la

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
  2. noun a state in southern United States on the Gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil War
  3. noun the syllable naming the sixth (submediant) note of a major or minor scale in solmization

Etymology

From Glover's solmization, from Middle English la (“sixth degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales”), Italian la in the solmization of Guido of Arezzo, from the first syllable of Latin labiī (“lip's”) in the lyrics of the scale-ascending hymn Ut queant laxis by Paulus Deacon.

In classic literature

Synonyms

lanthanum, atomic number 57

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