lewis
[loo-is]
- a device for lifting a dressed stone, consisting of a number of pieces fitting together to fill a dovetailed recess cut into the stone.
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Origin of lewis
First recorded in 1730–40; perhaps after the surname of the inventor
Also called lewisson.
Lewis
[loo-is]
- CarlFrederick Carlton Lewis, born 1961, U.S. track and field athlete.
- C(ecil) Day,1904–72, British poet: poet laureate after 1968.
- C(live) S(ta·ples) [stey-puh lz] /ˈsteɪ pəlz/, Clive Hamilton, 1898–1963, English novelist and essayist.
- Edward,1918–2004, U.S. biologist: Nobel Prize 1995.
- Gilbert Newton,1875–1946, U.S. chemist.
- (Harry) Sinclair,1885–1951, U.S. novelist, playwright, and journalist: Nobel Prize 1930.
- Henry,1932–96, U.S. orchestral conductor.
- Isaac Newton,1858–1931, U.S. soldier and inventor.
- Jerry Lee,born 1935, U.S. country-and-western and rock-'n'-roll singer, musician, and composer.
- John (Aaron),1920–2001, U.S. jazz pianist, composer, and musical director.
- John L(lewellyn),1880–1969, U.S. labor leader.
- Matthew GregoryMonk Lewis, 1775–1809, English novelist, dramatist, and poet.
- Mer·i·weth·er [mer-i-weth-er] /ˈmɛr ɪˌwɛð ər/, 1774–1809, U.S. explorer: leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition 1804–06.
- (Percy) Wynd·ham [win-duh m] /ˈwɪn dəm/, 1884–1957, English novelist, essayist, and painter; born in the U.S.
- R(ichard) W(arrington) B(aldwin),1917–2002, U.S. biographer, literary critic, and scholar.
- a male given name.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lewis
Contemporary Examples
In Vietnam, Lewis was advisor to a Vietnamese infantry unit, whose nickname for him was “Captain of Many Kilos.”
When they thought about Lewis, what struck the players most was that he never acted like a do-gooder.
I learned of Lewis because the players kept bringing up his name in the interviews I did with them.
The award surprised Lewis, but it also struck the right note.
When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.
Historical Examples
"Crooked as a dog's hind legs," snarled Lewis, biting viciously at his cigar.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
His wound had not yet healed, but he was less exhausted than Lewis.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
I caught him by the collar, too; and had to drag him in very much in the way I had done with Lewis.
Ned MyersJames Fenimore Cooper
Now for a minute the gruel was forgotten, and Mrs. Lewis looked at Kitty in amazement.
Mr. Lewis turned himself on his pillow, and looked steadily at his son.
lewis
lewisson (ˈluːɪsən)
- a lifting device for heavy stone or concrete blocks consisting of a number of curved pieces of metal or wedges fitting into a dovetailed recess cut into the block
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Word Origin
C18: perhaps from the name of the inventor
Lewis1
- the N part of the island of Lewis with Harris, in the Outer Hebrides. Pop: about 17 000 (2001). Area: 1634 sq km (631 sq miles)
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Lewis2
- Carl. full name Frederick Carleton Lewis . born 1961, US athlete; winner of the long jump, 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1984 Olympic Games; winner of the 100 metres in the 1988 Olympic Games; winner of the long jump in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games
- See Day-Lewis
- C (live) S (taples). 1898–1963, English novelist, critic, and Christian apologist, noted for his critical work, Allegory of Love (1936), his theological study, The Screwtape Letters (1942), and for his children's books chronicling the land of Narnia
- Lennox. born 1965, Canadian and British boxer; won Olympic gold (1988) for Canada in the superheavyweight division; won various professional heavyweight titles between 1994 and 2004
- Matthew Gregory, known as Monk Lewis. 1775–1818, English novelist and dramatist, noted for his Gothic horror story The Monk (1796)
- Meriwether. 1774–1807, American explorer who, with William Clark, led an overland expedition from St Louis to the Pacific Ocean (1804–06)
- (John) Saunders (ˈsɔːndəz). 1893–1985, Welsh poet, dramatist, critic, and politician: founder (1926) and president (1926–39) of the Welsh Nationalist Party
- (Harry) Sinclair. 1885–1951, US novelist. He satirized the complacency and philistinism of American small-town life, esp in Main Street (1920) and Babbitt (1922): Nobel prize for literature 1930
- Wally. born 1959, Australian rugby league player; played 33 matches for Australia (1981–91), scoring 11 tries
- (Percy) Wyndham. 1884–1957, British painter, novelist, and critic, born in the US: a founder of vorticism. His writings include Time and Western Man (1927), The Apes of God (1930), and the trilogy The Human Age (1928–55)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for lewis
Lewis
masc. proper name, Anglo-French form of French Louis (see Louis).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper