Austral English Part 149

It is of the shape of a pickaxe, with only one pick. Its name is derived from another native word, leang, signifying a tooth.

It is a very formidable weapon, and used only in war."

1846. J. L. Stokes, `Discoveries in Australia,' vol. II.

c. xiii. p. 479:

"A weapon used by the natives called a Liangle, resembling a miner's pick."

1863. M. K. Beveridge,' Gatherings among the Gum-trees,'

p. 56:

"Let us hand to hand attack him With our Leeawells of Buloite."

Ibid. (In Glossary) p. 83:

"Leeawell, a kind of war club."

1867. G. Gordon McCrae, `Mimba,' p. 9:

"The long liangle's nascent form Fore-spoke the distant battle-storm."

1886. R. Henty, `Australiana,' p. 21:

"His war-club or leeangle."

1889. P. Beveridge, `Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina, p. 67:

"Of those [waddies] possessing--we might almost say---a national character, the shapes of which seem to have come down generation after generation, from the remotest period, the Leawill is the most deadly-looking weapon. It is usually three feet long, and two and a half inches thick, having a pointed head, very similar both in shape and size to a miner's driving pick; in most cases the oak (Casuarina) is used in the manufacture of this weapon; it is used in close quarters only, and is a most deadly instrument in the hands of a ruthless foe, or in a general melee such as a midnight onslaught."

Leeangle, n. i.q. Leawill (q.v.).

Leek, n. a small parrot. See Greenleek.

Leek, Native, n. a poisonous Australian plant, Bulbine bulbosa, Haw., N.O. Liliaceae. Called also Native Onion. Its racemes of bright yellow flowers make the paddocks gay in spring.

1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 121:

"`Native Onion,' `Native Leek.' Mr. W. n. Hutchinson, Sheep Inspector, Warrego, Queensland, reports of this plant: `Its effects on cattle are ... continually lying down, rolling, terribly scoured, mucous discharge from the nose.'"

Leg, n. mining term. a peculiar form of quartz-reef, forming a nearly vertical prolongation of the saddle.

1890. `The Argus,' June x6th, p. 6, col. 1:

"It may also be observed that in payable saddle formations a slide intersects the reef above the saddle coming from the west, and turning east with a wall of the east leg, where the leg of reef is observed to go down deeper, and to carry a greater amount of gold than in ordinary cases."

Legitimacy, n. See quotation.

[Old and now unused slang.]

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i.

p. 16:

"Legitimacy--a colonial term for designating the cause of the emigration of a certain portion of our population; i.e.

having legal reasons for making the voyage."

[So also at p. 116, "Legitimates"]

Leguminous Ironbark, n. a name given by Leichhardt to the Queensland tree Erythrophaeum laboucherii, F. v. M., N.O. Leguminosae.

See Ironbark.

Leichhardt, or Leichhardt-Tree, n.

an Australian timber-tree, Morinda citrifolia, Linn., N.O. Rubiaceae; called also Canary-wood and Indian Mulberry. In Queensland, the name is applied to Sarcocephalus cordatus, Miq., N.O. Rubiaceae, a large timber-tree of North Queensland, much used in building.

1874. M. K. Beveridge, `Lost Life,' p. 40:

"Groaning beneath the friendly shade That by a Leichhardt-tree was made."

1885. H. Finch-Hatton, `Advance Australia, p. 258:

"The Leichhardt is a very symmetrical tree, that grows to a height of about sixty feet, and has leaves rather like a big laurel."

Leichhardt-Bean, n. See Bean.

Leichhardt's Clustered-Fig, n. i.q. Clustered Fig. See Fig.

Lemon, Desert, n. See Desert Lemon.

Lemon-scented Gum, n. See Gum.

Lemon-scented Ironbark, n. a name given to the Queensland tree Eucalyptus staigeriana, F. v. M., N.O. Myrtaceae. See Ironbark. The foliage of this tree yields a large quantity of oil, equal in fragrance to that of lemons.

Lemon-Sole, n. In England, the name is applied to an inferior species of Sole. In New South Wales, it is given to Plagusia unicolor, Mad., of the family Pleuronectidae or Flat-fishes. In New Zealand, it is another name for the New Zealand Turbot (q.v.).

Lemon, Wild, n. a timber tree, Canthium latifolium, F. v. M., N.O. Rubiaceae; called also Wild Orange.

Lemon-Wood, n. one of the names given by settlers to the New Zealand tree called by Maoris Tarata (q.v.), or Mapau (q.v.). It is Pittosporum eugenoides, A. Cunn., N.O. Pittosporeae.

Leopard-Tree, n. an Australian tree, Flindersia maculosa (or Strezleckiana), F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae; called also Spotted-Tree (q.v.), and sometimes, in Queensland, Prickly Pine.

Lerp, n. an aboriginal word belonging to the Mallee District of Victoria (see Mallee). Sometimes spelt leurp, or laap. The aboriginal word means `sweet.' It is a kind of manna secreted by an insect, Psylla eucalypti, and found on the leaves of the Mallee, Eucalyptus dumosa. Attention was first drawn to it by Mr. Thomas Dobson (see quotations). A chemical substance called Lerpamyllum is derived from it; see Watts' `Dictionary of Chemistry,' Second Supplement, 1875, s.v.

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 73:

"The natives of the Wimmera prepare a luscious drink from the laap, a sweet exudation from the leaf of the mallee (Eucalyptus dumosa)."

1850. T. Dobson, `Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land,' vol. i. p. 235:

"The white saccharine substance called `lerp,' by the Aborigines in the north-western parts of Australia Felix, and which has attracted the attention of chemists, under the impression that it is a new species of manna, originates with an insect of the tribe of Psyllidae, and order Hemiptera."

1850. Ibid. p. 292::