Lake, n. [Cf. G. laken.] A
kind of fine white linen, formerly in use. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Lake (lāk), n. [F. laque,
fr. Per. See Lac.] A pigment formed by combining some
coloring matter, usually by precipitation, with a metallic oxide or
earth, esp. with aluminium hydrate; as, madder lake;
Florentine lake; yellow lake, etc.
Lake (lāk), v. i. [AS.
lācan, læcan, to spring, jump,
lāc play, sport, or fr. Icel. leika to play,
sport; both akin to Goth. laikan to dance. √120. Cf.
Knowledge.] To play; to sport. [Prov. Eng.]
Lake, n. [AS. lac, L.
lacus; akin to AS. lagu lake, sea, Icel.
lögr; OIr. loch; cf. Gr. la`kkos pond,
tank. Cf. Loch, Lough.] A large body of water
contained in a depression of the earth's surface, and supplied from
the drainage of a more or less extended area.
☞ Lakes are for the most part of fresh water; the salt lakes,
like the Great Salt Lake of Utah, have usually no outlet to the
ocean.
Lake dwellers (Ethnol.), people of a
prehistoric race, or races, which inhabited different parts of
Europe. Their dwellings were built on piles in lakes, a short
distance from the shore. Their relics are common in the lakes of
Switzerland. -- Lake dwellings
(Archæol.), dwellings built over a lake, sometimes
on piles, and sometimes on rude foundations kept in place by piles;
specifically, such dwellings of prehistoric times. Lake dwellings are
still used by many savage tribes. Called also lacustrine
dwellings. See Crannog. -- Lake fly
(Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of dipterous
flies of the genus Chironomus. In form they resemble
mosquitoes, but they do not bite. The larvæ live in lakes.
-- Lake herring (Zoöl.), the cisco
(Coregonus Artedii). -- Lake poets,
Lake school, a collective name originally
applied in contempt, but now in honor, to Southey, Coleridge, and
Wordsworth, who lived in the lake country of Cumberland, England,
Lamb and a few others were classed with these by hostile critics.
Called also lakers and lakists. -- Lake
sturgeon (Zoöl.), a sturgeon (Acipenser
rubicundus), of moderate size, found in the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi River. It is used as food. -- Lake
trout (Zoöl.), any one of several species
of trout and salmon; in Europe, esp. Salmo fario; in the
United States, esp. Salvelinus namaycush of the Great Lakes,
and of various lakes in New York, Eastern Maine, and Canada. A large
variety of brook trout (S. fontinalis), inhabiting many lakes
in New England, is also called lake trout. See
Namaycush. -- Lake whitefish.
(Zoöl.) See Whitefish. -- Lake
whiting (Zoöl.), an American whitefish
(Coregonus Labradoricus), found in many lakes in the Northern
United States and Canada. It is more slender than the common
whitefish.