- laurel
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/lawr"euhl, lor"-/, n., v., laureled, laureling or (esp. Brit.) laurelled, laurelling.n.1. Also called bay, sweet bay. a small European evergreen tree, Laurus nobilis, of the laurel family, having dark, glossy green leaves. Cf. laurel family.2. any tree of the genus Laurus.3. any of various similar trees or shrubs, as the mountain laurel or the great rhododendron.4. the foliage of the laurel as an emblem of victory or distinction.5. a branch or wreath of laurel foliage.6. Usually, laurels. honor won, as for achievement in a field or activity.7. look to one's laurels, to be alert to the possibility of being excelled or surpassed: New developments in the industry are forcing long-established firms to look to their laurels.8. rest on one's laurels, to be content with one's past or present honors, achievements, etc.: He retired at the peak of his career and is resting on his laurels.v.t.9. to adorn or wreathe with laurel.10. to honor with marks of distinction.[1250-1300; dissimilated var. of ME laurer, earlier lorer < AF; OF lorier bay tree, equiv. to lor bay, laurel ( < L laurus) + -ier -IER2; see -ER2]Syn. 6. glory, fame, renown, praise.
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(as used in expressions)Laurel Stan and Hardy Oliver* * *
city, Prince George's county, central Maryland, U.S., on the Patuxent River midway between Washington, D.C. (Washington), and Baltimore. The land was patented to Richard Snowden, who arrived about 1658 and founded the community. Montpelier Mansion (1783; Georgian), built by Thomas Snowden, is now owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The town was named for the local laurel trees. After World War II the community experienced growth as a residential and industrial centre. The Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University is there. Laurel Park racecourse offers Thoroughbred racing and was the site of the annual Washington D.C. International horse race from 1952 until 1995, when the race was discontinued. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center within Patuxent Research Refuge (southeast) is between Fort George G. Meade (an army base) and the National Agricultural Research Center. T. Howard Duckett (Rocky Gorge) Reservoir and Dam are immediately northwest. Inc. town, 1870. Pop. (1990) 19,438; (2000) 19,960.city, coseat (1906) with Ellisville of Jones county, southeastern Mississippi, U.S., on Tallahala Creek, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Hattiesburg. Founded in 1882 as a lumber camp, it was named for laurel shrubs, native to the surrounding forests. By the early 1900s it was the world's largest shipping centre for yellow-pine lumber, but as the forests were depleted the city faced economic collapse. In the 1920s William Mason, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison (Edison, Thomas Alva), moved to Laurel and developed a type of hardboard (Masonite) made from sawmill waste.The Masonite Corporation maintains a plant in Laurel and remains a major component of the city's economy. The petroleum industry, poultry processing, and the manufacture of machinery and electrical equipment are also important. The Chickasawhay District of DeSoto National Forest extends southeastward from Laurel. The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has a notable collection of North American Indian baskets as well as American and European paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, and English silver. Southeastern Baptist College (1949) is in the city, and Jones County Junior College (1911) is in nearby Ellisville. The writer James Street, who grew up in Laurel, popularized in his novel Tap Roots (1942) the legend that Jones county had seceded from the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Inc. village, 1888; town, 1896; city, 1901. Pop. (1990) 18,827; (2000) 18,393.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
