Land

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Land, n. 

 Urine. See Lant.  [1913 Webster]

Land, n. [AS. land, lond; akin to D., G., Icel., Sw., Dan., and Goth. land. ].

•  The solid part of the surface of the earth; -- opposed to water as constituting a part of such surface, especially to oceans and seas; as, to sight land after a long voyage.  [1913 Webster]

  "They turn their heads to sea, their sterns to land."  [1913 Webster]
•  Any portion, large or small, of the surface of the earth, considered by itself, or as belonging to an individual or a people, as a country, estate, farm, or tract.  [1913 Webster]

  " 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."  [1913 Webster]

  "Go view the land, even Jericho."  [1913 Webster]

  "Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
  Where wealth accumulates and men decay."  [1913 Webster]

  "A poor parson dwelling upon land [i.e., in the country]."  [1913 Webster]
•  Ground, in respect to its nature or quality; soil; as, wet land; good or bad land.  [1913 Webster]
•  The inhabitants of a nation or people.  [1913 Webster]

  "These answers, in the silent night received,
  The king himself divulged, the land believed."  [1913 Webster]
•  The mainland, in distinction from islands.  [1913 Webster]
•  The ground or floor.  [1913 Webster]

  "Herself upon the land she did prostrate."  [1913 Webster]
•  The ground left unplowed between furrows; any one of several portions into which a field is divided for convenience in plowing.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]
•  The lap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; the lap of plates in an iron vessel; -- called also landing.  Knight.  [1913 Webster]
•  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.  [1913 Webster]

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 (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), 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. (Zoöl.) (a) The gray pike, or sauger. (b) The Menobranchus. -- Land service, military service as distinguished from naval service. -- Land rail. (Zoöl) (a) The crake or corncrake of Europe. See Crake. (b) An Australian rail (Hypotænidia 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 (Zoöl.), 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 Diœcia, and belong to the Tænioglossa. 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 (Zoöl.), 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.

Land, v. t. 

•  To set or put on shore from a ship or other water craft; to disembark; to debark.  [1913 Webster]

  "I 'll undertake to land them on our coast."  [1913 Webster]
•  To catch and bring to shore; to capture; as, to land a fish.  [1913 Webster]
•  To set down after conveying; to cause to fall, alight, or reach; to bring to the end of a course; as, he landed the quoit near the stake; to be thrown from a horse and landed in the mud; to land one in difficulties or mistakes.  [1913 Webster]
•  To pilot (an airplane) from the air onto the land; as, to land the plane on a highway.  [PJC]

Land, v. i. 

•  To come to the end of a course; to arrive at a destination, literally or figuratively; as, he landed in trouble; after hithchiking for a week, he landed in Los Angeles.  [1913 Webster]
•  To go on shore from a ship or boat; to disembark.  [1913 Webster]
•  To reach and come to rest on land after having been in the air; as, the arrow landed in a flower bed; the golf ball landed in a sand trap; our airplane landed in Washington.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Land, n. (pl. L{auml}nder)
1 a province of the Federal Republic of Germany.
2 a province of Austria.

Etymology

G (as LAND)

Land, n. & v.
--n.
1 the solid part of the earth's surface (opp. SEA, WATER, AIR).
2 a an expanse of country; ground; soil. b such land in relation to its use, quality, etc., or (often prec. by the) as a basis for agriculture (building land; this is good land; works on the land).
3 a country, nation, or State (land of hope and glory).
4 a landed property. b (in pl.) estates.
5 the space between the rifling-grooves in a gun.
6 Sc. a building containing several dwellings.
7 S.Afr. ground fenced off for tillage.
8 a strip of plough or pasture land parted from others by drain-furrows.
--v.
1 a tr. & intr. set or go ashore. b intr. (often foll. by at) disembark (landed at the harbour).
2 tr. bring (an aircraft, its passengers, etc.) to the ground or the surface of water.
3 intr. (of an aircraft, bird, parachutist, etc.) alight on the ground or water.
4 tr. bring (a fish) to land.
5 tr. & intr. (also refl.; often foll. by up) colloq. bring to, reach, or find oneself in a certain situation, place, or state (landed himself in jail; landed up in France; landed her in trouble; landed up penniless).
6 tr. colloq. a deal (a person etc.) a blow etc. (landed him one in the eye). b (foll. by with) present (a person) with (a problem, job, etc.).
7 tr. set down (a person, cargo, etc.) from a vehicle, ship, etc.
8 tr. colloq. win or obtain (a prize, job, etc.) esp. against strong competition.

Idiom

how the land lies what is the state of affairs. in the land of the living joc. still alive. land-agency
1 the stewardship of an estate.
2 an agency for the sale etc. of estates.
land-agent
1 the steward of an estate.
2 an agent for the sale of estates. land-bank a bank issuing banknotes on the securities of landed property. land breeze a breeze blowing towards the sea from the land, esp. at night. land-bridge a neck of land joining two large land masses. land-crab a crab, Cardisoma guanhumi, that lives in burrows inland and migrates in large numbers to the sea to breed. land force (or forces) armies, not naval or air forces. land-form a natural feature of the earth's surface. land-girl Brit. a woman doing farm work, esp. in wartime. land-grabber an illegal seizer of land, esp. a person who took the land of an evicted Irish tenant. land-law (usu. in pl.) the law of landed property. land-line a means of telecommunication over land. land-locked almost or entirely enclosed by land. land mass a large area of land.
land-mine
1 an explosive mine laid in or on the ground.
2 a parachute mine. land of cakes Scotland. land office US an office recording dealings in public land. land-office business US enormous trade. land of Nod sleep (with pun on the phr. in Gen. 4:16). land on one's feet attain a good position, job, etc., by luck. Land's End the westernmost point of Cornwall and of England. land-tax hist. a tax assessed on landed property. land-tie a rod, beam, or piece of masonry securing or supporting a wall etc. by connecting it with the ground. land-wind a wind blowing seaward from the land. land yacht a vehicle with wheels and sails for recreational use on a beach etc.

Derivative

lander n. landless adj. landward adj. & adv. landwards adv.

Etymology

OE f. Gmc

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Land

n. A part of the earth's surface, considered as property. The theory that land is property subject to private ownership and control is the foundation of modern society, and is eminently worthy of the superstructure. Carried to its logical conclusion, it means that some have the right to prevent others from living; for the right to own implies the right exclusively to occupy; and in fact laws of trespass are enacted wherever property in land is recognized. It follows that if the whole area of _terra firma_ is owned by A, B and C, there will be no place for D, E, F and G to be born, or, born as trespassers, to exist.

A life on the ocean wave,
A home on the rolling deep,
For the spark the nature gave
I have there the right to keep.

They give me the cat-o'-nine
Whenever I go ashore.
Then ho! for the flashing brine --
I'm a natural commodore!
Dodle

THESAURUS

Land

acquire, acreage, acres, airspace, alight, ally, archduchy, archdukedom, area, arrive, bag, belt, berth, body politic, buffer state, captive nation, capture, catch, chattels real, chieftaincy, chieftainry, city-state, climb down, colony, come down, come in, come to land, commonweal, commonwealth, confines, continental shelf, corridor, country, county, crash-land, debark, debus, demesne, department, deplane, descend, detrain, dirt, disembark, disemplane, dismount, district, ditch, division, dock, domain, dominion, downwind, drop anchor, dry land, duchy, dukedom, earldom, earth, empery, empire, enmesh, ensnare, entangle, entrap, environs, estate, fatherland, foul, free city, get, get down, get off, go ashore, grand duchy, ground, grounds, harpoon, heartland, hinterland, homeland, honor, hook, kingdom, landed property, lands, lasso, level off, light, loam, lot, lots, make a landfall, make land, make port, mandant, mandate, mandated territory, mandatee, mandatory, manor, mesh, messuage, milieu, moor, motherland, mould, nail, nation, nationality, native land, neighborhood, net, noose, obtain, offshore rights, overshoot, pancake, parcel, part, parts, perch, place, plat, plot, polis, polity, possession, power, praedium, precincts, premises, principality, principate, property, protectorate, province, puppet government, puppet regime, purlieus, put in, put into port, quadrat, quarter, reach land, real estate, real property, realm, realty, region, republic, roost, rope, sack, salient, satellite, section, secure, seneschalty, set down, settle, settle down, settle on, settle upon, settlement, sit, snag, snare, sniggle, sod, soil, solid ground, sovereign nation, space, spear, state, sultanate, superpower, take, take captive, talk down, tangle, tangle up with, tenements, terra, terra firma, terrain, territory, three-mile limit, tie up, toft, toparchia, toparchy, touch down, trap, turf, twelve-mile limit, unboat, unhorse, upwind, vicinage, vicinity, win, zone

ROGET THESAURUS

Land

Property

N property, possession, suum cuique, meum et tuum, ownership, proprietorship, lordship, seignority, empire, interest, stake, estate, right, title, claim, demand, holding, tenure, vested interest, contingent interest, beneficial interest, equitable interest, use, trust, benefit, legal estate, equitable estate, seizin, seisin, absolute interest, paramount estate, freehold, fee tail, fee simple, estate in fee, estate in tail, estate tail, estate in tail male, estate in tail female, estate in tail general, limitation, term, lease, settlement, strict settlement, particular estate, estate for life, estate for years, estate pur autre vie, remainder, reversion, expectancy, possibility, dower, dowry, jointure, appanage, inheritance, heritage, patrimony, alimony, legacy, Falcidian law, paternal estate, thirds, assets, belongings, means, resources, circumstances, wealth, money, what one is worth, what one will cut up for, estate and effects, landed property, landed real estate property, realty, land, lands, tenements, hereditaments, corporeal hereditaments, incorporeal hereditaments, acres, ground, acquest, messuage, toft, territory, state, kingdom, principality, realm, empire, protectorate, sphere of influence, manor, honor, domain, demesne, farm, plantation, hacienda, allodium, fief, fieff, feoff, feud, zemindary, dependency, arado, merestead, ranch, free lease-holds, copy lease-holds, folkland, chattels real, fixtures, plant, heirloom, easement, right of common, right of user, personal property, personal estate, personal effects, personalty, chattels, goods, effects, movables, stock, stock in trade, things, traps, rattletraps, paraphernalia, equipage, parcels, appurtenances, impedimenta, luggage, baggage, bag and baggage, pelf, cargo, lading, rent roll, income, maul and wedges, patent, copyright, chose in action, credit, debt, one's own, landed, predial, manorial, allodial, free lease-hold, copy lease-hold, feudal, feodal, to one's credit, to one's account, to the good, to one and his heirs for ever, to one and the heirs of his body, to one and his heirs and assigns, to one and his executors administrators and assign.

Navigation

VB sail, put to sea, take ship, get under way, set sail, spread sail, spread canvas, gather way, have way on, make sail, carry sail, plow the waves, plow the deep, plow the main, plow the ocean, walk the waters, navigate, warp, luff, scud, boom, kedge, drift, course, cruise, coast, hug the shore, hug the land, circumnavigate, ply the oar, row, paddle, pull, scull, punt, steam, swim, float, buffet the waves, ride the storm, skim, effleurer, dive, wade, fly, be wafted, hover, soar, flutter, jet, orbit, rocket, take wing, take a flight, take off, ascend, blast off, land, alight, wing one's flight, wing one's way, aviate, parachute, jump, glide.

Arrival

VB arrive, get to, come to, come, reach, attain, come up with, come up to, overtake, make, fetch, complete, join, rejoin, light, alight, dismount, land, go ashore, debark, disembark, put in, put into, visit, cast anchor, pitch one's tent, sit down, get to one's journey's end, make the land, be in at the death, come back, get back, come home, get home, return, come in, make one's appearance, drop in, detrain, deplane, outspan, de-orbit, come to hand, come at, come across, hit, come upon, light upon, pop upon, bounce upon, plump upon, burst upon, pitch upon, meet, encounter, rencounter, come in contact.

Land

N land, earth, ground, dry land, terra firma, continent, mainland, peninsula, chersonese, delta, tongue of land, neck of land, isthmus, oasis, promontory, highland, coast, shore, scar, strand, beach, playa, bank, lea, seaboard, seaside, seabank, seacoast, seabeach, ironbound coast, loom of the land, derelict, innings, alluvium, alluvion, ancon, riverbank, river bank, levee, soil, glebe, clay, loam, marl, cledge, chalk, gravel, mold, subsoil, clod, clot, rock, crag, acres, real estate, landsman, earthy, continental, midland, coastal, littoral, riparian, alluvial, terrene, landed, predial, territorial, geophilous, ripicolous, ashore, on shore, on land.

VB land, come to land, set foot on the soil, set foot on dry land, come ashore, go ashore, debark.