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   Note: In the expressions "to be, or dwell, upon land," "to
         go, or fare, on land," as used by Chaucer, land denotes
         the country as distinguished from the town.
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               A poor parson dwelling upon land [i.e., in the
               country].                          --Chaucer.
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   3. Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet
      land; good or bad land.
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   4. The inhabitants of a nation or people.
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            These answers, in the silent night received,
            The king himself divulged, the land believed.
                                                  --Dryden.
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   5. The mainland, in distinction from islands.
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   6. The ground or floor. [Obs.]
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            Herself upon the land she did prostrate. --Spenser.
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   7. (Agric.) The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one
      of several portions into which a field is divided for
      convenience in plowing.
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   8. (Law) Any ground, soil, or earth whatsoever, as meadows,
      pastures, woods, etc., and everything annexed to it,
      whether by nature, as trees, water, etc., or by the hand
      of man, as buildings, fences, etc.; real estate. --Kent.
      Bouvier. Burrill.
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   9. (Naut.) The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat;
      the lap of plates in an iron vessel; -- called also
      landing. --Knight.
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   10. In any surface prepared with indentations, perforations,
       or grooves, that part of the surface which is not so
       treated, as the level part of a millstone between the
       furrows, or the surface of the bore of a rifled gun
       between the grooves.
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   Land agent, a person employed to sell or let land, to
      collect rents, and to attend to other money matters
      connected with land.

   Land boat, a vehicle on wheels propelled by sails.

   Land blink, a peculiar atmospheric brightness seen from sea
      over distant snow-covered land in arctic regions. See Ice
      blink.

   Land breeze. See under Breeze.

   Land chain. See Gunter's chain.

   Land crab (Zool.), any one of various species of crabs
      which live much on the land, and resort to the water
      chiefly for the purpose of breeding. They are abundant in
      the West Indies and South America. Some of them grow to a
      large size.

   Land fish a fish on land; a person quite out of place.
      --Shak.

   Land force, a military force serving on land, as
      distinguished from a naval force.

   Land, ho! (Naut.), a sailor's cry in announcing sight of
      land.

   Land ice, a field of ice adhering to the coast, in
      distinction from a floe.

   Land leech (Zool.), any one of several species of
      blood-sucking leeches, which, in moist, tropical regions,
      live on land, and are often troublesome to man and beast.
      

   Land measure, the system of measurement used in determining
      the area of land; also, a table of areas used in such
      measurement.

   Land of bondage or House of bondage, in Bible history,
      Egypt; by extension, a place or condition of special
      oppression.

   Land o' cakes, Scotland.

   Land of Nod, sleep.

   Land of promise, in Bible history, Canaan: by extension, a
      better country or condition of which one has expectation.
      

   Land of steady habits, a nickname sometimes given to the
      State of Connecticut.

   Land office, a government office in which the entries upon,
      and sales of, public land are registered, and other
      business respecting the public lands is transacted. [U.S.]
      

   Land pike. (Zool.)
       (a) The gray pike, or sauger.
       (b) The Menobranchus.

   Land service, military service as distinguished from naval
      service.

   Land rail. (Zool)
       (a) The crake or corncrake of Europe. See Crake.
       (b) An Australian rail (Hypot[ae]nidia Phillipensis);
           -- called also pectoral rail.

   Land scrip, a certificate that the purchase money for a
      certain portion of the public land has been paid to the
      officer entitled to receive it. [U.S.]

   Land shark, a swindler of sailors on shore. [Sailors' Cant]
      

   Land side
       (a) That side of anything in or on the sea, as of an
           island or ship, which is turned toward the land.
       (b) The side of a plow which is opposite to the moldboard
           and which presses against the unplowed land.

   Land snail (Zool.), any snail which lives on land, as
      distinguished from the aquatic snails are Pulmonifera, and
      belong to the Geophila; but the operculated land snails of
      warm countries are Di[oe]cia, and belong to the
      T[ae]nioglossa. See Geophila, and Helix.

   Land spout, a descent of cloud and water in a conical form
      during the occurrence of a tornado and heavy rainfall on
      land.

   Land steward, a person who acts for another in the
      management of land, collection of rents, etc.

   Land tortoise, Land turtle (Zool.), any tortoise that
      habitually lives on dry land, as the box tortoise. See
      Tortoise.

   Land warrant, a certificate from the Land Office,
      authorizing a person to assume ownership of a public land.
      [U.S.]

   Land wind. Same as Land breeze (above).

   To make land (Naut.), to sight land.

   To set the land, to see by the compass how the land bears
      from the ship.

   To shut in the land, to hide the land, as when fog, or an
      intervening island, obstructs the view.
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Tortoise \Tor"toise\, n. [OE. tortuce, fr. OF. tortis crooked,
   fr. L. tortus twisted, crooked, contorted, p. p. of torquere,
   tortum, to wind; cf. F. tortue tortoise, LL. tortuca,
   tartuca, Pr. tortesa crookedness, tortis crooked. so called
   in allusion to its crooked feet. See Torture.]
   1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of reptiles of the
      order Testudinata.
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   Note: The term is applied especially to the land and
         fresh-water species, while the marine species are
         generally called turtles, but the terms tortoise and
         turtle are used synonymously by many writers. See
         Testudinata, Terrapin, and Turtle.
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   2. (Rom. Antiq.) Same as Testudo, 2.
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   Box tortoise, Land tortoise, etc. See under Box,
      Land, etc.

   Painted tortoise. (Zool.) See Painted turtle, under
      Painted.

   Soft-shell tortoise. (Zool.) See Trionyx.

   Spotted tortoise. (Zool.) A small American fresh-water
      tortoise (Chelopus guttatus or Nanemys guttatus)
      having a blackish carapace on which are scattered round
      yellow spots.

   Tortoise beetle (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
      small tortoise-shaped beetles. Many of them have a
      brilliant metallic luster. The larvae feed upon the leaves
      of various plants, and protect themselves beneath a mass
      of dried excrement held over the back by means of the
      caudal spines. The golden tortoise beetle (Cassida
      aurichalcea) is found on the morning-glory vine and
      allied plants.

   Tortoise plant. (Bot.) See Elephant's foot, under
      Elephant.

   Tortoise shell, the substance of the shell or horny plates
      of several species of sea turtles, especially of the
      hawkbill turtle. It is used in inlaying and in the
      manufacture of various ornamental articles.

   Tortoise-shell butterfly (Zool.), any one of several
      species of handsomely colored butterflies of the genus
      Aglais, as Aglais Milberti, and Aglais urticae, both
      of which, in the larva state, feed upon nettles.

   Tortoise-shell turtle (Zool.), the hawkbill turtle. See
      Hawkbill.
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