the 11th longest river, or river system, in the world. It flows 2,734 miles (4,400 km) from its sources in the mountains along the western shores of Lake Baikal, in southeastern Siberia, to the mouth of its delta on the Arctic Laptev Sea. The area of the

Lena River: The area of the river’s drainage basin is about 961,000 square miles (2,490,000 square km).

Great Dionysia: …was also introduced into the Lenaea, the minor festival of Dionysus held in January, and tragedy was added 10 years later.

Kenya: Maasai and Kikuyu: …time before his younger son, Lenana, was able to restore order. Power was never revived, however, because their problems coincided with the arrival of European traders and administrators who eventually gained control of the region.

East African mountains: Physiography: …closely followed in height by Lenana (16,355 feet).

Delaware, a confederation of Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who occupied the Atlantic seaboard from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to western Long Island. Before colonization, they were especially concentrated in the Delaware River valley, for which the confederation was named. However, the

Philipp Lenard was a German physicist and recipient of the 1905 Nobel Prize for Physics for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties. His results had important implications for the development of electronics and nuclear physics. After working as a lecturer and as

Philipp Lenard was a German physicist and recipient of the 1905 Nobel Prize for Physics for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties. His results had important implications for the development of electronics and nuclear physics. After working as a lecturer and as

Johannesburg: The city layout: …Filipinos, and Chinese) lives in Lenasia, a special “Asiatic” township built in the 1950s to accommodate Indians forcibly removed from the city centre. The balance of the city is occupied by whites.

Nikolaus Lenau was an Austrian poet known for melancholy lyrical verse that mirrors the pessimism of his time as well as his personal despair. Severe depression and dissatisfaction characterized Lenau’s life. He began, but never completed, studies in law, medicine, and philosophy. A legacy in 1830

Franz von Lenbach was a painter whose powerful characterizations made him the favoured portraitist of late 19th-century Germany. In 1857 Lenbach became a pupil of Karl von Piloty, with whom he traveled in Italy. The works of this first journey were painted from nature and were frequently attacked

Lenca, Indians of the northern highlands of Honduras and El Salvador who are somewhat intermediate culturally between the Maya to the north and circum-Caribbean peoples such as the Kuna to the south. The aboriginal culture of the Lenca has virtually disappeared and is not well known. It is thought

Mesoamerican Indian languages: The classification and status of Mesoamerican languages:

Ninon de Lenclos was a celebrated French courtesan. From her father, Henri de Lenclos, sieur de La Douardière, she acquired a lasting interest in Epicurean philosophy. Although her father fled from France after killing a man in 1632, she remained in Paris and established there a salon that

Ninon de Lenclos was a celebrated French courtesan. From her father, Henri de Lenclos, sieur de La Douardière, she acquired a lasting interest in Epicurean philosophy. Although her father fled from France after killing a man in 1632, she remained in Paris and established there a salon that

Tony Shalhoub: …Broadway stage in the farce Lend Me a Tenor, and three years later he earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Clifford Odets’s Golden Boy as the hero’s Italian immigrant father. Shalhoub also received a Tony nod for his performance in Act One (2014), in which he appeared…

lend-lease, system by which the United States aided its World War II allies with war materials, such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, and trucks, and with food and other raw materials. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt had committed the United States in June 1940 to materially aiding the opponents of

lend-lease, system by which the United States aided its World War II allies with war materials, such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, and trucks, and with food and other raw materials. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt had committed the United States in June 1940 to materially aiding the opponents of

credit, transaction between two parties in which one (the creditor or lender) supplies money, goods, services, or securities in return for a promised future payment by the other (the debtor or borrower). Such transactions normally include the payment of interest to the lender. Credit may be

development bank: …are required to join “lending circles.” The fellow members of a circle, which typically contains fewer than 10 people, are other borrowers whose credit rating is at risk if one of their members defaults. Therefore, each member drives other members to pay on time. The Grameen approach has spurred…

library: Circulation: …faculties, but the notion of lending, or circulating, libraries did not become popular until the 18th century.

Ivan Lendl is a Czech-born American former tennis player who was one of the sport’s most successful professionals during the 1980s and early ’90s. A right-hander who was known for his powerful forehand shots, Lendl won eight Grand Slam tournament titles, including three consecutive U.S. Open

Mary McAleese is an Irish politician who was president of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was Ireland’s second female president and its first president from Northern Ireland. McAleese was raised on the edge of the nationalist Ardoyne area of Belfast, from which her family was forced to flee in the

Lenghu, town, northwestern Qinghai sheng (province), western China. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Qaidam Basin, to the southwest of Dangjin Pass, which leads from the Qaidam region into western Gansu province and to the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. Lenghu is one of the

sulfosalt: At the Lengenbach Mine in Switzerland, for example, more than 30 distinct species have been recognized, 15 of which are not found elsewhere. Most sulfosalts have formed at low temperature in open cavities, usually in association with copper–zinc–arsenic sulfide ores. Very often they occur in cavities of…

Lenghu, town, northwestern Qinghai sheng (province), western China. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Qaidam Basin, to the southwest of Dangjin Pass, which leads from the Qaidam region into western Gansu province and to the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. Lenghu is one of the

Suzanne Lenglen was a French tennis player and six-time Wimbledon champion in both singles and doubles competition. Her athletic play, combining strength and speed, changed the nature of women’s tennis and positioned her as the dominant women’s amateur player from 1919 until 1926, when she turned

phonetics: Suprasegmentals: Variations in length are also usually considered to be suprasegmental features, although they can affect single segments as well as whole syllables. All of the suprasegmental features are characterized by the fact that they must be described in relation to other items in the same utterance. It…

cricket: Bowling: …good bowler is command of length—i.e., the ability to pitch (bounce) the ball on a desired spot, usually at or slightly in front of the batsman’s feet. The location varies with the pace of the bowler, the state of the pitch, and the reach and technique of the batsman. The…

length, area, and volume: Length is the size of a line segment (see distance formulas), area is the size of a closed region in a plane, and volume is the size of a solid. Formulas for area and volume are based on lengths. For example, the area of a…

length of a curve, Geometrical concept addressed by integral calculus. Methods for calculating exact lengths of line segments and arcs of circles have been known since ancient times. Analytic geometry allowed them to be stated as formulas involving coordinates (see coordinate systems) of points and

length, area, and volume, Dimensional measures of one-, two-, and three-dimensional geometric objects. All three are magnitudes, representing the “size” of an object. Length is the size of a line segment (see distance formulas), area is the size of a closed region in a plane, and volume is the size

Gran Chaco: Early settlement: …major linguistic associations: the Guaycurú, Lengua, Wichí, Zamuco, and Tupí-Guaraní. Most of these people lived under extremely primitive conditions; settlement depended on the availability of fresh water, making stream courses the most coveted sites. Implements were fashioned largely from wood and bones because of the absence of stones, while the…

Juana de Ibarbourou: Las lenguas de diamante (1919; “Tongues of Diamond”) is strikingly sensual, erotic, and pantheistic. These qualities, along with a youthful narcissism, are also present in Raíz salvaje (1922; “Savage Root”). The urgency and abundance in these early works gave way later, in La rosa de…

Hungarian literature: Writing after 1945: …the adherents of realistic fiction, József Lengyel, who died in 1975, occupied a special place. In his stories (which could not be published until the loosening of restrictions in the early 1960s) he gave a moving testimony of human suffering in Soviet labour camps.

animation: Animation in Europe: The collaborative efforts of Jan Lenica and Walerian Borowczyk foresaw the bleak themes and absurdist trends of the Polish school of the 1960s; such films as Był sobie raz… (1957; Once Upon a Time…), Nagrodzone uczucie (1957; Love Rewarded), and Dom (1958; The House) are surreal, pessimistic, plotless, and…

Lenin, world’s first nuclear-powered surface ship, a large icebreaker built by the Soviet Union in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1957. The Lenin was 134 metres (440 feet) long, displaced 16,000 tons, and cruised in normal waters at 18 knots (33 km/hr, or 21 mph). The ship went into service in 1959,

Lenin Peak, highest summit (23,406 feet [7,134 metres]) of the Trans-Alai Range on the frontier of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Once thought to be the highest mountain in what was then the Soviet Union, Lenin Peak was relegated to third place by the discovery in 1932–33 that Stalin Peak (after 1962

Russian State Library, national library of Russia, located in Moscow, notable for its extensive collection of early printed books and a collection of manuscripts that includes ancient Slavonic codices. Originally founded in 1862 as the library of the Rumyantsev Museum, it was reorganized after the

Lenin Mausoleum, monumental tomb in Moscow holding the embalmed body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. It was designed by Alexei Shchusev and completed in 1930. The Lenin Mausoleum occupies an ambiguous position among great architectural structures. To some, the highly polished, ziggurat-like mausoleum is

Lenin Peak, highest summit (23,406 feet [7,134 metres]) of the Trans-Alai Range on the frontier of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Once thought to be the highest mountain in what was then the Soviet Union, Lenin Peak was relegated to third place by the discovery in 1932–33 that Stalin Peak (after 1962

Lenin’s Testament, two-part document dictated by Vladimir I. Lenin on Dec. 23–26, 1922, and Jan. 4, 1923, and addressed to a future Communist Party Congress. It contained guideline proposals for changes in the Soviet political system and concise portrait assessments of six party leaders (Joseph

Order of Lenin, highest civilian award of the U.S.S.R. It was established in 1930 by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and awarded to individuals, collectives, institutions, or organizations for outstanding achievements in research, art, technology, or economics or for the

Vladimir Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), inspirer and leader of the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), and the architect, builder, and first head (1917–24) of the Soviet state. He was the founder of the organization known as Comintern (Communist International) and the

Vladimir Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), inspirer and leader of the Bolshevik Revolution (1917), and the architect, builder, and first head (1917–24) of the Soviet state. He was the founder of the organization known as Comintern (Communist International) and the

Lenin Peak, highest summit (23,406 feet [7,134 metres]) of the Trans-Alai Range on the frontier of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Once thought to be the highest mountain in what was then the Soviet Union, Lenin Peak was relegated to third place by the discovery in 1932–33 that Stalin Peak (after 1962

Khujand, city, northwestern Tajikistan. The city lies along both banks of the Syr Darya (river) at the entrance to the fertile and heavily populated Fergana Valley. One of the most ancient cities of Central Asia, it lay along the great Silk Road from China to Europe. It was captured by the Arabs in

Gyumri, city, western Armenia. It is believed to have been founded by the Greeks in 401 bce, but it did not have a continuous existence. A fortress was constructed on the site by the Russians in 1837, and in 1840 the town of Alexandropol was founded nearby. Alexandropol was a trading and

St. Petersburg, city and port, extreme northwestern Russia. A major historical and cultural centre and an important port, St. Petersburg lies about 400 miles (640 km) northwest of Moscow and only about 7° south of the Arctic Circle. It is the second largest city of Russia and one of the world’s

Leningrad, oblast (province), northwestern Russia. It comprises all the Karelian Isthmus and the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland as far west as Narva. It extends eastward along the southern shore of Lake Ladoga and the Svir River as far as Lake Onega. In the north the Karelian Isthmus

Saint Petersburg State University, coeducational state institution of higher learning in St. Petersburg, founded in 1819 as the University of St. Petersburg. During World War II the university was evacuated to Saratov. The university’s buildings were severely damaged during the Siege of Leningrad

Leningrad Affair, (1948–50), in the history of the Soviet Union, a sudden and sweeping purge of Communist Party and government officials in Leningrad and the surrounding region. The purge occurred several months after the sudden death of Andrey A. Zhdanov (Aug. 31, 1948), who had been the Leningrad

biblical literature: Masoretic texts: Next in age is the Leningrad Codex of the Latter Prophets dated to 916, which was not originally the work of Ben Asher, but its Babylonian pointing—i.e., vowel signs used for pronunciation purposes—was brought into line with the Tiberian Masoretic system.

Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, symphony orchestra based in St. Petersburg. The Philharmonic Society was founded there in 1802, and its orchestra included musicians from eastern Europe as well as from Russia. After the Russian Revolution of February 1917, the society’s orchestra became the

Saint Petersburg State University, coeducational state institution of higher learning in St. Petersburg, founded in 1819 as the University of St. Petersburg. During World War II the university was evacuated to Saratov. The university’s buildings were severely damaged during the Siege of Leningrad

Leningrad Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60, symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich, known as “Leningrad.” The work premiered informally on March 5, 1942, at Kuybyshev (now Samara), a provincial city alongside the Volga, where the composer and many of his colleagues were seeking refuge from World War II.

Arkady Isaakovich Raikin: …opened his own theatre, the Leningrad Theatre of the Estrada and the Miniature, where he offered homespun homilies and satirical skits (called “miniatures”). Over the years, he toured the Soviet Union and occasionally abroad but remained based in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) until 1984, when he moved his company to Moscow…

Siege of Leningrad, prolonged siege (September 8, 1941–January 27, 1944) of the city of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in the Soviet Union by German and Finnish armed forces during World War II. The siege actually lasted 872 days. After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, German armies

Saint Petersburg State University, coeducational state institution of higher learning in St. Petersburg, founded in 1819 as the University of St. Petersburg. During World War II the university was evacuated to Saratov. The university’s buildings were severely damaged during the Siege of Leningrad

Leninism, principles expounded by Vladimir I. Lenin, who was the preeminent figure in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Whether Leninist concepts represented a contribution to or a corruption of Marxist thought has been debated, but their influence on the subsequent development of communism in the

Ridder, city, northeastern Kazakhstan. The city is situated in the southwestern Altai Mountains, along the Ulba River, at an elevation higher than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres). An Englishman, Philip Ridder, discovered a small mine containing gold, silver, copper, and lead there in 1786, and systematic

Leninsk-Kuznetsky, city, in Kemerovo oblast (region), central Russia. It lies along the Inya River, a tributary of the Ob. In 1912 a French company started coal-mining operations there; from the 1930s the city developed rapidly to become a major coal-mining centre, with many pits located in the

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén: Sárospatak, Szerencs, Sátoraljaújhely, Tiszaújváros, and Tokaj.

Uralic languages: Consonant gradation: …known as consonant gradation (or lenition) is sometimes thought to be of Uralic origin. In Baltic-Finnic, excluding Veps and Livonian, earlier intervocalic single stops were typically replaced by voiced and fricative consonantal variants, and geminate (double) stops were shortened to single stops just in case the preceding vowel was stressed…

Vistula River: Physiography: …the Leniwka (now called the Martwa Wisła), which followed the true Vistula channel to the Gulf of Gdańsk. Improvements, the ultimate aim of which was to control the Vistula’s outlet to the sea and make the entire delta region economically productive, were initiated at the end of the 19th century:…

Länkäran, city, southeastern Azerbaijan. It lies on the shore of the Caspian Sea, in the Länkäran Lowland. First mentioned in the 17th century, it was capital of the Talysh khanate of Iran in the 18th century. It was held by Russia from 1728 to 1735 but only fell definitively to Russia in 1813.

Azerbaijan: Relief, drainage, and soils: …feet [2,492 meters]), and the Länkäran Lowland, along the Caspian coast. This lowland, an extension of the Kura-Aras Lowland, reaches the Iranian border near Astara.

Azerbaijan: Relief, drainage, and soils: …feet [2,492 meters]), and the Länkäran Lowland, along the Caspian coast. This lowland, an extension of the Kura-Aras Lowland, reaches the Iranian border near Astara.

Jacob van Lennep was a Dutch novelist, poet, and leading man of letters in the mid-19th century. Early in his career van Lennep found his natural genre, the historical novel, and his first such work, De pleegzoon (1833; The Adopted Son), was set in the 17th century. Like many of his later works it

Anna Maria Lenngren was a Swedish poet whose Neoclassical satires and pastoral idylls show a balance and moderation characteristic of the Enlightenment period and are still read for their gaiety and elegance. Educated by her father, a lecturer at Uppsala University, Lenngren began to publish poetry

Anna Maria Lenngren: In 1780 she married Carl Lenngren, founder (with Johan Henric Kellgren) and later editor of the influential Stockholms Posten, to which she thereafter contributed anonymously. Insisting that she was a private individual, a housewife rather than a professional writer, Lenngren remained modest about her literary accomplishments. Her best work…

Delaware, a confederation of Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who occupied the Atlantic seaboard from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to western Long Island. Before colonization, they were especially concentrated in the Delaware River valley, for which the confederation was named. However, the

Lennooideae: Flor de tierra (“flower of the earth”; L. madreporoides) usually grows on roots of the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). The oval mushroomlike stem is 5–15 cm (2–6 inches) tall and is covered at maturity with small starlike flowers, violet with yellow throats.

Lennooideae, the sand food subfamily of the family Boraginaceae, composed of two genera and four species of parasitic plants. The unusual plants inhabit desert regions in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, and many are considered rare. Though formerly treated as its

John Lennon was a coleader of the revolutionary British rock group the Beatles as well as an author and graphic artist, solo recording artist, and collaborator with his second wife, Yoko Ono, on numerous recordings and art projects. Lennon’s fun-loving working-class parents, Alfred and Julia

John Lennon was a coleader of the revolutionary British rock group the Beatles as well as an author and graphic artist, solo recording artist, and collaborator with his second wife, Yoko Ono, on numerous recordings and art projects. Lennon’s fun-loving working-class parents, Alfred and Julia

Tasmania: Tasmania since 1950: …as premier in 2004 by Paul Lennon. While the state remained reasonably prosperous, the following years were marked by conflict between environmentalist and prodevelopment forces as well as by voluble criticism of welfare services.

John Lennon: Life in New York City and death: …they soon conceived a son, Sean, born on Lennon’s birthday in 1975. (In 1963 Lennon had a son, Julian, with Cynthia Lennon. Both his children became musicians.) Lennon retreated from music and became a reclusive househusband, leaving his business affairs to Ono. The details of this very private period are…

Lennooideae, the sand food subfamily of the family Boraginaceae, composed of two genera and four species of parasitic plants. The unusual plants inhabit desert regions in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, and many are considered rare. Though formerly treated as its

Beagle Channel: eastern end, Picton, Nueva, and Lennox islands, were the subject of a territorial dispute between Chile and Argentina that began in the 1840s and which almost led to war between the two countries in 1978. The dispute officially ended on May 2, 1985, when a treaty awarding the three islands…

Lennox Lewis: The documentary Lennox Lewis: The Untold Story appeared in 2020.

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond was the son of Charles II of England by his mistress Louise de Kéroualle, duchess of Portsmouth. He was aide-de-camp to William III from 1693 to 1702 and lord of the bedchamber to George I from 1714 to 1723. Charles II awarded a number of peerages (duchies,