Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One of the three Fates, the measurer of the thread of destiny.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In classical mythology, that one of the three Fates whose duty it was to assign to each individual his destiny; the disposer of lots. She spun the thread or course of life from the distaff held by Clotho.
  • noun In zoöl.:
  • noun A genus of very venomous American serpents of the pit-viper or rattlesnake family (Crotalidæ), having a rudimentary rattle in the form of a spine. L. mutus is the deadly bushmaster of South America.
  • noun Agenus of spiders nowcalled Laches.
  • noun A genus of gastropods of the family Pleurotomidæ, of buccinoid figure with mammillated spire, as L. minima. Risso, 1826
  • noun A genus of pseudoneuropterous insects of the family Psocidæ
  • noun A genus of buprestid beetles, erected by Saunders in 1871 upon the African L. abyla, which had been placed in Œdisternon.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Greek mythology One of the three Fates, or Moirae, daughter of Zeus and Themis; the measurer of the each thread of life.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the Greek goddess of fate who determines the length of the thread of life

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, from Greek Lakhesis, from lankhanein, lakh-, to obtain by lot.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Meaning destiny, from the Greek lachein, (to happen by lot).

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Examples

  • In the Lachesis, which is so closely allied to the Rattle-snake that it was placed by Linnæus in the same genus, the tail ends in a single, large, lancet-shaped point or scale.

    The expression of the emotions in man and animals 1898

  • You say the 'Lachesis' and they say 'Oh, yes, the cruise ship.'

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • Nice enough guys, but all wearing that cowed, frustrated look that seemed to be a "Lachesis" trademark.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • The shock slammed us out of control and we went tumbling in crazy gyrations across space for several minutes before I could flip the "Lachesis" into Cth, check the speed and motion, and get back into threespace.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • The 'Lachesis' didn't have a mark on her and all we had was a few possible hits.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • Not that I didn't expect it, but the "Lachesis" was worse than the "Clotho" had ever been.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • "Lachesis" quivered as the port turrets belched flame.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • The "Lachesis" shuddered to the recoil from the port turrets.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • Initial station 'Lachesis' coordinates X 06042 Y 1327 Betelgeuse-Rigel baseline.

    A Question of Courage Virgil Finlay 1951

  • Opening at page 310, vol. i, I lit upon "Lachesis," which proved to my amazement to be snake-venom.

    The Autobiography of a Quack and the Case of George Dedlow 1871

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