Lar

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Roman Mythology A tutelary deity or spirit of an ancient Roman household.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In Roman antiquity, one of a class of infernal deities whose cult was of primitive origin. They were looked upon as natural protectors of the state and family, and also as powerful for evil if not duly respected and propitiated. The public Lares, originally two in number, were the guardians of the unity of the state, and were honored with temples and an elaborate public ceremonial. After the time of Augustus, at least, each division of the city had also its own public Lares (Lares compitales). The private Lares differed for each family, and were worshiped daily in the house, being domiciled either on the family hearth or in a special shrine. They received also especial recognition upon every occasion of festivity, public or private, and on certain days devoted particularly to them, and claimed tribute alike from the bride upon entering the family and from the youth upon attaining his majority. The chief of the private Lares in each family, the domestic or household Lar (Lar familiaris) in the fullest sense, was the spirit of the founder of the family. To the family spirits were often added in later times, among the household Lares, the shades of heroes, or other personalities who were looked upon with admiration or awe. In their character as malignant divinities, the Lares were commonly classed under the titles of lemures or larvæ.
2. n. Hence One of the most cherished possessions of a family or household; one of the household gods. Compare Penates, in a like use.
3. n. The white-handed gibbon, Hylobates lar. See Hylobates.
4. n. plural A group of lepidopterous insects.
5. n. A genus of gymnoblastic or tubularian hydroids, type of family Hydrolaridæ.
6. n. Lord: a title prefixed to Etruscan names, properly distinctive of the eldest son, and often mistaken for an integral part of the name. Also Lars.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Rom. Myth.), (Fig.), (Fig.) A tutelary deity; a deceased ancestor regarded as a protector of the family. The domestic Lares were the tutelar deities of a house; household gods. Hearth or dwelling house.
2. n. (Zoöl.) A species of gibbon (Hylobates lar), found in Burmah. Called also white-handed gibbon.