| lucerne | n. | alfalfa | ||
| lucubrate | v. | to write or to study intensely, esp. at night | ||
| luculent | adj. | lucid, clear; brilliant | ||
| Lucullian | adj. | lavish, profligate | ||
| ludibrund | adj. | playful | ||
| lugsail | n. | asymmetrical four-cornered sail obliquely hung upon a yard | ||
| lugubriously | adv. | mournfully | ||
| lumber | v. | to encumber, to obstruct or heap | ||
| lumber room | n. | storeroom in domicile used for oddments and unused furniture | ||
| lumme | int. | expressing surprise | British | |
| lummox | n. | clumsy dummy | ||
| lurcher | n. | crossbred dog (traditionally of collie with greyhound) favored by poachers for catching rabbits | ||
| lurdan | n. | sluggard, lazy person | ||
| lustrate | v. | to purify by propitiatory sacrifice or rites | ||
| lustre | n. | chandelier; cut glass object hung pendant from a chandelier | ||
| lustrine | n. | glossy fabric of silk; lutestring | ||
| lustrum | n. | five year period | ||
| lusus naturae | n. | freak, sport of nature, deformed creature | Latin | |
| lute | n. | sticky clay | ||
| lute | v. | to attach or to fix with lute | ||
| luthier | n. | maker of stringed instruments | ||
| maar | n. | crater-shaped landform caused by volcanic explosion | ||
| Macaronesia | n. | the four island groupings west of Gibraltar, consisting of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde | ||
| macerate | v. | to soften or separate by steeping in liquid; to make thinner | ||
| machan | n. | hunting platform in tree | ||
| machicolated | adj. | provided with openings between parapets or flooring through which stones or other defensive weapons may be hurled or dropped | ||
| mack daddy | n. | successful pimp; playa with the ladies | slang | |
| macron | n. | straight horizontal mark over a letter | ||
| maculate | v. | to spot or stain, to defile | ||
| madding | adj. | frenzied, acting like a madman; tending to drive (one) insane | ||
| madreporic | adj. | of or related to madrepore coral; resembling stony coral | ||
| maelstrom | n. | turbulent or tumultuous situation; violent whirlpool | ||
| maenadic | adj. | frenzied, of or related to a maenad | ||
| magniloquent | adj. | lofty or grandiose in expression; pompous; bombastic | ||
| maidan | n. | open space near or in a town; parade ground | ||
| maieutic | adj. | of or related to the Socratic method of education | ||
| majolica | n. | glazed earthenware decorated in opaque color | ||
| majority | n. | adulthood, legal age | ||
| make a hames of | v. | to spoil or ruin through clumsiness, make a mess of | idiom | |
| make a pig’s ear of | v. | to botch, to make a mess of | idiom | |
| malacologist | n. | one who studies mollusks | ||
| Malagasy | n. | person from Madagascar | ||
| malapert | adj. | impudent, overly saucy | ||
| malefaction | n. | evil deed, wrong-doing | ||
| malefic | adj. | producing evil, baleful | ||
| malversation | n. | corrupt or improper conduct in office | ||
| Mameluke | n. | former military slaves who seized power in Egypt in the 13th C., ruling for centuries | ||
| mammer | v. | to stammer, to mutter; to hesitate, to vacillate | obsolete | |
| manchet | n. | wheat bread of the finest flour; loaf of such bread | archaic | |
| manciple | n. | steward in charge of supplies for a college, monastery, or law offices |
