The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section M, N, and O (part 2 of 5)

The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section M, N, and O (part 2 of 5)

2. Great and continued depression of spirits, amounting to mental unsoundness; melancholia.

3. Pensive maditation; serious thoughtfulness. [Obs.] "Hail, divinest Melancholy !" Milton.

4. Ill nature. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mel"an*chol*y, a. 1. Depressed in spirits; dejected; gloomy dismal. Shak.

2. Producing great evil and grief; causing dejection; calamitous; afflictive; as, a melancholy event.

3. Somewhat deranged in mind; having the jugment impaired. [Obs.] Bp. Reynolds.

4. Favorable to meditation; somber.

A pretty, melancholy seat, well wooded and watered.

Evelin.

Syn. -- Gloomy; sad; dispirited; low-spirited; downhearted; unhappy; hypochondriac; disconsolate; heavy, doleful; dismal; calamitous; afflictive.

Mel`a*ne"sian (?), a. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black + &?; island. Melanesia was so called from the dark complexion of the natives.] Of or pertaining to Melanesia.

||Mé`lange" (?), n. [F. See Mell, Meddle.] A mixture; a medley.

Me*la"ni*an (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of a family of fresh-water pectinibranchiate mollusks, having a turret-shaped shell.

Me*lan"ic (?), a. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black.] 1. Melanotic.

2. (Ethnol.) Of or pertaining to the black-haired races. Prichard.

Me*lan"i*line (?), n. (Chem.) A complex nitrogenous hydrocarbon obtained artificially (as by the action of cyanogen chloride on aniline) as a white, crystalline substance; -- called also diphenyl guanidin.

Mel"a*nin (?), n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black.] (Physiol.) A black pigment found in the pigment-bearing cells of the skin (particularly in the skin of the negro), in the epithelial cells of the external layer of the retina (then called fuscin), in the outer layer of the choroid, and elsewhere. It is supposed to be derived from the decomposition of hemoglobin.

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Mel"a*nism (ml"*nz'm), n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black.]

1. An undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages; -- the opposite of albinism.

2. (Med.) A disease; black jaundice. See Melæna.

Mel`a*nis"tic (?), a. Affected with melanism; of the nature of melanism.

Mel"a*nite (?), n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black: cf. F. mélanite.] (Min.) A black variety of garnet.

||Mel`a*noch"ro*i (?), n. pl. [NL. See Melanochroic.] (Ethnol.) A group ||of the human race, including the dark whites.

Mel`a*no*chro"ic (?), a. [Gr. melana`chroos; me`las, -anos, black + chroa` color.] Having a dark complexion; of or pertaining to the Melanochroi.

Mel`a*no*chro"ite (?), n. [See Melanochroic.] (Min.) A mineral of a red, or brownish or yellowish red color. It is a chromate of lead; -- called also phœnicocroite.

Mel`a*noc"o*mous (?), a. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black + &?; hair.] Having very dark or black hair; black-haired. Prichard.

||Mel`a*nor*rhœ"a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`las, -anos, black + &?; to ||flow.] (Bot.) An East Indian genus of large trees. Melanorrhœa ||usitatissima is the lignum-vitæ of Pegu, and yields a valuable black ||varnish.

Me*lan"o*scope (?), n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black + -scope.] (Opt.) An instrument containing a combination of colored glasses such that they transmit only red light, so that objects of other colors, as green leaves, appear black when seen through it. It is used for viewing colored flames, to detect the presence of potassium, lithium, etc., by the red light which they emit.

||Mel`a*no"sis (?), [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a growing black, fr. me`las, ||-anos, black.] (Med.) The morbid deposition of black matter, often of ||a malignant character, causing pigmented tumors.

Me*lan"o*sperm (?), n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black + spe`rma seed.] (Bot.) An alga of any kind that produces blackish spores, or seed dust. The melanosperms include the rockweeds and all kinds of kelp. -- Mel`a*no*sper"mous (#), a.

Mel`a*not"ic (?), a. Melanistic.

Me*lan"o*type (?), n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black + -type.] (Photog.) A positive picture produced with sensitized collodion on a smooth surface of black varnish, coating a thin plate of iron; also, the process of making such a picture. [Written also melainotype.]

Me*lan"ter*ite (?), n. (Min.) A hydrous sulphate of iron of a green color and vitreous luster; iron vitriol.

Mel"a*nure (?), n. [NL. melanurus, fr. Gr. me`las, -anos, black + o'ura` tail.] (Zoöl.) A small fish of the Mediterranean; a gilthead. See Gilthead (a).

Mel`a*nu"ric (?), a. [Melam + urea.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a complex nitrogenous acid obtained by decomposition of melam, or of urea, as a white crystalline powder; -- called also melanurenic acid.

Mel"a*phyre (?), n. [F., fr. Gr. me`las, -anos, black + porphyre porphyry.] (Min.) Any one of several dark-colored augitic, eruptive rocks allied to basalt.

||Me*las"ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; black spot.] (Med.) A dark ||discoloration of the skin, usually local; as, Addison's melasma, or ||Addison's disease. -- Me*las"mic (#), a.

Me*las"ses (?), n. See Molasses.

Me*las"sic (?), a. [See Molasses.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from molasses or glucose, and probably identical with saccharic acid. See Saccharic.

||Me*las"to*ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`las black + sto`ma mouth.] ||(Bot.) A genus of evergreen tropical shrubs; -- so called from the ||black berries of some species, which stain the mouth.

Mel`a*sto*ma"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Belonging to the order of which Melastoma is the type.

Mel"chite (?), n. [Heb. melek king.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect, chiefly in Syria and Egypt, which acknowledges the authority of the pope, but adheres to the liturgy and ceremonies of the Eastern Church.

Mel`e*a"grine (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the genus Meleagris.

||Mel`e*a"gris (?), n. [L., the Guinea fowl.] (Zoöl.) A genus of ||American gallinaceous birds, including the common and the wild ||turkeys.

||Mê`lée" (m`l"), n. [F., fr. mêler to mix. See Meddle, Mell, and cf. ||Mellay.] A fight in which the combatants are mingled in one confused ||mass; a hand to hand conflict; an affray.

||Me*le"na (?), n. (Med.) See Melæna.

Mel"ene (?), n. [Melissic + ethylene.] (Chem.) An unsaturated hydrocarbon, C30H60, of the ethylene series, obtained from beeswax as a white, scaly, crystalline wax; -- called also melissene, and melissylene.

Mel"e*nite (?), n. [Gr. me`li honey.] An explosive of great destructive power; -- so called from its color, which resembles honey.

Mel"e*tin (?), n. (Chem.) See Quercitin.

Me*lez"i*tose` (?), n. [F. mélèze the larch + melitose.] (Chem.) A variety of sugar, isomeric with sucrose, extracted from the manna of the larch (Larix). [Written also melicitose.]

Me`li*a"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Pertaining to a natural order (Meliacæ) of plants of which the genus Melia is the type. It includes the mahogany and the Spanish cedar.

{ Mel`i*be"an (?), Mel`i*b&?;"an }, a. [From L. Meliboeus, one of the interlocutors in Virgil's first Eclogue.] (Rhet.) Alternately responsive, as verses.

Mel"ic (?), [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; song.] Of or pertaining to song; lyric; tuneful.

Me*lic"er*ous (?), a. [L. meliceris a kind of tumor, fr. Gr. &?;; me`li honey + &?; wax.] (Med.) Consisting of or containing matter like honey; -- said of certain encysted tumors.

Mel"ic grass` (?). (Bot.) A genus of grasses (Melica) of little agricultural importance.

Mel`i*co*toon" (?), n. (Bot.) See Melocoton.

Me*lic"ra*to*ry (?), n. [Gr. meli`kraton.] A meadlike drink. [Obs.]

Mel"i*lite (ml"*lt), n. [Gr. me`li honey + -lite; cf. F. mélilithe.] (Min.) A mineral occurring in small yellow crystals, found in the lavas (melilite basalt) of Vesuvius, and elsewhere. [Written also mellilite.]

Mel"i*lot (-lt), n. [F. mélilot, L. melilotus, fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, a kind of clover containing honey; me`li honey + &?; lotus.] (Bot.) Any species of Melilotus, a genus of leguminous herbs having a vanillalike odor; sweet clover; hart's clover. The blue melilot (Melilotus cærulea) is used in Switzerland to give color and flavor to sapsago cheese.

Mel`i*lot"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, sweet clover or melilot; specifically, designating an acid of the aromatic series, obtained from melilot as a white crystalline substance.

Mel"io*rate (ml"y*rt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Meliorated (- r`td); p. pr. & vb. n. Meliorating.] [L. melioratus, p. p. of meliorare to meliorate, fr. melior better; akin to Gr. ma^llon rather, ma`la very. Cf. Ameliorate.] To make better; to improve; to ameliorate; to soften; to make more tolerable.

Nature by art we nobly meliorate.

Denham.

The pure and benign light of revelation has had a meliorating influence on mankind.

Washington.

Mel"io*rate, v. i. To grow better.

Mel"io*ra`ter (?), n. Same as Meliorator.

Mel`io*ra"tion (?), n. [L. melioratio.] The act or operation of meliorating, or the state of being meliorated; improvement. Bacon.

Mel"io*ra`tor (?), n. One who meliorates.

Mel"io*rism (?), n. [From L. melior better.] The doctrine that there is a tendency throughout nature toward improvement. J. Sully.

Mel*ior"i*ty (?), n. [LL. melioritas, fr. L. melior. See Meliorate.] The state or quality of being better; melioration. [Obs.] Bacon.

Me*liph"a*gan (?), a. [Gr. me`li honey + &?; to eat.] (Zoöl.) Belonging to the genus Meliphaga.

Me*liph"a*gan, n. (Zoöl.) Any bird of the genus Meliphaga and allied genera; a honey eater; -- called also meliphagidan.

Me*liph"a*gous (?), a. [See Meliphagan.] (Zool.) Eating, or feeding upon, honey.

||Me*lis"ma (?), n.; pl. Melismata (#). [NL., fr. Gr. me`lisma a song.] ||(Mus.) (a) A piece of melody; a song or tune, -- as opposed to ||recitative or musical declamation. (b) A grace or embellishment.

||Me*lis"sa (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`lissa a bee, honey.] (Bot.) A ||genus of labiate herbs, including the balm, or bee balm (Melissa ||officinalis).

Me*lis"sic (?), a. [Gr. me`lissa a bee, honey.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, beeswax; specif., denoting an acid obtained by oxidation of myricin.

Me*lis"syl (?), n. [Melissic +yl.] (Chem.) See Myricyl.

Me*lis"sy*lene (?), n. [Melissic + -yl + -ene.] (Chem.) See Melene.

Mel"i*tose` (?), n. [Gr. me`li honey.] (Chem.) A variety of sugar isomeric with sucrose, extracted from cotton seeds and from the so- called Australian manna (a secretion of certain species of Eucalyptus).

Mell (?), v. i. & t. [F. mêler, OF. meller, mester. See Meddle.] To mix; to meddle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mell, n. [See Mellifluous.] Honey. [Obs.] Warner.

Mell, n. A mill. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mel"late (?), n. [L. mel, mellis, honey. Cf. Mellitate.] (Chem.) A mellitate. [R.]

Mel"lay (?), n. A mêlée; a conflict. Tennyson.

Mel"lic (?), a. (Chem.) See Mellitic. [R.]

Mel*lif"er*ous (?), a. [L. mellifer; mel, mellis, honey + ferre to bear.] Producing honey.

Mel*lif"ic (?), a. [L. mel, mellis, honey + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See - fy.] Producing honey.

Mel`li*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [L. mellificare to make honey: cf. F. mellification. See Mellific.] The making or production of honey.

Mel*lif"lu*ence (?), n. A flow of sweetness, or a sweet, smooth flow.

Mel*lif"lu*ent (?), a. [L. mellifluens. See Mellifluous.] Flowing as with honey; smooth; mellifluous.

Mel*lif"lu*ent*ly, adv. In a mellifluent manner.

Mel*lif"lu*ous (?), a. [L. mellifluus; mel, mellis, honey (akin to Gr. &?;, Goth. milip) + fluere to flow. See Mildew, Fluent, and cf. Marmalade.] Flowing as with honey; smooth; flowing sweetly or smoothly; as, a mellifluous voice. -- Mel*lif"lu*ous*ly, adv.

Mel*lig"e*nous (?), a. [L. mel, mellis + -genous.] Having the qualities of honey. [R.]

||Mel*li"go (?), n. [L.] Honeydew.

Mel*lil"o*quent (?), a. [L. mel, mellis honey + loquens speaking, p. pr. of loqui to speak.] Speaking sweetly or harmoniously.

Mel*liph"a*gan (?), n. See Meliphagan.

Mel*liph"a*gous (?), a. See Meliphagous.

Mel"li*tate (?), n. [Cf. F. mellitate. See Mellitic.] (Chem.) A salt of mellitic acid.

Mel"lite (?), n. [L. mel, mellis, honey: cf. F. mellite.] (Min.) A mineral of a honey color, found in brown coal, and partly the result of vegetable decomposition; honeystone. It is a mellitate of alumina.

Mel*lit"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. mellitique. See Mellite.] (Chem.) (a) Containing saccharine matter; marked by saccharine secretions; as, mellitic diabetes. (b) Pertaining to, or derived from, the mineral mellite.

Mellitic acid (Chem.), a white, crystalline, organic substance, C6(CO2H)6, occurring naturally in combination with aluminium in the mineral mellite, and produced artificially by the oxidation of coal, graphite, etc., and hence called also graphitic acid.

Mel"lone (?), n. (Chem.) A yellow powder, C6H3N9, obtained from certain sulphocyanates. It has acid properties and forms compounds called mellonides.

Mel"lon*ide (?), n. See Mellone.

Mel"low (?), a. [Compar. Mellower (?); superl. Mellowest.] [OE. melwe; cf. AS. mearu soft, D. murw, Prov. G. mollig soft, D. malsch, and E. meal flour.]

1. Soft or tender by reason of ripeness; having a tender pulp; as, a mellow apple.

2. Hence: (a) Easily worked or penetrated; not hard or rigid; as, a mellow soil. "Mellow glebe." Drayton (b) Not coarse, rough, or harsh; subdued; soft; rich; delicate; -- said of sound, color, flavor, style, etc. "The mellow horn." Wordsworth. "The mellow-tasted Burgundy." Thomson.

The tender flush whose mellow stain imbues Heaven with all freaks of light.

Percival.

3. Well matured; softened by years; genial; jovial.

May health return to mellow age.

Wordsworth.

As merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound.

W. Irving.

4. Warmed by liquor; slightly intoxicated. Addison.

Mel"low, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mellowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mellowing.] To make mellow. Shak.

If the Weather prove frosty to mellow it [the ground], they do not plow it again till April.

Mortimer.

The fervor of early feeling is tempered and mellowed by the ripeness of age.

J. C. Shairp.

Mel"low, v. i. To become mellow; as, ripe fruit soon mellows. "Prosperity begins to mellow." Shak.

Mel"low*ly, adv. In a mellow manner.

Mel"low*ness, n. Quality or state of being mellow.

Mel"low*y (?), a. Soft; unctuous. Drayton.

||Mel*lu"co (?), n. (Bot.) A climbing plant (Ullucus officinalis) of ||the Andes, having tuberous roots which are used as a substitute for ||potatoes.

Mel"ne (?), n. A mill. [Obs.] Chaucer.

{ Mel`o*co*ton", Mel`o*co*toon" } (?), n. [Sp. melocoton a kind of peach tree and its fruit, L. malum cotonium, or cotonea, or Cydonia, a quince, or quince tree, lit., apple of Cydonia, Gr. &?; &?;. See Quince.] (Bot.) (a) A quince. (b) A kind of peach having one side deep red, and the flesh yellow. [Written also malacatoon, malacotune.]

Me*lo"de*on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; musical. See Melody, and cf. Odeon.]

1. (Mus.) A kind of small reed organ; -- a portable form of the seraphine.

2. A music hall.

Me*lod"ic (?), a. [L. melodicus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. mélodique.] Of the nature of melody; relating to, containing, or made up of, melody; melodious.

Me*lod"ics (?), n. The department of musical science which treats of the pitch of tones, and of the laws of melody.

Me*lo"di*o*graph (?), n. [Melody + -graph.] A contrivance for preserving a record of music, by recording the action of the keys of a musical instrument when played upon.

Me*lo"di*ous (?), a. [Cf. F. mélodieux. See Melody.] Containing, or producing, melody; musical; agreeable to the ear by a sweet succession of sounds; as, a melodious voice. "A melodious voice." "A melodious undertone." Longfellow. -- Me*lo"di*ous*ly, adv. -- Me*lo"di*ous*ness, n.

Mel"o*dist (?), n. [Cf. F. mélodiste.] A composer or singer of melodies.

Mel"o*dize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Melodized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Melodizing (?).] To make melodious; to form into, or set to, melody.

Mel"o*dize, v. i. To make melody; to compose melodies; to harmonize.

Mel`o*dra"ma (?), n. [F. mélodrame, fr. Gr. me`los song + dra^ma drama.] Formerly, a kind of drama having a musical accompaniment to intensify the effect of certain scenes. Now, a drama abounding in romantic sentiment and agonizing situations, with a musical accompaniment only in parts which are especially thrilling or pathetic. In opera, a passage in which the orchestra plays a somewhat descriptive accompaniment, while the actor speaks; as, the melodrama in the gravedigging scene of Beethoven's "Fidelio".

Mel`o*dra*mat"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. mélodramatique.] Of or pertaining to melodrama; like or suitable to a melodrama; unnatural in situation or action. -- Mel`o*dra*mat"ic*al*ly (#), adv.

Mel`o*dram"a*tist (?), n. One who acts in, or writes, melodramas.

Mel"o*drame (?), n. [F.] Melodrama.

Mel"o*dy (?), n.; pl. Melodies (#). [OE. melodie, F. mélodie, L. melodia, fr. Gr. &?; a singing, choral song, fr. &?; musical, melodious; me`los song, tune + &?; song. See Ode.]

1. A sweet or agreeable succession of sounds.

Lulled with sound of sweetest melody.

Shak.

2. (Mus.) A rhythmical succession of single tones, ranging for the most part within a given key, and so related together as to form a musical whole, having the unity of what is technically called a musical thought, at once pleasing to the ear and characteristic in expression.

Melody consists in a succession of single tones; harmony is a consonance or agreement of tones, also a succession of consonant musical combinations or chords.

3. The air or tune of a musical piece.

Syn. -- See Harmony.

||Mel"o*e (?), [ NL., fr. Gr. &?; to probe a wound.] (Zoöl.) A genus of ||beetles without wings, but having short oval elytra; the oil beetles. ||These beetles are sometimes used instead of cantharides for raising ||blisters. See Oil beetle, under Oil.

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Mel"o*graph (ml"*grf), n. [Gr. me`los a song + -graph : cf. F. mélographe.] Same as Melodiograph.

Mel`o*lon*thid"i*an (?), n. [Gr. &?; the cockchafer.] (Zoöl.) A beetle of the genus Melolontha, and allied genera. See May beetle, under May.

Mel"on (ml"n), n. [F., fr. L. melo, for melopepo an apple-shaped melon, Gr. &?; ; mh^lon apple + &?; a species of large melon; cf. L. malum apple. Cf. Marmalade.]

1. (Bot.) The juicy fruit of certain cucurbitaceous plants, as the muskmelon, watermelon, and citron melon; also, the plant that produces the fruit.

2. (Zoöl.) A large, ornamental, marine, univalve shell of the genus Melo.

Melon beetle (Zoöl.), a small leaf beetle (Diabrotiea vittata), which damages the leaves of melon vines. -- Melon cactus, Melon thistle. (a) (Bot.) A genus of cactaceous plants (Melocactus) having a fleshy and usually globose stem with the surface divided into spiny longitudinal ridges, and bearing at the top a prickly and woolly crown in which the small pink flowers are half concealed. M. communis, from the West Indies, is often cultivated, and sometimes called Turk's cap. (b) The related genus Mamillaria, in which the stem is tubercled rather than ribbed, and the flowers sometimes large. See Illust. under Cactus.

Mel`o*pi*a"no (?), n. [Gr. me`los song + E. piano.] A piano having a mechanical attachment which enables the player to prolong the notes at will.

Mel`o*plas"tic (?), a. Of or pertaining to meloplasty, or the artificial formation of a new cheek.

Mel"o*plas`ty (ml"*pls`t), n. [Gr. mh^lon an apple, a cheek + - plasty: cf. F. méloplastie.] (Surg.) The process of restoring a cheek which has been destroyed wholly or in part.

||Mel`o*pœ"ia (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; me`los song + poiei^n to ||make.] (Mus.) The art of forming melody; melody; -- now often used ||for a melodic passage, rather than a complete melody.

Mel"o*type (?), n. (Photog.) A picture produced by a process in which development after exposure may be deferred indefinitely, so as to permit transportation of exposed plates; also, the process itself.

Mel*pom"e*ne (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, lit., the songstress, fr. &?;, &?;, to sing.]

1. (Class. Myth.) The Muse of tragedy.

2. (Astron.) The eighteenth asteroid.

Mel"rose (?), n. Honey of roses.

Melt (mlt), n. (Zoöl.) See 2d Milt.

Melt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Melted (obs.) p. p. Molten (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Melting.] [AS. meltan; akin to Gr. me`ldein, E. malt, and prob. to E. smelt, v. &radic;108. Cf. Smelt, v., Malt, Milt the spleen.] 1. To reduce from a solid to a liquid state, as by heat; to liquefy; as, to melt wax, tallow, or lead; to melt ice or snow.

2. Hence: To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.

Thou would'st have . . . melted down thy youth.

Shak.

For pity melts the mind to love.

Dryden.

Syn. -- To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften.

Melt, v. i. 1. To be changed from a solid to a liquid state under the influence of heat; as, butter and wax melt at moderate temperatures.

2. To dissolve; as, sugar melts in the mouth.

3. Hence: To be softened; to become tender, mild, or gentle; also, to be weakened or subdued, as by fear.

My soul melteth for heaviness.

Ps. cxix. 28.

Melting with tenderness and kind compassion.

Shak.

4. To lose distinct form or outline; to blend.

The soft, green, rounded hills, with their flowing outlines, overlapping and melting into each other.

J. C. Shairp.

5. To disappear by being dispersed or dissipated; as, the fog melts away. Shak.

Melt"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being melted.

Melt"er (-r), n. One who, or that which, melts.

Melt"ing, n. Liquefaction; the act of causing (something) to melt, or the process of becoming melted.

Melting point (Chem.), the degree of temperature at which a solid substance melts or fuses; as, the melting point of ice is 0° Centigrade or 32° Fahr., that of urea is 132° Centigrade. -- Melting pot, a vessel in which anything is melted; a crucible.

Melt"ing a. Causing to melt; becoming melted; -- used literally or figuratively; as, a melting heat; a melting appeal; a melting mood. -- Melt"ing*ly, adv.

Mel"ton (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] A kind of stout woolen cloth with unfinished face and without raised nap. A commoner variety has a cotton warp.

Mem"ber (?), v. t. [See Remember.] To remember; to cause to remember; to mention. [Obs.]

Mem"ber, n. [OE. membre, F. membre, fr. L. membrum; cf. Goth. mimz flesh, Skr. mamsa.]

1. (Anat.) A part of an animal capable of performing a distinct office; an organ; a limb.

We have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office.

Rom. xii. 4.

2. Hence, a part of a whole; an independent constituent of a body; as: (a) A part of a discourse or of a period or sentence; a clause; a part of a verse. (b) (Math.) Either of the two parts of an algebraic equation, connected by the sign of equality. (c) (Engin.) Any essential part, as a post, tie rod, strut, etc., of a framed structure, as a bridge truss. (d) (Arch.) Any part of a building, whether constructional, as a pier, column, lintel, or the like, or decorative, as a molding, or group of moldings. (e) One of the persons composing a society, community, or the like; an individual forming part of an association; as, a member of the society of Friends.

Compression member, Tension member (Engin.), a member, as a rod, brace, etc., which is subjected to compression or tension, respectively.

Mem"bered (?), a. 1. Having limbs; -- chiefly used in composition.

2. (Her.) Having legs of a different tincture from that of the body; -- said of a bird in heraldic representations.

Mem"ber*ship, n. 1. The state of being a member.

2. The collective body of members, as of a society.

Mem"bral (?), a. (Anat.) Relating to a member.

Mem`bra*na"ceous (?), a. [L. membranaceus.]

1. Same as Membranous. Arbuthnot.

2. (Bot.) Thin and rather soft or pliable, as the leaves of the rose, peach tree, and aspen poplar.

Mem"brane (?), n. [F., fr. L. membrana the skin that covers the separate members of the body, fr. L. membrum. See Member.] (Anat.) A thin layer or fold of tissue, usually supported by a fibrous network, serving to cover or line some part or organ, and often secreting or absorbing certain fluids.

The term is also often applied to the thin, expanded parts, of various texture, both in animals and vegetables.

Adventitious membrane, a membrane connecting parts not usually connected, or of a different texture from the ordinary connection; as, the membrane of a cicatrix. -- Jacob's membrane. See under Retina. -- Mucous membranes (Anat.), the membranes lining passages and cavities which communicate with the exterior, as well as ducts and receptacles of secretion, and habitually secreting mucus. -- Schneiderian membrane. (Anat.) See Schneiderian. -- Serous membranes (Anat.) , the membranes, like the peritoneum and pleura, which line, or lie in, cavities having no obvious outlet, and secrete a serous fluid.

Mem*bra"ne*ous (?), a. [L. membraneus of parchment.] See Membranous.

Mem`bra*nif"er*ous (?), a. [Membrane + -ferous.] Having or producing membranes.

Mem*bra"ni*form (?), a. [Membrane + -form: cf. F. membraniforme.] Having the form of a membrane or of parchment.

Mem`bra*nol"o*gy (?), n. [Membrane + -logy.] The science which treats of membranes.

Mem"bra*nous (?), a. [Cf. F. membraneux.]

1. Pertaining to, consisting of, or resembling, membrane; as, a membranous covering or lining.

2. (Bot.) Membranaceous.

Membranous croup (Med.), true croup. See Croup.

Me*men"to (?), n.; pl. Mementos (#). [L., remember, be mindful, imper. of meminisse to remember. See Mention.] A hint, suggestion, token, or memorial, to awaken memory; that which reminds or recalls to memory; a souvenir.

Seasonable mementos may be useful.

Bacon.

||Me*min"na (?), n. (Zoöl.) A small deerlet, or chevrotain, of India.

Mem"non (?), n. [L., from Gr. &?;, lit., the Steadfast, Resolute, the son of Tithonus and Aurora, and king of the Ethiopians, killed by Achilles.] (Antiq.) A celebrated Egyptian statue near Thebes, said to have the property of emitting a harplike sound at sunrise.

{ Mem"oir (?), or pl. Mem"oirs (?) }, n. [F. mémoire, m., memorandum, fr. mémoire, f., memory, L. memoria. See Memory.] 1. A memorial account; a history composed from personal experience and memory; an account of transactions or events (usually written in familiar style) as they are remembered by the writer. See History, 2.

2. A memorial of any individual; a biography; often, a biography written without special regard to method and completeness.

3. An account of something deemed noteworthy; an essay; a record of investigations of any subject; the journals and proceedings of a society.

Mem"oir*ist, n. A writer of memoirs.

||Mem`o*ra*bil"i*a (?), n. pl. [L., fr. memorabilis memorable. See ||Memorable.] Things remarkable and worthy of remembrance or record; ||also, the record of them.

Mem`o*ra*bil"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being memorable.

Mem"o*ra*ble (?), a. [L. memorabilis, fr. memorare to bring to remembrance, fr. memor mindful, remembering. See Memory, and cf. Memorabilia.] Worthy to be remembered; very important or remarkable. -- Mem"o*ra*ble*ness, n. -- Mem"o*ra*bly, adv.

Surviving fame to gain, Buy tombs, by books, by memorable deeds.

Sir J. Davies.

Mem`o*ran"dum (?), n.; pl. E. Memorandums, L. Memoranda (#). [L., something to be remembered, neut. of memorandus, fut. pass. p. of memorare. See Memorable.]

1. A record of something which it is desired to remember; a note to help the memory.

I . . . entered a memorandum in my pocketbook.

Guardian.

I wish you would, as opportunity offers, make memorandums of the regulations of the academies.

Sir J. Reynolds.

2. (Law) A brief or informal note in writing of some transaction, or an outline of an intended instrument; an instrument drawn up in a brief and compendious form.

Memorandum check, a check given as an acknowledgment of indebtedness, but with the understanding that it will not be presented at bank unless the maker fails to take it up on the day the debt becomes due. It usually has Mem. written on its face.

Mem"o*rate (?), v. t. [L. memoratus, p. p. of memorare. See Memorable.] To commemorate. [Obs.]

Mem"o*ra*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. mémoratif.] Commemorative. [Obs.] Hammond.

||Me*mo"ri*a (?), n. [L.] Memory.

Memoria technica, technical memory; a contrivance for aiding the memory.

Me*mo"ri*al (?), a. [F. mémorial, L. memorialis, fr. memoria. See Memory.]

1. Serving to preserve remembrance; commemorative; as, a memorial building.

There high in air, memorial of my name, Fix the smooth oar, and bid me live to fame.

Pope.

2. Contained in memory; as, a memorial possession.

3. Mnemonic; assisting the memory.

This succession of Aspirate, Soft, and Hard, may be expressed by the memorial word ASH.

Skeat.

Memorial Day. Same as Decoration Day. [U.S.]

Me*mo"ri*al, n. [Cf. F. mémorial.]

1. Anything intended to preserve the memory of a person or event; something which serves to keep something else in remembrance; a monument. Macaulay.

Churches have names; some as memorials of peace, some of wisdom, some in memory of the Trinity itself.

Hooker.

2. A memorandum; a record. [Obs. or R.] Hayward.

3. A written representation of facts, addressed to the government, or to some branch of it, or to a society, etc., -- often accompanied with a petition.

4. Memory; remembrance. [Obs.]

Precious is the memorial of the just.

Evelyn.

5. (Diplomacy) A species of informal state paper, much used in negotiation.

Me*mo"ri*al*ist, n. [Cf. F. mémorialiste.] One who writes or signs a memorial.

Me*mo"ri*al*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Memorialized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Memorializing (?).] To address or petition by a memorial; to present a memorial to; as, to memorialize the legislature. T. Hook.

Me*mo"ri*al*i`zer (?), n. One who petitions by a memorial. T. Hook.

Mem"o*rist (?), n. [See Memorize.] One who, or that which, causes to be remembered. [Obs.]

||Me*mor"i*ter (?), adv. [L., fr. memor mindful. See Memorable.] By, or ||from, memory.

Mem"o*rize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Memorized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Memorizing (?).] [See Memory.]

1. To cause to be remembered ; hence, to record. [Obs.]

They neglect to memorize their conquest.

Spenser.

They meant to . . . memorize another Golgotha.

Shak.

2. To commit to memory; to learn by heart.

Mem"o*ry (?), n.; pl. Memories (#). [OE. memorie, OF. memoire, memorie, F. mémoire, L. memoria, fr. memor mindful; cf. mora delay. Cf. Demur, Martyr, Memoir, Remember.]

1. The faculty of the mind by which it retains the knowledge of previous thoughts, impressions, or events.

Memory is the purveyor of reason.

Rambler.

2. The reach and positiveness with which a person can remember; the strength and trustworthiness of one's power to reach and represent or to recall the past; as, his memory was never wrong.

3. The actual and distinct retention and recognition of past ideas in the mind; remembrance; as, in memory of youth; memories of foreign lands.

4. The time within which past events can be or are remembered; as, within the memory of man.

And what, before thy memory, was done From the begining.

Milton.

5. Something, or an aggregate of things, remembered; hence, character, conduct, etc., as preserved in remembrance, history, or tradition; posthumous fame; as, the war became only a memory.

The memory of the just is blessed.

Prov. x. 7.

That ever-living man of memory, Henry the Fifth.

Shak.

The Nonconformists . . . have, as a body, always venerated her [Elizabeth's] memory.

Macaulay.

6. A memorial. [Obs.]

These weeds are memories of those worser hours.

Shak.

Syn. -- Memory, Remembrance, Recollection, Reminiscence. Memory is the generic term, denoting the power by which we reproduce past impressions. Remembrance is an exercise of that power when things occur spontaneously to our thoughts. In recollection we make a distinct effort to collect again, or call back, what we know has been formerly in the mind. Reminiscence is intermediate between remembrance and recollection, being a conscious process of recalling past occurrences, but without that full and varied reference to particular things which characterizes recollection. "When an idea again recurs without the operation of the like object on the external sensory, it is remembrance; if it be sought after by the mind, and with pain and endeavor found, and brought again into view, it is recollection." Locke.

To draw to memory, to put on record; to record. [Obs.] Chaucer. Gower.

Mem"phi*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to the ancient city of Memphis in Egypt; hence, Egyptian; as, Memphian darkness.

Men (?), n., pl. of Man.

Men, pron. [OE. me, men. "Not the plural of man, but a weakened form of the word man itself." Skeat.] A man; one; -- used with a verb in the singular, and corresponding to the present indefinite one or they. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Men moot give silver to the poure friars.

Chaucer.

A privy thief, men clepeth death.

Chaucer.

Me*nac"can*ite (?), n. [From Menaccan, in Cornwall, where it was first found.] (Min.) An iron-black or steel-gray mineral, consisting chiefly of the oxides of iron and titanium. It is commonly massive, but occurs also in rhombohedral crystals. Called also titanic iron ore, and ilmenite.

Men"ace (mn"s; 48), n. [F., fr. L. minaciae threats, menaces, fr. minax, - acis, projecting, threatening, minae projecting points or pinnacles, threats. Cf. Amenable, Demean, Imminent, Minatory.] The show of an intention to inflict evil; a threat or threatening; indication of a probable evil or catastrophe to come.

His (the pope's) commands, his rebukes, his menaces.

Milman.

The dark menace of the distant war.

Dryden.

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Men"ace (mn"s; 48), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Menaced (st); p. pr. & vb. n. Menacing (?).] [OF. menacier, F. menacer. See Menace, n.] 1. To express or show an intention to inflict, or to hold out a prospect of inflicting, evil or injury upon; to threaten; -- usually followed by with before the harm threatened; as, to menace a country with war.

My master . . . did menace me with death.

Shak.

2. To threaten, as an evil to be inflicted.

By oath he menaced Revenge upon the cardinal.

Shak.

Men"ace, v. i. To act in threatening manner; to wear a threatening aspect.

Who ever knew the heavens menace so?

Shak.

Men"a*cer (?), n. One who menaces.

Men"a*cing*ly, adv. In a threatening manner.

||Mé`nage" (?), n. See Manage.

||Mé`nage" (?), n. [See Menagerie.] A collection of animals; a ||menagerie. [Obs.] Addison.

Men*ag"er*ie (?), n. [F. ménagerie, fr. ménager to keep house, ménage household. See Menial, Mansion.] 1. A piace where animals are kept and trained.

2. A collection of wild or exotic animals, kept for exhibition.

Men"a*gogue (?), n. [F. ménagogue, fr. Gr. mh`n month + &?; leading.] (Med.) Emmenagogue.

||Me*na"ion (?), n.; pl. Menaia (-yå). [NL., from Gr. &?; monthly.] ||(Eccl.) A work of twelve volumes, each containing the offices in the ||Greek Church for a month; also, each volume of the same. Shipley.

{ Men"ald (?), Men"ild (?), } a. Covered with spots; speckled; variegated. [Obs.]

Mend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mended; p. pr. & vb. n. Mending.] [Abbrev. fr. amend. See Amend.]

1. To repair, as anything that is torn, broken, defaced, decayed, or the like; to restore from partial decay, injury, or defacement; to patch up; to put in shape or order again; to re-create; as, to mend a garment or a machine.

2. To alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken; as, to mend one's manners or pace.

The best service they could do the state was to mend the lives of the persons who composed it.

Sir W. Temple.

3. To help, to advance, to further; to add to.

Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit.

Mortimer.

You mend the jewel by the wearing it.

Shak.

Syn. -- To improve; help; better; emend; amend; correct; rectify; reform.

Mend, v. i. To grow better; to advance to a better state; to become improved. Shak.

Mend"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being mended.

Men*da"cious (?), a. [L. mendax, -acis, lying, cf. mentiri to lie.] 1. Given to deception or falsehood; lying; as, a mendacious person.

2. False; counterfeit; containing falsehood; as, a mendacious statement.

-- Men*da"cious*ly, adv. -- Men*da"cious*ness, n.

Men*dac"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Mendacities (#). [L. mendacitas.] 1. The quality or state of being mendacious; a habit of lying. Macaulay.

2. A falsehood; a lie. Sir T. Browne.

Syn. -- Lying; deceit; untruth; falsehood.

Mend"er (?), n. One who mends or repairs.

Men"di*ant (?), n. See Mendinant. [Obs.]

Men"di*can*cy (?), n. The condition of being mendicant; beggary; begging. Burke.

Men"di*cant (?), a. [L. mendicans, -antis, p. pr. of mendicare to beg, fr. mendicus beggar, indigent.] Practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as, mendicant friars.

Mendicant orders (R. C. Ch.), certain monastic orders which are forbidden to acquire landed property and are required to be supported by alms, esp. the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites, and the Augustinians.

Men"di*cant, n. A beggar; esp., one who makes a business of begging; specifically, a begging friar.

Men"di*cate (?), v. t.& i. [L. mendicatus, p. p. of mendicare to beg.] To beg. [R.] Johnson.

Men`di*ca"tion (?), n. The act or practice of begging; beggary; mendicancy. Sir T. Browne.

Men*dic"i*ty (?), n. [L. mendicitas: cf. F. mendicité. See Mendicant.] The practice of begging; the life of a beggar; mendicancy. Rom. of R.

Men"di*nant (?), n. A mendicant or begging friar. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mend"ment (?), n. Amendment. [Obs.]

Men"dole (mn"dl), n. [Cf. F. mendol, mendole.] (Zoöl.) The cackerel.

Men"dre*gal (?), n. (Zoöl.) Medregal.

Mends (mndz), n. See Amends. [Obs.] Shak.

Menge (mnj), v. i. [imp. Mente, Meinte; p. p. Ment, Meint.] [See Mingle.] To mix. [Obs.] Spenser.

Men*ha"den (?), n. (Zoöl.) An American marine fish of the Herring family (Brevoortia tyrannus), chiefly valuable for its oil and as a component of fertilizers; -- called also mossbunker, bony fish, chebog, pogy, hardhead, whitefish, etc.

Men"hir (?), n. [F. Armor. men stone + hir high.] A large stone set upright in olden times as a memorial or monument. Many, of unknown date, are found in Brittany and throughout Northern Europe.

Men"ial (?), a. [OE. meneal, fr. meine, maine, household, OF. maisniée, maisnie, LL. mansionaticum. See Mansion, and cf. Meine, n., Meiny.]

1. Belonging to a retinue or train of servants; performing servile office; serving.

Two menial dogs before their master pressed.

Dryden.

2. Pertaining to servants, esp. domestic servants; servile; low; mean. " Menial offices." Swift.

Men"ial, n. 1. A domestic servant or retainer, esp. one of humble rank; one employed in low or servile offices.

2. A person of a servile character or disposition.

Mé`nière's" dis*ease" (?). (Med.) A disease characterized by deafness and vertigo, resulting in incoördination of movement. It is supposed to depend upon a morbid condition of the semicircular canals of the internal ear. Named after Ménière, a French physician.

Men"i*lite (?), n. [F. ménilite; -- so called because it is found at Ménilmontant, near Paris.] (Min.) See Opal.

Me*nin"ge*al (m*nn"j*al), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the meninges.

Me*nin"ges (-jz), n. pl.; sing. Meninx (&?;). [NL., fr. Gr. mh^nigx, -iggos, a membrane.] (Anat.) The three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord; the pia mater, dura mater, and arachnoid membrane.

Men`in*gi"tis (?), n. [NL. See Meninges, and -itis.] (Med.) Inflammation of the membranes of the brain or spinal cord.

Cerebro-spinal meningitis. See under Cerebro-spinal.

Me*nis"cal (?), a. Pertaining to, or having the form of, a meniscus.

Me*nis"coid (?), a. [Meniscus + -oid.] Concavo-convex, like a meniscus.

me*nis"cus (?), n.; pl. L. menisci (-s), E. Meniscuses (#). [NL., from Gr. mhni`skos, dim. of mh`nh the moon.] 1. A crescent.

2. (Opt.) A lens convex on one side and concave on the other.

3. (Anat.) An interarticular synovial cartilage or membrane; esp., one of the intervertebral synovial disks in some parts of the vertebral column of birds.

Converging meniscus, Diverging meniscus. See Lens.

Men`i*sper*ma"ceous (?), a. [Gr. mh`nh the moon + spe`rma seed.] (Bot.) Pertaining to a natural order (Menispermaceæ) of climbing plants of which moonseed (Menispermum) is the type.

Men`i*sper"mic (&?;), a. Pertaining to, or obtained from, moonseed (Menispermum), or other plants of the same family, as the Anamirta Cocculus.

Men`i*sper"mine (?), n. [Cf. F. ménispermine.] (Chem.) An alkaloid distinct from picrotoxin and obtained from the cocculus indicus (the fruit of Anamirta Cocculus, formerly Menispermum Cocculus) as a white, crystalline, tasteless powder; -- called also menispermina.

Men"i*ver (?), n. [OF. menuver, menuveir, menuvair, a grayish fur; menu small + vair a kind of fur. See Minute, a., and Vair.] Same as Miniver.

{ Men"non*ist (?), Men"non*ite (?), } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a small denomination of Christians, so called from Menno Simons of Friesland, their founder. They believe that the New Testament is the only rule of faith, that there is no original sin, that infants should not be baptized, and that Christians ought not to take oath, hold office, or render military service.

{ Men"o*branch (?), ||Men`o*bran"chus (?), } n. [NL. menobranchus, fr. Gr. &?; to remain + &?; a gill.] (Zoöl.) A large aquatic American salamander of the genus Necturus, having permanent external gills.

{ ||Men`o*lo"gi*um (?), Me*nol"o*gy (?), } n.; pl. L. Menologia (#), E. Menologies (#). [NL. menologium, fr. Gr. mh`n month + lo`gos discourse : cf. F. ménologe.] 1. A register of months. Bp. Stillingfleet.

2. (Gr. Church) A brief calendar of the lives of the saints for each day in the year, or a simple remembrance of those whose lives are not written.

Men"o*pause (?), n. [Gr. mh`n month + &?; to cause to cease. See Menses.] (Med.) The period of natural cessation of menstruation. See Change of life, under Change.

{ ||Men`o*po"ma (?), Men"o*pome (?), } n. [NL. menopoma, fr. Gr. &?; to remain + &?; lid.] (Zoöl.) The hellbender.

||Men`or*rha"gi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mh`n month + &?; to break.] ||(Med.) (a) Profuse menstruation. (b) Any profuse bleeding from the ||uterus; Metrorrhagia.

||Me*nos"ta*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mh`n month + 'istan`nai to stop.] ||(Med.) Stoppage of the menses.

Men`os*ta"tion (?), n. (Med.) Same as Menostasis.

Men"ow (?), n. (Zoöl.) A minnow.

Men"-pleas`er (?), n. One whose motive is to please men or the world, rather than God. Eph. vi. 6.

Men"sal (?), a. [L. mensalis, fr. mensa table.] Belonging to the table; transacted at table; as, mensal conversation.

Men"sal (?), a. [L. mensis month.] Occurring once in a month; monthly.

Mense (?), n. [OE. menske, AS. mennisc human, man. See Man.] Manliness; dignity; comeliness; civility. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] -- Mense"ful (#), a. -- Mense"less, a.

Mense, v. t. To grace. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

||Men"ses (?), n. pl. [L. mensis month, pl. menses months, and the ||monthly courses of women. Cf. Month.] (Med.) The catamenial or ||menstrual discharge, a periodic flow of blood or bloody fluid from ||the uterus or female generative organs.

Men"stru*al (?), a. [L. menstrualis: cf. F. menstruel. See Menstruous.] 1. Recurring once a month; monthly; gone through in a month; as, the menstrual revolution of the moon; pertaining to monthly changes; as, the menstrual equation of the sun's place.

2. Of or pertaining to the menses; as, menstrual discharges; the menstrual period.

3. Of or pertaining to a menstruum. Bacon.

Men"stru*ant (?), a. [L. menstruans, p. pr. of menstruare to have a monthly term, fr. menstruus. See Menstruous.] Subject to monthly flowing or menses.

Men"stru*ate (?), a. Menstruous. [Obs.]

Men"stru*ate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Menstruated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Menstruating (?).] To discharge the menses; to have the catamenial flow.

Men`stru*a"tion (?), n. The discharge of the menses; also, the state or the period of menstruating.

Men"strue (?), n. [Cf. F. menstrues. See Menstruous.] The menstrual flux; menses. [Obs.]

Men"stru*ous (?), a. [L. menstruus, fr. mensis month. Cf. Menstruum.] 1. Having the monthly flow or discharge; menstruating.

2. Of or pertaining to the monthly flow; catamenial.

Men"stru*um (?), n.; pl. E. Menstruums (#), L. Menstrua (#). [L. menstruus. See Menstruous.] Any substance which dissolves a solid body; a solvent.

The proper menstruum to dissolve metal.

Bacon.

All liquors are called menstruums which are used as dissolvents, or to extract the virtues of ingredients by infusion or decoction.

Quincy.

The use is supposed to have originated in some notion of the old chemists about the influence of the moon in the preparation of dissolvents. Johnson.

Men`su*ra*bil"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. mensurabilité.] The quality of being mensurable.

Men"su*ra*ble (?), a. [L. mensurabilis, fr. mensurare to measure, fr. mensura measure: cf. F. mensurable. See Measurable, Measure.] Capable of being measured; measurable.

Men"su*ra*ble*ness, n. The quality or state of being mensurable; measurableness.

Men"su*ral (?), a. [L. mensuralis.] Of or pertaining to measure.

Men"su*rate (?), v. t. [L. mensuratus, p. p. of mensurare. See Measure, v.] To measure. [Obs.]

Men`su*ra"tion (?), n. [L. mensuratio : cf. F. mensuration.] 1. The act, process, or art, of measuring.

2. That branch of applied geometry which gives rules for finding the length of lines, the areas of surfaces, or the volumes of solids, from certain simple data of lines and angles.

-ment (?), [F. -ment, L. -mentum.] A suffix denoting that which does a thing; an act or process; the result of an act or process; state or condition; as, aliment, that which nourishes, ornament, increment; fragment, piece broken, segment; abridgment, act of abridging, imprisonment, movement, adjournment; amazement, state of being amazed, astonishment.

Ment (?), p. p. of Menge.

||Men"ta*gra (?), n. [NL., fr. L. mentum chin + Gr. &?; a catching.] ||(Med.) Sycosis.

Men"tal (?), a. [L. mentum the chin.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the chin; genian; as, the mental nerve; the mental region.

Men"tal, n. (Zoöl.) A plate or scale covering the mentum or chin of a fish or reptile.

Men"tal, a. [F., fr. L. mentalis, fr. mens, mentis, the mind; akin to E. mind. See Mind.] Of or pertaining to the mind; intellectual; as, mental faculties; mental operations, conditions, or exercise.

What a mental power This eye shoots forth!

Shak.

Mental alienation, insanity. -- Mental arithmetic, the art or practice of solving arithmetical problems by mental processes, unassisted by written figures.

Men*tal"i*ty (?), n. Quality or state of mind. "The same hard mentality." Emerson.

Men"tal*ly (?), adv. In the mind; in thought or meditation; intellectually; in idea.

||Men"tha (?), n. [L. See Mint the plant.] (Bot.) A widely distributed ||genus of fragrant herbs, including the peppermint, spearmint, etc. ||The plants have small flowers, usually arranged in dense axillary ||clusters.

Men"thene (?), n. [Menthol + terpene.] (Chem.) A colorless liquid hydrocarbon resembling oil of turpentine, obtained by dehydrating menthol. It has an agreeable odor and a cooling taste.

Men"thol (?), n. [Mentha + - ol.] (Chem.) A white, crystalline, aromatic substance resembling camphor, extracted from oil of peppermint (Mentha); -- called also mint camphor or peppermint camphor.

Men"thyl (?), n. [Mentha + - yl.] (Chem.) A compound radical forming the base of menthol.

Men`ti*cul"tur*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to mental culture; serving to improve or strengthen the mind. [R.]

Men"tion (?), n. [OE. mencioun, F. mention, L. mentio, from the root of meminisse to remember. See Mind.] A speaking or notice of anything, -- usually in a brief or cursory manner. Used especially in the phrase to make mention of.

I will make mention of thy righteousness.

Ps. lxxi. 16.

And sleep in dull, cold marble, where no mention Of me more must be heard of.

Shak.

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Men"tion (mn"shn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mentioned (- shnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Mentioning.] [Cf. F. mentionner.] To make mention of; to speak briefly of; to name.

I will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord.

Is. lxiii. 7.

Men"tion*a*ble (?), a. Fit to be mentioned.

Men`to*meck*e"li*an (?), a. [1st mental + Meckelian.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the chin and lower jaw. -- n. The bone or cartilage forming the anterior extremity of the lower jaw in some adult animals and the young of others.

Men"tor (?), n. [From Mentor, the counselor of Telemachus, Gr. Me`ntwr, prop., counselor. Cf. Monitor.] A wise and faithful counselor or monitor.

Men*to"ri*al (?), a. [From Mentor.] Containing advice or admonition.

||Men"tum (?), n. [L., chin.] (Zoöl.) The front median plate of the ||labium in insects. See Labium.

||Me*nu" (?), n. [F., slender, thin, minute. See 4th Minute.] The ||details of a banquet; a bill of fare.

Me"nuse (?), v. i. See Amenuse. [Obs.]

Me*ow" (?), v. i. & n. See 6th and 7th Mew.

Meph`is*to*phe"li*an (? or ?), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, the devil Mephistopheles, "a crafty, scoffing, relentless fiend;" devilish; crafty.

{ Me*phit"ic (?), Me*phit"ic*al (?), } a. [L. mephiticus, fr. mephitis mephitis: cf. F. méphitique.] 1. Tending to destroy life; poisonous; noxious; as, mephitic exhalations; mephitic regions.

2. Offensive to the smell; as, mephitic odors.

Mephitic air (Chem.), carbon dioxide; -- so called because of its deadly suffocating power. See Carbonic acid, under Carbonic.

||Me*phi"tis (?), n. [L. mephitis : cf. F. méphitis.] 1. Noxious, ||pestilential, or foul exhalations from decomposing substances, filth, ||or other source.

2. (Zoöl.) A genus of mammals, including the skunks.

Meph"i*tism (?), n. Same as Mephitis, 1.

Me*ra"cious (?), a. [L. meracus, fr. merus pure, inmixed.] Being without mixture or adulteration; hence, strong; racy. [Obs.]

Mer"ca*ble (?), a. [L. mercabilis, fr. mercari to trade, traffic, buy. See Merchant.] Capable of being bought or sold. [Obs.]

Mer"can*tile (?; 277), a. [F. mercantile, It. mercantile, fr. L. mercans, - antis, p. pr. of mercari to traffic. See Merchant.] Of or pertaining to merchants, or the business of merchants; having to do with trade, or the buying and selling of commodities; commercial.

The expedition of the Argonauts was partly mercantile, partly military.

Arbuthnot.

Mercantile agency, an agency for procuring information of the standing and credit of merchants in different parts of the country, for the use of dealers who sell to them. - - Mercantile marine, the persons and vessels employed in commerce, taken collectively. -- Mercantile paper, the notes or acceptances given by merchants for goods bought, or received on consignment; drafts on merchants for goods sold or consigned. McElrath.

Syn. -- Mercantile, Commercial. Commercial is the wider term, being sometimes used to embrace mercantile. In their stricter use, commercial relates to the shipping, freighting, forwarding, and other business connected with the commerce of a country (whether external or internal), that is, the exchange of commodities; while mercantile applies to the sale of merchandise and goods when brought to market. As the two employments are to some extent intermingled, the two words are often interchanged.

Mer*cap"tal (?), n. [Mercaptan + aldehyde.] (Chem.) Any one of a series of compounds of mercaptans with aldehydes.

Mer*cap"tan (?), n. [F., fr. NL. mercurius mercury + L. captans, p. pr. of captare to seize, v. intens. fr. capere.] (Chem.) Any one of series of compounds, hydrosulphides of alcohol radicals, in composition resembling the alcohols, but containing sulphur in place of oxygen, and hence called also the sulphur alcohols. In general, they are colorless liquids having a strong, repulsive, garlic odor. The name is specifically applied to ethyl mercaptan, C2H5SH. So called from its avidity for mercury, and other metals.

Mer*cap"tide (? or ?), n. (Chem.) A compound of mercaptan formed by replacing its sulphur hydrogen by a metal; as, potassium mercaptide, C2H5SK.

Mer"cat (?), n. [L. mercatus : cf. It. mercato. See Market.] Market; trade. [Obs.] Bp. Sprat.

Mer`ca*tan"te (?; It. ?), n. [It. See Merchant.] A foreign trader. [Obs.] Shak.

Mer*ca"tor's chart" (?). See under Chart, and see Mercator's projection, under Projection.

Mer"ca*ture (?; 135), n. [L. mercatura commerce.] Commerce; traffic; trade. [Obs.]

Merce (?), v. t. [See Amerce.] To subject to fine or amercement; to mulct; to amerce. [Obs.]

||Mer`ce*na"ri*a (?), n. [NL. See Mercenary.] (Zoöl.) The quahog.

Mer`ce*na"ri*an (-an), n. A mercenary. [Obs.]

Mer"ce*na`ri*ly (?), adv. In a mercenary manner.

Mer"ce*na*ri*ness, n. The quality or state of being mercenary; venality. Boyle.

Mer"ce*na*ry (?), a. [OE. mercenarie, F. mercenaire, fr. L. mercenarius, fr. merces wages, reward. See Mercy.] 1. Acting for reward; serving for pay; paid; hired; hireling; venal; as, mercenary soldiers.

2. Hence: Moved by considerations of pay or profit; greedy of gain; sordid; selfish. Shak.

For God forbid I should my papers blot With mercenary lines, with servile pen.

Daniel.

Syn. -- See Venal.

Mer"ce*na*ry (?), n.; pl. Mercenaries (&?;). One who is hired; a hireling; especially, a soldier hired into foreign service. Milman.

Mer"cer (?), n. [F. mercier, fr. L. merx, mercis, wares, merchandise. See Merchant.] Originally, a dealer in any kind of goods or wares; now restricted to a dealer in textile fabrics, as silks or woolens. [Eng.]

Mer"cer*ship, n. The business of a mercer.

Mer"cer*y (?), n. [F. mercerie.] The trade of mercers; the goods in which a mercer deals.

Mer"chand (?), v. i. [F. marchander. See Merchant.] To traffic. [Obs.] Bacon.

Mer"chan*di`sa*ble (?), a. Such as can be used or transferred as merchandise.

Mer"chan*dise (?), n. [F. marchandise, OF. marcheandise.] 1. The objects of commerce; whatever is usually bought or sold in trade, or market, or by merchants; wares; goods; commodities. Spenser.

2. The act or business of trading; trade; traffic.

Mer"chan*dise, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Merchandised (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Merchandising (?).] To trade; to carry on commerce. Bacon.

Mer"chan*dise, v. t. To make merchandise of; to buy and sell. "Love is merchandised." Shak.

Mer"chan*di`ser (?), n. A trader. Bunyan.

Mer"chand*ry (?), n. [See Merchant.] Trade; commerce. [Obs.] Bp. Sanderson.

Mer"chant (?), n. [OE. marchant, OF. marcheant, F. marchand, fr. LL. mercatans, -antis, p. pr. of mercatare to negotiate, L. mercari to traffic, fr. merx, mercis, wares. See Market, Merit, and cf. Commerce.] 1. One who traffics on a large scale, especially with foreign countries; a trafficker; a trader.

Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad.

Shak.

2. A trading vessel; a merchantman. [Obs.] Shak.

3. One who keeps a store or shop for the sale of goods; a shopkeeper. [U. S. & Scot.]

Mer"chant, a. Of, pertaining to, or employed in, trade or merchandise; as, the merchant service.

Merchant bar, Merchant iron or steel, certain common sizes of wrought iron and steel bars. -- Merchant service, the mercantile marine of a country. Am. Cyc. -- Merchant ship, a ship employed in commerce. -- Merchant tailor, a tailor who keeps and sells materials for the garments which he makes.

Mer"chant, v. i. To be a merchant; to trade. [Obs.]

Mer"chant*a*ble (?), a. Fit for market; such as is usually sold in market, or such as will bring the ordinary price; as, merchantable wheat; sometimes, a technical designation for a particular kind or class.

Mer"chant*ly, a. Merchantlike; suitable to the character or business of a merchant. [Obs.] Gauden.

Mer"chant*man (?), n.; pl. Merchantmen (&?;).

1. A merchant. [Obs.] Matt. xiii. 45.

2. A trading vessel; a ship employed in the transportation of goods, as, distinguished from a man-of- war.

Mer"chant*ry (?), n. 1. The body of merchants taken collectively; as, the merchantry of a country.

2. The business of a merchant; merchandise. Walpole.

Mer"ci*a*ble (?), a. [OF.] Merciful. [Obs.]

Mer"ci*ful (?), a. [Mercy + - ful.] 1. Full of mercy; having or exercising mercy; disposed to pity and spare offenders; unwilling to punish.

The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious.

Ex. xxxiv. 6.

Be merciful, great duke, to men of mold.

Shak.

2. Unwilling to give pain; compassionate.

A merciful man will be merciful to his beast.

Old Proverb.

Syn. -- Compassionate; tender; humane; gracious; kind; mild; clement; benignant.

-- Mer"ci*ful*ly, adv. -- Mer"ci*ful*ness, n.

Mer"ci*fy (?), v. t. To pity. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mer"ci*less, a. Destitute of mercy; cruel; unsparing; -- said of animate beings, and also, figuratively, of things; as, a merciless tyrant; merciless waves.

The foe is merciless, and will not pity.

Shak.

Syn. -- Cruel; unmerciful; remorseless; ruthless; pitiless; barbarous; savage.

-- Mer"ci*less*ly, adv. -- Mer"ci*less*ness, n.

Mer`cur*am*mo"ni*um (?), n. [Mercuric + ammonium.] (Chem.) A radical regarded as derived from ammonium by the substitution of mercury for a portion of the hydrogen.

Mer*cu"ri*al (?), a. [L. mercurialis, fr. Mercurius Mercury: cf. F. mercuriel.] 1. Having the qualities fabled to belong to the god Mercury; swift; active; sprightly; fickle; volatile; changeable; as, a mercurial youth; a mercurial temperament.

A mercurial man Who fluttered over all things like a fan.

Byron.

2. Having the form or image of Mercury; -- applied to ancient guideposts. [Obs.] Chillingworth.

3. Of or pertaining to Mercury as the god of trade; hence, money-making; crafty.

The mercurial wand of commerce.

J. Q. Adams.

4. Of or pertaining to, or containing, mercury; as, mercurial preparations, barometer. See Mercury, 2.

5. (Med.) Caused by the use of mercury; as, mercurial sore mouth.

Mer*cu"ri*al, n. 1. A person having mercurial qualities. Bacon.

2. (Med.) A preparation containing mercury.

Mer*cu"ri*al*ist, n. 1. One under the influence of Mercury; one resembling Mercury in character.

2. (Med.) A physician who uses much mercury, in any of its forms, in his practice.

Mer*cu"ri*al*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mercurialized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mercurializing (?).] 1. (Med.) To affect with mercury.

2. (Photography) To treat with mercury; to expose to the vapor of mercury.

Mer*cu"ri*al*ize, v. i. To be sprightly, fantastic, or capricious. [Obs.]

Mer*cu"ri*al*ly, adv. In a mercurial manner.

Mer*cu"ric (?), a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, mercury; containing mercury; -- said of those compounds of mercury into which this element enters in its lowest proportion.

Mercuric chloride, corrosive sublimate. See Corrosive.

Mer*cu`ri*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. mercurification. See Mercurify.] 1. (Metal.) The process or operation of obtaining the mercury, in its fluid form, from mercuric minerals.

2. (Chem.) The act or process of compounding, or the state of being compounded, with mercury. [R.]

Mer*cu"ri*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mercurified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mercurifying (?).] [Mercury + -fy.] 1. To obtain mercury from, as mercuric minerals, which may be done by any application of intense heat that expels the mercury in fumes, which are afterward condensed. [R.]

2. To combine or mingle mercury with; to impregnate with mercury; to mercurialize. [R.]

Mer"cu*rism (?), n. A communication of news; an announcement. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Mer*cu"rous (?), a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, mercury; containing mercury; -- said of those compounds of mercury in which it is present in its highest proportion.

Mercurous chloride. (Chem.) See Calomel.

Mer"cu*ry (?), n. [L. Mercurius; akin to merx wares.] 1. (Rom. Myth.) A Latin god of commerce and gain; -- treated by the poets as identical with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods, conductor of souls to the lower world, and god of eloquence.

2. (Chem.) A metallic element mostly obtained by reduction from cinnabar, one of its ores. It is a heavy, opaque, glistening liquid (commonly called quicksilver), and is used in barometers, thermometers, etc. Specific gravity 13.6. Symbol Hg (Hydrargyrum). Atomic weight 199.8. Mercury has a molecule which consists of only one atom. It was named by the alchemists after the god Mercury, and designated by his symbol, .

Mercury forms alloys, called amalgams, with many metals, and is thus used in applying tin foil to the backs of mirrors, and in extracting gold and silver from their ores. It is poisonous, and is used in medicine in the free state as in blue pill, and in its compounds as calomel, corrosive sublimate, etc. It is the only metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures, and it solidifies at about -39° Centigrade to a soft, malleable, ductile metal.

3. (Astron.) One of the planets of the solar system, being the one nearest the sun, from which its mean distance is about 36,000,000 miles. Its period is 88 days, and its diameter 3,000 miles.

4. A carrier of tidings; a newsboy; a messenger; hence, also, a newspaper. Sir J. Stephen. "The monthly Mercuries." Macaulay.

5. Sprightly or mercurial quality; spirit; mutability; fickleness. [Obs.]

He was so full of mercury that he could not fix long in any friendship, or to any design.

Bp. Burnet.

6. (Bot.) A plant (Mercurialis annua), of the Spurge family, the leaves of which are sometimes used for spinach, in Europe.

The name is also applied, in the United States, to certain climbing plants, some of which are poisonous to the skin, esp. to the Rhus Toxicodendron, or poison ivy.

Dog's mercury (Bot.), Mercurialis perennis, a perennial plant differing from M. annua by having the leaves sessile. -- English mercury (Bot.), a kind of goosefoot formerly used as a pot herb; - - called Good King Henry. -- Horn mercury (Min.), a mineral chloride of mercury, having a semitranslucent, hornlike appearance.

Mer"cu*ry, v. t. To wash with a preparation of mercury. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Mer"cy (?), n.; pl. Mercies (#). [OE. merci, F. merci, L. merces, mercedis, hire, pay, reward, LL., equiv. to misericordia pity, mercy. L. merces is prob. akin to merere to deserve, acquire. See Merit, and cf. Amerce.] 1. Forbearance to inflict harm under circumstances of provocation, when one has the power to inflict it; compassionate treatment of an offender or adversary; clemency.

Examples of justice must be made for terror to some; examples of mercy for comfort to others.

Bacon.

2. Compassionate treatment of the unfortunate and helpless; sometimes, favor, beneficence. Luke x. 37.

3. Disposition to exercise compassion or favor; pity; compassion; willingness to spare or to help.

In whom mercy lacketh and is not founden.

Sir T. Elyot.

4. A blessing regarded as a manifestation of compassion or favor.

The Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.

2 Cor. i. 3.

Mercy seat (Bib.), the golden cover or lid of the Ark of the Covenant. See Ark, 2. -- Sisters of Mercy (R. C. Ch.),a religious order founded in Dublin in the year 1827. Communities of the same name have since been established in various American cities. The duties of those belonging to the order are, to attend lying-in hospitals, to superintend the education of girls, and protect decent women out of employment, to visit prisoners and the sick, and to attend persons condemned to death. -- To be at the mercy of, to be wholly in the power of.

Syn. -- See Grace.

Merd (?), n. [F. merde, L. merda.] Ordure; dung. [Obs.] Burton.

-mere (?). [Gr. &?; part.] A combining form meaning part, portion; as, blastomere, epimere.

Mere (mr), n. [Written also mar.] [OE. mere, AS. mere mere, sea; akin to D. meer lake, OS. meri sea, OHG. meri, mari, G. meer, Icel. marr, Goth. marei, Russ. more, W. mor, Ir. & Gael. muir, L. mare, and perh. to L. mori to die, and meaning originally, that which is dead, a waste. Cf. Mortal, Marine, Marsh, Mermaid, Moor.] A pool or lake. Drayton. Tennyson.

Mere, n. [Written also meer and mear.] [AS. gemre. &radic;269.] A boundary. Bacon.

<! p. 914 !>

Mere (?), v. t. To divide, limit, or bound. [Obs.]

Which meared her rule with Africa.

Spenser.

Mere, n. A mare. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mere (?), a. [Superl. Merest. The comparative is rarely or never used.] [L. merus.] 1. Unmixed; pure; entire; absolute; unqualified.

Then entered they the mere, main sea.

Chapman.

The sorrows of this world would be mere and unmixed.

Jer. Taylor.

2. Only this, and nothing else; such, and no more; simple; bare; as, a mere boy; a mere form.

From mere success nothing can be concluded in favor of any nation.

Atterbury.

Mere"ly, adv. 1. Purely; unmixedly; absolutely.

Ulysses was to force forth his access, Though merely naked.

Chapman.

2. Not otherwise than; simply; barely; only.

Prize not your life for other ends Than merely to oblige your friends.

Swift.

Syn. -- Solely; simply; purely; barely; scarcely.

||Me*ren"chy*ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a part + -enchyma, as in ||parenchyma.] (Bot.) Tissue composed of spheroidal cells.

Meres"man (?), n. An officer who ascertains meres or boundaries. [Eng.]

Mere"stead (?), n. [Mere boundary + stead place.] The land within the boundaries of a farm; a farmstead or farm. [Archaic.] Longfellow.

Mere"stone` (?), n. A stone designating a limit or boundary; a landmark. Bacon.

Mer`e*tri"cious (?), a. [L. meretricius, from meretrix, -icis, a prostitute, lit., one who earns money, i. e., by prostitution, fr. merere to earn, gain. See Merit.] 1. Of or pertaining to prostitutes; having to do with harlots; lustful; as, meretricious traffic.

2. Resembling the arts of a harlot; alluring by false show; gaudily and deceitfully ornamental; tawdry; as, meretricious dress or ornaments.

-- Mer`e*tri"cious*ly, adv. -- Mer`e*tri"cious*ness, n.

Mer*gan"ser (?), n. [Sp. mergánsar, fr. mergo a diver (L. mergus, fr. mergere to dip, dive) + ánsar goose, L. anser.] (Zoöl.) Any bird of the genus Merganser, and allied genera. They are allied to the ducks, but have a sharply serrated bill.

The red-breasted merganser (Merganser serrator) inhabits both hemispheres. It is called also sawbill, harle, and sheldrake. The American merganser (M. Americanus.) and the hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) are well-known species. -- White merganser, the smew or white nun.

Merge (mrj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Merged (mrjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Merging (mr"jng).] [L. mergere, mersum. Cf. Emerge, Immerse, Marrow.] To cause to be swallowed up; to immerse; to sink; to absorb.

To merge all natural . . . sentiment in inordinate vanity.

Burke.

Whig and Tory were merged and swallowed up in the transcendent duties of patriots.

De Quincey.

Merge, v. i. To be sunk, swallowed up, or lost.

Native irresolution had merged in stronger motives.

I. Taylor.

Mer"ger (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, merges.

2. (Law) An absorption of one estate, or one contract, in another, or of a minor offense in a greater.

Mer"i*carp (?), n. [Gr. me`ros a part + karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.) One carpel of an umbelliferous fruit. See Cremocarp.

Mer"ide (? or ?), n. [Gr. &?; a part.] (Biol.) A permanent colony of cells or plastids which may remain isolated, like Rotifer, or may multiply by gemmation to form higher aggregates, termed zoides. Perrier.

Me*rid"i*an (?), a. [F. méridien, L. meridianus pertaining to noon, fr. meridies noon, midday, for older medidies; medius mid, middle + dies day. See Mid, and Diurnal.] 1. Being at, or pertaining to, midday; belonging to, or passing through, the highest point attained by the sun in his diurnal course. "Meridian hour." Milton.

Tables . . . to find the altitude meridian.

Chaucer.

2. Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as, meridian splendor.

Me*rid"i*an, n. [F. méridien. See Meridian, a.]

1. Midday; noon.

2. Hence: The highest point, as of success, prosperity, or the like; culmination.

I have touched the highest point of all my greatness, And from that full meridian of my glory I haste now to my setting.

Shak.

3. (Astron.) A great circle of the sphere passing through the poles of the heavens and the zenith of a given place. It is crossed by the sun at midday.

4. (Geog.) A great circle on the surface of the earth, passing through the poles and any given place; also, the half of such a circle included between the poles.

The planes of the geographical and astronomical meridians coincide. Meridians, on a map or globe, are lines drawn at certain intervals due north and south, or in the direction of the poles.

Calculated for, or fitted to, or adapted to, the meridian of, suited to the local circumstances, capabilities, or special requirements of.

All other knowledge merely serves the concerns of this life, and is fitted to the meridian thereof.

Sir M. Hale.

-- First meridian, the meridian from which longitudes are reckoned. The meridian of Greenwich is the one commonly employed in calculations of longitude by geographers, and in actual practice, although in various countries other and different meridians, chiefly those which pass through the capitals of the countries, are occasionally used; as, in France, the meridian of Paris; in the United States, the meridian of Washington, etc. -- Guide meridian (Public Land Survey), a line, marked by monuments, running North and South through a section of country between other more carefully established meridians called principal meridians, used for reference in surveying. [U.S.] -- Magnetic meridian, a great circle, passing through the zenith and coinciding in direction with the magnetic needle, or a line on the earth's surface having the same direction. -- Meridian circle (Astron.), an instrument consisting of a telescope attached to a large graduated circle and so mounted that the telescope revolves like the transit instrument in a meridian plane. By it the right ascension and the declination of a star may be measured in a single observation. -- Meridian instrument (Astron.), any astronomical instrument having a telescope that rotates in a meridian plane. -- Meridian of a globe, or Brass meridian, a graduated circular ring of brass, in which the artificial globe is suspended and revolves.

Me*rid"i*o*nal (?), a. [F. méridional, L. meridionalis, fr. meridies midday. See Meridian.]

1. Of or pertaining to the meridian.

2. Having a southern aspect; southern; southerly.

Offices that require heat . . . should be meridional.

Sir H. Wotton.

Meridional distance, the distance or departure from the meridian; the easting or westing. -- Meridional parts, parts of the meridian in Mercator's projection, corresponding to each minute of latitude from the equator up to 70 or 80 degrees; tabulated numbers representing these parts used in projecting charts, and in solving cases in Mercator's sailing.

Me*rid`i*o*nal"i*ty (?), n. 1. The state of being in the meridian.

2. Position in the south; aspect toward the south.

Me*rid"i*o*nal*ly (?), adv. In the direction of the meridian.

Mer"ils (?), n. [F. mérelle, marelle, marelles, LL. marella, marrella. Cf. Morris the game.] A boy's play, called also fivepenny morris. See Morris.

||Me`ringue" (F. m`rN"g'; E. m*rng"), n. [F.] A delicate pastry made of ||powdered sugar and the whites of eggs whipped up, -- with jam or ||cream added.

Me*ri"no (?), a. [Sp. merino moving from pasture to pasture, fr. merino a royal judge and superintendent or inspector of sheep walks, LL. merinus, fr. majorinus, i. e., major vill&?;, fr. L. major greater. See Major. Merino sheep are driven at certain seasons from one part of Spain to another, in large flocks, for pasturage.] 1. Of or pertaining to a variety of sheep with very fine wool, originally bred in Spain.

2. Made of the wool of the merino sheep.

Me*ri"no, n.; pl. Merinos (#). [Sp.] 1. (Zoöl.) A breed of sheep originally from Spain, noted for the fineness of its wool.

2. A fine fabric of merino wool.

Mer`is*mat"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; division, fr. &?; part.] (Biol.) Dividing into cells or segments; characterized by separation into two or more parts or sections by the formation of internal partitions; as, merismatic growth, where one cell divides into many.

Mer"i*stem (?), n. [Gr. &?; divisible.] (Bot.) A tissue of growing cells, or cells capable of further division.

Mer"it (?), n. [F. mérite, L. meritum, fr. merere, mereri, to deserve, merit; prob. originally, to get a share; akin to Gr. &?; part, &?; fate, doom, &?; to receive as one's portion. Cf. Market, Merchant, Mercer, Mercy.] 1. The quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.

Here may men see how sin hath his merit.

Chaucer.

Be it known, that we, the greatest, are misthought For things that others do; and when we fall, We answer other's merits in our name.

Shak.

2. Esp. in a good sense: The quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.

Reputation is . . . oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.

Shak.

To him the wit of Greece and Rome was known, And every author's merit, but his own.

Pope.

3. Reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.

Those laurel groves, the merits of thy youth.

Prior.

Mer"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Merited; p. pr. & vb. n. Meriting.] [F. mériter, L. meritare, v. intens. fr. merere. See Merit, n.] 1. To earn by service or performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve; sometimes, to deserve in a bad sense; as, to merit punishment. "This kindness merits thanks." Shak.

2. To reward. [R. & Obs.] Chapman.

Mer"it, v. i. To acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Mer"it*a*ble (?), a. Deserving of reward. [R.]

Mer"it*ed*ly, adv. By merit; deservedly.

{ Mer"i*thal (?), ||Mer`i*thal"lus (?), } n. [NL. merithallus, fr. Gr. &?;, or &?;, a part + &?; a young shoot.] (Bot.) Same as Internode.

Mer"it*mon`ger (?), n. One who depends on merit for salvation. [Obs.] Milner.

Mer`i*to"ri*ous (?), a. [L. meritorius that brings in money.] Possessing merit; deserving of reward or honor; worthy of recompense; valuable.

And meritorious shall that hand be called, Canonized, and worshiped as a saint.

Shak.

-- Mer`i*to"ri*ous*ly, adv. -- Mer`i*to"ri*ous*ness, n.

Mer"i*to*ry (?), a. Meritorious. [Obs.]

Mer"i*tot (?), n. A play of children, in swinging on ropes, or the like, till they are dizzy.

Merk (?), n. [See Marc.] An old Scotch silver coin; a mark or marc. [Scot.]

Merk, n. A mark; a sign. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Merke (?), a. Murky. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Mer"kin (?), n. Originally, a wig; afterwards, a mop for cleaning cannon.

{ Merl (?), Merle, } n. [F. merle, L. merula, merulus. Cf. Ousel.] (Zoöl.) The European blackbird. See Blackbird. Drayton.

Mer"lin (?), n. [OE. merlion, F. émerillon ; cf. OHG. smirl, G. schmerl ; prob. fr. L. merula blackbird. Cf. Merle.] (Zoöl.) A small European falcon (Falco lithofalco, or F. æsalon).

Mer"ling (?), n. (Zoöl.) The European whiting.

Mer"lon (?), n. [F., perh. fr. L. moerus, for murus a wall, through (assumed) dim. moerulus.] (Fort.) One of the solid parts of a battlemented parapet; a battlement. See Illust. of Battlement.

Mer"luce (?), n. [F. merluche, merlus.] (Zoöl.) The European hake; -- called also herring hake and sea pike.

Mer"maid (?), n. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.] A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish.

Chaucer uses this word as equivalent to the siren of the ancients.

Mermaid fish (Zoöl.) the angel fish (Squatina). -- Mermaid's glove (Zoöl.), a British branched sponge somewhat resembling a glove. -- Mermaid's head (Zoöl.), a European spatangoid sea urchin (Echinocardium cordatum) having some resemblance to a skull. -- Mermaid weed (Bot.), an aquatic herb with dentate or pectinate leaves (Proserpinaca palustris and P. pectinacea).

Mer"man (?), n.; pl. Mermen (&?;). The male corresponding to mermaid; a sea man, or man fish.

Mer"o*blast (?), n. [Gr. &?; part + -blast.] (Biol.) An ovum, as that of a mammal, only partially composed of germinal matter, that is, consisting of both a germinal portion and an albuminous or nutritive one; -- opposed to holoblast.

Mer`o*blas"tic (?), a. (Biol.) Consisting only in part of germinal matter; characterized by partial segmentation only; as, meroblastic ova, in which a portion of the yolk only undergoes fission; meroblastic segmentation; -- opposed to holoblastic.

Me"ro*cele (?), n. [Gr. &?; thigh + &?; tumor.] (Med.) Hernia in the thigh; femoral hernia .

Mer`o*is"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?; part + &?; an egg.] (Zoöl.) Applied to the ovaries of insects when they secrete vitelligenous cells, as well as ova.

Me*rop"i*dan (?), n. [L. merops a bee-eating bird, Gr. me`rops.] (Zoöl.) One of a family of birds (Meropidæ), including the bee-eaters.

Me*rop"o*dite (?), n. [Gr. &?; thigh + poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Zoöl.) The fourth joint of a typical appendage of Crustacea.

Mer*or`gan*i*za"tion (?), n. [Gr. &?; part + E. organization.] Organization in part. [R.]

||Me"ros (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; part.] (Arch.) The plain surface ||between the channels of a triglyph. [Written also merus.] Weale.

||Me"ros, n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; the thigh.] (Anat.) The proximal segment ||of the hind limb; the thigh.

Mer"o*some (?), n. [Gr. &?; part + - some body.] (Zoöl.) One of the serial segments, or metameres, of which the bodies of vertebrate and articulate animals are composed.

||Mer`o*stom"a*ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; thigh + &?;, -&?;, ||mouth.] (Zoöl.) A class of Arthropoda, allied to the Crustacea. It ||includes the trilobites, Eurypteroidea, and Limuloidea. All are ||extinct except the horseshoe crabs of the last group. See Limulus.

||Mé`rou" (?), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) See Jack, 8 (c).

Mer`o*vin"gi*an (?), a. [From Merovaeus, the Latin name of a king of the Franks.] Of or pertaining to the first Frankish dynasty in Gaul or France. -- n. One of the kings of this dynasty.

Mer"ri*ly (?), adv. [From Merry.] In a merry manner; with mirth; with gayety and laughter; jovially. See Mirth, and Merry.

Merrily sing, and sport, and play.

Granville.

Mer"ri*make` (?), n. See Merrymake, n.

Mer"ri*make`, v. i. See Merrymake, v. Gay.

Mer"ri*ment (?), n. Gayety, with laughter; mirth; frolic. "Follies and light merriment." Spenser.

Methought it was the sound Of riot and ill-managed merriment.

Milton.

Mer"ri*ness, n. The quality or state of being merry; merriment; mirth; gayety, with laughter.

Mer"ry (?), a. [Compar. Merrier (?); superl. Merriest.] [OE. merie, mirie, murie, merry, pleasant, AS. merge, myrige, pleasant; cf. murge, adv.; prob. akin to OHG. murg, short, Goth. gamaúrgjan to shorten; cf. L. murcus a coward, who cuts off his thumb to escape military service; the Anglo-Saxon and English meanings coming from the idea of making the time seem short. Cf. Mirth.] 1. Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play ; sportive.

They drank, and were merry with him.

Gen. xliii. 34.

I am never merry when I hear sweet music.

Shak.

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2. Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy.

Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

Jas. v. 13.

3. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight; as, a merry jest. "Merry wind and weather." Spenser.

Merry dancers. See under Dancer. -- Merry men, followers; retainers. [Obs.]

His merie men commanded he To make him bothe game and glee.

Chaucer.

-- To make merry, to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth. Judg. ix. 27.

Syn. -- Cheerful; blithe; lively; sprightly; vivacious; gleeful; joyous; mirthful; jocund; sportive; hilarious.

Mer"ry (mr"r), n. (Bot.) A kind of wild red cherry.

Mer"ry-an"drew (-n"dr), n. One whose business is to make sport for others; a buffoon; a zany; especially, one who attends a mountebank or quack doctor.

This term is said to have originated from one Andrew Borde, an English physician of the 16th century, who gained patients by facetious speeches to the multitude.

Mer"ry-go`-round" (?), n. Any revolving contrivance for affording amusement; esp., a ring of flying hobbyhorses.

Mer"ry*make` (?), n. Mirth; frolic; a meeting for mirth; a festival. [Written also merrimake.]

Mer"ry*make`, v. i. To make merry; to be jolly; to feast. [Written also merrimake.]

Mer"ry*mak`er (?), n. One who makes merriment or indulges in conviviality; a jovial comrade.

Mer"ry*mak`ing (?), a. Making or producing mirth; convivial; jolly.

Mer"ry*mak`ing, n. The act of making merry; conviviality; merriment; jollity. Wordsworth.

Mer"ry*meet`ing (?), n. A meeting for mirth.

Mer"ry*thought` (?), n. The forked bone of a fowl's breast; -- called also wishbone. See Furculum.

It is a sportive custom for two persons to break this bone by pulling the ends apart to see who will get the longer piece, the securing of which is regarded as a lucky omen, signifying that the person holding it will obtain the gratification of some secret wish.

Mer"sion (?), n. [L. mersio. See Merge.] Immersion. [R.] Barrow.

Me*ru"li*dan (?), n. [L. merula, merulus, blackbird. See Merle.] (Zoöl.) A bird of the Thrush family.

||Me"rus (?), n. [NL.] (Arch.) See Meros.

Mer"vaille` (?), n. Marvel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mes- (?). See Meso-.

||Me"sa (?), &?;. [Sp.] A high tableland; a plateau on a hill. ||[Southwestern U.S.] Bartlett.

Mes*ac"o*nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of mesaconic acid.

Mes`a*con"ic (?), a. [Mes- + -aconic, as in citraconic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, one of several isomeric acids obtained from citric acid.

Mes"ad (?), adv. Same as Mesiad.

Mes"al (?), a. Same as Mesial.

||Mé`sal`li`ance" (?), n. [F.] A marriage with a person of inferior ||social position; a misalliance.

Mes"al*ly (ms"al*l), adv. Same as Mesially.

Mes`a*mœ"boid (ms`*m"boid), n. [Mes- + amœboid.] (Biol.) One of a class of independent, isolated cells found in the mesoderm, while the germ layers are undergoing differentiation.

Mes`a*ra"ic (?), a. [Gr. mesa`raion mesentery; me`sos middle + 'araia` flank.] (Anat.) Mesenteric.

Mes`a*ti*ce*phal"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; midmost + E. cephalic.] (Anat.) Having the ratio of the length to the breadth of the cranium a medium one; neither brachycephalic nor dolichocephalic.

Mes`a*ti*ceph"a*lous (?), a. (Anat.) Mesaticephalic.

||Mes*cal" (?), n. [Sp.] A distilled liquor prepared in Mexico from a ||species of agave. See Agave.

||Mes`dames" (F. ?, E. ?), n., pl. of Madame and Madam.

Me*seems" (?), v. impers. [imp. Meseemed (?).] It seems to me. [Poetic]

Me"sel (?), n. [See Measle.] A leper. [Obs.]

Me"sel*ry (?), n. Leprosy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||Me*sem`bry*an"the*mum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. meshmbri`a midday + ||'a`nqos flower.] (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous or suffruticose plants, ||chiefly natives of South Africa. The leaves are opposite, thick, and ||f&?;eshy. The flowers usually open about midday, whence the name.

Mes`en*ce*phal"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesencephalon or midbrain.

||Mes`en*ceph"a*lon (?), n. [NL. See Meso- and Encephalon.] (Anat.) The ||middle segment of the brain; the midbrain. Sometimes abbreviated to ||mesen. See Brain.

||Mes*en"chy*ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + -enchyma, as in ||E. parenchyma.] (Biol.) The part of the mesoblast which gives rise to ||the connective tissues and blood.

Mes`en*ter"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. mésentérique.] (Anat.) Pertaining to a mesentery; mesaraic.

||Mes*en"te*ron (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Enteron.] (Anat.) All that ||part of the alimentary canal which is developed from the primitive ||enteron and is lined with hypoblast. It is distinguished from the ||stomodæum, a part at the anterior end of the canal, including the ||cavity of the mouth, and the proctodæum, a part at the posterior end, ||which are formed by invagination and are lined with epiblast.

Mes"en*ter*y (?; 277), n. [Gr. mesente`rion, me`sos + 'e`nteron intestine: cf. F. mésentère.]

1. (Anat.) The membranes, or one of the membranes (consisting of a fold of the peritoneum and inclosed tissues), which connect the intestines and their appendages with the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity. The mesentery proper is connected with the jejunum and ilium, the other mesenteries being called mesocæcum, mesocolon, mesorectum, etc.

2. (Zoöl.) One of the vertical muscular radiating partitions which divide the body cavity of Anthozoa into chambers.

Mes`e*ra"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Mesaraic.

Mes*eth"moid (?), a. [Mes- + ethmoid.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the middle of the ethmoid region or ethmoid bone. -- n. (Anat.) The median vertical plate, or median element, of the ethmoid bone.

Mesh (msh), n. [AS. masc, max, mæscre; akin to D. maas, masche, OHG. masca, Icel. möskvi; cf. Lith. mazgas a knot, megsti to weave nets, to knot.] 1. The opening or space inclosed by the threads of a net between knot and knot, or the threads inclosing such a space; network; a net.

A golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men.

Shak.

2. (Gearing) The engagement of the teeth of wheels, or of a wheel and rack.

Mesh stick, a stick on which the mesh is formed in netting.

Mesh, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Meshed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Meshing.] To catch in a mesh. Surrey.

Mesh, v. i. (Gearing) To engage with each other, as the teeth of wheels.

Meshed (?), a. Mashed; brewed. [Obs.] Shak.

Mesh"y (?), a. Formed with meshes; netted.

Mes"i*ad (?), adv. [Gr. me`sos middle + L. ad to.] (Anat.) Toward, or on the side toward, the mesial plane; mesially; -- opposed to laterad.

Me"sial (?; 277), a. [Gr. me`sos middle.] (Anat.) Middle; median; in, or in the region of, the mesial plane; internal; -- opposed to lateral.

Mesial plane. (Anat.) See Meson.

Me"sial*ly, adv. (Anat.) In, near, or toward, the mesial plane; mesiad.

Mes"i*tyl (?), n. (Chem.) A hypothetical radical formerly supposed to exist in mesityl oxide.

Mesityl oxide (Chem.), a volatile liquid having the odor of peppermint, obtained by certain dehydrating agents from acetone; -- formerly called also dumasin.

Me*sit"y*le*nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of mesitylenic acid.

Me*sit"y*lene (?), n. (Chem.) A colorless, fragrant liquid, C6H3(CH3)3, of the benzene series of hydrocarbons, obtained by distilling acetone with sulphuric acid. -- Me*sit`y*len"ic (#), a.

Me*sit"y*lol (?), n. [Mesitylene + -ol.] (Chem.) A crystalline substance obtained from mesitylene.

Mes"lin (? or ?), n. See Maslin.

Mes`mer*ee" (?), n. A person subjected to mesmeric influence; one who is mesmerized. [R.]

{ Mes*mer"ic (?), Mes*mer"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. mesmérique.] Of, pertaining to, or induced by, mesmerism; as, mesmeric sleep.

Mes"mer*ism (?), n. [From Mesmer, who first brought it into notice at Vienna, about 1775: cf. F. mesmérisme.] The art of inducing an extraordinary or abnormal state of the nervous system, in which the actor claims to control the actions, and communicate directly with the mind, of the recipient. See Animal magnetism, under Magnetism.

Mes"mer*ist, n. One who practices, or believes in, mesmerism.

Mes`mer*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of mesmerizing; the state of being mesmerized.

Mes"mer*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mesmerized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mesmerizing (?).] To bring into a state of mesmeric sleep.

Mes"mer*i`zer (?), n. One who mesmerizes.

Mesne (?), a. [Cf. Mean intermediate.] (Law) Middle; intervening; as, a mesne lord, that is, a lord who holds land of a superior, but grants a part of it to another person, in which case he is a tenant to the superior, but lord or superior to the second grantee, and hence is called the mesne lord.

Mesne process, intermediate process; process intervening between the beginning and end of a suit, sometimes understood to be the whole process preceding the execution. Blackstone. Burrill. -- Mesne profits, profits of premises during the time the owner has been wrongfully kept out of the possession of his estate. Burrill.

{ Mes"o- (?), Mes- (?) }. [Gr. me`sos in the middle.] A combining form denoting in the middle, intermediate; specif. (Chem.), denoting a type of hydrocarbons which are regarded as methenyl derivatives. Also used adjectively.

||Mes`o*a"ri*um (?), n. [NL., from Gr. me`sos middle + 'w,a`rion, dim. ||of 'w,o`n an egg.] (Anat.) The fold of peritoneum which suspends the ||ovary from the dorsal wall of the body cavity.

Mes"o*blast (?), n. [Meso- + -blast.] (Biol.) (a) The mesoderm. (b) The cell nucleus; mesoplast.

Mes`o*blas"tic (?), a. (Biol.) Relating to the mesoblast; as, the mesoblastic layer.

Mes`o*bran"chi*al (?), a. [Meso- + branchial.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to a region of the carapace of a crab covering the middle branchial region.

||Mes`o*bron"chi*um (?), n.; pl. Mesobronchia (#). [NL. See Meso-, and ||Bronchia.] (Anat.) The main bronchus of each lung.

||Mes`o*cæ"cum (?), n. (Anat.) [NL. See Meso-, and Cæcum.] The fold of ||peritoneum attached to the cæcum. -- Mes`o*cæ"cal (#), a.

Mes"o*carp (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.) The middle layer of a pericarp which consists of three distinct or dissimilar layers. Gray.

Mes`o*ce*phal"ic (?), a. [Meso- + cephalic.] (Anat.) (a) Of or pertaining to, or in the region of, the middle of the head; as, the mesocephalic flexure. (b) Having the cranial cavity of medium capacity; neither megacephalic nor microcephalic. (c) Having the ratio of the length to the breadth of the cranium a medium one; mesaticephalic.

||Mes`o*ceph"a*lon (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Cephalon.] (Anat.) The ||pons Varolii.

Mes`o*ceph"a*lous (?), a. (Anat.) Mesocephalic.

{ Mes`o*cœ"le (?), ||Mes`o*cœ"li*a (?), } n. [NL. mesocoelia. See Meso-, and Cœlia.] (Anat.) The cavity of the mesencephalon; the iter.

Mes`o*co"lon (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; me`sos middle + &?; the colon : cf. F. mésocôlon.] (Anat.) The fold of peritoneum, or mesentery, attached to the colon. -- Mes`o*col"ic (#), a.

Mes`o*cor"a*coid (?), n. [Meso- + coracoid.] (Anat.) A process from the middle of the coracoid in some animals.

{ Mes`o*cu*ne"i*form (?), Mes`o*cu"ni*form (?), } n. [Meso- + cuneiform, cuniform.] (Anat.) One of the bones of the tarsus. See 2d Cuneiform.

Mes"o*derm (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. de`rma skin.] (Biol.) (a) The layer of the blastoderm, between the ectoderm and endoderm; mesoblast. See Illust. of Blastoderm and Ectoderm. (b) The middle body layer in some invertebrates. (c) The middle layer of tissue in some vegetable structures.

Mes`o*der"mal (?), a. (Biol.) Pertaining to, or derived from, the mesoderm; as, mesodermal tissues.

Mes`o*der"mic (?), a. Same as Mesodermal.

Mes"o*dont (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, a tooth.] (Anat.) Having teeth of moderate size.

||Mes`o*gas"ter (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; belly.] ||(Anat.) The fold of peritoneum connecting the stomach with the dorsal ||wall of the abdominal cavity; the mesogastrium.

Mes`o*gas"tric (?), a. [Meso- + gastric.]

1. (Anat.) (a) Of or pertaining to the middle region of the abdomen, or of the stomach. (b) Of or pertaining to the mesogaster.

2. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the middle gastric lobe of the carapace of a crab.

||Mes`o*gas"tri*um (?), n. [NL. See Mesogaster.] (Anat.) (a) The ||umbilical region. (b) The mesogaster.

||Mes`o*glœ"a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a glutinous ||substance.] (Zoöl.) A thin gelatinous tissue separating the ectoderm ||and endoderm in certain cœlenterates. -- Mes`o*glœ"al (#), a.

Me*sog"na*thous (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. gna`qos jaw.] (Anat.) Having the jaws slightly projecting; between prognathous and orthognathous. See Gnathic index, under Gnathic.

||Mes`o*he"par (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Hepar.] (Anat.) A fold of ||the peritoneum connecting the liver with the dorsal wall of the ||abdominal cavity.

||Mes`o*hip"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a horse.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct mammal of the Horse family, but not larger than ||a sheep, and having three toes on each foot.

Mes"o*labe (?), n. [L. mesolabium, Gr. &?;; me`sos middle + &?; to take.] An instrument of the ancients for finding two mean proportionals between two given lines, required in solving the problem of the duplication of the cube. Brande & C.

Mes"ole (?), n. [Gr. me`sos middle.] (Min.) Same as Thomsonite.

Mes"o*lite (?; 277), n. [Meso- + -lite.] (Min.) A zeolitic mineral, grayish white or yellowish, occuring in delicate groups of crystals, also fibrous massive. It is a hydrous silicate of alumina, lime, and soda.

Mes`o*log"a*rithm (?), n. [Meso- + logarithm : cf. F. mésologarithme.] (Math.) A logarithm of the cosine or cotangent. [Obs.] Kepler. Hutton.

||Mes`o*me"tri*um (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Metrium.] (Anat.) The ||fold of the peritoneum supporting the oviduct.

Mes`o*my*o"di*an (?), n. (Zoöl.) A bird having a mesomyodous larynx.

Mes`o*my"o*dous (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?;, &?;, a muscle.] (Zoöl.) Having the intrinsic muscles of the larynx attached to the middle of the semirings.

||Mes"on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`son middle, neut. of me`sos, a., ||middle.] (Anat.) The mesial plane dividing the body of an animal into ||similar right and left halves. The line in which it meets the dorsal ||surface has been called the dorsimeson, and the corresponding ventral ||edge the ventrimeson. B. G. Wilder.

Mes`o*na"sal (?), a. [Meso- + nasal.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the middle portion of the nasal region.

Mes`o*neph"ric (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesonephros; as, the mesonephric, or Wolffian, duct.

||Mes`o*neph"ros (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + nefro`s kidney.] ||(Anat.) The middle one of the three pairs of embryonic renal organs ||developed in most vertebrates; the Wolffian body.

||Mes`o*no"tum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + nw^ton the back.] ||(Zoöl.) The dorsal portion of the mesothorax of insects.

||Mes`o*phlœ"um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + floio`s bark.] ||(Bot.) The middle bark of a tree; the green layer of bark, usually ||soon covered by the outer or corky layer, and obliterated.

||Me*soph"ry*on (?), n. [NL., from Gr. meso`fryon.] (Anat.) See ||Glabella.

||Mes`o*phyl"lum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + fy`llon leaf.] ||(Bot.) The parenchyma of a leaf between the skin of the two surfaces. ||Gray.

Mes"o*plast (?), n. [Meso- + -plast.] (Biol.) The nucleus of a cell; mesoblast. Agassiz.

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Mes`o*po"di*al (ms`*p"d*al), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesopodialia or to the parts of the limbs to which they belong.

||Mes`o*po`di*a"le (?), n.; pl. Mesopodialia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos ||middle + &?;, dim. of poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Anat.) One of the bones ||of either the carpus or tarsus.

||Mes`o*po"di*um (?), n. [NL. See Mesopodiale.] (Zoöl.) The middle ||portion of the foot in the Gastropoda and Pteropoda.

||Me*sop`te*ryg"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a fin.] ||(Anat.) The middle one of the three principal basal cartilages in the ||fins of fishes. -- ||Me*sop`ter*yg"i*al (#), a.

||Me*sor"chi*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a testicle.] ||(Anat.) The fold of peritoneum which attaches the testis to the ||dorsal wall of the body cavity or scrotal sac.

||Mes`o*rec"tum (?), n. [Meso- + rectum.] (Anat.) The fold of ||peritoneum, or mesentery, attached to the rectum. -- Mes`o*rec"tal ||(#), a.

Mes"o*rhine (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?;, &?;, the nose.] (Anat.) Having the nose of medium width; between leptorhine and platyrhine.

||Mes`o*sau"ri*a (?), n. Same as Mosasauria.

||Mes`o*scap"u*la (?), n. [Meso- + scapula.] (Anat.) A process from the ||middle of the scapula in some animals; the spine of the scapula.

Mes`o*scap"u*lar (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesoscapula.

||Mes`o*scu"tum (?), n. [Meso- + scutum.] (Zoöl.) The scutum or dorsal ||plate of the middle thoracic segment of an insect. See Illust. of ||Butterfly.

Mes"o*seme (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?; sign, mark; cf. F. mésosème.] (Anat.) Having a medium orbital index; having orbits neither broad nor narrow; between megaseme and microseme.

Mes`o*sid"er*ite (?), n. [Meso- + siderite.] (Min.) See the Note under Meteorite.

Mes"o*sperm (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. &?; seed: cf. F. mésosperme.] (Bot.) A membrane of a seed. See Secundine.

Mes"o*state (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. &?; to make to stand.] (Physiol.) A product of metabolic action.

Every mesostate is either an anastate or katastate, according as it is formed by an anabolic or katabolic process. See Metabolism.

Mes`o*ster"nal (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesosternum.

||Mes`o*ster"num (?), n. [Meso- + sternum.]

1. (Anat.) The middle portion, or body, of the sternum.

2. (Zoöl.) The ventral piece of the middle segment of the thorax in insects.

Mes`o*tar*tar"ic (?), a. [Meso- + tartaric.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid called also inactive tartaric acid.

||Mes`o*the"ca (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; box.] (Zoöl.) ||The middle layer of the gonophore in the Hydrozoa.

||Mes`o*the"li*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + E. epithelium.] ||(Biol.) Epithelial mesoderm; a layer of cuboidal epithelium cells, ||formed from a portion of the mesoderm during the differetiation of ||the germ layers. It constitutes the boundary of the cœlum.

Mes`o*tho*rac"ic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the mesothorax.

Mes`o*tho"rax (?), n. [Meso- + thorax: cf. F. mésothorax.] (Zoöl.) The middle segment of the thorax in insects. See Illust. of Coleoptera.

Mes"o*tro`chal (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?; anything round, a hoop.] (Zoöl.) Having the middle of the body surrounded by bands of cilia; -- said of the larvæ of certain marine annelids.

Mes"o*type (?), n. [Meso- + - type: cf. F. mésotype.] (Min.) An old term covering natrolite or soda mesolite, scolecite or lime mesotype, and mesolite or lime-soda mesotype.

||Mes`o*va"ri*um (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Ovary.] (Anat.) The fold ||of peritoneum connecting the ovary with the wall of the abdominal ||cavity.

Mes*ox"a*late (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of mesoxalic acid.

Mes`ox*al"ic (?), a. [Mes- + oxalic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid, CH2O2(CO2H)2, obtained from amido malonic acid.

||Mes`o*zo"a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Mesozoic.] (Zoöl.) A group of very ||lowly organized, wormlike parasites, including the Dicyemata. They ||are found in cephalopods. See Dicyemata.

Mes`o*zo"ic (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?; life, fr. &?; to live.] (Geol.) Belonging, or relating, to the secondary or reptilian age, or the era between the Paleozoic and Cenozoic. See Chart of Geology.

Mes`o*zo"ic, n. The Mesozoic age or formation.

Mes*prise" (?), n. [OF. mespris, F. mépris. See Misprize.] 1. Contempt; scorn. [Obs.]

2. [Perh. for F. méprise mistake. Cf. Misprision.] Misadventure; ill-success. [Obs.] Spenser.

{ Mes*qui"te (ms*k"t), Mes*quit" (ms*kt") }, n. [Sp. mezquite; said to be a Mexican Indian word.] (Bot.) A name for two trees of the southwestern part of North America, the honey mesquite, and screw-pod mesquite.

Honey mesquite. See Algaroba (b). -- Screw-pod mesquite, a smaller tree (Prosopis pubescens), having spiral pods used as fodder and sometimes as food by the Indians. -- Mesquite grass, a rich native grass in Western Texas (Bouteloua oligostachya, and other species); -- so called from its growing in company with the mesquite tree; -- called also muskit grass, grama grass.

Mess (?), n. Mass; church service. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mess (?), n. [OE. mes, OF. mets, LL. missum, p. p. of mittere to put, place (e. g., on the table), L. mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Mass religious service.] 1. A quantity of food set on a table at one time; provision of food for a person or party for one meal; as, a mess of pottage; also, the food given to a beast at one time.

At their savory dinner set Of herbs and other country messes.

Milton.

2. A number of persons who eat together, and for whom food is prepared in common; especially, persons in the military or naval service who eat at the same table; as, the wardroom mess. Shak.

3. A set of four; -- from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner. [Obs.] Latimer.

4. The milk given by a cow at one milking. [U.S.]

5. [Perh. corrupt. fr. OE. mesh for mash: cf. muss.] A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; hence, a situation resulting from blundering or from misunderstanding; as, he made a mess of it. [Colloq.]

Mess (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Messed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Messing.] To take meals with a mess; to belong to a mess; to eat (with others); as, I mess with the wardroom officers. Marryat.

Mess, v. t. To supply with a mess.

Mes"sage (?; 48), n. [F., fr. LL. missaticum, fr. L. mittere, missum, to send. See Mission, and cf. Messenger.] 1. Any notice, word, or communication, written or verbal, sent from one person to another.

Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee.

Judg. iii. 20.

2. Hence, specifically, an official communication, not made in person, but delivered by a messenger; as, the President's message.

Message shell. See Shell.

Mes"sage, v. t. To bear as a message. [Obs.]

Mes"sage, n. [OE., fr. OF. message, fr. LL. missaticus. See 1st Message.] A messenger. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mes"sa*ger (?), n. [OE.] A messenger. [Obs.]

Mes"sen*ger (?), n. [OE. messager, OF. messagier, F. messager. See Message.] 1. One who bears a message; the bearer of a verbal or written communication, notice, or invitation, from one person to another, or to a public body; specifically, an office servant who bears messages.

2. One who, or that which, foreshows, or foretells.

Yon gray lines That fret the clouds are messengers of day.

Shak.

3. (Naut.) A hawser passed round the capstan, and having its two ends lashed together to form an endless rope or chain; -- formerly used for heaving in the cable.

4. (Law) A person appointed to perform certain ministerial duties under bankrupt and insolvent laws, such as to take charge of the estate of the bankrupt or insolvent. Bouvier. Tomlins.

Syn. -- Carrier; intelligencer; courier; harbinger; forerunner; precursor; herald.

Messenger bird, the secretary bird, from its swiftness.

Mes"set (?), n. A dog. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Mes*si"ad (?), n. A German epic poem on the Messiah, by Klopstock.

Mes*si"ah (?), n. [Heb. mshakh anointed, fr. mshakh to anoint. Cf. Messias.] The expected king and deliverer of the Hebrews; the Savior; Christ.

And told them the Messiah now was born.

Milton.

Mes*si"ah*ship, n. The state or office of the Messiah.

Mes`si*an"ic (?), a. Of or relating to the Messiah; as, the Messianic office or character.

Mes*si"as (?), n. [LL., fr. Gr. &?;. See Messiah.] The Messiah.

I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ.

John iv. 25.

||Mes`si`dor" (F. ?; E. ?), n. [F., fr. L. messis harvest.] The tenth ||month of the French republican calendar dating from September 22, ||1792. It began June 19, and ended July 18. See VendÉmiaire.

Mes"sieurs (?; F. ?; 277), n. pl. [F.; pl. of monsieur.] Sirs; gentlemen; -- abbreviated to Messrs., which is used as the plural of Mr.

Mes`si*nese" (? or ?), a. Of or pertaining to Messina, or its inhabitans.

Mess"mate` (?), n. An associate in a mess.

Mes"suage (?; 48), n. [Cf. OF. mesuage, masnage, LL. messuagium, mansionaticum, fr. L. mansio, -onis, a staying, remaining, dwelling, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, remain, E. mansion, manse.] (Law) A dwelling house, with the adjacent buildings and curtilage, and the adjoining lands appropriated to the use of the household. Cowell. Bouvier.

They wedded her to sixty thousand pounds, To lands in Kent, and messuages in York.

Tennyson.

Mest (?), a. Most. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mes*tee" (?), n. [See Mestizo.] The offspring of a white person and a quadroon; -- so called in the West Indies. [Written also mustee.]

Mes"ter (?), n. [Obs.] See Mister, a trade.

Mes*ti"no (?), n.; pl. Mestinos (&?;). See Mestizo.

Mes*ti"zo (?), n.; pl. Mestizos (#). [Sp. mestizo; akin to OF. mestis, F. métis; all fr. (assumed) LL. mixtitius, fr. L. mixtus mixed, p. p. of miscere to mix. See Mix, and cf. Mestee, MÉtif, MÉtis, Mustee.] The offspring of an Indian or a negro and a European or person of European stock. [Spanish America]

Mestizo wool, wool imported from South America, and produced by mixed breeds of sheep.

Mest"ling (?), n. A kind of brass. See Maslin. [Obs.]

||Me*sym"ni*cum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a festive ||song. See Hymn.] (Anc. Poetry) A repetition at the end of a stanza.

Met (?), imp. & p. p. of Meet.

Met, obs. imp. & p. p. of Mete, to measure. Chapman.

Met, obs. p. p. of Mete, to dream. Chaucer.

{ Met"a- (?), Met- (?) }. [Gr. meta` between, with, after; akin to AS. mid with, G. mit, Goth. miþ, E. mid, in midwife.] 1. A prefix meaning between, with, after, behind, over, about, reversely; as, metachronism, the error of placing after the correct time; metaphor, lit., a carrying over; metathesis, a placing reversely.

2. (Chem.) A prefix denoting: (a) Other; duplicate, corresponding to; resembling; hence, metameric; as, meta-arabinic, metaldehyde. (b) (Organic Chem.) That two replacing radicals, in the benzene nucleus, occupy the relative positions of 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 3 and 5, 4 and 6, 5 and 1, or 6 and 2; as, metacresol, etc. See Ortho-, and Para-. (c) (Inorganic Chem.) Having less than the highest number of hydroxyl groups; - - said of acids; as, metaphosphoric acid. Also used adjectively.

Me*tab"a*sis (?), n.; pl. Metabases (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to pass over; &?; beyond, over + &?; to go.] 1. (Rhet.) A transition from one subject to another.

2. (Med.) Same as Metabola.

{ ||Me*tab"o*la (?), ||Me*tab"o*le (?), } n. [NL., from Gr. &?; change; &?; beyond + &?; to throw.] (Med.) A change or mutation; a change of disease, symptoms, or treatment.

{ ||Me*tab"o*la (?), ||Met`a*bo"li*a (?), } n. pl. [NL. See 1st Metabola.] (Zoöl.) A comprehensive group of insects, including those that undegro a metamorphosis.

Met`a*bo"li*an (?), n. [See Metabola.] (Zoöl.) An insect which undergoes a metamorphosis.

Met`a*bol"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;. See Metabola.] 1. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to metamorphosis; pertaining to, or involving, change.

2. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to metabolism; as, metabolic activity; metabolic force.

||Met`a*bol"i*sis (?), n. [NL.] Metabolism. [R.]

Me*tab"o*lism (?), n. (Physiol.) The act or process, by which living tissues or cells take up and convert into their own proper substance the nutritive material brought to them by the blood, or by which they transform their cell protoplasm into simpler substances, which are fitted either for excretion or for some special purpose, as in the manufacture of the digestive ferments. Hence, metabolism may be either constructive (anabolism), or destructive (katabolism).

Me*tab"o*lite (?), n. (Physiol Chem.) A product of metabolism; a substance produced by metabolic action, as urea.

Me*tab"o*lize (?), v. t. & i. (Physiol.) To change by a metabolic process. See Metabolism.

Met`a*bran"chi*al (?), a. [Meta- + branchial.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the lobe of the carapace of crabs covering the posterior branchiæ.

Met`a*car"pal (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the metacarpus. -- n. A metacarpal bone.

Met`a*car"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; beyond, between + &?; the wrist.] (Anat.) That part of the skeleton of the hand or forefoot between the carpus and phalanges. In man it consists of five bones. See Illust. of Artiodactyla.

{ Met`a*cen"ter (?) or -tre }, n. [Pref. meta- + center.] (Hydrostatics) The point of intersection of a vertical line through the center of gravity of the fluid displaced by a floating body which is tipped through a small angle from its position of equilibrium, and the inclined line which was vertical through the center of gravity of the body when in equilibrium.

When the metacenter is above the center of gravity, the position of the body is stable; when below it, unstable.

Me*tac"e*tone (?), n. [Pref. met- + acetone.] (Chem.) A colorless liquid of an agreeable odor, C6H10O, obtained by distilling a mixture of sugar and lime; -- so called because formerly regarded as a polymeric modification of acetone.

Met`a*chlo"ral (?), n. [Pref. meta- + chloral.] (Chem.) A white, amorphous, insoluble substance regarded as a polymeric variety of chloral.

Me*tach"ro*nism (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, after the time, happening afterward; &?; beyond + &?; time: cf. F. métachronisme.] An error committed in chronology by placing an event after its real time.

||Met`a*chro"sis (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; beyond + &?; a coloring.] ||(Biol.) The power of changing color at will by the expansion of ||special pigment cells, under nerve influence, as seen in many ||reptiles, fishes, etc. Cope.

Met`a*cin"na*bar*ite (?), n. [Pref. meta- + cinnabar.] (Min.) Sulphide of mercury in isometric form and black in color.

Met"a*cism (?), n. [L. metacismus, Gr. &?; fondness for the letter &?;.] A defect in pronouncing the letter m, or a too frequent use of it.

Met`a*cro"le*in (?), n. [Pref. met- + acrolein.] (Chem.) A polymeric modification of acrolein obtained by heating it with caustic potash. It is a crystalline substance having an aromatic odor.

||Met`a*cro"mi*on (?), n. [NL.] (Anat.) A process projecting backward ||and downward from the acromion of the scapula of some mammals.

Met`a*dis*coid"al (?), a. [Meta- + discoidal.] (Anat.) Discoidal by derivation; -- applied especially to the placenta of man and apes, because it is supposed to have been derived from a diffused placenta.

Met`a*gas"tric (?), a. [Pref. meta- + gastric.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the two posterior gastric lobes of the carapace of crabs.

Met"age (?; 48), n. [From Mete, v.] 1. Measurement, especially of coal. De Foe.

2. Charge for, or price of, measuring. Simmonds.

Met`a*gen"e*sis (?), n. [Pref. meta- + genesis.] 1. (Biol.) The change of form which one animal species undergoes in a series of successively produced individuals, extending from the one developed from the ovum to the final perfected individual. Hence, metagenesis involves the production of sexual individuals by nonsexual means, either directly or through intervening sexless generations. Opposed to monogenesis. See Alternate generation, under Generation.

2. (Biol.) Alternation of sexual and asexual or gemmiparous generations; -- in distinction from heterogamy.

<! p. 917 !>

Met`a*ge*net"ic (mt`*j*nt"k), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to metagenesis.

Met`a*gen"ic (-jn"k), a. (Biol.) Metagenetic.

Me*tag"na*thous (?), a. [Pref. meta- + Gr. gna`qos the jaw.] (Zoöl.) Cross-billed; -- said of certain birds, as the crossbill.

Met`a*gram"ma*tism (?), n. Anagrammatism.

Met`a*graph"ic (?), a. By or pertaining to metagraphy.

Me*tag"ra*phy (?), n. [Pref. meta- + -graphy.] The art or act of rendering the letters of the alphabet of one language into the possible equivalents of another; transliteration. Stormonth.

Met"al (? or ?; 277), n. [F. métal, L. metallum metal, mine, Gr. &?; mine; cf. Gr. &?; to search after. Cf. Mettle, Medal.] 1. (Chem.) An elementary substance, as sodium, calcium, or copper, whose oxide or hydroxide has basic rather than acid properties, as contrasted with the nonmetals, or metalloids. No sharp line can be drawn between the metals and nonmetals, and certain elements partake of both acid and basic qualities, as chromium, manganese, bismuth, etc.

Popularly, the name is applied to certain hard, fusible metals, as gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, zinc, nickel, etc., and also to the mixed metals, or metallic alloys, as brass, bronze, steel, bell metal, etc.

2. Ore from which a metal is derived; -- so called by miners. Raymond.

3. A mine from which ores are taken. [Obs.]

Slaves . . . and persons condemned to metals.

Jer. Taylor.

4. The substance of which anything is made; material; hence, constitutional disposition; character; temper.

Not till God make men of some other metal than earth.

Shak.

5. Courage; spirit; mettle. See Mettle. Shak.

The allusion is to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. Skeat.

6. The broken stone used in macadamizing roads and ballasting railroads.

7. The effective power or caliber of guns carried by a vessel of war.

8. Glass in a state of fusion. Knight.

9. pl. The rails of a railroad. [Eng.]

Base metal (Chem.), any one of the metals, as iron, lead, etc., which are readily tarnished or oxidized, in contrast with the noble metals. In general, a metal of small value, as compared with gold or silver. -- Fusible metal (Metal.), a very fusible alloy, usually consisting of bismuth with lead, tin, or cadmium. -- Heavy metals (Chem.), the metallic elements not included in the groups of the alkalies, alkaline earths, or the earths; specifically, the heavy metals, as gold, mercury, platinum, lead, silver, etc. -- Light metals (Chem.), the metallic elements of the alkali and alkaline earth groups, as sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, etc.; also, sometimes, the metals of the earths, as aluminium. -- Muntz metal, an alloy for sheathing and other purposes, consisting of about sixty per cent of copper, and forty of zinc. Sometimes a little lead is added. It is named from the inventor. -- Prince's metal (Old Chem.), an alloy resembling brass, consisting of three parts of copper to one of zinc; -- also called Prince Rupert's metal.

Met"al, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metaled (? or ?) or Metalled; p. pr. & vb. n. Metaling or Metalling.] To cover with metal; as, to metal a ship's bottom; to metal a road.

Met`al*am*mo"ni*um (?), n. [Metal + ammonium.] (Chem.) A hypothetical radical derived from ammonium by the substitution of metallic atoms in place of hydrogen.

Met`al*bu"min (?), n. [Pref. met- + albumin.] (Physiol. Chem.) A form of albumin found in ascitic and certain serous fluids. It is sometimes regarded as a mixture of albumin and mucin.

Me*tal"de*hyde (?), n. [Pref. met- + aldehyde.] (Chem.) A white crystalline substance isomeric with, and obtained from, acetic aldehyde by polymerization, and reconvertible into the same.

||Met`a*lep"sis (?), n.; pl. Metalepses (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?; ||participation, alteration, fr. &?; to partake, to take in exchange; ||&?; beyond + &?; to take.] (Rhet.) The continuation of a trope in one ||word through a succession of significations, or the union of two or ||more tropes of a different kind in one word.

Met"a*lep`sy (?), n. (Chem.) Exchange; replacement; substitution; metathesis. [R.]

Met`a*lep"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?;] 1. Of or pertaining to a metalepsis.

2. Transverse; as, the metaleptic motion of a muscle.

3. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, concerned in, or occurring by, metalepsy.

Met`a*lep"tic*al (?), a. Metaleptic. -- Met`a*lep"tic*al*ly, adv.

Me*tal"lic (?), a. [L. metallicus, fr. metallum: cf. F. métallique. See Metal.] 1. Of or pertaining to a metal; of the nature of metal; resembling metal; as, a metallic appearance; a metallic alloy.

2. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or characterized by, the essential and implied properties of a metal, as contrasted with a nonmetal or metalloid; basic; antacid; positive.

Metallic iron, iron in the state of the metal, as distinquished from its ores, as magnetic iron. -- Metallic paper, paper covered with a thin solution of lime, whiting, and size. When written upon with a pewter or brass pencil, the lines can hardly be effaced. -- Metallic tinking (Med.), a sound heard in the chest, when a cavity communicating with the air passages contains both air and liquid.

Me*tal"lic*al (?), a. See Metallic. [Obs.]

Me*tal"lic*ly (?), adv. In a metallic manner; by metallic means.

Me*tal`li*fac"ture (?; 135), n. [L. metallum metal + facere, factum, to make.] The production and working or manufacture of metals. [R.] R. Park.

Met`al*lif"er*ous (?), a. [L. metallifer; metallum metal + ferre to bear: cf. F. métallifère.] Producing metals; yielding metals.

Me*tal"li*form (?), a. [L. metallum metal + -form: cf. F. métalliforme.] Having the form or structure of a metal.

Met"al*line (?), a. [Cf. F. métallin.] (Chem.) (a) Pertaining to, or resembling, a metal; metallic; as, metalline properties. (b) Impregnated with metallic salts; chalybeate; as, metalline water. [R.]

Met"al*line (? or ?), n. (Chem.) A substance of variable composition, but resembling a soft, dark-colored metal, used in the bearings of machines for obviating friction, and as a substitute for lubricants.

Met"al*list (?), n. A worker in metals, or one skilled in metals.

Met`al*li*za"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. métallisation.] The act or process of metallizing. [R.]

Met"al*lize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metallized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Metallizing (?).] [Cf. F. métalliser.] To impart metallic properties to; to impregnate with a metal. [R.]

Me*tal"lo*chrome (?), n. [See Metallochromy.] A coloring produced by the deposition of some metallic compound; specifically, the prismatic tints produced by depositing a film of peroxide of lead on polished steel by electricity.

Me*tal"lo*chro`my (?), n. [L. metallum metal + Gr. &?; color.] The art or process of coloring metals.

Me*tal"lo*graph (?), n. [L. metallum metal + -graph.] A print made by metallography.

Me*tal`lo*graph"ic (?), a. Pertaining to, or by means of, metallography.

Met`al*log"ra*phist (?), n. One who writes on the subject of metals.

Met`al*log"ra*phy (?), n. [L. metallum metal + -graphy: cf. F. métallographie.] 1. The science or art of metals and metal working; also, a treatise on metals.

2. A method of transferring impressions of the grain of wood to metallic surfaces by chemical action. Knight.

3. A substitute for lithography, in which metallic plates are used instead of stone. Knight.

Met"al*loid (?), n. [L. metallum metal + -oid: cf. F. métalloïde.] (a) Formerly, the metallic base of a fixed alkali, or alkaline earth; -- applied by Sir H. Davy to sodium, potassium, and some other metallic substances whose metallic character was supposed to be not well defined. (b) Now, one of several elementary substances which in the free state are unlike metals, and whose compounds possess or produce acid, rather than basic, properties; a nonmetal; as, boron, carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, chlorine, bromine, etc., are metalloids.

Met"al*loid, a. 1. Having the appearance of a metal.

2. (Chem.) Having the properties of a nonmetal; nonmetallic; acid; negative.

Met`al*loid"al (?), a. Metalloid.

Met`al*lor*gan"ic (?), a. Metalorganic.

Me*tal`lo*ther"a*py (?), n. [L. metallum metal + E. therapy.] (Med.) Treatment of disease by applying metallic plates to the surface of the body.

{ Met`al*lur"gic (?), Met`al*lur"gic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. métallurgique.] Of or pertaining to metallurgy.

Met"al*lur`gist (?), n. [Cf. F. métallurgiste.] One who works in metals, or prepares them for use; one who is skilled in metallurgy.

Met"al*lur`gy (?), n. [F. métallurgie, fr. L. metallum metal, Gr. &?; a mine + the root of &?; work. See Metal, and Work.] The art of working metals, comprehending the whole process of separating them from other matters in the ore, smelting, refining, and parting them; sometimes, in a narrower sense, only the process of extracting metals from their ores.

Met"al*man (?), n.; pl. Metalmen (&?;). A worker in metals.

Met`a*log"ic*al (?), a. Beyond the scope or province of logic.

Met`al*or*gan"ic (?), a. [Metal, L. metallum + E. organic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or denoting, any one of a series of compounds of certain metallic elements with organic radicals; as, zinc methyl, sodium ethyl, etc. [Written also metallorganic.]

Met"a*mer (?), n. [See Metamere.] (Chem.) Any one of several metameric forms of the same substance, or of different substances having the same composition; as, xylene has three metamers, viz., orthoxylene, metaxylene, and paraxylene.

Met"a*mere (?), n. [Pref. meta- + -mere.] (Biol.) One of successive or homodynamous parts in animals and plants; one of a series of similar parts that follow one another in a vertebrate or articulate animal, as in an earthworm; a segment; a somite. See Illust. of Loeven's larva.

Met`a*mer"ic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + Gr. &?; part.] 1. (Chem.) Having the same elements united in the same proportion by weight, and with the same molecular weight, but possessing a different structure and different properties; as, methyl ether and ethyl alcohol are metameric compounds. See Isomeric.

The existence of metameric compounds is due to the different arrangement of the same constituents in the molecule.

2. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to a metamere or its formation; as, metameric segmentation.

Met`a*mer"ic*al*ly, adv. In a metameric manner.

Me*tam"er*ism (?), n. 1. (Biol.) The symmetry of a metameric structure; serial symmetry; the state of being made up of metameres.

2. (Chem.) The state or quality of being metameric; also, the relation or condition of metameric compounds.

Met`a*mor"phic (?), a. [See Metamorphosis.] 1. Subject to change; changeable; variable.

2. Causing a change of structure.

3. (Geol.) Pertaining to, produced by, or exhibiting, certain changes which minerals or rocks may have undergone since their original deposition; -- especially applied to the recrystallization which sedimentary rocks have undergone through the influence of heat and pressure, after which they are called metamorphic rocks.

Met`a*mor"phism (?), n. (Geol.) The state or quality of being metamorphic; the process by which the material of rock masses has been more or less recrystallized by heat, pressure, etc., as in the change of sedimentary limestone to marble. Murchison.

Met`a*mor"phist (?), n. (Eccl.) One who believes that the body of Christ was merged into the Deity when he ascended.

Met`a*mor"phize (?), v. t. To metamorphose.

Met`a*mor"phose (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metamorphosed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Metamorphosing.] [Cf. F. métamorphoser.] To change into a different form; to transform; to transmute.

And earth was metamorphosed into man.

Dryden.

Met`a*mor"phose (?), n. [Cf. F. métamorphose. See Metamorphosis.] Same as Metamorphosis.

Met`a*mor"pho*ser (?), n. One who metamorphoses. [R.] Gascoigne.

Met`a*mor"pho*sic (?), a. Changing the form; transforming. [R.] Pownall.

Met`a*mor"pho*sis (?), n.; pl. Metamorphoses (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to be transformed; meta` beyond, over + morfh` form.]

1. Change of form, or structure; transformation.

2. (Biol.) A change in the form or function of a living organism, by a natural process of growth or development; as, the metamorphosis of the yolk into the embryo, of a tadpole into a frog, or of a bud into a blossom. Especially, that form of sexual reproduction in which an embryo undergoes a series of marked changes of external form, as the chrysalis stage, pupa stage, etc., in insects. In these intermediate stages sexual reproduction is usually impossible, but they ultimately pass into final and sexually developed forms, from the union of which organisms are produced which pass through the same cycle of changes. See Transformation.

3. (Physiol.) The change of material of one kind into another through the agency of the living organism; metabolism.

Vegetable metamorphosis (Bot.), the doctrine that flowers are homologous with leaf buds, and that the floral organs are transformed leaves.

||Met`a*nau"pli*us (?), n. [NL. See Meta-, and Nauplius.] (Zoöl.) A ||larval crustacean in a stage following the nauplius, and having about ||seven pairs of appendages.

Met`a*ne*phrit"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the metanephros.

||Met`a*neph"ros (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; behind + &?; kidney.] ||(Anat.) The most posterior of the three pairs of embryonic renal ||organs developed in many vertebrates.

||Met`a*no"tum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; behind + &?; back.] (Zoöl.) ||The dorsal portion of the metaphorax of insects.

Met`an*ti*mo"nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metantimonic acid.

Met`an*ti*mon"ic (?), a. [Pref. met- + antimonic.] (Chem.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid (formerly called antimonic acid) analogous to metaphosphoric acid, and obtained as a white amorphous insoluble substance, (HSbO3). (b) Formerly, designating an acid, which is now properly called pyroantimonic acid, and analogous to pyrophosphoric acid.

Met`a*pec"tic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + pectic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a supposed acid obtained from pectin.

Met`a*pec"tin (?), n. (Chem.) A substance obtained from, and resembling, pectin, and occurring in overripe fruits.

Met`a*pep"tone (?), n. [Pref. meta- + peptone.] (Physiol. Chem.) An intermediate product formed in the gastric digestion of albuminous matter.

Met"a*phor (mt"*fr), n. [F. métaphore, L. metaphora, fr. Gr. metafora`, fr. metafe`rein to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear.] (Rhet.) The transference of the relation between one set of objects to another set for the purpose of brief explanation; a compressed simile; e. g., the ship plows the sea. Abbott & Seeley. "All the world's a stage." Shak.

The statement, "that man is a fox," is a metaphor; but "that man is like a fox," is a simile, similitude, or comparison.

{ Met`a*phor"ic (?), Met`a*phor"ic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. métaphorique.] Of or pertaining to metaphor; comprising a metaphor; not literal; figurative; tropical; as, a metaphorical expression; a metaphorical sense. -- Met`a*phor"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Met`a*phor"ic*al*ness, n.

Met"a*phor*ist (?), n. One who makes metaphors.

Met`a*phos"phate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metaphosphoric acid.

Met`a*phos*phor"ic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + phosphoric.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a monobasic acid, HPO3, analogous to nitric acid, and, by heating phosphoric acid, obtained as a crystalline substance, commonly called glacial phosphoric acid.

Met"a*phrase (mt"*frz), n. [Gr. meta`frasis, from metafra`zein to paraphrase; meta` beyond, over + fra`zein to speak: cf. F. métaphrase.] 1. A verbal translation; a version or translation from one language into another, word for word; -- opposed to paraphrase. Dryden.

2. An answering phrase; repartee. Mrs. Browning.

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Met"a*phrased (mt"*frzd), a. Translated literally.

Me*taph"ra*sis (m*tf"r*ss), n. [NL. See Metaphrase.] Metaphrase.

Met"a*phrast (?), n. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. métaphraste.] A literal translator.

{ Met`a*phras"tic (?), Met`a*phras"tic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;.] Close, or literal.

Met`a*phys"ic (?), n. [Cf. F. métaphysique.] See Metaphysics.

Met`a*phys"ic, a. Metaphysical.

Met`a*phys"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. métaphysique. See Metaphysics.] 1. Of or pertaining to metaphysics.

2. According to rules or principles of metaphysics; as, metaphysical reasoning.

3. Preternatural or supernatural. [Obs.]

The golden round Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal.

Shak.

Met`a*phys"ic*al*ly, adv. In the manner of metaphysical science, or of a metaphysician. South.

Met`a*phy*si"cian (?), n. [Cf. F. métaphysicien.] One who is versed in metaphysics.

Met`a*phys"ics (?), n. [Gr. &?; &?; &?; after those things which relate to external nature, after physics, fr. &?; beyond, after + &?; relating to external nature, natural, physical, fr. &?; nature: cf. F. métaphysique. See Physics. The term was first used by the followers of Aristotle as a name for that part of his writings which came after, or followed, the part which treated of physics.] 1. The science of real as distinguished from phenomenal being; ontology; also, the science of being, with reference to its abstract and universal conditions, as distinguished from the science of determined or concrete being; the science of the conceptions and relations which are necessarily implied as true of every kind of being; philosophy in general; first principles, or the science of first principles.

Metaphysics is distinguished as general and special. General metaphysics is the science of all being as being. Special metaphysics is the science of one kind of being; as, the metaphysics of chemistry, of morals, or of politics. According to Kant, a systematic exposition of those notions and truths, the knowledge of which is altogether independent of experience, would constitute the science of metaphysics.

Commonly, in the schools, called metaphysics, as being part of the philosophy of Aristotle, which hath that for title; but it is in another sense: for there it signifieth as much as "books written or placed after his natural philosophy." But the schools take them for "books of supernatural philosophy;" for the word metaphysic will bear both these senses.

Hobbes.

Now the science conversant about all such inferences of unknown being from its known manifestations, is called ontology, or metaphysics proper.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Metaphysics are [is] the science which determines what can and what can not be known of being, and the laws of being, a priori.

Coleridge.

2. Hence: The scientific knowledge of mental phenomena; mental philosophy; psychology.

Metaphysics, in whatever latitude the term be taken, is a science or complement of sciences exclusively occupied with mind.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Whether, after all, A larger metaphysics might not help Our physics.

Mrs. Browning.

||Me*taph"y*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; after + &?; nature.] Change ||of form; transformation.

Met"a*plasm (?), n. [L. metaplasmus, Gr. &?;; &?; beyond, over + &?; to mold: cf. F. métaplasme.] (Gram.) A change in the letters or syllables of a word.

Met"a*plast (?), n. [See Metaplasm.] (Gram.) A word having more than one form of the root.

Met"a*pode (?), n. [NL. metapodium, from Gr. &?; behind + &?;, dim. of poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Zoöl.) The posterior division of the foot in the Gastropoda and Pteropoda.

Met`a*po"di*al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the metapodialia, or to the parts of the limbs to which they belong.

||Met`a*po`di*a"le (?), n.; pl. Metapodialia (#). [NL. See Metapode.] ||(Anat.) One of the bones of either the metacarpus or metatarsus.

||Met`a*po"di*um (?), n.; pl. Metapodia (#). [NL.] (Zoöl.) Same as ||Metapode.

||Met`a*poph"y*sis (?), n.; pl. Metapophyses (#). [NL. See Meta-, and ||Apophysis.] (Anat.) A tubercle projecting from the anterior articular ||processes of some vertebræ; a mammillary process.

||Me*tap`te*ryg"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; after + &?; fin.] ||(Anat.) The posterior of the three principal basal cartilages in the ||fins of fishes. -- Me*tap`ter*yg"i*al (#), a.

Met`a*sil"i*cate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metasilicic acid.

Met`a*si*lic"ic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + silicic.] (Chem.) Designating an acid derived from silicic acid by the removal of water; of or pertaining to such an acid.

The salts of metasilicic acid are often called bisilicates, in mineralogy, as Wollastonite (CaSiO3).

Metasilicic acid (Chem.), a gelatinous substance, or white amorphous powder, analogous to carbonic acid, and forming many stable salts.

Met`a*so"ma*tism (?), n. [Pref. meta- + Gr. &?;, &?;, body.] (Geol.) An alteration in a mineral or rock mass when involving a chemical change of the substance, as of chrysolite to serpentine; -- opposed to ordinary metamorphism, as implying simply a recrystallization. -- Met`a*so*mat"ic (#), a.

Met"a*some (?), n. [Pref. meta- + -some body.] (Zoöl.) One of the component segments of the body of an animal.

Met`a*stan"nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metastannic acid.

Met`a*stan"nic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a compound of tin (metastannic acid), obtained, as an isomeric modification of stannic acid, in the form of a white amorphous substance.

Me*tas"ta*sis (?), n.; pl. Metastases (#). [L., transition, fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to place in another way; &?; after + &?; to place.]

1. (Theol.) A spiritual change, as during baptism.

2. (Med.) A change in the location of a disease, as from one part to another. Dunglison.

3. (Physiol.) The act or process by which matter is taken up by cells or tissues and is transformed into other matter; in plants, the act or process by which are produced all of those chemical changes in the constituents of the plant which are not accompanied by a production of organic matter; metabolism.

Met`a*stat"ic (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or caused by, metastasis; as, a metastatic abscess; the metastatic processes of growth.

Met`a*ster"nal (?), a. Of or pertaining to the metasternum.

||Met`a*ster"num (?), n. [Pref. meta- + sternum.] 1. (Anat.) The most ||posterior element of the sternum; the ensiform process; xiphisternum.

2. (Zoöl.) The ventral plate of the third or last segment of the thorax of insects.

{ ||Me*tas"to*ma (?), Met"a*stome (?), } n. [NL. metastoma, from Gr. meta` behind + sto`ma mouth.] (Zoöl.) A median elevation behind the mouth in the arthropods.

Met`a*tar"sal (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the metatarsus. -- n. A metatarsal bone.

Met"a*tarse (?), n. (Anat.) Metatarsus.

Met`a*tar"sus (?), n.; pl. Metatarsi (#). [NL. See Meta-, and Tarsus.] (Anat.) That part of the skeleton of the hind or lower limb between the tarsus and phalanges; metatarse. It consists, in the human foot, of five bones. See Illustration in Appendix.

Me*tath"e*sis (?), n.; pl. Metatheses (&?;). [L., fr. Gr. meta`thesis, fr. metatithe`nai to place differently, to transpose; meta` beyond, over + tithe`nai to place, set. See Thesis.] 1. (Gram.) Transposition, as of the letters or syllables of a word; as, pistris for pristis; meagre for meager.

2. (Med.) A mere change in place of a morbid substance, without removal from the body.

3. (Chem.) The act, process, or result of exchange, substitution, or replacement of atoms and radicals; thus, by metathesis an acid gives up all or part of its hydrogen, takes on an equivalent amount of a metal or base, and forms a salt.

{ Met`a*thet"ic (?), Met`a*thet"ic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to metathesis.

Met`a*tho*rac"ic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the metathorax.

Met`a*tho"rax (?), n. [NL.: cf. F. métathorax. See Meta-, and Thorax.] (Zoöl.) The last or posterior segment of the thorax in insects. See Illust. of Coleoptera.

Met`a*ti*tan"ic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + titanic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid of titanium analogous to metasilicic acid.

Met`a*tung"state (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metatungstic acid.

Met`a*tung"stic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + tungstic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid known only in its salts (the metatungstates) and properly called polytungstic, or pyrotungstic, acid.

Met`a*van"a*date (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metavanadic acid.

Met`a*va*nad"ic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + vanadic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a vanadic acid analogous to metaphosphoric acid.

Met`a*xy"lene (?), n. [Pref. meta- + xylene.] (Chem.) That variety of xylene, or dimethyl benzene, in which the two methyl groups occupy the meta position with reference to each other. It is a colorless inflammable liquid.

||Mé`ta`yage" (?), n. [F. See Métayer.] A system of farming on halves. ||[France & Italy]

||Mé`ta`yer" (F. ?; E. ?), n. [F., fr. LL. medietarius, fr. L. medius ||middle, half. See Mid, a.] One who cultivates land for a share ||(usually one half) of its yield, receiving stock, tools, and seed ||from the landlord. [France & Italy] Milman.

||Met`a*zo"a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; after + zo^,on an animal.] ||(Zoöl.) Those animals in which the protoplasmic mass, constituting ||the egg, is converted into a multitude of cells, which are ||metamorphosed into the tissues of the body. A central cavity is ||commonly developed, and the cells around it are at first arranged in ||two layers, -- the ectoderm and endoderm. The group comprises nearly ||all animals except the Protozoa.

Met`a*zo"an (?), n.; pl. Metazoans (&?;). (Zoöl.) One of the Metazoa.

Met`a*zo"ic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Metazoa.

||Met`a*zo"ön (?), n. [NL.] (Zoöl.) One of the Metazoa.

Mete (?), n. Meat. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mete, v. t. & i. To meet. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mete, v. i. & t. [imp. Mette (?); p. p. Met.] [AS. m&?;tan.] To dream; also impersonally; as, me mette, I dreamed. [Obs.] "I mette of him all night." Chaucer.

Mete (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Meted; p. pr. & vb. n. Meting.] [AS. metan; akin to D. meten, G. messen, OHG. mezzan, Icel. meta, Sw. mäta, Goth. mitan, L. modus measure, moderation, modius a corn measure, Gr. &?; to rule, &?; a corn measure, and ultimately from the same root as E. measure, L. metiri to measure; cf. Skr. m to measure. &radic;99. Cf. Measure, Meet, a., Mode.] To find the quantity, dimensions, or capacity of, by any rule or standard; to measure.

Mete (?), v. i. To measure. [Obs.] Mark iv. 24.

Mete, n. [AS. met. See Mete to measure.] Measure; limit; boundary; -- used chiefly in the plural, and in the phrase metes and bounds.

Mete"corn` (?), n. A quantity of corn formerly given by the lord to his customary tenants, as an encouragement to, or reward for, labor and faithful service.

Mete"ly, a. According to measure or proportion; proportionable; proportionate. [Obs.]

{ Met`em*pir"ic (?), Met`em*pir"ic*al (?), } a. [Pref. met- + empiric, - ical.] (Metaph.) Related, or belonging, to the objects of knowledge within the province of metempirics.

If then the empirical designates the province we include within the range of science, the province we exclude may be fitly styled the metempirical.

G. H. Lewes.

Met*em*pir"i*cism (?), n. The science that is concerned with metempirics.

Met`em*pir"ics (?), n. The concepts and relations which are conceived as beyond, and yet as related to, the knowledge gained by experience.

Me*temp"sy*chose (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metempsychosed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Metempsychosing (?).] [See Metempsychosis.] To translate or transfer, as the soul, from one body to another. [R.] Peacham.

Me*temp`sy*cho"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; beyond, over + &?; to animate; &?; in + &?; soul. See Psychology.] The passage of the soul, as an immortal essence, at the death of the animal body it had inhabited, into another living body, whether of a brute or a human being; transmigration of souls. Sir T. Browne.

Met`emp*to"sis (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; beyond, after + &?; a falling upon, fr. &?; to fall in or upon; &?; in + &?; to fall.] (Chron.) The suppression of a day in the calendar to prevent the date of the new moon being set a day too late, or the suppression of the bissextile day once in 134 years. The opposite to this is the proemptosis, or the addition of a day every 330 years, and another every 2,400 years.

Met`en*ceph"a*lon (?), n. [Met- + encephalon.] (Anat.) The posterior part of the brain, including the medulla; the afterbrain. Sometimes abbreviated to meten.

||Met`en*so`ma*to"sis (?), n. [L., a change of body (by the soul), fr. ||Gr. &?;.] (Biol.) The assimilation by one body or organism of the ||elements of another.

Me"te*or (?), n. [F. météore, Gr. &?;, pl. &?; things in the air, fr. &?; high in air, raised off the ground; &?; beyond + &?;, &?;, a suspension or hovering in the air, fr. &?; to lift, raise up.]

1. Any phenomenon or appearance in the atmosphere, as clouds, rain, hail, snow, etc.

Hail, an ordinary meteor.

Bp. Hall.

2. Specif.: A transient luminous body or appearance seen in the atmosphere, or in a more elevated region.

The vaulty top of heaven Figured quite o'er with burning meteors.

Shak.

The term is especially applied to fireballs, and the masses of stone or other substances which sometimes fall to the earth; also to shooting stars and to ignes fatui. Meteors are often classed as: aerial meteors, winds, tornadoes, etc.; aqueous meteors, rain, hail, snow, dew, etc.; luminous meteors, rainbows, halos, etc.; and igneous meteors, lightning, shooting stars, and the like.

Me`te*or"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. météorique.] 1. Of or pertaining to a meteor, or to meteors; atmospheric, as, meteoric phenomena; meteoric stones.

2. Influenced by the weather; as, meteoric conditions.

3. Flashing; brilliant; transient; like a meteor; as, meteoric fame. "Meteoric politician." Craik.

Meteoric iron, Meteoric stone. (Min.) See Meteorite. -- Meteoric paper, a substance of confervoid origin found floating in the air, and resembling bits of coarse paper; -- so called because formerly supposed to fall from meteors. -- Meteoric showers, periodical exhibitions of shooting stars, occuring about the 9th or 10th of August and 13th of November, more rarely in April and December, and also at some other periods.

Me`te*or"ic*al (?), a. Meteoric.

Me"te*or*ism (?), n. (Med.) Flatulent distention of the abdomen; tympanites.

Me"te*or*ite (?), n. [Cf. F. météorite.] (Min.) A mass of stone or iron which has fallen to the earth from space; an aërolite.

Meteorites usually show a pitted surface with a fused crust, caused by the heat developed in their rapid passage through the earth's atmosphere. A meteorite may consist: 1. Of metallic iron, alloyed with a small percentage of nickel (meteoric iron, holosiderite). When etched this usually exhibits peculiar crystalline figures, called Widmanstätten figures. 2. Of a cellular mass of iron with imbedded silicates (mesosiderite or siderolite). 3. Of a stony mass of silicates with little iron (meteoric stone, sporadosiderite). 4. Of a mass without iron (asiderite).

Me"te*or*ize (?), v. i. [Gr. &?; to raise to a height.] To ascend in vapors; to take the form of a meteor. Evelyn.

Me`te*or"o*graph (?), n. [Meteor + -graph.] An instrument which registers meteorologic phases or conditions.

Me`te*or`o*graph"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to meteorography.

Me`te*or*og"ra*phy (?), n. [Meteor + -graphy.] The registration of meteorological phenomena.

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Me"te*or*oid (m"t*r*oid), n. [Meteor + -oid.] (Astron.) A small body moving through space, or revolving about the sun, which on entering the earth's atmosphere would be deflagrated and appear as a meteor.

These bodies [small, solid bodies] before they come into the air, I call meteoroids.

H. A. Newton.

Me`te*or*oid"al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a meteoroid or to meteoroids.

Me`te*or"o*lite (?; 277), n. [Meteor + -lite : cf. F. météorolithe.] A meteoric stone; an aërolite; a meteorite.

{ Me`te*or`o*log"ic (?), Me`te*or`o*log"ic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. météorologique.] Of or pertaining to the atmosphere and its phenomena, or to meteorology.

Meteorological table, Meteorological register, a table or register exhibiting the state of the air and its temperature, weight, dryness, moisture, motion, etc.

Me`te*or*ol"o*gist (?), n. [Cf. F. météorologiste.] A person skilled in meteorology.

Me`te*or*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; + lo`gos discourse: cf. F. météorologie. See Meteor.] The science which treats of the atmosphere and its phenomena, particularly of its variations of heat and moisture, of its winds, storms, etc.

Me`te*or"o*man`cy (?), n. [Meteor + -mancy : cf. F. météoromancie.] A species of divination by meteors, chiefly by thunder and lightning, which was held in high estimation by the Romans.

Me`te*or*om"e*ter (?), n. [Meteor + -meter.] An apparatus which transmits automatically to a central station atmospheric changes as marked by the anemometer, barometer, thermometer, etc.

Me`te*or"o*scope (?; 277), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; observing the heavenly bodies; &?; + &?; to view: cf. F. météoroscope. See Meteor.] (Astron.) (a) An astrolabe; a planisphere. [Obs.] (b) An instrument for measuring the position, length, and direction, of the apparent path of a shooting star.

Me*te"o*rous (? or ?), a. [See Meteor.] Of the nature or appearance of a meteor.

-me"ter (?). [L. metrum measure, or the allied Gr. &?;. See Meter rhythm.] A suffix denoting that by which anything is measured; as, barometer, chronometer, dynamometer.

Me"ter (?), n. [From Mete to measure.] 1. One who, or that which, metes or measures. See Coal-meter.

2. An instrument for measuring, and usually for recording automatically, the quantity measured.

Dry meter, a gas meter having measuring chambers, with flexible walls, which expand and contract like bellows and measure the gas by filling and emptying. -- Wet meter, a gas meter in which the revolution of a chambered drum in water measures the gas passing through it.

Me"ter, n. A line above or below a hanging net, to which the net is attached in order to strengthen it.

{ Me"ter, Me"tre } (?), n. [OE. metre, F. mètre, L. metrum, fr. Gr. &?;; akin to Skr. m to measure. See Mete to measure.] 1. Rhythmical arrangement of syllables or words into verses, stanzas, strophes, etc.; poetical measure, depending on number, quantity, and accent of syllables; rhythm; measure; verse; also, any specific rhythmical arrangements; as, the Horatian meters; a dactylic meter.

The only strict antithesis to prose is meter.

Wordsworth.

2. A poem. [Obs.] Robynson (More's Utopia).

3. A measure of length, equal to 39.37 English inches, the standard of linear measure in the metric system of weights and measures. It was intended to be, and is very nearly, the ten millionth part of the distance from the equator to the north pole, as ascertained by actual measurement of an arc of a meridian. See Metric system, under Metric.

Common meter (Hymnol.), four iambic verses, or lines, making a stanza, the first and third having each four feet, and the second and fourth each three feet; -- usually indicated by the initials C.M. -- Long meter (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines of four feet each, four verses usually making a stanza; -- commonly indicated by the initials L. M. -- Short meter (Hymnol.), iambic verses or lines, the first, second, and fourth having each three feet, and the third four feet. The stanza usually consists of four lines, but is sometimes doubled. Short meter is indicated by the initials S. M.

Me"ter*age (?), n. [See 1st Meter.] The act of measuring, or the cost of measuring.

Me"ter*gram` (?), n. (Mech.) A measure of energy or work done; the power exerted in raising one gram through the distance of one meter against gravitation.

Mete"wand` (?), n. [Mete to measure + wand.] A measuring rod. Ascham.

Mete"yard` (?), n. [AS. metgeard. See Mete to measure, and Yard stick.] A yard, staff, or rod, used as a measure. [Obs.] Shak.

Meth (?), n. See Meathe. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Met`hæm*o*glo"bin (? or ?), n. [Pref. met- + hæmoglobin.] (Physiol. Chem.) A stable crystalline compound obtained by the decomposition of hemoglobin. It is found in old blood stains.

Meth"al (?), n. [Myristic + ether + alcohol.] (Chem.) A white waxy substance, found in small quantities in spermaceti as an ethereal salt of several fatty acids, and regarded as an alcohol of the methane series.

Meth"ane (?), n. [See Methal.] (Chem.) A light, colorless, gaseous, inflammable hydrocarbon, CH4; marsh gas. See Marsh gas, under Gas.

Methane series (Chem.), a series of saturated hydrocarbons, of which methane is the first member and type, and (because of their general chemical inertness and indifference) called also the paraffin (little affinity) series. The lightest members are gases, as methane, ethane; intermediate members are liquids, as hexane, heptane, etc. (found in benzine, kerosene, etc.); while the highest members are white, waxy, or fatty solids, as paraffin proper.

Me*theg"lin (?), n. [W. meddyglyn; medd mead + llyn liquor, juice. See Mead a drink.] A fermented beverage made of honey and water; mead. Gay.

Meth"ene (?), n. [Methyl + ethylene.] (Chem.) See Methylene.

Meth"e*nyl (?), n. [Methene + -yl.] (Chem.) The hypothetical hydrocarbon radical CH, regarded as an essential residue of certain organic compounds.

Meth"ide (? or ?), n. [See Methyl.] (Chem.) A binary compound of methyl with some element; as, aluminium methide, Al2(CH3)6.

Me*thinks" (?), v. impers. [imp. Methought (?).] [AS. þyncan to seem, m þynceð, m þhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.] It seems to me; I think. See Me. [R., except in poetry.]

In all ages poets have been had in special reputation, and, methinks, not without great cause.

Spenser.

Me*thi"on*ate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of methionic acid.

Meth`i*on"ic (?), a. [Methyl + thionic.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a sulphonic (thionic) acid derivative of methane, obtained as a stable white crystalline substance, CH2.(SO3H)2, which forms well defined salts.

Meth"od (?), n. [F. méthode, L. methodus, fr. Gr. meqodos method, investigation following after; meta` after + "odo`s way.] 1. An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of teaching languages; a method of improving the mind. Addison.

2. Orderly arrangement, elucidation, development, or classification; clear and lucid exhibition; systematic arrangement peculiar to an individual.

Though this be madness, yet there's method in it.

Shak.

All method is a rational progress, a progress toward an end.

Sir W. Hamilton.

3. (Nat. Hist.) Classification; a mode or system of classifying natural objects according to certain common characteristics; as, the method of Theophrastus; the method of Ray; the Linnæan method.

Syn. -- Order; system; rule; regularity; way; manner; mode; course; process; means. -- Method, Mode, Manner. Method implies arrangement; mode, mere action or existence. Method is a way of reaching a given end by a series of acts which tend to secure it; mode relates to a single action, or to the form which a series of acts, viewed as a whole, exhibits. Manner is literally the handling of a thing, and has a wider sense, embracing both method and mode. An instructor may adopt a good method of teaching to write; the scholar may acquire a bad mode of holding his pen; the manner in which he is corrected will greatly affect his success or failure.

{ Me*thod"ic (?), Me*thod"ic*al (?), } a. [L. methodicus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. méthodique.] 1. Arranged with regard to method; disposed in a suitable manner, or in a manner to illustrate a subject, or to facilitate practical observation; as, the methodical arrangement of arguments; a methodical treatise. "Methodical regularity." Addison.

2. Proceeding with regard to method; systematic. "Aristotle, strict, methodic, and orderly." Harris.

3. Of or pertaining to the ancient school of physicians called methodists. Johnson.

-- Me*thod"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Me*thod"ic*al*ness, n.

Me*thod"ios (?), n. The art and principles of method.

Meth"o*dism (?), n. (Eccl.) The system of doctrines, polity, and worship, of the sect called Methodists. Bp. Warburton.

Meth"o*dist (?), n. [Cf. F. méthodiste. See Method.] 1. One who observes method. [Obs.]

2. One of an ancient school of physicians who rejected observation and founded their practice on reasoning and theory. Sir W. Hamilton.

3. (Theol.) One of a sect of Christians, the outgrowth of a small association called the "Holy Club," formed at Oxford University, A.D. 1729, of which the most conspicuous members were John Wesley and his brother Charles; -- originally so called from the methodical strictness of members of the club in all religious duties.

4. A person of strict piety; one who lives in the exact observance of religious duties; -- sometimes so called in contempt or ridicule.

Meth"o*dist, a. Of or pertaining to the sect of Methodists; as, Methodist hymns; a Methodist elder.

{ Meth`o*dis"tic (?), Meth`o*dis"tic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to methodists, or to the Methodists. -- Meth`o*dis"tic*al*ly, adv.

Meth`od*i*za"tion (?), n. The act or process of methodizing, or the state of being methodized.

Meth"od*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Methodized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Methodizing (?).] To reduce to method; to dispose in due order; to arrange in a convenient manner; as, to methodize one's work or thoughts. Spectator.

Meth"od*i`zer (?), n. One who methodizes.

Meth`od*o*log"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to methodology.

Meth`od*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; method + -logy.] The science of method or arrangement; a treatise on method. Coleridge.

Meth"ol (?), n. [Gr. &?; wine + - ol.] (Chem.) The technical name of methyl alcohol or wood spirit; also, by extension, the class name of any of the series of alcohols of the methane series of which methol proper is the type. See Methyl alcohol, under Methyl.

Me*thought" (?), imp. of Methinks.

Meth*ox"yl (?), n. [Methyl + hydroxyl.] (Chem.) A hypothetical radical, CH3O, analogous to hydroxyl.

Meth"yl (?), n. [See Methylene.] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon radical, CH3, not existing alone but regarded as an essential residue of methane, and appearing as a component part of many derivatives; as, methyl alcohol, methyl ether, methyl amine, etc. [Formerly written also methule, methyle, etc.]

Methyl alcohol (Chem.), a light, volatile, inflammable liquid, CH3.OH, obtained by the distillation of wood, and hence called wood spirit; -- called also methol, carbinol, etc. -- Methyl amine (Chem.), a colorless, inflammable, alkaline gas, CH3.NH2, having an ammoniacal, fishy odor. It is produced artificially, and also occurs naturally in herring brine and other fishy products. It is regarded as ammonia in which a third of its hydrogen is replaced by methyl, and is a type of the class of substituted ammonias. -- Methyl ether (Chem.), a light, volatile ether CH3.O.CH3, obtained by the etherification of methyl alcohol; -- called also methyl oxide. -- Methyl green. (Chem.) See under Green, n. -- Methyl orange. (Chem.) See Helianthin. -- Methyl violet (Chem.), an artificial dye, consisting of certain methyl halogen derivatives of rosaniline.

Meth"yl*al (?), n. [Methylene + alcohol.] (Chem.) A light, volatile liquid, H2C(OCH3)2, regarded as a complex ether, and having a pleasant ethereal odor. It is obtained by the partial oxidation of methyl alcohol. Called also formal.

Meth`yl*am"ine (? or ?), n. (Chem.) See Methyl amine, under Methyl.

Meth"yl*ate (?), n. [Methyl + alcoholate.] (Chem.) An alcoholate of methyl alcohol in which the hydroxyl hydrogen is replaced by a metal, after the analogy of a hydrate; as, sodium methylate, CH3ONa.

Meth"yl*ate (?), v. t. To impregnate or mix with methyl or methyl alcohol.

Meth"yl*a`ted (?), a. (Chem.) Impregnated with, or containing, methyl alcohol or wood spirit; as, methylated spirits.

Meth"yl*ene (?), n. [F. méthylène, from Gr. &?; wine + &?; wood; -- a word coined to correspond to the name wood spirit.] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon radical, CH2, not known in the free state, but regarded as an essential residue and component of certain derivatives of methane; as, methylene bromide, CH2Br2; -- formerly called also methene.

Methylene blue (Chem.), an artificial dyestuff consisting of a complex sulphur derivative of diphenyl amine; -- called also pure blue.

Me*thyl"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, methyl; specifically, designating methyl alcohol. See under Methyl.

Me*thys"ti*cin (?), n. (Chem.) A white, silky, crystalline substance extracted from the thick rootstock of a species of pepper (Piper methysticum) of the South Sea Islands; -- called also kanakin.

Met"ic (? or ?; 277), n. [Gr. &?;, prop., changing one's abode; &?;, indicating change + &?; house, abode: cf. L. metoecus, F. métèque.] (Gr. Antiq.) A sojourner; an immigrant; an alien resident in a Grecian city, but not a citizen. Mitford.

The whole force of Athens, metics as well as citizens, and all the strangers who were then in the city.

Jowett (Thucyd. ).

Me*tic"u*lous (?), a. [L. meticulosus, fr. metus fear: cf. F. méticuleux.] Timid; fearful.

-- Me*tic"u*lous*ly, adv.

{ ||Mé`tif" (?), n. m. ||Mé`tive" (?), n. f. }[F.] See Métis.

{ ||Mé`tis" (?), n. m. ||Mé`tisse" (?), n. f. }[F.; akin to Sp. mestizo. See Mestizo.] 1. The offspring of a white person and an American Indian.

2. The offspring of a white person and a quadroon; an octoroon. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett.

Met"o*che (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a sharing, fr. &?; to share in; &?; with + &?; to have.] (Arch.) (a) The space between two dentils. (b) The space between two triglyphs.

Me*ton"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. métonique.] Pertaining to, or discovered by, Meton, the Athenian.

Metonic cycle or year. (Astron.) See under Cycle.

{ Met`o*nym"ic (?), Met`o*nym"ic*al (?), } a. [See Metonymy.] Used by way of metonymy. -- Met`o*nym"ic*al*ly, adv.

Me*ton"y*my (m*tn"*m; 277), n. [L. metonymia, Gr. metwnymi`a; meta`, indicating change + 'o`nyma , for 'o`noma a name: cf. F. métonymie. See Name.] (Rhet.) A trope in which one word is put for another that suggests it; as, we say, a man keeps a good table instead of good provisions; we read Virgil, that is, his poems; a man has a warm heart, that is, warm affections.

Met"o*pe (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; meta` with, between + &?; opening, hole, the hole in the frieze between the beam ends.] 1. (Arch.) The space between two triglyphs of the Doric frieze, which, among the ancients, was often adorned with carved work. See Illust. of Entablature.

2. (Zoöl.) The face of a crab.

In the Parthenon, groups of centaurs and heroes in high relief occupy the metopes.

Me*top"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; the forehead.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the forehead or frontal bones; frontal; as, the metopic suture.

Met"o*po*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. &?; the forehead + -mancy.] Fortune telling by physiognomy. [R.] Urquhart.

{ Met`o*po*scop"ic (?), Met`o*po*scop"ic*al (?), } a. Of or relating to metoposcopy.

Met`o*pos"co*pist (?), n. One versed in metoposcopy.

Met`o*pos"co*py (?), n. [Gr. &?; observing the forehead; &?; the forehead + &?; to view: cf. F. métoposcopie.] The study of physiognomy; the art of discovering the character of persons by their features, or the lines of the face.

||Me*tos"te*on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; after + &?; bone.] (Anat.) The ||postero-lateral ossification in the sternum of birds; also, the part ||resulting from such ossification.

<! p. 920 !>

Me"tre (m"tr), n. See Meter.

Met"ric (mt"rk), a. [L. metricus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. métrique. See Meter rhythm.] 1. Relating to measurement; involving, or proceeding by, measurement.

2. Of or pertaining to the meter as a standard of measurement; of or pertaining to the decimal system of measurement of which a meter is the unit; as, the metric system; a metric measurement.

Metric analysis (Chem.), analysis by volume; volumetric analysis. -- Metric system, a system of weights and measures originating in France, the use of which is required by law in many countries, and permitted in many others, including the United States and England. The principal unit is the meter (see Meter). From this are formed the are, the liter, the stere, the gram, etc. These units, and others derived from them, are divided decimally, and larger units are formed from multiples by 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000. The successive multiplies are designated by the prefixes, deca- , hecto-, kilo-, and myria-; successive parts by deci-, centi-, and milli-. The prefixes mega- and micro- are sometimes used to denote a multiple by one million, and the millionth part, respectively. See the words formed with these prefixes in the Vocabulary. For metric tables, see p. 1682.

Met"ric*al (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the meter; arranged in meter; consisting of verses; as, metrical compositions.

2. Of or pertaining to measurement; as, the inch, foot, yard, etc., are metrical terms; esp., of or pertaining to the metric system.

Met"ric*al*ly, adv. In a metrical manner.

Me*tri"cian (?), n. [Cf. F. métricien. See Meter rhythm.] A composer of verses. [Obs.]

Met"ric sys"tem (?). See Metric, a.

Met`ri*fi*ca"tion (?), n. Composition in metrical form; versification. [R.] Tennyson.

Met"ri*fy (?), v. i. [L. metrum meter + -fy: cf. F. métrifier.] To make verse. [R.] Skelton.

Me"trist (?), n. A maker of verses. Bale.

Spenser was no mere metrist, but a great composer.

Lowell.

||Me*tri"tis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; womb + -tis.] (Med.) ||Inflammation of the womb.

Met"ro*chrome (?), n. [Gr. &?; + &?; color.] An instrument for measuring colors.

Met"ro*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; measure + -graph.] An instrument attached to a locomotive for recording its speed and the number and duration of its stops.

Met`ro*log"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. métrologique.] Of or pertaining to metrology.

Me*trol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; measure + -métrologie.] The science of, or a system of, weights and measures; also, a treatise on the subject.

Met`ro*ma"ni*a (?), n. [Gr. &?; measure + E. mania.] A mania for writing verses.

Met`ro*ma"ni*ac (?), n. One who has metromania.

Me*trom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; womb + -meter.] (Med.) An instrument for measuring the size of the womb. Knight.

Met"ro*nome (?), n. [Gr. &?; measure + &?; distribute, assign: cf. F. métronome, It. metronomo.] An instrument consisting of a short pendulum with a sliding weight. It is set in motion by clockwork, and serves to measure time in music.

Me*tron"o*my (?), n. [See Metronome.] Measurement of time by an instrument.

Met`ro*nym"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;; &?; mother + &?;, for &?; name.] Derived from the name of one's mother, or other female ancestor; as, a metronymic name or appellation. -- n. A metronymic appellation.

Met"ro*pole (?), n. [Cf. F. métropole. See Metropolis.] A metropolis. [Obs.] Holinshed.

Me*trop"o*lis (?), n. [L. metropolis, Gr. &?;, prop., the mother city (in relation to colonies); &?; mother + &?; city. See Mother, and Police.]

1. The mother city; the chief city of a kingdom, state, or country.

[Edinburgh] gray metropolis of the North.

Tennyson.

2. (Eccl.) The seat, or see, of the metropolitan, or highest church dignitary.

The great metropolis and see of Rome.

Shak.

Met`ro*pol"i*tan (?; 277), a. [L. metropolitanus: cf. F. métropolitain.]

1. Of or pertaining to the capital or principal city of a country; as, metropolitan luxury.

2. (Eccl.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a metropolitan or the presiding bishop of a country or province, his office, or his dignity; as, metropolitan authority. "Bishops metropolitan." Sir T. More.

Met`ro*pol"i*tan, n. [LL. metropolitanus.] 1. The superior or presiding bishop of a country or province.

2. (Lat. Church.) An archbishop.

3. (Gr. Church) A bishop whose see is a civil metropolis. His rank is intermediate between that of an archbishop and a patriarch. Hook.

Met`ro*pol"i*tan*ate (?), n. The see of a metropolitan bishop. Milman.

Me*trop"o*lite (?), n. [L. metropolita, Gr. &?;.] A metropolitan. Barrow.

Met`ro*po*lit"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a metropolis; being a metropolis; metropolitan; as, the metropolitical chair. Bp. Hall.

||Met`ror*rha"gi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; womb + &?; to break.] ||(Med.) Profuse bleeding from the womb, esp. such as does not occur at ||the menstrual period.

Met"ro*scope (?), n. [Gr. &?; womb + -scope.] A modification of the stethoscope, for directly auscultating the uterus from the vagina.

||Met`ro*si*de"ros (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; heart of a tree + &?; ||iron.] (Bot.) A myrtaceous genus of trees or shrubs, found in ||Australia and the South Sea Islands, and having very hard wood. ||Metrosideros vera is the true ironwood.

Met"ro*tome (?), n. [See Metrotomy.] (Surg.) An instrument for cutting or scarifying the uterus or the neck of the uterus.

Me*trot"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?; womb + &?; to cut: cf. F. métrotomie.] (Surg.) The operation of cutting into the uterus; hysterotomy; the Cæsarean section.

-me*try (?). [See -meter.] A suffix denoting the art, process, or science, of measuring; as, acidimetry, chlorometry, chronometry.

Mette (?), obs. imp. of Mete, to dream. Chaucer.

Met"tle (?), n. [E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. See Metal.] Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense.

A certain critical hour which shall . . . try what mettle his heart is made of.

South.

Gentlemen of brave mettle.

Shak.

The winged courser, like a generous horse, Shows most true mettle when you check his course.

Pope.

To put one one's mettle, to cause or incite one to use one's best efforts.

Met"tled (?), a. Having mettle; high-spirited; ardent; full of fire. Addison.

Met"tle*some (?), a. Full of spirit; possessing constitutional ardor; fiery; as, a mettlesome horse.

-- Met"tle*some*ly, adv. -- Met"tle*some*ness, n.

Meute (?), n. A cage for hawks; a mew. See 4th Mew, 1. Milman.

Meve (?), v. t. & i. To move. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mew (?), n. [AS. m&?;w, akin to D. meeuw, G. möwe, OHG. m&?;h, Icel. mr.] (Zoöl.) A gull, esp. the common British species (Larus canus); called also sea mew, maa, mar, mow, and cobb.

Mew, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mewed; p. pr. & vb. n. Mewing.] [OE. muen, F. muer, fr. L. mutare to change, fr. movere to move. See Move, and cf. Mew a cage, Molt.] To shed or cast; to change; to molt; as, the hawk mewed his feathers.

Nine times the moon had mewed her horns.

Dryden.

Mew, v. i. To cast the feathers; to molt; hence, to change; to put on a new appearance.

Now everything doth mew, And shifts his rustic winter robe.

Turbervile.

Mew, n. [OE. mue, F. mue change of feathers, scales, skin, the time or place when the change occurs, fr. muer to molt, mew, L. mutare to change. See 2d Mew.]

1. A cage for hawks while mewing; a coop for fattening fowls; hence, any inclosure; a place of confinement or shelter; -- in the latter sense usually in the plural.

Full many a fat partrich had he in mewe.

Chaucer.

Forthcoming from her darksome mew.

Spenser.

Violets in their secret mews.

Wordsworth.

2. A stable or range of stables for horses; - - compound used in the plural, and so called from the royal stables in London, built on the site of the king's mews for hawks.

Mew, v. t. [From Mew a cage.] To shut up; to inclose; to confine, as in a cage or other inclosure.

More pity that the eagle should be mewed.

Shak.

Close mewed in their sedans, for fear of air.

Dryden.

Mew, v. i. [Of imitative origin; cf. G. miauen.] To cry as a cat. [Written also meaw, meow.] Shak.

Mew, n. The common cry of a cat. Shak.

Mewl (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mewled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mewling.] [Cf. F. miauler to mew, E. mew to cry as a cat. Cf. Miaul.] To cry, as a young child; to squall. [Written also meawl.] Shak.

Mewl"er (?), n. One that mewls.

Mews (?), n. sing. & pl. [Prop. pl. of mew. See Mew a cage.] An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place. [Eng.]

Mr. Turveydrop's great room . . . was built out into a mews at the back.

Dickens.

||Mex*al" (?), Mex"i*cal (#), n. [Sp. mexcal.] See Mescal.

Mex"i*can (?), a. Of or pertaining to Mexico or its people. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Mexico.

Mexican poppy (Bot.), a tropical American herb of the Poppy family (Argemone Mexicana) with much the look of a thistle, but having large yellow or white blossoms. -- Mexican tea (Bot.), an aromatic kind of pigweed from tropical America (Chenopodium ambrosioides).

Mex"i*can*ize (?), v. t. To cause to be like the Mexicans, or their country, esp. in respect of frequent revolutions of government.

Mex"i*can*ize, v. i. To become like the Mexicans, or their country or government.

Meyn"e (mn"), n. [Obs.] Same as Meine.

Mez*cal" (?), n. Same as Mescal.

Me*ze"re*on (?), n. [F. mézéréon, Per. mzriyn.] (Bot.) A small European shrub (Daphne Mezereum), whose acrid bark is used in medicine.

||Mez*qui"ta (?), n. [Sp.] A mosque.

Mez"u*zoth (?), n. [Heb. mzzth, pl. of mzzh doorpost.] A piece of parchment bearing the Decalogue and attached to the doorpost; -- in use among orthodox Hebrews.

Mez"za*nine (?), n. [F. mezzanine, It. mezzanino, fr. mezzano middle, fr. mezzo middle, half. See Mezzo.] (Arch.) (a) Same as Entresol. (b) A partial story which is not on the same level with the story of the main part of the edifice, as of a back building, where the floors are on a level with landings of the staircase of the main house.

||Mez"za vo"ce (?). [It., fr. mezzo, fem. mezza middle, half + voce ||voice, L. vox.] (Mus.) With a medium fullness of sound.

||Mez"zo (?), a. [It., from L. medius middle, half. See Mid, a.] (Mus.) ||Mean; not extreme.

Mez"zo-re*lie"vo (?), n. Mezzo- rilievo.

||Mez"zo-ri*lie"vo (?), n. [It.] (a) A middle degree of relief in ||figures, between high and low relief. (b) Sculpture in this kind of ||relief. See under Alto-rilievo.

Mez"zo-so*pra"no (?), a. (Mus.) Having a medium compass between the soprano and contralto; -- said of the voice of a female singer. -- n. (a) A mezzo-soprano voice. (b) A person having such a voice.

Mez"zo*tint (?), n. [Cf. F. mezzo- tinto.] A manner of engraving on copper or steel by drawing upon a surface previously roughened, and then removing the roughness in places by scraping, burnishing, etc., so as to produce the requisite light and shade. Also, an engraving so produced.

Mez"zo*tint, v. t. To engrave in mezzotint.

Mez"zo*tint`er (?), n. One who engraves in mezzotint.

Mez`zo*tin"to (?), n. [It. mezzo half + tinto tinted, p. p. of tingere to dye, color, tinge, L. tingere. See Mezzo.] Mezzotint.

Mez`zo*tin"to, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mezzotintoed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mezzotintoing (?).] To engrave in mezzotint; to represent by mezzotint.

Mhorr (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Mohr.

Mi (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) A syllable applied to the third tone of the scale of C, i. e., to E, in European solmization, but to the third tone of any scale in the American system.

Mi*a"mis (?), n. pl.; sing. Miami (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians that formerly occupied the country between the Wabash and Maumee rivers.

Mi*ar"gy*rite (?), n. [Gr. &?; less + &?; silver. So called because it contains less silver than some kindred ore.] (Min.) A mineral of an iron-black color, and very sectile, consisting principally of sulphur, antimony, and silver.

Mi"as (?), n. [Malayan.] The orang-outang.

Mi*asc"ite (?), n. [Named from Miask, in the Ural Mountains.] (Min.) A granitoid rock containing feldspar, biotite, elæolite, and sodalite.

Mi"asm (?), n. [Cf. F. miasme.] Miasma.

Mi*as"ma (?), n.; pl. Miasmata (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; defilement, fr. &?; to pollute.] Infectious particles or germs floating in the air; air made noxious by the presence of such particles or germs; noxious effluvia; malaria.

Mi*as"mal (?), a. Containing miasma; miasmatic.

{ Mi`as*mat"ic (?), Mi`as*mat"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. miasmatique.] Containing, or relating to, miasma; caused by miasma; as, miasmatic diseases.

Mi*as"ma*tist (?), n. One who has made a special study of miasma.

Mi`as*mol"o*gy (?), n. [Miasma + -logy.] That department of medical science which treats of miasma.

Mi*aul" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Miauled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Miauling.] [Cf. F. miauler, of imitative origin, and E. mew. Cf. Mewl.] To cry as a cat; to mew; to caterwaul. Sir W. Scott.

Mi*aul", n. The crying of a cat.

Mi"ca (?), n. [L. mica crumb, grain, particle; cf. F. mica.] (Min.) The name of a group of minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic. They differ widely in composition, and vary in color from pale brown or yellow to green or black. The transparent forms are used in lanterns, the doors of stoves, etc., being popularly called isinglass. Formerly called also cat-silver, and glimmer.

The important species of the mica group are: muscovite, common or potash mica, pale brown or green, often silvery, including damourite (also called hydromica); biotite, iron-magnesia mica, dark brown, green, or black; lepidomelane, iron, mica, black; phlogopite, magnesia mica, colorless, yellow, brown; lepidolite, lithia mica, rose- red, lilac.

Mica (usually muscovite, also biotite) is an essential constituent of granite, gneiss, and mica slate; biotite is common in many eruptive rocks; phlogopite in crystalline limestone and serpentine.

Mica diorite (Min.), an eruptive rock allied to diorite but containing mica (biotite) instead of hornblende. -- Mica powder, a kind of dynamite containing fine scales of mica. -- Mica schist, Mica slate (Geol.), a schistose rock, consisting of mica and quartz with, usually, some feldspar.

Mi*ca`ce*o-cal*ca"re*ous (?), a. (Geol.) Partaking of the nature of, or consisting of, mica and lime; -- applied to a mica schist containing carbonate of lime.

Mi*ca"ceous (?), a. [Cf. F. micacé.] Pertaining to, or containing, mica; splitting into laminæ or leaves like mica.

Mice (?), n., pl of Mouse.

||Mi*cel"la (?), n.; pl. Micellæ (#). [NL., dim. of L. mica a morsel, ||grain.] (Biol.) A theoretical aggregation of molecules constituting a ||structural particle of protoplasm, capable of increase or diminution ||without change in chemical nature.

{ Mich, Miche } (?), v. i. [OE. michen; cf. OE. muchier, mucier, to conceal, F. musser, and OHG. mhhen to waylay. Cf. Micher, Curmudgeon, Muset.] To lie hid; to skulk; to act, or carry one's self, sneakingly. [Obs. or Colloq.] [Written also meach and meech.] Spenser.

Mich"ael*mas (?), n. [Michael + mass religious service; OE. Mighelmesse.] The feast of the archangel Michael, a church festival, celebrated on the 29th of September. Hence, colloquially, autumn.

Michaelmas daisy. (Bot.) See under Daisy.

Mich"er (?), n. [OE. michare, muchare. See Mich.] One who skulks, or keeps out of sight; hence, a truant; an idler; a thief, etc. [Obs.] Shak.

Mich"er*y (?), n. Theft; cheating. [Obs.] Gower.

Mich"ing, a. Hiding; skulking; cowardly. [Colloq.] [Written also meaching and meeching.]

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Mic"kle (mk"k'l), a. [OE. mikel, muchel, mochel, mukel, AS. micel, mycel; akin to OS. mikil, OHG. mihil, mihhil, Icel. mikill, mykill, Goth. mikils, L. magnus, Gr. me`gas, gen. mega`loy; cf. Skr. mahat. &radic;103. Cf. Much, Muckle, Magnitude.] Much; great. [Written also muckle and mockle.] [Old Eng. & Scot.] "A man of mickle might." Spenser.

Mic"macs (?), n. pl.; sing. Micmac (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians inhabiting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. [Written also Mikmaks.]

Mi"co (?), n. [Sp. or Pg. mico.] (Zoöl.) A small South American monkey (Mico melanurus), allied to the marmoset. The name was originally applied to an albino variety.

Mi`cra*cous"tic (?), a. Same as Microustic.

||Mi*cras"ter (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mikro`s small + &?; star.] ||(Paleon.) A genus of sea urchins, similar to Spatangus, abounding in ||the chalk formation; -- from the starlike disposal of the ambulacral ||furrows.

Mi`cren*ceph"a*lous (?), [Micr- + Gr. &?; brain.] Having a small brain.

{ Mi"cro- (?), Mi"cr- }. [Gr. mikro`s small.] A combining form signifying: (a) Small, little, trivial, slight; as, microcosm, microscope. (b) (Metric System, Elec., Mech., etc.) A millionth part of; as, microfarad, microohm, micrometer.

Mi`cro*am`père" (?), n. [Micr- + ampère.] (Elec.) One of the smaller measures of electrical currents; the millionth part of one ampère.

||Mi`cro*bac*te"ri*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Micro-, and Bacterium.] ||(Biol.) In the classification of Cohn, one of the four tribes of ||Bacteria.

In this classification bacteria are divided into four tribes: 1. Spherobacteria, or spherical bacteria, as the genus Micrococcus. 2. Microbacteria, or bacteria in the form of short rods, including the genus Bacterium. 3. Desmobacteria, or bacteria in straight filaments, of which the genus Bacillus is a type. 4. Spirobacteria, or bacteria in spiral filaments, as the genus Vibrio.

{ Mi"crobe (?), ||Mi*cro"bi*on (?), } n. [NL. microbion, fr. Gr. &?; little + &?; life.] (Biol.) A microscopic organism; -- particularly applied to bacteria and especially to pathogenic forms; as, the microbe of fowl cholera.

Mi*cro"bi*an (?), a. (Biol.) Of, pertaining to, or caused by, microbes; as, the microbian theory; a microbian disease.

Mi*crob"ic (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to a microbe.

Mi*crob"i*cide (?), n. [Microbe + L. caedere to kill.] (Biol.) Any agent detrimental to, or destructive of, the life of microbes or bacterial organisms.

{ Mi`cro*ce*phal"ic (?), Mi`cro*ceph"a*lous (?), } a. [Micro- + cephalic, cephalous.] (Anat.) Having a small head; having the cranial cavity small; -- opposed to megacephalic.

Mi`cro-chem"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to micro-chemistry; as, a micro-chemical test.

Mi`cro-chem"is*try (?), n. [Micro- + chemistry.] The application of chemical tests to minute objects or portions of matter, magnified by the use of the microscopy; -- distinguished from macro-chemistry.

Mi`cro*chro*nom"e*ter (?), n. A chronoscope.

Mi"cro*cline (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; to incline.] (Min.) A mineral of the feldspar group, like orthoclase or common feldspar in composition, but triclinic in form.

Mi`cro*coc"cal (?), a. Of or pertaining to micrococci; caused by micrococci. Nature.

||Mi`cro*coc"cus (?), n.; pl. Micrococci (#). [NL. See Micro-, and ||Coccus.] (Biol.) A genus of Spherobacteria, in the form of very small ||globular or oval cells, forming, by transverse division, filaments, ||or chains of cells, or in some cases single organisms shaped like ||dumb-bells (Diplococcus), all without the power of motion. See ||Illust. of Ascoccus.

Physiologically, micrococci are divided into three groups; chromogenic, characterized by their power of forming pigment; zymogenic, including those associated with definite chemical processes; and pathogenic, those connected with disease.

Mi"cro*cosm (?), n. [F. microcosme, L. microcosmus, fr. Gr. mikro`s small + ko`smos the world.] A little world; a miniature universe. Hence (so called by Paracelsus), a man, as a supposed epitome of the exterior universe or great world. Opposed to macrocosm. Shak.

{ Mi`cro*cos"mic (?), Mi`cro*cos"mic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. microcosmique.] Of or pertaining to the microcosm.

Microcosmic salt (Chem.), a white crystalline substance obtained by mixing solutions of sodium phosphate and ammonium phosphate, and also called hydric-sodic- ammonic-phosphate. It is a powerful flux, and is used as a substitute for borax as a blowpipe reagent in testing for the metallic oxides. Originally obtained by the alchemists from human urine, and called sal microcosmicum.

Mi`cro*cos*mog"ra*phy (?), n. [Microcosm + -graphy.] Description of man as a microcosm.

Mi`cro*cou`lomb" (?), n. [Micro- + coulomb.] (Elec.) A measure of electrical quantity; the millionth part of one coulomb.

Mi`cro*cous"tic (?), a. [Micro- + acoustic: cf. F. microcoustique, micracoustique.] Pertaining, or suited, to the audition of small sounds; fitted to assist hearing.

Mi`cro*cous"tic, n. An instrument for making faint sounds audible, as to a partially deaf person.

Mi`cro*crith" (?), n. [Micro- + crith.] (Chem.) The weight of the half hydrogen molecule, or of the hydrogen atom, taken as the standard in comparing the atomic weights of the elements; thus, an atom of oxygen weighs sixteen microcriths. See Crith. J. P. Cooke.

Mi`cro*crys"tal*line (?), a. [Micro- + crystalline.] (Crystallog.) Crystalline on a fine, or microscopic, scale; consisting of fine crystals; as, the ground mass of certain porphyrics is microcrystalline.

Mi"cro*cyte (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; a hollow vessel.] (Physiol.) One of the elementary granules found in blood. They are much smaller than an ordinary corpuscle, and are particularly noticeable in disease, as in anæmia.

Mic"ro*dont (?), a. [Micr- + Gr. 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, a tooth.] (Anat.) Having small teeth.

Mi`cro*far"ad (?), n. [Micro- + farad.] (Elec.) The millionth part of a farad.

Mi"cro*form (?), n. [Micro- + form, n.] (Biol.) A microscopic form of life; an animal or vegetable organism of microscopic size.

Mi`cro-ge`o*log"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to micro-geology.

Mi`cro-ge*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Micro- + geology.] The part of geology relating to structure and organisms which require to be studied with a microscope.

Mi"cro*graph (?), n. [See Micrography.] An instrument for executing minute writing or engraving.

Mi`cro*graph"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to micrography.

Mi*crog"ra*phy (?), n. [Micro- + -graphy: cf. F. micrographie.] The description of microscopic objects.

Mi*crohm" (?), n. [Micr- + ohm.] (Elec.) The millionth part of an ohm.

||Mi`cro*lep`i*dop"te*ra (?), n. pl. [NL. See Micro-, and Lepidoptera.] ||(Zoöl.) A tribe of Lepidoptera, including a vast number of minute ||species, as the plume moth, clothes moth, etc.

||Mi`cro*les"tes (?), n. [NL., from Gr. mikro`s small + &?; a robber.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of small Triassic mammals, the oldest yet ||found in European strata.

Mi"cro*lite (?), n. [Micro- + -lite.] (Min.)

1. A rare mineral of resinous luster and high specific gravity. It is a tantalate of calcium, and occurs in octahedral crystals usually very minute.

2. (Min.) A minute inclosed crystal, often observed when minerals or rocks are examined in thin sections under the microscope.

Mi"cro*lith (?), n. [Micro- + lith.] (Min.) Same as Microlite, 2.

Mi`cro*lith"ic (?), a. Formed of small stones.

{ Mi`cro*log"ic (?), Mi`cro*log"ic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to micrology; very minute; as, micrologic examination. -- Mi`cro*log"ic*al*ly, adv.

Mi*crol"o*gy (?), n. [Micro- + -logy.]

1. That part of science which treats of microscopic objects, or depends on microscopic observation.

2. Attention to petty items or differences. W. Taylor.

Mi"cro*mere (?), n. [Micro- + -mere.] (Biol.) One of the smaller cells, or blastomeres, resulting from the complete segmentation of a telolecithal ovum.

Mi*crom"e*ter (?), n. [Micro- + -meter: cf. F. micromètre.] An instrument, used with a telescope or microscope, for measuring minute distances, or the apparent diameters of objects which subtend minute angles. The measurement given directly is that of the image of the object formed at the focus of the object glass.

Circular, or Ring, micrometer, a metallic ring fixed in the focus of the object glass of a telescope, and used to determine differences of right ascension and declination between stars by observations of the times at which the stars cross the inner or outer periphery of the ring. -- Double image micrometer, a micrometer in which two images of an object are formed in the field, usually by the two halves of a bisected lens which are movable along their line of section by a screw, and distances are determined by the number of screw revolutions necessary to bring the points to be measured into optical coincidence. When the two images are formed by a bisected object glass, it is called a divided-object-glass micrometer, and when the instrument is large and equatorially mounted, it is known as a heliometer. -- Double refraction micrometer, a species of double image micrometer, in which the two images are formed by the double refraction of rock crystal. -- Filar, or Bifilar, micrometer. See under Bifilar. -- Micrometer caliper or gauge (Mech.), a caliper or gauge with a micrometer screw, for measuring dimensions with great accuracy. -- Micrometer head, the head of a micrometer screw. -- Micrometer microscope, a compound microscope combined with a filar micrometer, used chiefly for reading and subdividing the divisions of large astronomical and geodetical instruments. -- Micrometer screw, a screw with a graduated head used in some forms of micrometers. -- Position micrometer. See under Position. -- Scale, or Linear, micrometer, a minute and very delicately graduated scale of equal parts used in the field of a telescope or microscope, for measuring distances by direct comparison.

{ Mi`cro*met"ric (?), Mi`cro*met"ric*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. micrométrique.] Belonging to micrometry; made by the micrometer. -- Mi`cro*met"ric*al*ly, adv.

Mi*crom"e*try (?), n. The art of measuring with a micrometer.

Mi`cro*mil"li*me`ter (?), n. [Micro- + millimeter.] The millionth part of a meter.

Mic"ron (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mikro`s small.] (Physics) A measure of length; the thousandth part of one millimeter; the millionth part of a meter.

Mi"cro*ne"sian (?), a. [From Micronesia, fr. Gr. mikro`s small + nh^sos an island.] Of or pertaining to Micronesia, a collective designation of the islands in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, embracing the Marshall and Gilbert groups, the Ladrones, the Carolines, etc.

Mi`cro*ne"sians (?), n. pl.; sing. Micronesian. (Ethnol.) A dark race inhabiting the Micronesian Islands. They are supposed to be a mixed race, derived from Polynesians and Papuans.

Mi`cro*nom"e*ter (?), n. [Micro- + chronometer.] An instrument for noting minute portions of time.

Mi`cro*ör"gan*ism (?), n. [Micro- + organism.] (Biol.) Any microscopic form of life; -- particularly applied to bacteria and similar organisms, esp. such are supposed to cause infectious diseases.

Mi`cro*pan"to*graph (?), n. [Micro- + pantograph.] A kind of pantograph which produces copies microscopically minute.

Mi`cro*peg"ma*tite (?), n. [Micro- + pegmatite.] (Min.) A rock showing under the microscope the structure of a graphic granite (pegmatite). -- Mi`cro*peg`ma*tit"ic (#), a.

Mi"cro*phone (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; sound, voice: cf. F. microphone.] (Physics) An instrument for intensifying and making audible very feeble sounds. It produces its effects by the changes of intensity in an electric current, occasioned by the variations in the contact resistance of conducting bodies, especially of imperfect conductors, under the action of acoustic vibrations.

Mi`cro*phon"ics (?), n. [See Microphone.] The science which treats of the means of increasing the intensity of low or weak sounds, or of the microphone.

Mi*croph"o*nous (?), a. Serving to augment the intensity of weak sounds; microcoustic.

Mi`cro*pho"to*graph (?), n. [Micro- + photograph.]

1. A microscopically small photograph of a picture, writing, printed page, etc.

2. An enlarged representation of a microscopic object, produced by throwing upon a sensitive plate the magnified image of an object formed by a microscope or other suitable combination of lenses.

A picture of this kind is preferably called a photomicrograph.

Mi`cro*pho*tog"ra*phy (?), n. The art of making microphotographs.

{ Mi`croph*thal"mi*a (?), Mi`croph*thal"my (?), } n. [Micro- + Gr. 'ofqalmo`s eye.] An unnatural smallness of the eyes, occurring as the result of disease or of imperfect development.

Mi*croph"yl*lous (?), a. [Micro- + Gr. fy`llon leaf.] (Bot.) Small- leaved.

Mi*croph"y*tal (?), a. (Bot.) Pertaining to, or of the nature of, microphytes.

Mi"cro*phyte (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; a plant: cf. F. microphyte.] (Bot.) A very minute plant, one of certain unicellular algæ, such as the germs of various infectious diseases are believed to be.

Mi"cro*pyle (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; gate, orifice: cf. F. micropyle.] (Biol.) (a) An opening in the membranes surrounding the ovum, by which nutrition is assisted and the entrance of the spermatozoa permitted. (b) An opening in the outer coat of a seed, through which the fecundating pollen enters the ovule. -- Mi*crop"y*lar (#), a.

Mi*cros"co*pal (?), a. Pertaining to microscopy, or to the use of the microscope. Huxley.

Mi"cro*scope (?), n. [Micro- + -scope.] An optical instrument, consisting of a lens, or combination of lenses, for making an enlarged image of an object which is too minute to be viewed by the naked eye.

Compound microscope, an instrument consisting of a combination of lenses such that the image formed by the lens or set of lenses nearest the object (called the objective) is magnified by another lens called the ocular or eyepiece. -- Oxyhydrogen microscope, and Solar microscope. See under Oxyhydrogen, and Solar. -- Simple, or Single, microscope, a single convex lens used to magnify objects placed in its focus.

Mi`cro*sco"pi*al (?), a. Microscopic. [R.] Berkeley.

{ Mi`cro*scop"ic (?), Mi`cro*scop"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. microscopique.]

1. Of or pertaining to the microscope or to microscopy; made with a microscope; as, microscopic observation.

2. Able to see extremely minute objects.

Why has not man a microscopic eye?

Pope.

3. Very small; visible only by the aid of a microscope; as, a microscopic insect.

Mi`cro*scop"ic*al*ly, adv. By the microscope; with minute inspection; in a microscopic manner.

Mi*cros"co*pist (?; 277), n. One skilled in, or given to, microscopy.

Mi*cros"co*py (?), n. The use of the microscope; investigation with the microscope.

Mi"cro*seme (?), a. [Micro- + Gr. &?; sign, mark: cf. F. microsème.] (Anat.) Having the orbital index relatively small; having the orbits broad transversely; -- opposed to megaseme.

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Mi`cro*spec"tro*scope (m`kr*spk"tr*skp or m`kr-), n. [Micro- + spectroscope.] (Physics) A spectroscope arranged for attachment to a microscope, for observation of the spectrum of light from minute portions of any substance.

||Mi`cro*spo*ran"gi*um (?), n. [NL. See Micro-, and Sporangium.] (Bot.) ||A sporangium or conceptacle containing only very minute spores. Cf. ||Macrosporangium.

Mi"cro*spore (?), n. [Micro- + spore.] (Bot.) One of the exceedingly minute spores found in certain flowerless plants, as Selaginella and Isoetes, which bear two kinds of spores, one very much smaller than the other. Cf. Macrospore.

Mi`cro*spor"ic (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to microspores.

Mi"cro*sthene (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. sqe`nos might, strength.] (Zoöl.) One of a group of mammals having a small size as a typical characteristic. It includes the lower orders, as the Insectivora, Cheiroptera, Rodentia, and Edentata.

Mi`cro*sthen"ic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a typically small size; of or pertaining to the microsthenes.

Mi`cro*ta*sim"e*ter (?), n. [Micro- + tasimeter.] (Physics) A tasimeter, especially when arranged for measuring very small extensions. See Tasimeter.

Mi"cro*tome (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. te`mnein to cut.] An instrument for making very thin sections for microscopical examination.

Mi*crot"o*mist (?), n. One who is skilled in or practices microtomy.

Mi*crot"o*my (?), n. The art of using the microtome; investigation carried on with the microtome.

Mi`cro*volt" (?), n. [Micro- + volt.] (Elec.) A measure of electro-motive force; the millionth part of one volt.

Mi`cro*we"ber (?), n. [Micro- + weber.] (Elec.) The millionth part of one weber.

||Mi`cro*zo"a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mikro`s small + zw^,on an ||animal.] (Zoöl.) The Infusoria.

Mi`cro*zo"ö*spore (?), n. [Micro- + zoöspore.] (Bot.) A small motile spore furnished with two vibratile cilia, found in certain green algæ.

Mi"cro*zyme (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. zy`mh leaven.] (Biol.) A microörganism which is supposed to act like a ferment in causing or propagating certain infectious or contagious diseases; a pathogenic bacterial organism.

Mic`tu*ri"tion (?), n. [L. micturire to desire to make water, v. desid. fr. mingere, mictum, to make water.] The act of voiding urine; also, a morbidly frequent passing of the urine, in consequence of disease.

Mid (md), a. [Compar. wanting; superl. Midmost.] [AS. midd; akin to OS. middi, D. mid (in comp.), OHG. mitti, Icel. miðr, Goth. midjis, L. medius, Gr. me`sos, Skr. madhya. &radic;271. Cf. Amid, Middle, Midst, Mean, Mediate, Meridian, Mizzen, Moiety.]

1. Denoting the middle part; as, in mid ocean.

No more the mounting larks, while Daphne sings, Shall list'ning in mid air suspend their wings.

Pope.

2. Occupying a middle position; middle; as, the mid finger; the mid hour of night.

3. (Phon.) Made with a somewhat elevated position of some certain part of the tongue, in relation to the palate; midway between the high and the low; -- said of certain vowel sounds; as, (le), (ll), (ld). See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 10, 11.

Mid is much used as a prefix, or combining form, denoting the middle or middle part of a thing; as, mid-air, mid-channel, mid-age, midday, midland, etc. Also, specifically, in geometry, to denote a circle inscribed in a triangle (a midcircle), or relation to such a circle; as, mid-center, midradius.

Mid, n. Middle. [Obs.]

About the mid of night come to my tent.

Shak.

Mid, prep. See Amid.

Mi"da (?), n. [Gr. &?; a destructive insect in pulse.] (Zoöl.) The larva of the bean fly.

Mi"das (?), n. [So called from L. Midas, a man fabled to have had ass's ears.] (Zoöl.) A genus of longeared South American monkeys, including numerous species of marmosets. See Marmoset.

Mi"das's ear" (?). [See Midas.] (Zoöl.) A pulmonate mollusk (Auricula, or Ellobium, aurismidæ); -- so called from resemblance to a human ear.

Mid"brain` (?), n. [Mid, a. + brain.] (Anat.) The middle segment of the brain; the mesencephalon. See Brain.

Mid"day` (?), n. [AS. middæg. See Mid, a., and Day.] The middle part of the day; noon.

Mid"day`, a. Of or pertaining to noon; meridional; as, the midday sun.

Mid"den (?), n. [Also midding.] [Cf. Dan. mögdynge, E. muck, and dung.]

1. A dunghill. [Prov. Eng.]

2. An accumulation of refuse about a dwelling place; especially, an accumulation of shells or of cinders, bones, and other refuse on the supposed site of the dwelling places of prehistoric tribes, -- as on the shores of the Baltic Sea and in many other places. See Kitchen middens.

Mid"den crow" (?). (Zoöl.) The common European crow. [Prov. Eng.]

Mid"dest (?), a.; superl. of Mid. [See Midst.] Situated most nearly in the middle; middlemost; midmost. [Obs.] " 'Mongst the middest crowd." Spenser.

Mid"dest, n. Midst; middle. [Obs.] Fuller.

Mid"ding (?), n. Same as Midden.

Mid"dle (-d'l), a. [OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG. muttil, G. mittel. &radic;271. See Mid, a.]

1. Equally distant from the extreme either of a number of things or of one thing; mean; medial; as, the middle house in a row; a middle rank or station in life; flowers of middle summer; men of middle age.

2. Intermediate; intervening.

Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends.

Sir J. Davies.

Middle is sometimes used in the formation of self- explaining compounds; as, middle-sized, middle- witted.

Middle Ages, the period of time intervening between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters. Hallam regards it as beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century. -- Middle class, in England, people who have an intermediate position between the aristocracy and the artisan class. It includes professional men, bankers, merchants, and small landed proprietors

The middle-class electorate of Great Britain.

M. Arnold.

-- Middle distance. (Paint.) See Middle-ground. -- Middle English. See English, n., 2. -- Middle Kingdom, China. -- Middle oil (Chem.), that part of the distillate obtained from coal tar which passes over between 170° and 230° Centigrade; -- distinguished from the light, and the heavy or dead, oil. -- Middle passage, in the slave trade, that part of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the West Indies. -- Middle post. (Arch.) Same as King-post. -- Middle States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; which, at the time of the formation of the Union, occupied a middle position between the Eastern States (or New England) and the Southern States. [U.S.] -- Middle term (Logic), that term of a syllogism with which the two extremes are separately compared, and by means of which they are brought together in the conclusion. Brande. -- Middle tint (Paint.), a subdued or neutral tint. Fairholt. -- Middle voice. (Gram.) See under Voice. -- Middle watch, the period from midnight to four A. M.; also, the men on watch during that time. Ham. Nav. Encyc. -- Middle weight, a pugilist, boxer, or wrestler classed as of medium weight, i. e., over 140 and not over 160 lbs., in distinction from those classed as light weights, heavy weights, etc.

Mid"dle (?), n. [AS. middel. See Middle, a.] The point or part equally distant from the extremities or exterior limits, as of a line, a surface, or a solid; an intervening point or part in space, time, or order of series; the midst; central portion; specif., the waist. Chaucer. "The middle of the land." Judg. ix. 37.

In this, as in most questions of state, there is a middle.

Burke.

Syn. -- See Midst.

Mid"dle-age` (?), [Middle + age. Cf. Mediæval.] Of or pertaining to the Middle Ages; mediæval.

Mid"dle-aged` (?), a. Being about the middle of the ordinary age of man; between 30 and 50 years old.

Mid"dle-earth` (?), n. The world, considered as lying between heaven and hell. [Obs.] Shak.

Mid"dle-ground` (?), n. (Paint.) That part of a picture between the foreground and the background.

Mid"dle*man (?), n.; pl. Middlemen (&?;).

1. An agent between two parties; a broker; a go-between; any dealer between the producer and the consumer; in Ireland, one who takes land of the proprietors in large tracts, and then rents it out in small portions to the peasantry.

2. A person of intermediate rank; a commoner.

3. (Mil.) The man who occupies a central position in a file of soldiers.

Mid"dle*most` (?), a. [Cf. Midmost.] Being in the middle, or nearest the middle; midmost.

Mid"dler (?), n. One of a middle or intermediate class in some schools and seminaries.

Mid"dling (?), a. Of middle rank, state, size, or quality; about equally distant from the extremes; medium; moderate; mediocre; ordinary. "A town of but middling size." Hallam.

Plainly furnished, as beseemed the middling circumstances of its inhabitants.

Hawthorne.

-- Mid"dling*ly, adv. -- Mid"dling*ness, n.

Mid"dlings (?), n. pl. 1. A combination of the coarser parts of ground wheat the finest bran, separated from the fine flour and coarse bran in bolting; -- formerly regarded as valuable only for feed; but now, after separation of the bran, used for making the best quality of flour. Middlings contain a large proportion of gluten.

2. In the southern and western parts of the United States, the portion of the hog between the ham and the shoulder; bacon; -- called also middles. Bartlett.

Mid"dy (?), n.; pl. Middies (&?;). A colloquial abbreviation of midshipman.

Mid"feath`er (?), n. 1. (Steam Boilers) A vertical water space in a fire box or combustion chamber.

2. (Mining) A support for the center of a tunnel.

Mid"gard` (?), n. [Icel. miðgarðr.] (Scand. Myth.) The middle space or region between heaven and hell; the abode of human beings; the earth.

Midge (?), n. [OE. migge, AS. mycge; akin to OS. muggia, D. mug, G. mücke, OHG. mucca, Icel. m&?;, Sw. mygga, mygg, Dan. myg; perh. named from its buzzing; cf. Gr. &?; to low, bellow.] (Zoöl.)

1. Any one of many small, delicate, long- legged flies of the Chironomus, and allied genera, which do not bite. Their larvæ are usually aquatic.

2. A very small fly, abundant in many parts of the United States and Canada, noted for the irritating quality of its bite.

The name is also applied to various other small flies. See Wheat midge, under Wheat.

Midg"et (?), n. [Dim. of midge.]

1. (Zoöl.) A minute bloodsucking fly. [Local, U. S.]

2. A very diminutive person.

Mid"gut` (?), n. [Mid, a. + gut.] (Anat.) The middle part of the alimentary canal from the stomach, or entrance of the bile duct, to, or including, the large intestine.

Mid"heav`en (?), n. 1. The midst or middle of heaven or the sky.

2. (Astron.) The meridian, or middle line of the heavens; the point of the ecliptic on the meridian.

Mid"land (?), a. 1. Being in the interior country; distant from the coast or seashore; as, midland towns or inhabitants. Howell.

2. Surrounded by the land; mediterranean.

And on the midland sea the French had awed.

Dryden.

Mid"land (?), n. The interior or central region of a country; -- usually in the plural. Drayton.

Mid"main` (?), n. The middle part of the main or sea. [Poetic] Chapman.

Mid"most` (?), a. [OE. middemiste. Cf. Foremost.] Middle; middlemost.

Ere night's midmost, stillest hour was past.

Byron.

Mid"night` (?), n. [AS. midniht.] The middle of the night; twelve o'clock at night.

The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve.

Shak.

Mid"night`, a. Being in, or characteristic of, the middle of the night; as, midnight studies; midnight gloom. "Midnight shout and revelry." Milton.

||Mid*rash" (?), n.; pl. Midrashim (#), Midrashoth (#). [Heb., ||explanation.] A talmudic exposition of the Hebrew law, or of some ||part of it.

Mid"rib` (?), n. (Bot.) A continuation of the petiole, extending from the base to the apex of the lamina of a leaf.

Mid"riff (md"rf), n. [AS. midhrif; midd mid, middle + hrif bowels, womb; akin to OFries. midref midriff, rif, ref, belly, OHG. href body, and to L. corpus body. See Corpse.] (Anat.) See Diaphragm, n., 2.

Smote him into the midriff with a stone.

Milton.

{ Mid" sea", or Mid"-sea" (?) }. The middle part of the sea or ocean. Milton.

The Mid-sea, the Mediterranean Sea. [Obs.]

Mid"ship`, a. Of or pertaining to, or being in, the middle of a ship.

Midship beam (Naut.), the beam or timber upon which the broadest part of a vessel is formed. -- Midship bend, the broadest frame in a vessel. Weale.

Mid"ship`man (?), n.; pl. Midshipmen (&?;).

1. (a) Formerly, a kind of naval cadet, in a ship of war, whose business was to carry orders, messages, reports, etc., between the officers of the quarter-deck and those of the forecastle, and render other services as required. (b) In the English naval service, the second rank attained by a combatant officer after a term of service as naval cadet. Having served three and a half years in this rank, and passed an examination, he is eligible to promotion to the rank of lieutenant. (c) In the United States navy, the lowest grade of officers in line of promotion, being graduates of the Naval Academy awaiting promotion to the rank of ensign.

2. (Zoöl.) An American marine fish of the genus Porichthys, allied to the toadfish.

Cadet midshipman, formerly a title distinguishing a cadet line officer from a cadet engineer at the U. S. Naval Academy. See under Cadet. -- Cadet midshipman, formerly, a naval cadet who had served his time, passed his examinations, and was awaiting promotion; -- now called, in the United States, midshipman; in England, sublieutenant.

Mid"ships`, adv. [For amidships.] (Naut.) In the middle of a ship; -- properly amidships.

Mid"ships`, n. pl. (Naut.) The timbers at the broadest part of the vessel. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Midst (?), n. [From middest, in the middest, for older in middes, where -s is adverbial (orig. forming a genitive), or still older a midde, a midden, on midden. See Mid, and cf. Amidst.]

1. The interior or central part or place; the middle; -- used chiefly in the objective case after in; as, in the midst of the forest.

And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him.

Luke iv. 35.

There is nothing . . . in the midst [of the play] which might not have been placed in the beginning.

Dryden.

2. Hence, figuratively, the condition of being surrounded or beset; the press; the burden; as, in the midst of official duties; in the midst of secular affairs.

The expressions in our midst, in their midst, etc., are avoided by some good writers, the forms in the midst of us, in the midst of them, etc., being preferred.

Syn. -- Midst, Middle. Midst in present usage commonly denotes a part or place surrounded on enveloped by or among other parts or objects (see Amidst); while middle is used of the center of length, or surface, or of a solid, etc. We say in the midst of a thicket; in the middle of a line, or the middle of a room; in the midst of darkness; in the middle of the night.

Midst, prep. In the midst of; amidst. Shak.

Midst, adv. In the middle. [R.] Milton.

Mid"sum`mer (?), n. [AS. midsumor.] The middle of summer. Shak.

Midsummer daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy.

Mid"ward (?), a. Situated in the middle.

Mid"ward, adv. In or toward the midst.

Mid"way` (?), n. The middle of the way or distance; a middle way or course. Shak.

Paths indirect, or in the midway faint.

Milton.

Mid"way`, a. Being in the middle of the way or distance; as, the midway air. Shak.

Mid"way`, adv. In the middle of the way or distance; half way. "She met his glance midway." Dryden.

Mid"week` (?), n. The middle of the week. Also used adjectively.

Mid"wife` (?), n.; pl. Midwives (#). [OE. midwif, fr. AS. mid with (akin to Gr. &?;) + &?; woman, wife. Properly, the woman or wife who is attendant upon a woman in childbirth. See Meta-, and Wife.] A woman who assists other women in childbirth; a female practitioner of the obstetric art.

Mid"wife`, v. t. To assist in childbirth.

Mid"wife`, v. i. To perform the office of midwife.

Mid"wife`ry (?; 277), n. 1. The art or practice of assisting women in childbirth; obstetrics.

2. Assistance at childbirth; help or coöperation in production.

Mid"win`ter (?), n. [AS. midwinter.] The middle of winter. Dryden.

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Mid"wive` (md"wcv`), v. t. To midwife. [Obs.]

Mien (mn), n. [F. mine; perh. from sane source as mener to lead; cf. E. demean, menace, mine, n.] Aspect; air; manner; demeanor; carriage; bearing.

Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen.

Pope.

Miff (?), n. [Cf. Prov. G. muff sullenness, sulkiness, muffen to be silky, muffïg sullen, pouting.] A petty falling out; a tiff; a quarrel; offense. Fielding.

Miff, v. t. To offend slightly. [Colloq.]

Might (mt), imp. of May. [AS. meahte, mihte.]

Might, n. [AS. meaht, miht, from the root of magan to be able, E. may; akin to D. magt, OS. maht, G. macht, Icel. mttr, Goth. mahts. &radic;103. See May, v.] Force or power of any kind, whether of body or mind; energy or intensity of purpose, feeling, or action; means or resources to effect an object; strength; force; power; ability; capacity.

What so strong, But wanting rest, will also want of might?

Spenser.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Deut. vi. 5.

With might and main. See under 2d Main.

Might"ful (?), a. Mighty. [Obs.] Shak.

Might"i*ly (?), adv. [From Mighty.]

1. In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully.

Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Col. i. 29.

2. To a great degree; very much.

Practical jokes amused us mightily.

Hawthorne.

Might"i*ness, n. 1. The quality of being mighty; possession of might; power; greatness; high dignity.

How soon this mightiness meets misery.

Shak.

2. Highness; excellency; -- with a possessive pronoun, a title of dignity; as, their high mightinesses.

Might"less, a. Without; weak. [Obs.]

Might"y (?), a. [Compar. Mightier (?); superl. Mightiest.] [AS. meahtig, mihtig; akin to G. mächtig, Goth. mahteigs. See Might, n.]

1. Possessing might; having great power or authority.

Wise in heart, and mighty in strength.

Job ix. 4.

2. Accomplished by might; hence, extraordinary; wonderful. "His mighty works." Matt. xi. 20.

3. Denoting an extraordinary degree or quality in respect of size, character, importance, consequences, etc. "A mighty famine." Luke xv. 14. "Giants of mighty bone." Milton.

Mighty was their fuss about little matters.

Hawthorne.

Might"y, n.; pl. Mighties (#). A warrior of great force and courage. [R. & Obs.] 1 Chron. xi. 12.

Might"y, adv. In a great degree; very. [Colloq.] "He was mighty methodical." Jeffrey.

We have a mighty pleasant garden.

Doddridge.

Mign"iard (?), a. [F. mignard, akin to mignon. See Minion.] Soft; dainty. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Mign"iard*ise (?), n. [F. mignardise.] Delicate fondling. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Mi"gnon (?), a. [F.] See 3d Minion.

Mi"gnon, v. t. To flatter. [R. & Obs.] Danie&?;.

Mi`gnon*ette" (?), n. [F. mignonnette, dim. of mignon darling. See 2d Minion.] (Bot.) A plant (Reseda odorata) having greenish flowers with orange-colored stamens, and exhaling a delicious fragrance. In Africa it is a low shrub, but further north it is usually an annual herb.

Mignonette pepper, coarse pepper.

Mi*graine" (?), n. [F.] Same as Megrim. -- Mi*grain"ous, a.

Mi"grant (?), a. [L. migrans, p. pr. of migrare. See Migrate.] Migratory. Sir T. Browne. -- n. A migratory bird or other animal.

Mi"grate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Migrated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Migrating (?).] [L. migratus, p. p. of migrare to migrate, transfer.]

1. To remove from one country or region to another, with a view to residence; to change one's place of residence; to remove; as, the Moors who migrated from Africa into Spain; to migrate to the West.

2. To pass periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding; -- said of certain birds, fishes, and quadrupeds.

Mi*gra"tion (?), n. [L. migratio: cf. F. migration.] The act of migrating.

Mi"gra*to*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. migratoire.]

1. Removing regularly or occasionally from one region or climate to another; as, migratory birds.

2. Hence, roving; wandering; nomad; as, migratory habits; a migratory life.

Migratory locust (Zoöl.) See Locust. -- Migratory thrush (Zoöl.), the American robin. See Robin.

Mi*ka"do (?), n. [Jap.] The popular designation of the hereditary sovereign of Japan.

Mik"maks (?), n. Same as Micmacs.

Mil"age (?; 48), n. Same as Mileage.

Mil`an*ese" (?), a. Of or pertaining to Milan in Italy, or to its inhabitants. -- n. sing. & pl. A native or inhabitant of Milan; people of Milan.

Milch (?), a. [OE. milche; akin to G. melk, Icel. milkr, mjlkr, and to E. milk. See Milk.]

1. Giving milk; -- now applied only to beasts. "Milch camels." Gen. xxxii. "Milch kine." Shak.

2. Tender; pitiful; weeping. [Obs.] Shak.

Mild (?), a. [Compar. Milder (?); superl. Mildest.] [AS. milde; akin to OS. mildi, D. & G. mild, OHG. milti, Icel. mildr, Sw. & Dan. mild, Goth. milds; cf. Lith. melas dear, Gr. &?; gladdening gifts.] Gentle; pleasant; kind; soft; bland; clement; hence, moderate in degree or quality; -- the opposite of harsh, severe, irritating, violent, disagreeable, etc.; -- applied to persons and things; as, a mild disposition; a mild eye; a mild air; a mild medicine; a mild insanity.

The rosy morn resigns her light And milder glory to the noon.

Waller.

Adore him as a mild and merciful Being.

Rogers.

Mild, or Low, steel, steel that has but little carbon in it and is not readily hardened.

Syn. -- Soft; gentle; bland; calm; tranquil; soothing; pleasant; placid; meek; kind; tender; indulgent; clement; mollifying; lenitive; assuasive. See Gentle.

Mild"en (?), v. t. To make mild, or milder. Lowell.

Mil"dew (?), n. [AS. meledeáw; akin to OHG. militou, G. mehlthau, mehltau; prob. orig. meaning, honeydew; cf. Goth. milip honey. See Mellifluous, and Dew.] (Bot.) A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances.

Mil"dew, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mildewed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mildewing.] To taint with mildew.

He . . . mildews the white wheat.

Shak.

Mil"dew, v. i. To become tainted with mildew.

Mild"ly (?), adv. In a mild manner.

Mild"ness, n. The quality or state of being mild; as, mildness of temper; the mildness of the winter.

Mile (?), n. [AS. ml, fr. L. millia, milia; pl. of mille a thousand, i. e., milia passuum a thousand paces. Cf. Mill the tenth of a cent, Million.] A certain measure of distance, being equivalent in England and the United States to 320 poles or rods, or 5,280 feet.

The distance called a mile varies greatly in different countries. Its length in yards is, in Norway, 12,182; in Brunswick, 11,816; in Sweden, 11,660; in Hungary, 9,139; in Switzerland, 8,548; in Austria, 8,297; in Prussia, 8,238; in Poland, 8,100; in Italy, 2,025; in England and the United States, 1,760; in Spain, 1,552; in the Netherlands, 1,094.

Geographical, or Nautical mile, one sixtieth of a degree of a great circle of the earth, or 6080.27 feet. -- Mile run. Same as Train mile. See under Train. -- Roman mile, a thousand paces, equal to 1,614 yards English measure. -- Statute mile, a mile conforming to statute, that is, in England and the United States, a mile of 5,280 feet, as distinguished from any other mile.

Mile"age (?; 48), n. 1. An allowance for traveling expenses at a certain rate per mile.

2. Aggregate length or distance in miles; esp., the sum of lengths of tracks or wires of a railroad company, telegraph company, etc. [Written also milage.]

Constructive mileage, a mileage allowed for journeys supposed to be made, but not actually made. Bartlett.

Mile"post` (?), n. A post, or one of a series of posts, set up to indicate spaces of a mile each or the distance in miles from a given place.

Mi*le"sian (?), a. [L. Milesius, Gr. &?;.]

1. (Anc. Geog.) Of or pertaining to Miletus, a city of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants.

2. (Irish Legendary Hist.) Descended from King Milesius of Spain, whose two sons are said to have conquered Ireland about 1300 b. c.; or pertaining to the descendants of King Milesius; hence, Irish.

Mi*le"sian, n. 1. A native or inhabitant of Miletus.

2. A native or inhabitant of Ireland.

Mile"stone` (?), n. A stone serving the same purpose as a milepost.

Mil"foil (?), n. [F. mille- feuille, L. millefolium; mille thousand + folium leaf. See Foil a leaf.] (Bot.) A common composite herb (Achillea Millefolium) with white flowers and finely dissected leaves; yarrow.

Water milfoil (Bot.), an aquatic herb with dissected leaves (Myriophyllum).

||Mil`i*a"ri*a (?), n. [NL. See Miliary.] (Med.) A fever accompanied by ||an eruption of small, isolated, red pimples, resembling a millet seed ||in form or size; miliary fever.

Mil"ia*ry (?; 277), a. [L. miliarius, fr. milium millet: cf. F. miliaire.]

1. Like millet seeds; as, a miliary eruption.

2. (Med.) Accompanied with an eruption like millet seeds; as, a miliary fever.

3. (Zoöl.) Small and numerous; as, the miliary tubercles of Echini.

Mil"ia*ry, n. (Zoöl.) One of the small tubercles of Echini.

||Mi`lice" (?), n. [F.] Militia. [Obs.]

||Mil"i*o`la (?), n. [NL., dim. of L. milium millet. So named from its ||resemblance to millet seed.] (Zoöl.) A genus of Foraminifera, having ||a porcelanous shell with several longitudinal chambers.

Mil"i*o*lite (?), n. (Paleon.) A fossil shell of, or similar to, the genus Miliola.

Mil"i*o*lite, a. The same Miliolitic.

Miliolite limestone (Geol.), a building stone, one of the group of the Paris basin, almost entirely made up of many-chambered microscopic shells.

Mil`i*o*lit"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to the genus Miliola; containing miliolites.

Mil"i*tan*cy (?), n. [See Militant.]

1. The state of being militant; warfare.

2. A military spirit or system; militarism. H. Spencer.

Mil"i*tant (?), a. [L. militans, -antis, p. pr. of militare to be soldier: cf. F. militant. See Militate.] Engaged in warfare; fighting; combating; serving as a soldier. -- Mil"i*tant*ly, adv.

At which command the powers militant . . . Moved on in silence.

Milton.

Church militant, the Christian church on earth, which is supposed to be engaged in a constant warfare against its enemies, and is thus distinguished from the church triumphant, in heaven.

Mil"i*tar (?), a. Military. [Obs.] Bacon.

Mil"i*ta*ri*ly (?), adv. In a military manner.

Mil"i*ta*rism (?), n. [Cf. F. militarisme.]

1. A military state or condition; reliance on military force in administering government; a military system.

2. The spirit and traditions of military life. H. Spencer.

Mil"i*ta*rist (?), n. A military man. [Obs.] Shak.

Mil"i*ta*ry (?), a. [L. militaris, militarius, from miles, militis, soldier: cf. F. militaire.]

1. Of or pertaining to soldiers, to arms, or to war; belonging to, engaged in, or appropriate to, the affairs of war; as, a military parade; military discipline; military bravery; military conduct; military renown.

Nor do I, as an enemy to peace, Troop in the throngs of military men.

Shak.

2. Performed or made by soldiers; as, a military election; a military expedition. Bacon.

Military law. See Martial law, under Martial. -- Military order. (a) A command proceeding from a military superior. (b) An association of military persons under a bond of certain peculiar rules; especially, such an association of knights in the Middle Ages, or a body in modern times taking a similar form, membership of which confers some distinction. -- Military tenure, tenure of land, on condition of performing military service.

Mil"i*ta*ry, n. [Cf. F. militaire.] The whole body of soldiers; soldiery; militia; troops; the army.

Mil"i*tate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Militated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Militating (?).] [L. militare, militatum, to be a soldier, fr. miles, militis, soldier.] To make war; to fight; to contend; -- usually followed by against and with.

These are great questions, where great names militate against each other.

Burke.

The invisible powers of heaven seemed to militate on the side of the pious emperor.

Gibbon.

Mi*li"tia (?), n. [L., military service, soldiery, fr. miles, militis, soldier: cf. F. milice.]

1. In the widest sense, the whole military force of a nation, including both those engaged in military service as a business, and those competent and available for such service; specifically, the body of citizens enrolled for military instruction and discipline, but not subject to be called into actual service except in emergencies.

The king's captains and soldiers fight his battles, and yet . . . the power of the militia is he.

Jer. Taylor.

2. Military service; warfare. [Obs.] Baxter.

Mi*li"tia*man (?), n.; pl. Militiamen (&?;). One who belongs to the militia.

Mi*li"ti*ate (?), v. i. To carry on, or prepare for, war. [Obs.] Walpole.

Milk (mlk), n. [AS. meoluc, meoloc, meolc, milc; akin to OFries. meloc, D. melk, G. milch, OHG. miluh, Icel. mjlk, Sw. mjölk, Dan. melk, Goth. miluks, G. melken to milk, OHG. melchan, Lith. milszti, L. mulgere, Gr. 'ame`lgein. &radic;107. Cf. Milch, Emulsion, Milt soft roe of fishes.]

1. (Physiol.) A white fluid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals for the nourishment of their young, consisting of minute globules of fat suspended in a solution of casein, albumin, milk sugar, and inorganic salts. "White as morne milk." Chaucer.

2. (Bot.) A kind of juice or sap, usually white in color, found in certain plants; latex. See Latex.

3. An emulsion made by bruising seeds; as, the milk of almonds, produced by pounding almonds with sugar and water.

4. (Zoöl.) The ripe, undischarged spat of an oyster.

Condensed milk. See under Condense, v. t. -- Milk crust (Med.), vesicular eczema occurring on the face and scalp of nursing infants. See Eczema. -- Milk fever. (a) (Med.) A fever which accompanies or precedes the first lactation. It is usually transitory. (b) (Vet. Surg.) A form puerperal peritonitis in cattle; also, a variety of meningitis occurring in cows after calving. -- Milk glass, glass having a milky appearance. -- Milk knot (Med.), a hard lump forming in the breast of a nursing woman, due to obstruction to the flow of milk and congestion of the mammary glands. -- Milk leg (Med.), a swollen condition of the leg, usually in puerperal women, caused by an inflammation of veins, and characterized by a white appearance occasioned by an accumulation of serum and sometimes of pus in the cellular tissue. -- Milk meats, food made from milk, as butter and cheese. [Obs.] Bailey. -- Milk mirror. Same as Escutcheon, 2. -- Milk molar (Anat.), one of the deciduous molar teeth which are shed and replaced by the premolars. -- Milk of lime (Chem.), a watery emulsion of calcium hydrate, produced by macerating quicklime in water. -- Milk parsley (Bot.), an umbelliferous plant (Peucedanum palustre) of Europe and Asia, having a milky juice. -- Milk pea (Bot.), a genus (Galactia) of leguminous and, usually, twining plants. -- Milk sickness (Med.), a peculiar malignant disease, occurring in some parts of the Western United States, and affecting certain kinds of farm stock (esp. cows), and persons who make use of the meat or dairy products of infected cattle. Its chief symptoms in man are uncontrollable vomiting, obstinate constipation, pain, and muscular tremors. Its origin in cattle has been variously ascribed to the presence of certain plants in their food, and to polluted drinking water. -- Milk snake (Zoöl.), a harmless American snake (Ophibolus triangulus, or O. eximius). It is variously marked with white, gray, and red. Called also milk adder, chicken snake, house snake, etc. -- Milk sugar. (Physiol. Chem.) See Lactose, and Sugar of milk (below). -- Milk thistle (Bot.), an esculent European thistle (Silybum marianum), having the veins of its leaves of a milky whiteness. -- Milk thrush. (Med.) See Thrush. -- Milk tooth (Anat.), one of the temporary first set of teeth in young mammals; in man there are twenty. -- Milk tree (Bot.), a tree yielding a milky juice, as the cow tree of South America (Brosimum Galactodendron), and the Euphorbia balsamifera of the Canaries, the milk of both of which is wholesome food. -- Milk vessel (Bot.), a special cell in the inner bark of a plant, or a series of cells, in which the milky juice is contained. See Latex. -- Rock milk. See Agaric mineral, under Agaric. -- Sugar of milk. The sugar characteristic of milk; a hard white crystalline slightly sweet substance obtained by evaporation of the whey of milk. It is used in pellets and powder as a vehicle for homeopathic medicines, and as an article of diet. See Lactose.

<! p. 924 !>

Milk (mlk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Milked (mlkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Milking.]

1. To draw or press milk from the breasts or udder of, by the hand or mouth; to withdraw the milk of. "Milking the kine." Gay.

I have given suck, and know How tender 't is to love the babe that milks me.

Shak.

2. To draw from the breasts or udder; to extract, as milk; as, to milk wholesome milk from healthy cows.

3. To draw anything from, as if by milking; to compel to yield profit or advantage; to plunder. Tyndale.

They [the lawyers] milk an unfortunate estate as regularly as a dairyman does his stock.

London Spectator.

To milk the street, to squeeze the smaller operators in stocks and extract a profit from them, by alternately raising and depressing prices within a short range; -- said of the large dealers. [Cant] -- To milk a telegram, to use for one's own advantage the contents of a telegram belonging to another person. [Cant]

Milk, v. i. To draw or to yield milk.

Milk"en (?), a. Consisting of milk. [Obs.]

Milk"er (?), n. 1. One who milks; also, a mechanical apparatus for milking cows.

2. A cow or other animal that gives milk.

Milk"ful (?), a. Full of milk; abounding with food. [R.] "Milkful vales." Sylvester.

Milk"i*ly (?), adv. In a milky manner.

Milk"i*ness, n. State or quality of being milky.

Milk"-liv`ered (?), a. White- livered; cowardly; timorous.

Milk"maid` (?), n. A woman who milks cows or is employed in the dairy.

Milk"man (?), n.; pl. Milkmen (&?;). A man who sells milk or delivers it to customers.

Milk"sop` (?), n. A piece of bread sopped in milk; figuratively, an effeminate or weak-minded person. Shak.

To wed a milksop or a coward ape.

Chaucer.

Milk" vetch` (?). (Bot.) A leguminous herb (Astragalus glycyphyllos) of Europe and Asia, supposed to increase the secretion of milk in goats.

The name is sometimes taken for the whole genus Astragalus, of which there are about two hundred species in North America, and even more elsewhere.

Milk"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genera Asclepias and Acerates, abounding in a milky juice, and having its seed attached to a long silky down; silkweed. The name is also applied to several other plants with a milky juice, as to several kinds of spurge.

Milk"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of plants (Polygala) of many species. The common European P. vulgaris was supposed to have the power of producing a flow of milk in nurses.

The species of Campanula, or bellflower, are sometimes called milkwort, from their juice.

Milk"y (?), a. 1. Consisting of, or containing, milk.

Pails high foaming with a milky flood.

Pope.

2. Like, or somewhat like, milk; whitish and turbid; as, the water is milky. "Milky juice." Arbuthnot.

3. Yielding milk. "Milky mothers." Roscommon.

4. Mild; tame; spiritless.

Has friendship such a faint and milky heart?

Shak.

Milky Way. (Astron.) See Galaxy, 1.

Mill (ml), n. [L. mille a thousand. Cf. Mile.] A money of account of the United States, having the value of the tenth of a cent, or the thousandth of a dollar.

Mill, n. [OE. mille, melle, mulle, milne, AS. myln, mylen; akin to D. molen, G. mühle, OHG. mul, muln, Icel. mylna; all prob. from L. molina, fr. mola millstone; prop., that which grinds, akin to molere to grind, Goth. malan, G. mahlen, and to E. meal. &radic;108. See Meal flour, and cf. Moline.]

1. A machine for grinding or comminuting any substance, as grain, by rubbing and crushing it between two hard, rough, or indented surfaces; as, a gristmill, a coffee mill; a bone mill.

2. A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process; as, a cider mill; a cane mill.

3. A machine for grinding and polishing; as, a lapidary mill.

4. A common name for various machines which produce a manufactured product, or change the form of a raw material by the continuous repetition of some simple action; as, a sawmill; a stamping mill, etc.

5. A building or collection of buildings with machinery by which the processes of manufacturing are carried on; as, a cotton mill; a powder mill; a rolling mill.

6. (Die Sinking) A hardened steel roller having a design in relief, used for imprinting a reversed copy of the design in a softer metal, as copper.

7. (Mining) (a) An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, from which material for filling is obtained. (b) A passage underground through which ore is shot.

8. A milling cutter. See Illust. under Milling.

9. A pugilistic encounter. [Cant] R. D. Blackmore.

Edge mill, Flint mill, etc. See under Edge, Flint, etc. -- Mill bar (Iron Works), a rough bar rolled or drawn directly from a bloom or puddle bar for conversion into merchant iron in the mill. -- Mill cinder, slag from a puddling furnace. -- Mill head, the head of water employed to turn the wheel of a mill. -- Mill pick, a pick for dressing millstones. -- Mill pond, a pond that supplies the water for a mill. -- Mill race, the canal in which water is conveyed to a mill wheel, or the current of water which drives the wheel. -- Mill tail, the water which flows from a mill wheel after turning it, or the channel in which the water flows. -- Mill tooth, a grinder or molar tooth. - - Mill wheel, the water wheel that drives the machinery of a mill. -- Roller mill, a mill in which flour or meal is made by crushing grain between rollers. -- Stamp mill (Mining), a mill in which ore is crushed by stamps. -- To go through the mill, to experience the suffering or discipline necessary to bring one to a certain degree of knowledge or skill, or to a certain mental state.

Mill (ml), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Milled (mld); p. pr. & vb. n. Milling.] [See Mill, n., and cf. Muller.]

1. To reduce to fine particles, or to small pieces, in a mill; to grind; to comminute.

2. To shape, finish, or transform by passing through a machine; specifically, to shape or dress, as metal, by means of a rotary cutter.

3. To make a raised border around the edges of, or to cut fine grooves or indentations across the edges of, as of a coin, or a screw head; also, to stamp in a coining press; to coin.

4. To pass through a fulling mill; to full, as cloth.

5. To beat with the fists. [Cant] Thackeray.

6. To roll into bars, as steel.

To mill chocolate, to make it frothy, as by churning.

Mill, v. i. (Zoöl.) To swim under water; -- said of air-breathing creatures.

Mill"board` (?), n. A kind of stout pasteboard.

Mill"-cake` (?), n. The incorporated materials for gunpowder, in the form of a dense mass or cake, ready to be subjected to the process of granulation.

Mill"dam` (?), n. A dam or mound to obstruct a water course, and raise the water to a height sufficient to turn a mill wheel.

Milled (?), a. Having been subjected to some process of milling.

Milled cloth, cloth that has been beaten in a fulling mill. -- Milled lead, lead rolled into sheets.

Mil`le*fi*o"re glass` (?). [It. mille thousand + fiore flower.] Slender rods or tubes of colored glass fused together and embedded in clear glass; -- used for paperweights and other small articles.

Mil`le*na"ri*an (?), a. [See Millenary.] Consisting of a thousand years; of or pertaining to the millennium, or to the Millenarians.

Mil`le*na"ri*an, n. One who believes that Christ will personally reign on earth a thousand years; a Chiliast.

{ Mil`le*na"ri*an*ism (?), Mil"le*na*rism (?), } n. The doctrine of Millenarians.

Mil"le*na*ry (?), a. [L. millenarius, fr. milleni a thousand each, fr. mille a thousand: cf. F. millénaire. See Mile.] Consisting of a thousand; millennial.

Mil"le*na*ry, n. The space of a thousand years; a millennium; also, a Millenarian."During that millenary." Hare.

Mil*len"ni*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to the millennium, or to a thousand years; as, a millennial period; millennial happiness.

Mil*len"ni*al*ist, n. One who believes that Christ will reign personally on earth a thousand years; a Chiliast; also, a believer in the universal prevalence of Christianity for a long period.

{ Mil*len"ni*an*ism (?), Mil*len"ni*a*rism (?), } n. Belief in, or expectation of, the millennium; millenarianism.

Mil"len*nist (ml"ln*nst), n. One who believes in the millennium. [Obs.] Johnson.

Mil*len"ni*um (ml*ln"n*m), n. [LL., fr. L. mille a thousand + annus a year. See Mile, and Annual.] A thousand years; especially, the thousand years mentioned in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, during which holiness is to be triumphant throughout the world. Some believe that, during this period, Christ will reign on earth in person with his saints.

Mil"le*ped (ml"l*pd), n. [L. millepeda; mille a thousand + pes, pedis, foot: cf. F. mille-pieds.] (Zoöl.) A myriapod with many legs, esp. a chilognath, as the galleyworm. [Written also millipede and milliped.]

||Mil*le*po"ra (ml*l*p"r), n. [NL.] (Zoöl.) A genus of Hydrocorallia, ||which includes the millipores.

Mil"le*pore (ml"l*pr), n. [L. mille thousand + porus pore: cf. F. millépore.] (Zoöl.) Any coral of the genus Millepora, having the surface nearly smooth, and perforated with very minute unequal pores, or cells. The animals are hydroids, not Anthozoa. See Hydrocorallia.

Mil"le*po*rite (?), n. (Paleon.) A fossil millepore.

Mill"er (ml"r), n. 1. One who keeps or attends a flour mill or gristmill.

2. A milling machine.

3. (Zoöl.) (a) A moth or lepidopterous insect; -- so called because the wings appear as if covered with white dust or powder, like a miller's clothes. Called also moth miller. (b) The eagle ray. (c) The hen harrier. [Prov. Eng.]

Miller's thumb. (Zoöl.) (a) A small fresh-water fish of the genus Uranidea (formerly Cottus), as the European species (U. gobio), and the American (U. gracilis); -- called also bullhead. (b) A small bird, as the gold-crest, chiff-chaff, and long-tailed tit. [Prov. Eng.]

Mil"ler*ite (?), n. A believer in the doctrine of William Miller (d. 1849), who taught that the end of the world and the second coming of Christ were at hand.

Mil"ler*ite, n. [From W. H. Miller, of Cambridge, Eng.] (Min.) A sulphide of nickel, commonly occurring in delicate capillary crystals, also in incrustations of a bronze yellow; -- sometimes called hair pyrites.

Mil*les"i*mal (?), a. [L. millesimus, fr. mille a thousand.] Thousandth; consisting of thousandth parts; as, millesimal fractions.

Mil"let (?), n. [F., dim. of mil, L. milium; akin to Gr. &?;, AS. mil.] (Bot.) The name of several cereal and forage grasses which bear an abundance of small roundish grains. The common millets of Germany and Southern Europe are Panicum miliaceum, and Setaria Italica.

Arabian millet is Sorghum Halepense. -- Egyptian or East Indian, millet is Penicillaria spicata. -- Indian millet is Sorghum vulgare. (See under Indian.) -- Italian millet is Setaria Italica, a coarse, rank-growing annual grass, valuable for fodder when cut young, and bearing nutritive seeds; -- called also Hungarian grass. -- Texas millet is Panicum Texanum. -- Wild millet, or Millet grass, is Milium effusum, a tail grass growing in woods.

Mil"li- (?). [From L. mille a thousand.] (Metric System, Elec., Mech., etc.) A prefix denoting a thousandth part of; as, millimeter, milligram, milliampère.

Mil`li*am`père" (?), n. [Milli- + ampère.] (Elec.) The thousandth part of one ampère.

||Mil`liard" (?), n. [F., from mille, mil, thousand, L. mille.] A ||thousand millions; -- called also billion. See Billion.

Mil"li*a*ry (?), a. [L. milliarius containing a thousand, fr. mille thousand: cf. F. milliaire milliary. See Mile.] Of or pertaining to a mile, or to distance by miles; denoting a mile or miles.

A milliary column, from which they used to compute the distance of all the cities and places of note.

Evelyn.

Mil"li*a*ry, n.; pl. Milliaries (#). [L. milliarium. See Milliary, a.] A milestone.

||Mil`lier" (?), n. [F., fr. mille thousand.] A weight of the metric ||system, being one million grams; a metric ton.

Mil"li*fold` (?), a. [L. mille thousand + E. fold times.] Thousandfold. [R.] Davies (Holy Roode).

{ Mil"li*gram, Mil"li*gramme } (?), n. [F. milligramme; milli- milli- + gramme. See 3d Gram.] A measure of weight, in the metric system, being the thousandth part of a gram, equal to the weight of a cubic millimeter of water, or .01543 of a grain avoirdupois.

{ Mil"li*li`ter, Mil"li*li`tre } (?), n. [F. millilitre; milli- milli- + litre. See Liter.] A measure of capacity in the metric system, containing the thousandth part of a liter. It is a cubic centimeter, and is equal to .061 of an English cubic inch, or to .0338 of an American fluid ounce.

{ Mil"li*me`ter, Mil"li*me`tre } (?), n. [F. millimètre; milli- milli- + mètre. See 3d Meter.] A lineal measure in the metric system, containing the thousandth part of a meter; equal to .03937 of an inch. See 3d Meter.

Mil"li*ner (?), n. [From Milaner an inhabitant of Milan, in Italy; hence, a man from Milan who imported women's finery.]

1. Formerly, a man who imported and dealt in small articles of a miscellaneous kind, especially such as please the fancy of women. [Obs.]

No milliner can so fit his customers with gloves.

Shak.

2. A person, usually a woman, who makes, trims, or deals in hats, bonnets, headdresses, etc., for women.

Man milliner, a man who makes or deals in millinery; hence, contemptuously, a man who is busied with trifling occupations or embellishments.

Mil"li*ner*y (?), n. 1. The articles made or sold by milliners, as headdresses, hats or bonnets, laces, ribbons, and the like.

2. The business of work of a milliner.

Mil`li*net" (?), n. A stiff cotton fabric used by milliners for lining bonnets.

Mill"ing (?), n. The act or employment of grinding or passing through a mill; the process of fulling; the process of making a raised or intented edge upon coin, etc.; the process of dressing surfaces of various shapes with rotary cutters. See Mill.

High milling, milling in which grain is reduced to flour by a succession of crackings, or of slight and partial crushings, alternately with sifting and sorting the product. -- Low milling, milling in which the reduction is effected in a single crushing or grinding. -- Milling cutter, a fluted, sharp-edged rotary cutter for dressing surfaces, as of metal, of various shapes. -- Milling machine, a machine tool for dressing surfaces by rotary cutters. -- Milling tool, a roller with indented edge or surface, for producing like indentations in metal by rolling pressure, as in turning; a knurling tool; a milling cutter.

Mil"lion (ml"yn), n. [F., from LL. millio, fr. L. mille a thousand. See Mile.] 1. The number of ten hundred thousand, or a thousand thousand, -- written 1,000,000. See the Note under Hundred.

2. A very great number; an indefinitely large number.

Millions of truths that a man is not concerned to know.

Locke.

3. The mass of common people; -- with the article the.

For the play, I remember, pleased not the million.

Shak.

Mil`lion*aire" (?; 277), n. [F. millionnaire.] One whose wealth is counted by millions of francs, dollars, or pounds; a very rich person; a person worth a million or more. [Written also millionnaire.]

Mil`lion*air"ess, n. A woman who is a millionaire, or the wife of a millionaire. [Humorous] Holmes.

Mil"lion*a*ry (?), a. Of or pertaining to millions; consisting of millions; as, the millionary chronology of the pundits. Pinkerton.

Mil"lioned (?), a. Multiplied by millions; innumerable. [Obs.] Shak.

||Mil`lion`naire" (?), n. [F.] Millionaire.

Mil"lionth (?), a. Being the last one of a million of units or objects counted in regular order from the first of a series or succession; being one of a million.

Mil"lionth, n. The quotient of a unit divided by one million; one of a million equal parts.

Mil"li*ped (?), n. (Zoöl.) The same Milleped.

Mil"li*stere (?), n. [F. millistère, from milli- milli- + stère.] A liter, or cubic decimeter.

Mil`li*we"ber (?), n. [Milli- + weber.] (Physics) The thousandth part of one weber.

<! p. 925 !>

{ Mill"rea` (ml"r`), Mill"ree`, Mill"reis` (-rs`) }, n. See Milreis.

{ Mill"rind` (-rnd`), Mill"rynd` (- rnd`) }, n. [Mill + rynd.] (Her.) A figure supposed to represent the iron which holds a millstone by being set into its center.

Mill"-sixpence (?), n. A milled sixpence; -- the sixpence being one of the first English coins milled (1561).

Mill"stone` (?), n. One of two circular stones used for grinding grain or other substance.

No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge.

Deut. xxiv. 6.

The cellular siliceous rock called buhrstone is usually employed for millstones; also, some kinds of lava, as that Niedermendig, or other firm rock with rough texture. The surface of a millstone has usually a series of radial grooves in which the powdered material collects.

Millstone girt (Geol.), a hard and coarse, gritty sandstone, dividing the Carboniferous from the Subcarboniferous strata. See Farewell rock, under Farewell, a., and Chart of Geology. -- To see into, or through, a millstone, to see into or through a difficult matter. (Colloq.)

Mill"work` (?), n. 1. The shafting, gearing, and other driving machinery of mills.

2. The business of setting up or of operating mill machinery.

Mill"wright` (?), n. A mechanic whose occupation is to build mills, or to set up their machinery.

Mil"reis` (?), n. [Pg. mil reis, i. e., one thousand reis; mil a thousand + reis, pl. of real a rei.] A Portuguese money of account rated in the treasury department of the United States at one dollar and eight cents; also, a Brazilian money of account rated at fifty-four cents and six mills.

Milt (?), n. [AS. milte; akin to D. milt, G. milz, OHG. milzi, Icel. milti, Dan. milt, Sw. mjälte, and prob. to E. malt, melt. &radic;108. See Malt the grain.] (Anat.) The spleen.

Milt, n. [Akin to Dan. melk, Sw. mjölke, G. milch, and E. milk. See Milk.] (Zoöl.) (a) The spermatic fluid of fishes. (b) The testes, or spermaries, of fishes when filled with spermatozoa.

Milt, v. t. To impregnate (the roe of a fish) with milt.

Milt"er (?), n. [Cf. D. milter, G. milcher, milchner. See 2d Milt.] (Zoöl.) A male fish.

Mil*to"ni*an (?), a. Miltonic. Lowell.

Mil*ton"ic (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, Milton, or his writings; as, Miltonic prose.

Milt"waste` (?), [1st milt + waste.] (Bot.) A small European fern (Asplenium Ceterach) formerly used in medicine.

Mil"vine (?), a. [L. milvus kite.] (Zoöl.) Of or resembling birds of the kite kind.

Mil"vine, n. (Zoöl.) A bird related to the kite.

||Mil"vus (?), n. [L., a kite.] (Zoöl.) A genus of raptorial birds, ||including the European kite.

Mime (?), n. [L. mimus, Gr. &?;, akin to &?; to imitate, to mimic: cf. F. mime. Cf. Mimosa.]

1. A kind of drama in which real persons and events were generally represented in a ridiculous manner.

2. An actor in such representations.

Mime, v. i. To mimic. [Obs.] -- Mim"er (#), n.

Mim"e*o*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; to imitate + -graph.] An autographic stencil copying device invented by Edison.

||Mi*me"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; imitation.] (Rhet. & Biol.) ||Imitation; mimicry.

Mim"e*tene (?), n. (Min.) See Mimetite.

{ Mi*met"ic (?; 277), Mi*met"ic*al (?), }[Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to imitate.]

1. Apt to imitate; given to mimicry; imitative.

2. (Biol.) Characterized by mimicry; - - applied to animals and plants; as, mimetic species; mimetic organisms. See Mimicry.

Mim"e*tism (?), n. [From Gr. &?; to mimic.] (Biol.) Same as Mimicry.

Mim"e*tite (?), n. [Gr. &?; an imitator. So called because it resembles pyromorphite.] (Min.) A mineral occurring in pale yellow or brownish hexagonal crystals. It is an arseniate of lead.

{ Mim"ic (?), Mim"ic*al (?), } a. [L. mimicus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; mime: cf. F. mimique. See Mime.]

1. Imitative; mimetic.

Oft, in her absence, mimic fancy wakes To imitate her.

Milton.

Man is, of all creatures, the most mimical.

W. Wotton.

2. Consisting of, or formed by, imitation; imitated; as, mimic gestures. "Mimic hootings." Wordsworth.

3. (Min.) Imitative; characterized by resemblance to other forms; -- applied to crystals which by twinning resemble simple forms of a higher grade of symmetry.

Mimic often implies something droll or ludicrous, and is less dignified than imitative.

Mimic beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle that feigns death when disturbed, esp. the species of Hister and allied genera.

Mim"ic, n. One who imitates or mimics, especially one who does so for sport; a copyist; a buffoon. Burke.

Mim"ic, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mimicked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mimicking.]

1. To imitate or ape for sport; to ridicule by imitation.

The walk, the words, the gesture, could supply, The habit mimic, and the mien belie.

Dryden.

2. (Biol.) To assume a resemblance to (some other organism of a totally different nature, or some surrounding object), as a means of protection or advantage.

Syn. -- To ape; imitate; counterfeit; mock.

Mim"ic*al*ly (?), adv. In an imitative manner.

Mim"ick*er (?), n. 1. One who mimics; a mimic.

2. (Zoöl.) An animal which imitates something else, in form or habits.

Mim"ic*ry (?), n. 1. The act or practice of one who mimics; ludicrous imitation for sport or ridicule.

2. (Biol.) Protective resemblance; the resemblance which certain animals and plants exhibit to other animals and plants or to the natural objects among which they live, -- a characteristic which serves as their chief means of protection against enemies; imitation; mimesis; mimetism.

Mi*mog"ra*pher (?), n. [L. mimographus, Gr. &?;; &?; a mime + &?; to write: cf. F. mimographe.] A writer of mimes. Sir T. Herbert.

||Mi*mo"sa (?; 277), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; imitator. Cf. Mime.] (Bot.) A ||genus of leguminous plants, containing many species, and including ||the sensitive plants (Mimosa sensitiva, and M. pudica).

The term mimosa is also applied in commerce to several kinds bark imported from Australia, and used in tanning; -- called also wattle bark. Tomlinson.

Mi`mo*tan"nic (?), a. [Mimosa + tannic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a variety of tannin or tannic acid found in Acacia, Mimosa, etc.

||Mi"na (?), n.; pl. L. Minæ (#), E. Minas (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] An ||ancient weight or denomination of money, of varying value. The Attic ||mina was valued at a hundred drachmas.

Mi"na (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Myna.

Min"a*ble (?), a. Such as can be mined; as, minable earth. Sir T. North.

Mi*na"cious (?), a. [L. minax, -acis. See Menace.] Threatening; menacing. [R.]

Mi*nac"i*ty (?), n. Disposition to threaten. [R.]

Min"a*ret (?), n. [Sp. minarete, Ar. manrat lamp, lantern, lighthouse, turret, fr. nr to shine.] (Arch.) A slender, lofty tower attached to a mosque and surrounded by one or more projecting balconies, from which the summon to prayer is cried by the muezzin.

Min*ar"gent (?), n. [Prob. contr. from aluminium + L. argentum silver.] An alloy consisting of copper, nickel, tungsten, and aluminium; -- used by jewelers.

{ Min`a*to"ri*al*ly (?), Min"a*to*ri*ly (?) }, adv. In a minatory manner; with threats.

Min"a*to*ry (?), a. [L. minatorius, fr. minari to threaten. See Menace.] Threatening; menacing. Bacon.

Mi*naul" (?), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Manul.

Mince (mns), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minced (mnst); p. pr. & vb. n. Minging (mn"sng).] [AS. minsian to grow less, dwindle, fr. min small; akin to G. minder less, Goth. minniza less, mins less, adv., L. minor, adj. (cf. Minor); or more likely fr. F. mincer to mince, prob. from (assumed) LL. minutiare. &radic;101. See Minish.]

1. To cut into very small pieces; to chop fine; to hash; as, to mince meat. Bacon.

2. To suppress or weaken the force of; to extenuate; to palliate; to tell by degrees, instead of directly and frankly; to clip, as words or expressions; to utter half and keep back half of.

I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say -- "I love you."

Shak.

Siren, now mince the sin, And mollify damnation with a phrase.

Dryden.

If, to mince his meaning, I had either omitted some part of what he said, or taken from the strength of his expression, I certainly had wronged him.

Dryden.

3. To affect; to make a parade of. [R.] Shak.

Mince, v. i. 1. To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner.

The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, . . . mincing as they go.

Is. iii. 16.

I 'll . . . turn two mincing steps Into a manly stride.

Shak.

2. To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner.

Mince, n. A short, precise step; an affected manner.

Mince"-meat` (?), n. Minced meat; meat chopped very fine; a mixture of boiled meat, suet, apples, etc., chopped very fine, to which spices and raisins are added; -- used in making mince pie.

Mince" pie` (?). A pie made of mince-meat.

Min"cer (?), n. One who minces.

Min"cing (?), a. That minces; characterized by primness or affected nicety.

Min"cing*ly, adv. In a mincing manner; not fully; with affected nicety.

Mind (mnd), n. [AS. mynd, gemynd; akin to OHG. minna memory, love, G. minne love, Dan. minde mind, memory, remembrance, consent, vote, Sw. minne memory, Icel. minni, Goth. gamunds, L. mens, mentis, mind, Gr. me`nos, Skr. manas mind, man to think. &radic;104, 278. Cf. Comment, Man, Mean, v., 3d Mental, Mignonette, Minion, Mnemonic, Money.]

1. The intellectual or rational faculty in man; the understanding; the intellect; the power that conceives, judges, or reasons; also, the entire spiritual nature; the soul; -- often in distinction from the body.

By the mind of man we understand that in him which thinks, remembers, reasons, wills.

Reid.

What we mean by mind is simply that which perceives, thinks, feels, wills, and desires.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Rom. xiv. 5.

The mind shall banquet, though the body pine.

Shak.

2. The state, at any given time, of the faculties of thinking, willing, choosing, and the like; psychical activity or state; as: (a) Opinion; judgment; belief.

A fool uttereth all his mind.

Prov. xxix. 11.

Being so hard to me that brought your mind, I fear she'll prove as hard to you in telling her mind.

Shak.

(b) Choice; inclination; liking; intent; will.

If it be your minds, then let none go forth.

2 Kings ix. 15.

(c) Courage; spirit. Chapman.

3. Memory; remembrance; recollection; as, to have or keep in mind, to call to mind, to put in mind, etc.

To have a mind or great mind, to be inclined or strongly inclined in purpose; -- used with an infinitive. "Sir Roger de Coverly . . . told me that he had a great mind to see the new tragedy with me." Addison. -- To lose one's mind, to become insane, or imbecile. -- To make up one's mind, to come to an opinion or decision; to determine. -- To put in mind, to remind. "Regard us simply as putting you in mind of what you already know to be good policy." Jowett (Thucyd. ).

Mind (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minded; p. pr. & vb. n. Minding.] [AS. myndian, gemyndan to remember. See Mind, n.]

1. To fix the mind or thoughts on; to regard with attention; to treat as of consequence; to consider; to heed; to mark; to note. "Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate." Rom. xii. 16.

My lord, you nod: you do not mind the play.

Shak.

2. To occupy one's self with; to employ one's self about; to attend to; as, to mind one's business.

Bidding him be a good child, and mind his book.

Addison.

3. To obey; as, to mind parents; the dog minds his master.

4. To have in mind; to purpose. Beaconsfield.

I mind to tell him plainly what I think.

Shak.

5. To put in mind; to remind. [Archaic] M. Arnold.

He minded them of the mutability of all earthly things.

Fuller.

I do thee wrong to mind thee of it.

Shak.

Never mind, do not regard it; it is of no consequence; no matter.

Syn. -- To notice; mark; regard; obey. See Attend.

Mind, v. i. To give attention or heed; to obey; as, the dog minds well.

Mind"ed, a. Disposed; inclined; having a mind.

Joseph . . . was minded to put her away privily.

Matt. i. 19.

If men were minded to live virtuously.

Tillotson.

Minded is much used in composition; as, high- minded, feeble-minded, sober-minded, double- minded.

Mind"er (?), n. 1. One who minds, tends, or watches something, as a child, a machine, or cattle; as, a minder of a loom.

2. One to be attended; specif., a pauper child intrusted to the care of a private person. [Eng.] Dickens.

Mind"ful (?), a. Bearing in mind; regardful; attentive; heedful; observant.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

Ps. viii. 4.

I promise you to be mindful of your admonitions.

Hammond.

-- Mind"ful*ly, adv. -- Mind"ful*ness, n.

Mind"ing, n. Regard; mindfulness.

Mind"less, a. 1. Not indued with mind or intellectual powers; stupid; unthinking.

2. Unmindful; inattentive; heedless; careless.

Cursed Athens, mindless of thy worth.

Shak.

Mine (mn), n. [F.] See Mien. [Obs.]

Mine (mn), pron. & a. [OE. min, fr. AS. mn; akin to D. mijn, OS., OFries., & OHG. mn, G. mein, Sw. & Dan. min, Icel. minn, Goth. meins my, mine, meina of me, and E. me. &radic;187. See Me, and cf. My.] Belonging to me; my. Used as a pronominal to me; my. Used as a pronominal adjective in the predicate; as, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." Rom. xii. 19. Also, in the old style, used attributively, instead of my, before a noun beginning with a vowel.

I kept myself from mine iniquity.

Ps. xviii. 23.

Mine is often used absolutely, the thing possessed being understood; as, his son is in the army, mine in the navy.

When a man deceives me once, says the Italian proverb, it is his fault; when twice, it is mine.

Bp. Horne.

This title honors me and mine.

Shak.

She shall have me and mine.

Shak.

Mine, v. i. [F. miner, L. minare to drive animals, in LL. also, to lead, conduct, dig a mine (cf. E. lode, and lead to conduct), akin to L. minari to threaten; cf. Sp. mina mine, conduit, subterraneous canal, a spring or source of water, It. mina. See Menace, and cf. Mien.]

1. To dig a mine or pit in the earth; to get ore, metals, coal, or precious stones, out of the earth; to dig in the earth for minerals; to dig a passage or cavity under anything in order to overthrow it by explosives or otherwise.

2. To form subterraneous tunnel or hole; to form a burrow or lodge in the earth; as, the mining cony.

Mine, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mined (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mining.]

1. To dig away, or otherwise remove, the substratum or foundation of; to lay a mine under; to sap; to undermine; hence, to ruin or destroy by slow degrees or secret means.

They mined the walls.

Hayward.

Too lazy to cut down these immense trees, the spoilers . . . had mined them, and placed a quantity of gunpowder in the cavity.

Sir W. Scott.

2. To dig into, for ore or metal.

Lead veins have been traced . . . but they have not been mined.

Ure.

3. To get, as metals, out of the earth by digging.

The principal ore mined there is the bituminous cinnabar.

Ure.

Mine, n. [F., fr. LL. mina. See Mine, v. i.]

1. A subterranean cavity or passage; especially: (a) A pit or excavation in the earth, from which metallic ores, precious stones, coal, or other mineral substances are taken by digging; -- distinguished from the pits from which stones for architectural purposes are taken, and which are called quarries. (b) (Mil.) A cavity or tunnel made under a fortification or other work, for the purpose of blowing up the superstructure with some explosive agent.

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2. Any place where ore, metals, or precious stones are got by digging or washing the soil; as, a placer mine.

3. Fig.: A rich source of wealth or other good. Shak.

Mine dial, a form of magnetic compass used by miners. -- Mine pig, pig iron made wholly from ore; in distinction from cinder pig, which is made from ore mixed with forge or mill cinder. Raymond.

Min"er (?), n. [Cf. F. mineur.]

1. One who mines; a digger for metals, etc.; one engaged in the business of getting ore, coal, or precious stones, out of the earth; one who digs military mines; as, armies have sappers and miners.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) Any of numerous insects which, in the larval state, excavate galleries in the parenchyma of leaves. They are mostly minute moths and dipterous flies. (b) The chattering, or garrulous, honey eater of Australia (Myzantha garrula).

Miner's elbow (Med.), a swelling on the black of the elbow due to inflammation of the bursa over the olecranon; -- so called because of frequent occurrence in miners. -- Miner's inch, in hydraulic mining, the amount of water flowing under a given pressure in a given time through a hole one inch in diameter. It is a unit for measuring the quantity of water supplied.

Min"er*al (?), n. [F. minéral, LL. minerale, fr. minera mine. See Mine, v. i.]

1. An inorganic species or substance occurring in nature, having a definite chemical composition and usually a distinct crystalline form. Rocks, except certain glassy igneous forms, are either simple minerals or aggregates of minerals.

2. A mine. [Obs.] Shak.

3. Anything which is neither animal nor vegetable, as in the most general classification of things into three kingdoms (animal, vegetable, and mineral).

Min"er*al, a. 1. Of or pertaining to minerals; consisting of a mineral or of minerals; as, a mineral substance.

2. Impregnated with minerals; as, mineral waters.

Mineral acids (Chem.), inorganic acids, as sulphuric, nitric, phosphoric, hydrochloric, acids, etc., as distinguished from the organic acids. -- Mineral blue, the name usually given to azurite, when reduced to an impalpable powder for coloring purposes. -- Mineral candle, a candle made of paraffine. -- Mineral caoutchouc, an elastic mineral pitch, a variety of bitumen, resembling caoutchouc in elasticity and softness. See Caoutchouc, and Elaterite. -- Mineral chameleon (Chem.) See Chameleon mineral, under Chameleon. -- Mineral charcoal. See under Charcoal. -- Mineral cotton. See Mineral wool (below). -- Mineral green, a green carbonate of copper; malachite. -- Mineral kingdom (Nat. Sci.), that one of the three grand divisions of nature which embraces all inorganic objects, as distinguished from plants or animals. -- Mineral oil. See Naphtha, and Petroleum. -- Mineral paint, a pigment made chiefly of some natural mineral substance, as red or yellow iron ocher. -- Mineral patch. See Bitumen, and Asphalt. -- Mineral right, the right of taking minerals from land. -- Mineral salt (Chem.), a salt of a mineral acid. -- Mineral tallow, a familiar name for hatchettite, from its fatty or spermaceti- like appearance. -- Mineral water. See under Water. -- Mineral wax. See Ozocerite. -- Mineral wool, a fibrous wool-like material, made by blowing a powerful jet of air or steam through melted slag. It is a poor conductor of heat.

Min"er*al*ist, n. [Cf. F. minéraliste.] One versed in minerals; mineralogist. [R.]

Min`er*al*i*za"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. minéralisation.]

1. The process of mineralizing, or forming a mineral by combination of a metal with another element; also, the process of converting into a mineral, as a bone or a plant.

2. The act of impregnating with a mineral, as water.

3. (Bot.) The conversion of a cell wall into a material of a stony nature.

Min"er*al*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mineralized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mineralizing (?).] [Cf. F. minéraliser.]

1. To transform into a mineral.

In these caverns the bones are not mineralized.

Buckland.

2. To impregnate with a mineral; as, mineralized water.

Min"er*al*ize, v. i. To go on an excursion for observing and collecting minerals; to mineralogize.

Min"er*al*i`zer (?), n. An element which is combined with a metal, thus forming an ore. Thus, in galena, or lead ore, sulphur is a mineralizer; in hematite, oxygen is a mineralizer.

Min`er*al*og"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. minéralogique. See Mineralogy.] Of or pertaining to mineralogy; as, a mineralogical table.

Min`er*al*og"ic*al*ly, adv. According to the principles of, or with reference to, mineralogy.

Min`er*al"o*gist (?), n. [Cf. F. minéralogiste.]

1. One versed in mineralogy; one devoted to the study of minerals.

2. (Zoöl.) A carrier shell (Phorus).

Min`er*al"o*gize (?), v. i. To study mineralogy by collecting and examining minerals. Miss Edgeworth.

Min`er*al"o*gy (?), n.; pl. Mineralogies (#). [Mineral + -logy: cf. F. minéralogie.]

1. The science which treats of minerals, and teaches how to describe, distinguish, and classify them.

2. A treatise or book on this science.

Mi*ner"va (?), n. [L.] (Rom. Myth.) The goddess of wisdom, of war, of the arts and sciences, of poetry, and of spinning and weaving; -- identified with the Grecian Pallas Athene.

Mi*nette" (?), n. The smallest of regular sizes of portrait photographs.

Min"e*ver (?), n. Same as Miniver.

Minge (?), v. t. [AS. myngian; akin to E. mind.] To mingle; to mix. [Obs.]

Minge, n. [Prob. corrupt. fr. midge.] (Zoöl.) A small biting fly; a midge. [Local, U. S.]

Min"gle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mingled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mingling (?).] [From OE. mengen, AS. mengan; akin to D. & G. mengen, Icel. menga, also to E. among, and possibly to mix. Cf. Among, Mongrel.]

1. To mix; intermix; to combine or join, as an individual or part, with other parts, but commonly so as to be distinguishable in the product; to confuse; to confound.

There was . . . fire mingled with the hail.

Ex. ix. 24.

2. To associate or unite in society or by ties of relationship; to cause or allow to intermarry; to intermarry.

The holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands.

Ezra ix. 2.

3. To deprive of purity by mixture; to contaminate.

A mingled, imperfect virtue.

Rogers.

4. To put together; to join. [Obs.] Shak.

5. To make or prepare by mixing the ingredients of.

[He] proceeded to mingle another draught.

Hawthorne.

Min"gle, v. i. To become mixed or blended.

Min"gle, n. A mixture. [Obs.] Dryden.

Min"gle*a*ble (?), a. That can be mingled. Boyle.

Min"gled*ly (?), adv. Confusedly.

Min"gle-man`gle (?), v. t. [Reduplicated fr. mingle.] To mix in a disorderly way; to make a mess of. [Obs.] Udall.

Min"gle-man`gle, n. A hotchpotch. [Obs.] Latimer.

Min"gle*ment (?), n. The act of mingling, or the state of being mixed.

Min"gler (?), n. One who mingles.

Min"gling*ly (?), adv. In a mingling manner.

Min`*a"ceous (?), a. Of the color of minium or red lead; miniate.

Min"iard (?), a. Migniard. [Obs.]

Min"iard*ize (?), v. t. To render delicate or dainty. [Obs.] Howell.

Min"i*ate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Miniated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Miniating (?).] [L. miniatus, p. p. of miniare. See Minium.] To paint or tinge with red lead or vermilion; also, to decorate with letters, or the like, painted red, as the page of a manuscript. T. Wharton.

Min"i*ate (?), a. Of or pertaining to the color of red lead or vermilion; painted with vermilion.

Min"i*a*ture (?; 277), n. [It. miniatura, fr. L. miniare. See Miniate, v.,Minium.]

1. Originally, a painting in colors such as those in mediæval manuscripts; in modern times, any very small painting, especially a portrait.

2. Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.

3. Lettering in red; rubric distinction. [Obs.]

4. A particular feature or trait. [Obs.] Massinger.

Min"i*a*ture, a. Being on a small scale; much reduced from the reality; as, a miniature copy.

Min"i*a*ture, v. t. To represent or depict in a small compass, or on a small scale.

Min"i*a*tur`ist (?), n. A painter of miniatures.

Min"i*bus (?), n. [L. minor less + -bus, as in omnibus.] A kind of light passenger vehicle, carrying four persons.

Min"ie ball` (?). [From the inventor, Captain Minié, of France.] A conical rifle bullet, with a cavity in its base plugged with a piece of iron, which, by the explosion of the charge, is driven farther in, expanding the sides to fit closely the grooves of the barrel.

Min"ie ri"fle (?). A rifle adapted to minie balls.

Min"i*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Minifying (?).] [L. minor less + -fly.]

1. To make small, or smaller; to diminish the apparent dimensions of; to lessen.

2. To degrade by speech or action.

Min"i*kin (?), n. [OD. minneken a darling, dim. of minne love; akin to G. minne, and to E. mind.]

1. A little darling; a favorite; a minion. [Obs.] Florio.

2. A little pin. [Obs.]

Min"i*kin, a. Small; diminutive. Shak.

Min"im (?), n. [F. minime, L. minimus the least, smallest, a superl. of minor: cf. It. minima a note in music. See Minor, and cf. Minimum.]

1. Anything very minute; as, the minims of existence; -- applied to animalcula; and the like.

2. The smallest liquid measure, equal to about one drop; the sixtieth part of a fluid drachm.

3. (Zoöl.) A small fish; a minnow. [Prov. Eng.]

4. A little man or being; a dwarf. [Obs.] Milton.

5. (Eccl. Hist.) One of an austere order of mendicant hermits or friars founded in the 15th century by St. Francis of Paola.

6. (Mus.) A time note, formerly the shortest in use; a half note, equal to half a semibreve, or two quarter notes or crotchets.

7. A short poetical encomium. [Obs.] Spenser.

Min"im, a. Minute. "Minim forms." J. R. Drake.

Min"i*ment (?), n. [Prob. corrupt. of moniment.] A trifle; a trinket; a token. [Obs.] Spenser.

Min`i*mi*za"tion (?), n. The act or process of minimizing. Bentham.

Min"i*mize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minimized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Minimizing (?).] To reduce to the smallest part or proportion possible; to reduce to a minimum. Bentham.

Min"i*mum (?), n.; pl. Minima (#). [L., fr. minimus. See Minim.] The least quantity assignable, admissible, or possible, in a given case; hence, a thing of small consequence; -- opposed to maximum.

Minimum thermometer, a thermometer for recording the lowest temperature since its last adjustment.

||Min"i*mus (?), n.; pl. Minimi (#). [L. See Minim.] 1. A being of the ||smallest size. [Obs.] Shak.

2. (Anat.) The little finger; the fifth digit, or that corresponding to it, in either the manus or pes.

Min"ing (?), n. [See Mine, v. i.] The act or business of making mines or of working them.

Min"ing, a. Of or pertaining to mines; as, mining engineer; mining machinery; a mining region.

Mining engineering. See the Note under Engineering.

Min"ion (?), n. Minimum. [Obs.] Burton.

Min"ion, n. [F. mignon, fr. OHG. minni love, G. minne; akin to E. mind. See Mind, and cf. Mignonette.]

1. A loved one; one highly esteemed and favored; -- in a good sense. [Obs.]

God's disciple and his dearest minion.

Sylvester.

Is this the Athenian minion whom the world Voiced so regardfully?

Shak.

2. An obsequious or servile dependent or agent of another; a fawning favorite. Sir J. Davies.

Go, rate thy minions, proud, insulting boy!

Shak.

3. (Print.) A small kind of type, in size between brevier and nonpareil.

This line is printed in minion type.

4. An ancient form of ordnance, the caliber of which was about three inches. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Min"ion, a. [See 2d Minion.] Fine; trim; dainty. [Obs.] "Their . . . minion dancing." Fryth.

Min`ion*ette" (?), a. Small; delicate. [Obs.] "His minionette face." Walpole.

Min"ion*ette, n. (Print.) A size of type between nonpareil and minion; -- used in ornamental borders, etc.

Min"ion*ing (?), n. Kind treatment. [Obs.]

Min"ion*ize (?), v. t. To flavor. [Obs.]

{ Min"ion*like` (?), Min"ion*ly, } a. & adv. Like a minion; daintily. Camden.

Min"ion*ship, n. State of being a minion. [R.]

Min"ious (?), a. [L. minium red lead.] Of the color of red or vermilion. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Min"ish (?), v. t. [OE. menusen, F. menuiser to make small, cut small, fr. (assumed) LL. minutiare, for minutare, fr. L. minutus small. See Minute, a., and cf. Diminish, Minge.] To diminish; to lessen.

The living of poor men thereby minished.

Latimer.

Min"ish*ment (?), n. The act of diminishing, or the state of being diminished; diminution. [Obs.]

Min"is*ter (?), n. [OE. ministre, F. ministre, fr. L. minister, orig. a double comparative from the root of minor less, and hence meaning, an inferior, a servant. See 1st Minor, and cf. Master, Minstrel.]

1. A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument.

Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua.

Ex. xxiv. 13.

I chose Camillo for the minister, to poison My friend Polixenes.

Shak.

2. An officer of justice. [Obs.]

I cry out the on the ministres, quod he, That shoulde keep and rule this cité.

Chaucer.

3. One to whom the sovereign or executive head of a government intrusts the management of affairs of state, or some department of such affairs.

Ministers to kings, whose eyes, ears, and hands they are, must be answerable to God and man.

Bacon.

4. A representative of a government, sent to the court, or seat of government, of a foreign nation to transact diplomatic business.

Ambassadors are classed (in the diplomatic sense) in the first rank of public ministers, ministers plenipotentiary in the second. "The United States diplomatic service employs two classes of ministers, -- ministers plenipotentiary and ministers resident." Abbott.

5. One who serves at the altar; one who performs sacerdotal duties; the pastor of a church duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments. Addison.

Syn. -- Delegate; official; ambassador; clergyman; parson; priest.

Min"is*ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ministered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Ministering.] [OE. ministren, OF. ministrer, fr. L. ministrare. See Minister, n.] To furnish or apply; to afford; to supply; to administer.

He that ministereth seed to the sower.

2 Cor. ix. 10.

We minister to God reason to suspect us.

Jer. Taylor.

Min"is*ter, v. i. 1. To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular.

The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.

Matt. xx. 28.

2. To supply or to things needful; esp., to supply consolation or remedies. Matt. xxv. 44.

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased?

Shak.

Min`is*te"ri*al (?), a. [L. ministerialis: cf. F. ministériel. See Minister, and cf. Minstrel.]

1. Of or pertaining to ministry or service; serving; attendant.

Enlightening spirits and ministerial flames.

Prior.

2. Of or pertaining to the office of a minister or to the ministry as a body, whether civil or sacerdotal. "Ministerial offices." Bacon. "A ministerial measure." Junius. "Ministerial garments." Hooker.

3. Tending to advance or promote; contributive. "Ministerial to intellectual culture." De Quincey.

The ministerial benches, the benches in the House of Commons occupied by members of the cabinet and their supporters; -- also, the persons occupying them. "Very solid and very brilliant talents distinguish the ministerial benches." Burke.

Syn. -- Official; priestly; sacerdotal; ecclesiastical.

Min`is*te"ri*al*ist, n. A supporter of the ministers, or the party in power.

Min`is*te"ri*al*ly, adv. In a ministerial manner; in the character or capacity of a minister.

Min"is*ter*y (?), n. See Ministry. Milton.

Min"is*tra*cy (?), n. Ministration. [Obs.]

Min"is*tral (?), a. Ministerial. [Obs.] Johnson.

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Min"is*trant (mn"s*trant), a. [L. ministrans, -antis, of ministrare to minister.] Performing service as a minister; attendant on service; acting under command; subordinate. "Princedoms and dominations ministrant." Milton. -- n. One who ministers.

Min`is*tra"tion (?), n. [L. ministratio, fr. ministrare.] The act of ministering; service; ministry. "The days of his ministration." Luke i. 23.

Min"is*tra*tive (?), a. Serving to aid; ministering.

Min"is*tress (?), n. [Cf. L. ministrix.] A woman who ministers. Akenside.

Min"is*try (?), n.; pl. Ministries (#). [L. ministerium. See Minister, n., and cf. Mystery a trade.]

1. The act of ministering; ministration; service. "With tender ministry." Thomson.

2. Hence: Agency; instrumentality.

The ordinary ministry of second causes.

Atterbury.

The wicked ministry of arms.

Dryden.

3. The office, duties, or functions of a minister, servant, or agent; ecclesiastical, executive, or ambassadorial function or profession.

4. The body of ministers of state; also, the clergy, as a body.

5. Administration; rule; term in power; as, the ministry of Pitt.

Min"is*try*ship, n. The office of a minister. Swift.

Min"i*um (?; 277), n. [L. minium, an Iberian word, the Romans getting all their cinnabar from Spain; cf. Basque armineá.] (Chem.) A heavy, brilliant red pigment, consisting of an oxide of lead, Pb3O4, obtained by exposing lead or massicot to a gentle and continued heat in the air. It is used as a cement, as a paint, and in the manufacture of flint glass. Called also red lead.

Min"i*ver (?), n. [See Meniver.] A fur esteemed in the Middle Ages as a part of costume. It is uncertain whether it was the fur of one animal only or of different animals.

Min"i*vet (?), n. (Zoöl.) A singing bird of India of the family Campephagidæ.

Mink (?), n. [Cf. 2d Minx.] (Zoöl.) A carnivorous mammal of the genus Putorius, allied to the weasel. The European mink is Putorius lutreola. The common American mink (P. vison) varies from yellowish brown to black. Its fur is highly valued. Called also minx, nurik, and vison.

Min"ne*sing`er (?), n. [G., fr. minne love + singen to sing.] A love-singer; specifically, one of a class of German poets and musicians who flourished from about the middle of the twelfth to the middle of the fourteenth century. They were chiefly of noble birth, and made love and beauty the subjects of their verses.

Min"now, n. [OE. menow, cf. AS. myne; also OE. menuse, OF. menuise small fish; akin to E. minish, minute.] [Written also minow.]

1. (Zoöl.) A small European fresh-water cyprinoid fish (Phoxinus lævis, formerly Leuciscus phoxinus); sometimes applied also to the young of larger kinds; -- called also minim and minny. The name is also applied to several allied American species, of the genera Phoxinus, Notropis, or Minnilus, and Rhinichthys.

2. (Zoöl.) Any of numerous small American cyprinodont fishes of the genus Fundulus, and related genera. They live both in fresh and in salt water. Called also killifish, minny, and mummichog.

Min"ny (?), n. (Zoöl.) A minnow.

Mi"no bird" (m"n brd). [Hind. main.] (Zoöl.) An Asiatic bird (Gracula musica), allied to the starlings. It is black, with a white spot on the wings, and a pair of flat yellow wattles on the head. It is often tamed and taught to pronounce words.

Mi"nor (m"nr), a. [L., a comparative with no positive; akin to AS. min small, G. minder less, OHG. minniro, a., min, adv., Icel. minni, a., minnr, adv., Goth. minniza, a., mins, adv., Ir. & Gael. min small, tender, L. minuere to lessen, Gr. miny`qein, Skr. mi to damage. Cf. Minish, Minister, Minus, Minute.]

1. Inferior in bulk, degree, importance, etc.; less; smaller; of little account; as, minor divisions of a body.

2. (Mus.) Less by a semitone in interval or difference of pitch; as, a minor third.

Asia Minor (Geog.), the Lesser Asia; that part of Asia which lies between the Euxine, or Black Sea, on the north, and the Mediterranean on the south. -- Minor mode (Mus.), that mode, or scale, in which the third and sixth are minor, -- much used for mournful and solemn subjects. -- Minor orders (Eccl.), the rank of persons employed in ecclesiastical offices who are not in holy orders, as doorkeepers, acolytes, etc. -- Minor scale (Mus.) The form of the minor scale is various. The strictly correct form has the third and sixth minor, with a semitone between the seventh and eighth, which involves an augmented second interval, or three semitones, between the sixth and seventh, as, 6/F, 7/G, 8/A. But, for melodic purposes, both the sixth and the seventh are sometimes made major in the ascending, and minor in the descending, scale,

See Major. -- Minor term of a syllogism (Logic), the subject of the conclusion.

Mi"nor (?), n. 1. A person of either sex who has not attained the age at which full civil rights are accorded; an infant; in England and the United States, one under twenty-one years of age.

In hereditary monarchies, the minority of a sovereign ends at an earlier age than of a subject. The minority of a sovereign of Great Britain ends upon the completion of the eighteenth year of his age.

2. (Logic) The minor term, that is, the subject of the conclusion; also, the minor premise, that is, that premise which contains the minor term; in hypothetical syllogisms, the categorical premise. It is the second proposition of a regular syllogism, as in the following: Every act of injustice partakes of meanness; to take money from another by gaming is an act of injustice; therefore, the taking of money from another by gaming partakes of meanness.

3. A Minorite; a Franciscan friar.

Mi"nor*ate (?), v. t. [L. minoratus; p. p. of minorare to diminish, fr. minor, a. See 1st Minor.] To diminish. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Mi`nor*a"tion (?), n. [L. minoratio: cf. F. minoration.] A diminution. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Mi"nor*ess (?), n. See Franciscan Nuns, under Franciscan, a.

Mi"nor*ite (?), n. [L. minor less. Cf. 2d Minor, 3.] A Franciscan friar.

Mi*nor"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Minorities (#). [Cf. F. minorité. See Minor, a. & n.]

1. The state of being a minor, or under age.

2. State of being less or small. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

3. The smaller number; -- opposed to majority; as, the minority must be ruled by the majority.

Mi"nos (?), n. [Gr. &?;.] (Class. Myth.) A king and lawgiver of Crete, fabled to be the son of Jupiter and Europa. After death he was made a judge in the Lower Regions.

Min"o*taur (mn"*tr), n. [L. Minotaurus, Gr. Minw`tayros; Mi`nos, the husband of Pasiphaë + tay^ros a bull, the Minotaur being the offspring of Pasiphaë and a bull: cf. F. minotaure.] (Class. Myth.) A fabled monster, half man and half bull, confined in the labyrinth constructed by Dædalus in Crete.

Min"ow (?), n. See Minnow.

Min"ster (?), n. [AS. mynster, fr. L. monasterium. See Monastery.] (Arch.) A church of a monastery. The name is often retained and applied to the church after the monastery has ceased to exist (as Beverly Minster, Southwell Minster, etc.), and is also improperly used for any large church.

Minster house, the official house in which the canons of a cathedral live in common or in rotation. Shipley.

Min"strel (?), n. [OE. minstrel, menestral, OF. menestrel, fr. LL. ministerialis servant, workman (cf. ministrellus harpist), fr. L. ministerium service. See Ministry, and cf. Ministerial.] In the Middle Ages, one of an order of men who subsisted by the arts of poetry and music, and sang verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other instrument; in modern times, a poet; a bard; a singer and harper; a musician. Chaucer.

Min"strel*sy (?), n. 1. The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.

2. Musical instruments. [Obs.] Chaucer.

3. A collective body of minstrels, or musicians; also, a collective body of minstrels' songs. Chaucer. "The minstrelsy of heaven." Milton.

Mint (mnt), n. [AS. minte, fr. L. mentha, Gr. mi`nqa, mi`nqh.] (Bot.) The name of several aromatic labiate plants, mostly of the genus Mentha, yielding odoriferous essential oils by distillation. See Mentha.

Corn mint is Mentha arvensis. -- Horsemint is M. sylvestris, and in the United States Monarda punctata, which differs from the true mints in several respects. -- Mountain mint is any species of the related genus Pycnanthemum, common in North America. -- Peppermint is M. piperita. -- Spearmint is M. viridis. -- Water mint is M. aquatica.

Mint camphor. (Chem.) See Menthol. -- Mint julep. See Julep. -- Mint sauce, a sauce flavored with spearmint, for meats.

Mint, n. [AS. mynet money, coin, fr. L. moneta the mint, coined money, fr. Moneta, a surname of Juno, in whose at Rome money was coined; akin to monere to warn, admonish, AS. manian, and to E. mind. See Mind, and cf. Money, Monition.] 1. A place where money is coined by public authority.

2. Hence: Any place regarded as a source of unlimited supply; the supply itself.

A mint of phrases in his brain.

Shak.

Mint, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minted; p. pr. & vb. n. Minting.] [AS. mynetian.]

1. To make by stamping, as money; to coin; to make and stamp into money.

2. To invent; to forge; to fabricate; to fashion.

Titles . . . of such natures as may be easily minted.

Bacon.

Minting mill, a coining press.

Mint"age (?), n. 1. The coin, or other production, made in a mint.

Stamped in clay, a heavenly mintage.

Sterling.

2. The duty paid to the mint for coining.

Mint"er (?), n. One who mints.

Mint"man (?), n.; pl. Mintmen (&?;). One skilled in coining, or in coins; a coiner.

Mint"-mas`ter (?), n. The master or superintendent of a mint. Also used figuratively.

Min"u*end (?), n. [L. minuendus to be diminished, fr. minuere to lessen, diminish. See Minish.] (Arith.) The number from which another number is to be subtracted.

Min"u*et (?), n. [F., fr. menu small, L. minutus small. So called on account of the short steps of the dance. See 4th Minute.]

1. A slow graceful dance consisting of a coupee, a high step, and a balance.

2. (Mus.) A tune or air to regulate the movements of the dance so called; a movement in suites, sonatas, symphonies, etc., having the dance form, and commonly in 3-4, sometimes 3-8, measure.

Min"um (?), n. [See 2d Minion, Minum, 6.] [Obs.]

1. A small kind of printing type; minion.

2. (Mus.) A minim.

Mi"nus (m"ns), a. [L. See Minor, and cf. Mis- pref. from the French.] (Math.) Less; requiring to be subtracted; negative; as, a minus quantity.

Minus sign (Math.), the sign [-] denoting minus, or less, prefixed to negative quantities, or quantities to be subtracted. See Negative sign, under Negative.

Mi*nus"cule (?), n. [L. minusculus rather small, fr. minus less: cf. F. minuscule.]

1. Any very small, minute object.

2. A small Roman letter which is neither capital nor uncial; a manuscript written in such letters. -- a. Of the size and style of minuscules; written in minuscules.

These minuscule letters are cursive forms of the earlier uncials.

I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

Min"u*ta*ry (?), a. Pertaining to, or consisting of, minutes. [Obs.] Fuller.

Min"ute (?; 277), n. [LL. minuta a small portion, small coin, fr. L. minutus small: cf. F. minute. See 4th Minute.]

1. The sixtieth part of an hour; sixty seconds. (Abbrev. m.; as, 4 h. 30 m.)

Four minutes, that is to say, minutes of an hour.

Chaucer.

2. The sixtieth part of a degree; sixty seconds (Marked thus (&prime;); as, 10° 20&prime;).

3. A nautical or a geographic mile.

4. A coin; a half farthing. [Obs.] Wyclif (Mark xii. 42)

5. A very small part of anything, or anything very small; a jot; a tittle. [Obs.]

Minutes and circumstances of his passion.

Jer. Taylor.

6. A point of time; a moment.

I go this minute to attend the king.

Dryden.

7. The memorandum; a record; a note to preserve the memory of anything; as, to take minutes of a contract; to take minutes of a conversation or debate.

8. (Arch.) A fixed part of a module. See Module.

Different writers take as the minute one twelfth, one eighteenth, one thirtieth, or one sixtieth part of the module.

Min"ute, a. Of or pertaining to a minute or minutes; occurring at or marking successive minutes.

Minute bell, a bell tolled at intervals of a minute, as to give notice of a death or a funeral. -- Minute book, a book in which written minutes are entered. -- Minute glass, a glass measuring a minute or minutes by the running of sand. -- Minute gun, a discharge of a cannon repeated every minute as a sign of distress or mourning. -- Minute hand, the long hand of a watch or clock, which makes the circuit of the dial in an hour, and marks the minutes.

Min"ute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Minuting.] To set down a short sketch or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.

The Empress of Russia, with her own hand, minuted an edict for universal tolerance.

Bancroft.

Mi*nute" (?), a. [L. minutus, p. p. of minuere to lessen. See Minish, Minor, and cf. Menu, Minuet.]

1. Very small; little; tiny; fine; slight; slender; inconsiderable. "Minute drops." Milton.

2. Attentive to small things; paying attention to details; critical; particular; precise; as, a minute observer; minute observation.

Syn. -- Little; diminutive; fine; critical; exact; circumstantial; particular; detailed. -- Minute, Circumstantial, Particular. A circumstantial account embraces all the leading events; a particular account includes each event and movement, though of but little importance; a minute account goes further still, and omits nothing as to person, time, place, adjuncts, etc.

Mi*nute"-jack` (?), n. 1. A figure which strikes the hour on the bell of some fanciful clocks; -- called also jack of the clock house.

2. A timeserver; an inconstant person. Shak.

Mi*nute"ly (?), adv. [From 4th Minute.] In a minute manner; with minuteness; exactly; nicely.

Min"ute*ly (?), a. [From 1st Minute.] Happening every minute; continuing; unceasing. [Obs.]

Throwing themselves absolutely upon God's minutely providence.

Hammond.

Min"ute*ly, adv. At intervals of a minute; very often and regularly. J. Philips.

Minutely proclaimed in thunder from heaven.

Hammond.

Min"ute*man (?), n.; pl. Minutemen (&?;). A militiaman who was to be ready to march at a moment's notice; -- a term used in the American Revolution.

Mi*nute"ness (?), n. The quality of being minute.

||Mi*nu"ti*a, n.; pl. Minutiæ (-). [L., fr. minutus small, minute. See ||4th Minute.] A minute particular; a small or minor detail; -- used ||chiefly in the plural.

Minx (?), n. [Prob. of Low German origin; cf. LG. minsk wench, jade, hussy, D. mensch; prop. the same word as D. & G. mensch man, human being, OHG. mennisco, AS. mennisc, fr. man. See Man.]

1. A pert or a wanton girl. Shak.

2. A she puppy; a pet dog. [Obs.] Udall.

Minx, n. [See Mink.] (Zoöl.) The mink; -- called also minx otter. [Obs.]

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Min"y (mn"), a. Abounding with mines; like a mine. "Miny caverns." Thomson.

Mi"o*cene (m"*sn), a. [Gr. mei`wn less + kaino`s new, fresh, recent.] (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the middle division of the Tertiary. -- n. The Miocene period. See Chart of Geology.

||Mi`o*hip"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mei`wn less + "ippo`s horse.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct Miocene mammal of the Horse family, closely ||related to the genus Anhithecrium, and having three usable hoofs on ||each foot.

Miq"ue*let (?), n. [Sp. miquelete.] (Mil.) An irregular or partisan soldier; a bandit.

Mir (?), n. A Russian village community. D. M. Wallace.

Mir, n. [Per. mr.] Same as Emir.

||Mi"ra (?), n. [NL., from L. mirus wonderful.] (Astron.) A remarkable ||variable star in the constellation Cetus (&omicron; Ceti).

Mi*rab"i*la*ry (?), n.; pl. Mirabilaries (&?;). One who, or a work which, narrates wonderful things; one who writes of wonders. [Obs.] Bacon.

||Mi*rab"i*lis (?), n. [L., wonderful.] (Bot.) A genus of plants. See ||Four- o'clock.

Mi*rab"i*lite (?), n. (Min.) Native sodium sulphate; Glauber's salt.

Mi"ra*ble (?), a. [L. mirabilis, fr. mirari to wonder: cf. OF. mirable. See Marvel.] Wonderful; admirable. [Obs.] Shak.

Mir"a*cle (?), n. [F., fr. L. miraculum, fr. mirari to wonder. See Marvel, and cf. Mirror.]

1. A wonder or wonderful thing.

That miracle and queen of genus.

Shak.

2. Specifically: An event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event, or one transcending the ordinary laws by which the universe is governed.

They considered not the miracle of the loaves.

Mark vi. 52.

3. A miracle play.

4. A story or legend abounding in miracles. [Obs.]

When said was all this miracle.

Chaucer.

Miracle monger, an impostor who pretends to work miracles. -- Miracle play, one of the old dramatic entertainments founded on legends of saints and martyrs or (see 2d Mystery, 2) on events related in the Bible.

Mir"a*cle, v. t. To make wonderful. [Obs.] Shak.

Mi*rac"u*lize (?), v. t. To cause to seem to be a miracle. [R.] Shaftesbury.

Mi*rac"u*lous (?), a. [F. miraculeux. See Miracle.]

1. Of the nature of a miracle; performed by supernatural power; effected by the direct agency of almighty power, and not by natural causes.

2. Supernatural; wonderful.

3. Wonder-working. "The miraculous harp." Shak.

-- Mi*rac"u*lous*ly, adv. -- Mi*rac"u*lous*ness, n.

Mir`a*dor" (?), n. [Sp., fr. mirar to behold, view. See Mirror.] (Arch.) Same as Belvedere.

Mi`rage" (?), n. [F., fr. mirer to look at carefully, to aim, se mirer to look at one's self in a glass, to reflect, to be reflected, LL. mirare to look at. See Mirror.] An optical effect, sometimes seen on the ocean, but more frequently in deserts, due to total reflection of light at the surface common to two strata of air differently heated. The reflected image is seen, commonly in an inverted position, while the real object may or may not be in sight. When the surface is horizontal, and below the eye, the appearance is that of a sheet of water in which the object is seen reflected; when the reflecting surface is above the eye, the image is seen projected against the sky. The fata Morgana and looming are species of mirage.

By the mirage uplifted the land floats vague in the ether, Ships and the shadows of ships hang in the motionless air.

Longfellow.

Mir"bane (?), n. See Nitrobenzene.

Mire (mr), n. [AS. mre, mre; akin to D. mier, Icel. maurr, Dan. myre, Sw. myra; cf. also Ir. moirbh, Gr. my`rmhx.] An ant. [Obs.] See Pismire.

Mire, n. [OE. mire, myre; akin to Icel. mrr swamp, Sw. myra marshy ground, and perh. to E. moss.] Deep mud; wet, spongy earth. Chaucer.

He his rider from the lofty steed Would have cast down and trod in dirty mire.

Spenser.

Mire crow (Zoöl.), the pewit, or laughing gull. [Prov. Eng.] -- Mire drum, the European bittern. [Prov. Eng.]

Mire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mired (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Miring.]

1. To cause or permit to stick fast in mire; to plunge or fix in mud; as, to mire a horse or wagon.

2. To soil with mud or foul matter.

Smirched thus and mired with infamy.

Shak.

Mire, v. i. To stick in mire. Shak.

{ Mi*rif"ic (?), Mi*rif"ic*al (?), } a. [L. mirificus; mirus wonderful + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.] Working wonders; wonderful.

Mi*rif"i*cent (?), a. Wonderful. [Obs.]

Mir"i*ness (?), n. The quality of being miry.

Mirk (?), a. [See Murky.] Dark; gloomy; murky. Spenser. Mrs. Browning.

Mirk, n. Darkness; gloom; murk. "In mirk and mire." Longfellow.

Mirk"some (?), a. Dark; gloomy; murky. [Archaic] Spenser. -- Mirk"some*ness, n. [Archaic]

Mirk"y (?), a. Dark; gloomy. See Murky.

Mir"ror (?), n. [OE. mirour, F. miroir, OF. also mireor, fr. (assumed) LL. miratorium, fr. mirare to look at, L. mirari to wonder. See Marvel, and cf. Miracle, Mirador.]

1. A looking-glass or a speculum; any glass or polished substance that forms images by the reflection of rays of light.

And in her hand she held a mirror bright, Wherein her face she often viewèd fair.

Spenser.

2. That which gives a true representation, or in which a true image may be seen; hence, a pattern; an exemplar.

She is mirour of all courtesy.

Chaucer.

O goddess, heavenly bright, Mirror of grace and majesty divine.

Spenser.

3. (Zoöl.) See Speculum.

Mirror carp (Zoöl.), a domesticated variety of the carp, having only three or fur rows of very large scales side. -- Mirror plate. (a) A flat glass mirror without a frame. (b) Flat glass used for making mirrors. -- Mirror writing, a manner or form of backward writing, making manuscript resembling in slant and order of letters the reflection of ordinary writing in a mirror. The substitution of this manner of writing for the common manner is a symptom of some kinds of nervous disease.

Mir"ror (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mirrored (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mirroring.] To reflect, as in a mirror.

Mirth (?), n. [OE. mirthe, murthe, merthe, AS. myrð, myrgð, merhð, mirhð. See Merry.]

1. Merriment; gayety accompanied with laughter; jollity.

Then will I cause to cease . . . from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth.

Jer. vii. 34.

2. That which causes merriment. [Obs.] Shak.

Syn. -- Merriment; joyousness; gladness; fun; frolic; glee; hilarity; festivity; jollity. See Gladness.

Mirth"ful (?), a. 1. Full of mirth or merriment; merry; as, mirthful children.

2. Indicating or inspiring mirth; as, a mirthful face.

Mirthful, comic shows.

Shak.

-- Mirth"ful*ly, adv. -- Mirth"ful*ness, n.

Mirth"less, a. Without mirth. -- Mirth"less*ness, n.

Mir"y (?), a. [From 2d Mire.] Abounding with deep mud; full of mire; muddy; as, a miry road.

Mir"za (?), n. [Per. mrz, abbrev. fr. mrzdeh son of the prince; mr prince (Ar. amr, emr) + zdeh son.] The common title of honor in Persia, prefixed to the surname of an individual. When appended to the surname, it signifies Prince.

Mis- (ms-). [In words of Teutonic origin, fr. AS. mis-; akin to D. mis-, G. miss-, OHG. missa- , missi-, Icel. & Dan. mis-, Sw. miss-, Goth. missa-; orig., a p. p. from the root of G. meiden to shun, OHG. mdan, AS. mðan (&radic;100. Cf. Miss to fail of). In words from the French, fr. OF. mes-, F. mé-, mes-, fr. L. minus less (see Minus). In present usage these two prefixes are commonly confounded.] A prefix used adjectively and adverbially in the sense of amiss, wrong, ill, wrongly, unsuitably; as, misdeed, mislead, mischief, miscreant.

Mis (ms), a. & adv. [See Amiss.] Wrong; amiss. [Obs.] "To correcten that [which] is mis." Chaucer.

Mis*ac`cep*ta"tion (?), n. Wrong acceptation; understanding in a wrong sense.

Mis`ac*compt" (?), v. t. To account or reckon wrongly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis`ad*just" (?), v. t. To adjust wrongly of unsuitably; to throw of adjustment. I. Taylor.

Mis`ad*just"ment (?), n. Wrong adjustment; unsuitable arrangement.

Mis`ad*ven"ture (?; 135), n. [OE. mesaventure, F. mésaventure.] Mischance; misfortune; ill luck; unlucky accident; ill adventure. Chaucer.

Homicide by misadventure (Law), homicide which occurs when a man, doing a lawful act, without any intention of injury, unfortunately kills another; -- called also excusable homicide. See Homicide. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Mischance; mishap; misfortune; disaster; calamity.

Mis`ad*ven"tured (?), a. Unfortunate. [Obs.]

Mis`ad*ven"tur*ous (?), a. Unfortunate.

Mis`ad*vert"ence (?), n. Inadvertence.

Mis`ad*vice" (?), n. Bad advice.

Mis`ad*vise" (?), v. t. To give bad counsel to.

Mis`ad*vised" (?), a. Ill advised. -- Mis`ad*vis"ed*ly (#), adv.

Mis`af*fect" (?), v. t. To dislike. [Obs.]

Mis`af*fect"ed, a. Ill disposed. [Obs.]

Mis`af*fec"tion (?), n. An evil or wrong affection; the state of being ill affected. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mis`af*firm" (?), v. t. To affirm incorrectly.

Mis*aimed" (?), a. Not rightly aimed. Spenser.

Mis*al`le*ga"tion (?), n. A erroneous statement or allegation. Bp. Hall.

Mis`al*lege" (?), v. t. To state erroneously.

Mis`al*li"ance (?), n. [F. mésalliance.] A marriage with a person of inferior rank or social station; an improper alliance; a mesalliance.

A Leigh had made a misalliance, and blushed A Howard should know it.

Mrs. Browning.

Mis`al*lied" (?), a. Wrongly allied or associated.

Mis`al*lot"ment (?), n. A wrong allotment.

Mis*al"ter (?), v. t. To alter wrongly; esp., to alter for the worse. Bp. Hall.

Mis"an*thrope (ms"n*thrp), n. [Gr. misa`nqrwpos; misei^n to hate + 'a`nqrwpos a man; cf. F. misanthrope. Cf. Miser.] A hater of mankind; a misanthropist.

{ Mis`an*throp"ic (?), Mis`an*throp"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. misanthropique.] Hating or disliking mankind.

Mis*an"thro*pist (?), n. A misanthrope.

Mis*an"thro*pos (?), n. [NL. See Misanthrope.] A misanthrope. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*an"thro*py (?), n. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. misanthropie.] Hatred of, or dislike to, mankind; -- opposed to philanthropy. Orrery.

Mis*ap`pli*ca"tion (?), n. A wrong application. Sir T. Browne.

Mis`ap*ply" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misapplied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misapplying.] To apply wrongly; to use for a wrong purpose; as, to misapply a name or title; to misapply public money.

Mis`ap*pre"ci*a`ted (?), a. Improperly appreciated.

Mis*ap`pre*hend" (?), v. t. To take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand. Locke.

Mis*ap`pre*hen"sion (?), n. A mistaking or mistake; wrong apprehension of one's meaning of a fact; misconception; misunderstanding.

Mis*ap`pre*hen"sive*ly (?), adv. By, or with, misapprehension.

Mis`ap*pro"pri*ate (?), v. t. To appropriate wrongly; to use for a wrong purpose.

Mis`ap*pro`pri*a"tion (?), n. Wrong appropriation; wrongful use.

Mis`ar*range" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misarranged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misarranging (?).] To place in a wrong order, or improper manner.

Mis`ar*range"ment (?), n. Wrong arrangement.

Mis`ar*cribe" (?), v. t. To ascribe wrongly.

Mis`as*say" (?), v. t. To assay, or attempt, improperly or unsuccessfully. [Obs.] W. Browne.

Mis`as*sign" (?), v. t. To assign wrongly.

Mis`at*tend" (?), v. t. To misunderstand; to disregard. [Obs.] Milton.

Mis`a*ven"ture (?), n. Misadventure. [Obs.]

Mis`a*vize" (?), v. t. To misadvise. [Obs.]

Mis*bear" (?), v. t. To carry improperly; to carry (one's self) wrongly; to misbehave. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis`be*come" (?), v. t. Not to become; to suit ill; not to befit or be adapted to. Macaulay.

Thy father will not act what misbecomes him.

Addison.

Mis`be*com"ing, a. Unbecoming. Milton. -- Mis`be*com"ing*ly, adv. -- Mis`be*com"ing*ness, n. Boyle.

Mis*bede" (?), v. t. [imp. Misbode (?); p. p. Misboden (?).] [AS. mis-beôdan.] To wrong; to do injury to. [Obs.]

Who hath you misboden or offended?

Chaucer.

Mis`be*fit"ting (?), a. Not befitting.

{ Mis`be*got" (?), Mis`be*got"ten (&?;), } p. a. Unlawfully or irregularly begotten; of bad origin; pernicious. "Valor misbegot." Shak.

Mis`be*have" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Misbehaved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misbehaving.] To behave ill; to conduct one's self improperly; -- often used with a reciprocal pronoun.

Mis`be*haved" (?), a. Guilty of ill behavior; illbred; rude. "A misbehaved and sullen wench." Shak.

Mis`be*hav"ior (?), n. Improper, rude, or uncivil behavior; ill conduct. Addison.

Mis`be*lief" (?), n. Erroneous or false belief.

Mis`be*lieve" (&?;), v. i. To believe erroneously, or in a false religion. "That misbelieving Moor." Shak.

Mis`be*liev"er (?), n. One who believes wrongly; one who holds a false religion. Shak.

Mis`be*seem" (?), v. t. To suit ill.

Mis`be*stow" (?), v. t. To bestow improperly.

Mis`be*stow"al (?), n. The act of misbestowing.

Mis`bi*leve" (?), n. Misbelief; unbelief; suspicion. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*bode" (?), imp. of Misbede.

Mis*bo"den (?), p. p. of Misbede.

Mis"born` (?), a. Born to misfortune. Spenser.

Mis*cal"cu*late (?), v. t. & i. To calculate erroneously; to judge wrongly. -- Mis*cal`cu*la"tion (#), n.

Mis*call" (?), v. t. 1. To call by a wrong name; to name improperly.

2. To call by a bad name; to abuse. [Obs.] Fuller.

Mis*car"riage (?), n. 1. Unfortunate event or issue of an undertaking; failure to attain a desired result or reach a destination.

When a counselor, to save himself, Would lay miscarriages upon his prince.

Dryden.

2. Ill conduct; evil or improper behavior; as, the failings and miscarriages of the righteous. Rogers.

3. The act of bringing forth before the time; premature birth.

Mis*car"riage*a*ble (?), a. Capable of miscarrying; liable to fail. [R.] Bp. Hall.

Mis*car"ry (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Miscarried (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Miscarrying.]

1. To carry, or go, wrong; to fail of reaching a destination, or fail of the intended effect; to be unsuccessful; to suffer defeat.

My ships have all miscarried.

Shak.

The cardinal's letters to the pope miscarried.

Shak.

2. To bring forth young before the proper time.

Mis*cast" (?), v. t. To cast or reckon wrongly.

Mis*cast", n. An erroneous cast or reckoning.

Mis`ce*ge*na"tion (?), n. [L. miscere to mix + the root of genus race.] A mixing of races; amalgamation, as by intermarriage of black and white.

Mis`cel*la*na"ri*an (?), a. [See Miscellany.] Of or pertaining to miscellanies. Shaftesbury. -- n. A writer of miscellanies.

Mis"cel*lane (?), n. [See Miscellaneous, and cf. Maslin.] A mixture of two or more sorts of grain; -- now called maslin and meslin. Bacon.

||Mis"cel*la"ne*a (?), n. pl. [L. See Miscellany.] A collection of ||miscellaneous matters; matters of various kinds.

Mis`cel*la"ne*ous (?), a. [L. miscellaneus mixed, miscellaneous, fr. miscellus mixed, fr. miscere to mix. See Mix, and cf. Miscellany.] Mixed; mingled; consisting of several things; of diverse sorts; promiscuous; heterogeneous; as, a miscellaneous collection. "A miscellaneous rabble." Milton. -- Mis`cel*la"ne*ous*ly, adv. -- Mis`cel*la"ne*ous*ness, n.

Mis"cel*la*nist (?), n. A writer of miscellanies; miscellanarian.

Mis"cel*la*ny (?), n.; pl. Miscellanies (#). [L. miscellanea, neut. pl. of. miscellaneus: cf. F. miscellanée, pl. miscellanées. See Miscellaneous.] A mass or mixture of various things; a medley; esp., a collection of compositions on various subjects.

'T is but a bundle or miscellany of sin; sins original, and sins actual.

Hewyt.

Miscellany madam, a woman who dealt in various fineries; a milliner. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

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Mis"cel*la*ny (ms"sl*l*n), a. Miscellaneous; heterogeneous. [Obs.] Bacon.

Mis*cen"sure (?), v. t. To misjudge. [Obs.] Daniel. -- n. Erroneous judgment. [Obs.] Sylvester.

Mis*chance" (?), n. [OE. meschance, OF. mescheance.] Ill luck; ill fortune; mishap. Chaucer.

Never come mischance between us twain.

Shak.

Syn. -- Calamity; misfortune; misadventure; mishap; infelicity; disaster. See Calamity.

Mis*chance", v. i. To happen by mischance. Spenser.

Mis*chance"ful (?), a. Unlucky. R. Browning.

Mis*char"ac*ter*ize (?), v. t. To characterize falsely or erroneously; to give a wrong character to.

They totally mischaracterize the action.

Eton.

Mis*charge" (?), v. t. To charge erroneously, as in an account. -- n. A mistake in charging.

Mis"chief (ms"chf), n. [OE. meschef bad result, OF. meschief; pref. mes- (L. minus less) + chief end, head, F. chef chief. See Minus, and Chief.]

1. Harm; damage; esp., disarrangement of order; trouble or vexation caused by human agency or by some living being, intentionally or not; often, calamity, mishap; trivial evil caused by thoughtlessness, or in sport. Chaucer.

Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs.

Ps. lii. 2.

The practice whereof shall, I hope, secure me from many mischiefs.

Fuller.

2. Cause of trouble or vexation; trouble. Milton.

The mischief was, these allies would never allow that the common enemy was subdued.

Swift.

To be in mischief, to be doing harm or causing annoyance. -- To make mischief, to do mischief, especially by exciting quarrels. -- To play the mischief, to cause great harm; to throw into confusion. [Colloq.]

Syn. -- Damage; harm; hurt; injury; detriment; evil; ill. -- Mischief, Damage, Harm. Damage is an injury which diminishes the value of a thing; harm is an injury which causes trouble or inconvenience; mischief is an injury which disturbs the order and consistency of things. We often suffer damage or harm from accident, but mischief always springs from perversity or folly.

Mis"chief, v. t. To do harm to. [Obs.] Milton.

Mis"chief*a*ble (?), a. Mischievous. [R.] Lydgate.

Mis"chief*ful (?), a. Mischievous. [Obs.] Foote.

Mis"chief-mak`er (?), n. One who makes mischief; one who excites or instigates quarrels or enmity.

Mis"chief-mak`ing, a. Causing harm; exciting enmity or quarrels. Rowe. -- n. The act or practice of making mischief, inciting quarrels, etc.

Mis"chie*vous (ms"ch*vs), a. Causing mischief; harmful; hurtful; -- now often applied where the evil is done carelessly or in sport; as, a mischievous child. "Most mischievous foul sin." Shak.

This false, wily, doubling disposition is intolerably mischievous to society.

South.

Syn. -- Harmful; hurtful; detrimental; noxious; pernicious; destructive.

-- Mis"chie*vous*ly, adv. -- Mis"chie*vous*ness, n.

Misch"na (?), n. See Mishna.

Misch"nic (?), a. See Mishnic.

Mis*choose" (?), v. t. [imp. Mischose (?); p. p. Mischosen (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mischoosing.] To choose wrongly. Milton.

Mis*choose", v. i. To make a wrong choice.

Mis*chris"ten (?), v. t. To christen wrongly.

Mis`ci*bil"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. miscibilité.] Capability of being mixed.

Mis"ci*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. miscible, fr. L. miscere to mix.] Capable of being mixed; mixable; as, water and alcohol are miscible in all proportions. Burke.

Mis`ci*ta"tion (?), n. Erroneous citation.

Mis*cite", v. t. To cite erroneously.

Mis*claim" (?), n. A mistaken claim.

Mis*cog"ni*zant (?), a. (Law) Not cognizant; ignorant; not knowing.

Mis*cog"nize (?), v. t. To fail to apprehend; to misunderstand. [Obs.] Holland.

Mis*col`lo*ca"tion (?), n. Wrong collocation. De Quincey.

Mis*col"or (?), v. t. To give a wrong color to; figuratively, to set forth erroneously or unfairly; as, to miscolor facts. C. Kingsley.

Mis*com"fort (?), n. Discomfort. [Obs.]

Mis*com`pre*hend" (?), v. t. To get a wrong idea of or about; to misunderstand.

Mis*com`pu*ta"tion (?), n. Erroneous computation; false reckoning.

Mis`com*pute" (?), v. t. [Cf. Miscount.] To compute erroneously. Sir T. Browne.

Mis`con*ceit" (?), n. Misconception. [Obs.]

Mis`con*ceive" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Misconceived (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misconceiving.] To conceive wrongly; to interpret incorrectly; to receive a false notion of; to misjudge; to misapprehend.

Those things which, for want of due consideration heretofore, they have misconceived.

Hooker.

Syn. -- To misapprehend; misunderstand; mistake.

Mis`con*ceiv"er (?), n. One who misconceives.

Mis`con*cep"tion (?), n. Erroneous conception; false opinion; wrong understanding. Harvey.

Mis`con*clu"sion (?), n. An erroneous inference or conclusion. Bp. Hall.

Mis*con"duct (?), n. Wrong conduct; bad behavior; mismanagement. Addison.

Syn. -- Misbehavior; misdemeanor; mismanagement; misdeed; delinquency; offense.

Mis`con*duct" (?), v. t. To conduct amiss; to mismanage. Johnson.

To misconduct one's self, to behave improperly.

Mis`con*duct", v. i. To behave amiss.

Mis*con"fi*dent (?), a. Having a mistaken confidence; wrongly trusting. [R.] Bp. Hall.

Mis`con*jec"ture (?; 135), n. A wrong conjecture or guess. Sir T. Browne.

Mis`con*jec"ture (?), v. t. & i. To conjecture wrongly.

Mis*con"se*crate (?), v. t. To consecrate amiss. "Misconsecrated flags." Bp. Hall.

Mis*con`se*cra"tion, n. Wrong consecration.

Mis*con"se*quence (?), n. A wrong consequence; a false deduction.

Mis*con"stru*a*ble (?), a. Such as can be misconstrued, as language or conduct. R. North.

Mis`con*struct" (?), v. t. To construct wrongly; to construe or interpret erroneously.

Mis`con*struc"tion (?), n. Erroneous construction; wrong interpretation. Bp. Stillingfleet.

Mis*con"strue (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misconstrued (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misconstruing.] To construe wrongly; to interpret erroneously.

Do not, great sir, misconstrue his intent.

Dryden.

Much afflicted to find his actions misconstrued.

Addison.

Mis*con"stru*er (?), n. One who misconstrues.

Mis`con*tent" (?), a. Discontent. [Obs.]

Mis`con*tin"u*ance (?), n. (Law) Discontinuance; also, continuance by undue process.

Mis*copy" (?), v. t. To copy amiss.

Mis*copy", n. A mistake in copying. North Am. Rev.

Mis`cor*rect" (?), v. t. To fail or err in attempting to correct. "Scaliger miscorrects his author." Dryden.

Mis*coun"sel (?), v. t. To counsel or advise wrongly.

Mis*count" (?), v. t. & i. [Cf. OF. mesconter, F. mécompter. Cf. Miscompute.] To count erroneously.

Mis*count", n. [Cf. F. mécompte error, OF. mesconte.] An erroneous counting.

Mis*cov"et (?), v. t. To covet wrongfully. [Obs.]

{ Mis"cre*ance (?), Mis"cre*an*cy (?), } n. [OF. mescreance, F. mécréance incredulity.] The quality of being miscreant; adherence to a false religion; false faith. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

Mis"cre*ant (?), n. [OF. mescreant, F. mécréant; pref. mes- (L. minus less) + p. pr. fr. L. credere to believe. See Creed.]

1. One who holds a false religious faith; a misbeliever. [Obs.] Spenser. De Quincey.

Thou oughtest not to be slothful to the destruction of the miscreants, but to constrain them to obey our Lord God.

Rivers.

2. One not restrained by Christian principles; an unscrupulous villain; a vile wretch. Addison. [1913 Webster]

Mis"cre*ant, a. 1. Holding a false religious faith.

2. Destitute of conscience; unscrupulous. Pope.

Mis`cre*ate" (?), a. Miscreated; illegitimate; forged; as, miscreate titles. [Obs. or Poet.] Shak.

Mis`cre*ate" (?), v. t. To create badly or amiss.

Mis`cre*at"ed (?), a. Formed unnaturally or illegitimately; deformed. Spenser. Milton.

Mis`cre*a"tive, a. Creating amiss. [R.]

Mis*cre"dent (?), n. [Pref. mis- + credent. Cf. Miscreant.] A miscreant, or believer in a false religious doctrine. [Obs.] Holinshed.

Mis`cre*du"li*ty (?), n. Wrong credulity or belief; misbelief. Bp. Hall.

Mis*cue" (?), n. (Billiards) A false stroke with a billiard cue, the cue slipping from the ball struck without impelling it as desired.

Mis*date", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misdated; p. pr. & vb. n. Misdating.] To date erroneously. Young.

Mis*deal" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Misdealt (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misdealing.] To deal or distribute wrongly, as cards; to make a wrong distribution.

Mis*deal", n. The act of misdealing; a wrong distribution of cards to the players.

Mis*deed" (?), n. [AS. misdd. See Deed, n.] An evil deed; a wicked action.

Evils which our own misdeeds have wrought.

Milton.

Syn. -- Misconduct; misdemeanor; fault; offense; trespass; transgression; crime.

Mis*deem" (?), v. t. To misjudge. [Obs.] Milton.

Mis`de*mean" (?), v. t. To behave ill; -- with a reflexive pronoun; as, to misdemean one's self.

Mis`de*mean"ant (?), n. One guilty of a misdemeanor. Sydney Smith.

Mis`de*mean"or (?), n. 1. Ill behavior; evil conduct; fault. Shak.

2. (Law) A crime less than a felony. Wharton.

As a rule, in the old English law, offenses capitally punishable were felonies; all other indictable offenses were misdemeanors. In common usage, the word crime is employed to denote the offenses of a deeper and more atrocious dye, while small faults and omissions of less consequence are comprised under the gentler name of misdemeanors. Blackstone.

The distinction, however, between felonies and misdemeanors is purely arbitrary, and is in most jurisdictions either abrogated or so far reduced as to be without practical value. Cf. Felony. Wharton.

Syn. -- Misdeed; misconduct; misbehavior; fault; trespass; transgression.

Mis*dempt" (?), obs. p. p. of Misdeem. Spenser.

Mis`de*part" (?), v. t. To distribute wrongly. [Obs.]

He misdeparteth riches temporal.

Chaucer.

Mis`de*rive" (?), v. t. 1. To turn or divert improperly; to misdirect. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

2. To derive erroneously.

Mis`de*scribe" (?), v. t. To describe wrongly.

Mis`de*sert", n. Ill desert. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis`de*vo"tion (?), n. Mistaken devotion.

Mis*di"et (?), n. Improper diet. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*di"et, v. t. To diet improperly.

Mis*dight" (?), a. Arrayed, prepared, or furnished, unsuitably. [Archaic] Bp. Hall.

Mis`di*rect" (?), v. t. To give a wrong direction to; as, to misdirect a passenger, or a letter; to misdirect one's energies. Shenstone.

Mis`di*rec"tion (?), n. 1. The act of directing wrongly, or the state of being so directed.

2. (Law) An error of a judge in charging the jury on a matter of law. Mozley & W.

Mis*dis`po*si"tion (?), n. Erroneous disposal or application. Bp. Hall.

Mis`dis*tin"guish (?), v. t. To make wrong distinctions in or concerning. Hooker.

Mis`di*vide" (?), v. t. To divide wrongly.

Mis`di*vi"sion (?), n. Wrong division.

Mis*do" (ms*d"), v. t. [imp. Misdid (?); p. p. Misdone (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misdoing.] [AS. misdn. See Do, v.]

1. To do wrongly.

Afford me place to show what recompense Towards thee I intend for what I have misdone.

Milton.

2. To do wrong to; to illtreat. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*do", v. i. To do wrong; to commit a fault.

I have misdone, and I endure the smart.

Dryden.

Mis*do"er, n. A wrongdoer. Spenser.

Mis*do"ing, n. A wrong done; a fault or crime; an offense; as, it was my misdoing.

Mis*doubt" (?), v. t. & i. To be suspicious of; to have suspicion. [Obs.]

I do not misdoubt my wife.

Shak.

Mis*doubt", n. 1. Suspicion. [Obs.]

2. Irresolution; hesitation. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*doubt"ful (?), a Misgiving; hesitating. [Obs.] "Her misdoubtful mind." Spenser.

Mis*dread" (?), n. Dread of evil. [Obs.]

Mise (?), n. [F. mise a putting, setting, expense, fr. mis, mise, p. p. of mettre to put, lay, fr. LL. mittere to send.]

1. (Law) The issue in a writ of right.

2. Expense; cost; disbursement. [Obs.]

3. A tax or tallage; in Wales, an honorary gift of the people to a new king or prince of Wales; also, a tribute paid, in the country palatine of Chester, England, at the change of the owner of the earldom. [Obs.]

Mis*ease" (?), n. [OE. mesaise, OF. mesaise.] Want of ease; discomfort; misery. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*eased" (?), a. Having discomfort or misery; troubled. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*eas"y (?), a. Not easy; painful. [Obs.]

Mis`e*di"tion (?), n. An incorrect or spurious edition. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mis*ed"u*cate (?; 135), v. t. To educate in a wrong manner.

Mis`em*ploy" (?), v. t. To employ amiss; as, to misemploy time, advantages, talents, etc.

Their frugal father's gains they misemploy.

Dryden.

Mis`em*ploy"ment (?), n. Wrong or mistaken employment. Johnson.

Mis*en"ter (?), v. t. To enter or insert wrongly, as a charge in an account.

Mis`en*treat" (?), v. t. To treat wrongfully. [Obs.] Grafton.

Mis*en"try (?), n. An erroneous entry or charge, as of an account.

Mi"ser (m"zr), n. [L. miser wretched, miserable; cf. Gr. mi^sos hate, misei^n to hate: cf. It. & Sp. misero wretched, avaricious.]

1. A wretched person; a person afflicted by any great misfortune. [Obs.] Spenser.

The woeful words of a miser now despairing.

Sir P. Sidney.

2. A despicable person; a wretch. [Obs.] Shak.

3. A covetous, grasping, mean person; esp., one having wealth, who lives miserably for the sake of saving and increasing his hoard.

As some lone miser, visiting his store, Bends at his treasure, counts, recounts it o'er.

Goldsmith.

4. A kind of large earth auger. Knight.

Mis"er*a*ble (?), a. [F. misérable, L. miserabilis, fr. miserari to lament, pity, fr. miser wretched. See Miser.]

1. Very unhappy; wretched.

What hopes delude thee, miserable man?

Dryden.

2. Causing unhappiness or misery.

What 's more miserable than discontent?

Shak.

3. Worthless; mean; despicable; as, a miserable fellow; a miserable dinner.

Miserable comforters are ye all.

Job xvi. 2.

4. Avaricious; niggardly; miserly. [Obs.] Hooker.

Syn. -- Abject; forlorn; pitiable; wretched.

Mis"er*a*ble, n. A miserable person. [Obs.] Sterne.

Mis"er*a*ble*ness, n. The state or quality of being miserable.

Mis"er*a*bly, adv. In a miserable; unhappily; calamitously; wretchedly; meanly.

They were miserably entertained.

Sir P. Sidney.

The fifth was miserably stabbed to death.

South.

Mis`er*a"tion (?), n. Commiseration. [Obs.]

||Mis`e*re"re (?), n. [L., have mercy, fr. misereri to have mercy, fr. ||miser. See Miser.]

1. (R. C. Ch.) The psalm usually appointed for penitential acts, being the 50th psalm in the Latin version. It commences with the word miserere.

2. A musical composition adapted to the 50th psalm.

Where only the wind signs miserere.

Lowell.

3. (Arch.) A small projecting boss or bracket, on the under side of the hinged seat of a church stall (see Stall). It was intended, the seat being turned up, to give some support to a worshiper when standing. Called also misericordia.

4. (Med.) Same as Ileus.

Mis"er*i*corde" (?), n. [F. miséricorde. See Misericordia.]

1. Compassion; pity; mercy. [Obs.]

2. (Anc. Armor.) Same as Misericordia, 2.

||Mis`e*ri*cor"di*a (?), n. [L., mercy, compassion; miser wretched + ||cor, cordis, heart.]

1. (O. Law) An amercement. Burrill.

2. (Anc. Armor.) A thin-bladed dagger; so called, in the Middle Ages, because used to give the death wound or "mercy" stroke to a fallen adversary.

3. (Eccl.) An indulgence as to food or dress granted to a member of a religious order. Shipley.

<! p. 930 !>

Mi"ser*ly (m"zr*l), a. [From Miser.] Like a miser; very covetous; sordid; niggardly.

Syn. -- Avaricious; niggardly; sordid; parsimonious; penurious; covetous; stingy; mean. See Avaricious.

Mi"ser*y (?), n.; pl. Miseries (#). [OE. miserie, L. miseria, fr. miser wretched: cf. F. misère, OF. also, miserie.]

1. Great unhappiness; extreme pain of body or mind; wretchedness; distress; woe. Chaucer.

Destruction and misery are in their ways.

Rom. iii. 16.

2. Cause of misery; calamity; misfortune.

When we our betters see bearing our woes, We scarcely think our miseries our foes.

Shak.

3. Covetousness; niggardliness; avarice. [Obs.]

Syn. -- Wretchedness; torture; agony; torment; anguish; distress; calamity; misfortune.

Mis`es*teem" (?), n. [Cf. F. mésestime.] Want of esteem; disrespect. Johnson.

Mis*es"ti*mate (?), v. t. To estimate erroneously. J. S. Mill.

Mis*ex`pla*na"tion (?), n. An erroneous explanation.

Mis*ex`pli*ca"tion (?), n. Wrong explication.

Mis*ex`po*si"tion (?), n. Wrong exposition.

Mis`ex*pound" (?), v. t. To expound erroneously.

Mis`ex*pres"sion (?), n. Wrong expression.

Mis*faith" (?), n. Want of faith; distrust. "[Anger] born of your misfaith." Tennyson.

Mis*fall" (?), v. t. [imp. Misfell; p. p. Misfallen (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Misfalling.] To befall, as ill luck; to happen to unluckily. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*fare" (?), v. i. [AS. misfaran.] To fare ill. [Obs.] -- n. Misfortune. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*fash"ion (?), v. t. To form wrongly.

Mis*fea"sance (?), n. [OF. pref. mes- wrong (L. minus less) + faisance doing, fr. faire to do, L. facere. Cf. Malfeasance.] (Law) A trespass; a wrong done; the improper doing of an act which a person might lawfully do. Bouvier. Wharton.

Mis*fea"ture (?), n. Ill feature. [R.] Keats.

Mis*feel"ing (?), a. Insensate. [Obs.] Wyclif.

Mis*feign" (?), v. i. To feign with an evil design. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*fit" (?), n. 1. The act or the state of fitting badly; as, a misfit in making a coat; a ludicrous misfit.

2. Something that fits badly, as a garment.

I saw an uneasy change in Mr. Micawber, which sat tightly on him, as if his new duties were a misfit.

Dickens.

Mis*form" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misformed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misforming.] To make in an ill form. Spenser.

Mis`for*ma"tion (?), n. Malformation.

Mis*for"tu*nate (?; 135), a. Producing misfortune. [Obs.]

Mis*for"tune (?), n. Bad fortune or luck; calamity; an evil accident; disaster; mishap; mischance.

Consider why the change was wrought, You 'll find his misfortune, not his fault.

Addison.

Syn. -- Calamity; mishap; mischance; misadventure; ill; harm; disaster. See Calamity.

Mis*for"tune, v. i. To happen unluckily or unfortunately; to miscarry; to fail. [Obs.] Stow.

Mis*for"tuned (?), a. Unfortunate. [Obs.]

Mis*frame" (?), v. t. To frame wrongly.

Mis*get" (?), v. t. To get wrongfully. [Obs.]

Mis*gie" (?), v. t. See Misgye. [Obs.]

Mis*give" (?), v. t. [imp. Misgave (?); p. p. Misgiven (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misgiving.]

1. To give or grant amiss. [Obs.] Laud.

2. Specifically: To give doubt and apprehension to, instead of confidence and courage; to impart fear to; to make irresolute; -- usually said of the mind or heart, and followed by the objective personal pronoun.

So doth my heart misgive me in these conflicts What may befall him, to his harm and ours.

Shak.

Such whose consciences misgave them, how ill they had deserved.

Milton.

3. To suspect; to dread. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*give", v. i. To give out doubt and apprehension; to be fearful or irresolute. "My mind misgives." Shak.

Mis*giv"ing, n. Evil premonition; doubt; distrust. "Suspicious and misgivings." South.

Mis*go" (-g"), v. i. To go astray. Spenser.

Mis*got"ten (-gt"t'n), a. Unjustly gotten. Spenser.

Mis*gov"ern (?), v. t. To govern ill; as, to misgovern a country. Knolles.

Mis*gov"ern*ance (?), n. Misgovernment; misconduct; misbehavior. [Obs.] Chaucer. Spenser.

Mis*gov"erned (?), a. Ill governed, as a people; ill directed. "Rude, misgoverned hands." Shak.

Mis*gov"ern*ment (?), n. Bad government; want of government. Shak.

Mis*gra"cious (?), a. Not gracious. [Obs.]

Mis*graff" (?), v. t. To misgraft. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*graft" (?), v. t. To graft wrongly.

Mis*ground" (?), v. t. To found erroneously. "Misgrounded conceit." Bp. Hall.

Mis*growth" (?), n. Bad growth; an unnatural or abnormal growth.

Mis*guess" (?), v. t. & i. To guess wrongly.

Mis*guid"ance (?), n. Wrong guidance.

Mis*guide" (?), v. t. To guide wrongly; to lead astray; as, to misguide the understanding.

Mis*guide", n. Misguidance; error. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*guid"ing, a. Misleading. -- Mis*guid"ing*ly, adv.

Mis*gye" (?), v. t. To misguide. [Obs.]

Mis*han"dle (?), v. t. To handle ill or wrongly; to maltreat.

Mis*hap" (?), n. Evil accident; ill luck; misfortune; mischance. Chaucer.

Secure from worldly chances and mishaps.

Shak.

Mis*hap" (?), v. i. To happen unluckily; -- used impersonally. [Obs.] "If that me mishap." Chaucer.

Mis*hap"pen (?), v. i. To happen ill or unluckily. Spenser.

Mis*hap"py (?), a. Unhappy. [Obs.]

Mish*cup" (?), n. [See Scup.] (Zoöl.) The scup. [Local, U. S.]

Mis*hear" (?), v. t. & i. To hear incorrectly.

Mish"mash` (?), n. [Cf. G. mish- mash, fr. mischen to mix.] A hotchpotch. Sir T. Herbert.

Mish"na (?), n. [NHeb. mishnh, i. e., repetition, doubling, explanation (of the divine law), fr. Heb. shnh to change, to repeat.] A collection or digest of Jewish traditions and explanations of Scripture, forming the text of the Talmud. [Written also Mischna.]

Mish"nic (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Mishna.

Mis`im*ag`i*na"tion (?), n. Wrong imagination; delusion. Bp. Hall.

Mis`im*prove" (?), v. t. To use for a bad purpose; to abuse; to misuse; as, to misimprove time, talents, advantages, etc. South.

Mis`im*prove"ment (?), n. Ill use or employment; use for a bad purpose.

Mis"in*cline" (?), v. t. To cause to have a wrong inclination or tendency; to affect wrongly.

Mis`in*fer" (?), v. t. To infer incorrectly.

Mis`in*form" (?), v. t. To give untrue information to; to inform wrongly.

Mis`in*form", v. i. To give untrue information; (with against) to calumniate. [R.] Bp. Montagu.

Mis`in*form"ant (?), n. A misinformer.

Mis*in`for*ma"tion (?), n. Untrue or incorrect information. Bacon.

Mis`in*form"er (?), n. One who gives untrue or incorrect information.

Mis`in*struct" (?), v. t. To instruct amiss.

Mis`in*struc"tion (?), n. Wrong or improper instruction.

Mis`in*tel"li*gence (?), n. 1. Wrong information; misinformation.

2. Disagreement; misunderstanding. [Obs.]

Mis`in*tend" (?), v. t. To aim amiss. [Obs.]

Mis`in*ter"pret (?), v. t. To interpret erroneously; to understand or to explain in a wrong sense.

Mis`in*ter"pret*a*ble (?), a. Capable of being misinterpreted; liable to be misunderstood.

Mis`in*ter"pre*ta"tion (?), n. The act of interpreting erroneously; a mistaken interpretation.

Mis`in*ter"pret*er (?), n. One who interprets erroneously.

Mis*join" (?), v. t. To join unfitly or improperly.

Mis*join"der (?), n. (Law) An incorrect union of parties or of causes of action in a procedure, criminal or civil. Wharton.

Mis*judge" (?), v. t. & i. To judge erroneously or unjustly; to err in judgment; to misconstrue.

Mis*judg"ment (?), n. [Written also misjudgement.] A wrong or unjust judgment.

Mis*keep" (?), v. t. To keep wrongly. Chaucer.

Mis*ken" (?), v. t. Not to know. [Obs.]

Mis"kin (?), n. [Prob. for music + - kin.] (Mus.) A little bagpipe. [Obs.] Drayton.

Mis*kin"dle (?), v. t. To kindle amiss; to inflame to a bad purpose; to excite wrongly.

Mis*know" (?), v. t. To have a mistaken notion of or about. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mis`lac*ta"tion (?), n. (Med.) Defective flow or vitiated condition of the milk.

Mis*lay" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mislaid (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mislaying.]

1. To lay in a wrong place; to ascribe to a wrong source.

The fault is generally mislaid upon nature.

Locke.

2. To lay in a place not recollected; to lose.

The . . . charter, indeed, was unfortunately mislaid: and the prayer of their petition was to obtain one of like import in its stead.

Hallam.

Mis*lay"er (?), n. One who mislays.

Mi"sle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Misled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misling (?).] [Prop. mistle, fr. mist. Cf. Mistle, Mizzle.] To rain in very fine drops, like a thick mist; to mizzle.

Mi"sle, n. A fine rain; a thick mist; mizzle.

Mis*lead" (ms*ld"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misled (- ld"); p. pr. & vb. n. Misleading.] [AS. misldan. See Mis-, and Lead to conduct.] To lead into a wrong way or path; to lead astray; to guide into error; to cause to mistake; to deceive.

Trust not servants who mislead or misinform you.

Bacon.

To give due light To the mislead and lonely traveler.

Milton.

Syn. -- To delude; deceive. See Deceive.

Mis*lead"er (?), n. One who leads into error.

Mis*lead"ing, a. Leading astray; delusive.

Mis*learn" (?), v. t. To learn wrongly.

Mis*led" (?), imp. & p. p. of Mislead.

Mis"len (?), n. See Maslin.

Mis"le*toe (?), n. See Mistletoe.

Mis*light" (?), v. t. To deceive or lead astray with a false light. Herrick.

Mis*like" (-lk"), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Misliked (lkt"); p. pr. & vb. n. Misliking.] [AS. mislcian to displease. See Like, v.] To dislike; to disapprove of; to have aversion to; as, to mislike a man.

Who may like or mislike what he says.

I. Taylor.

Mis*like", n. Dislike; disapprobation; aversion.

Mis*lik"er (?), n. One who dislikes.

Mis*lik"ing, n. Dislike; aversion.

Mis"lin (?), n. & a. See Maslin.

Mis*live" (?), v. i. To live amiss.

Mis*lodge" (?), v. t. To lodge amiss. [Obs.]

Mis*luck" (?), n. Ill luck; misfortune.

Mis"ly (?), a. Raining in very small drops.

Mis*make" (ms*mk"), v. t. To make or form amiss; to spoil in making. "Limping possibilities of mismade human nature." Mrs. Browning.

Mis*man"age (?), v. t. & i. To manage ill or improperly; as, to mismanage public affairs.

Mis*man"age*ment (?), n. Wrong or bad management; as, he failed through mismagement.

Mis*man"a*ger (?), n. One who manages ill.

Mis*mark" (?), v. t. To mark wrongly.

Mis*match" (?), v. t. To match unsuitably.

Mis*mate" (?), v. t. To mate wrongly or unsuitably; as, to mismate gloves or shoes; a mismated couple.

Mis*meas"ure (?; 135), v. t. To measure or estimate incorrectly.

Mis*meas"ure*ment, n. Wrong measurement.

Mis*me"ter (?), v. t. To give the wrong meter to, as to a line of verse. [R.] Chaucer.

Mis*name" (?), v. t. To call by the wrong name; to give a wrong or inappropriate name to.

Mis*no"mer (?), n. [OF. pref. mes- amiss, wrong (L. minus less) + F. nommer to name, L. nominare, fr. nomen name. See Name.] The misnaming of a person in a legal instrument, as in a complaint or indictment; any misnaming of a person or thing; a wrong or inapplicable name or title.

Many of the changes, by a great misnomer, called parliamentary "reforms".

Burke.

The word "synonym" is fact a misnomer.

Whatel&?;.

Mis*no"mer, v. t. To misname. [R.]

Mis*num"ber (?), v. t. To number wrongly.

Mis*nur"ture (?; 135), v. t. To nurture or train wrongly; as, to misnurture children. Bp. Hall.

Mis`o*be"di*ence (?), n. Mistaken obedience; disobedience. [Obs.] Milton.

Mis`ob*serve" (?), v. t. To observe inaccurately; to mistake in observing. Locke.

Mis`ob*serv"er (?), n. One who misobserves; one who fails to observe properly.

Mi*sog"a*mist (?), n. [Gr. misei^n to hate + &?; marriage.] A hater of marriage.

Mi*sog"a*my (?), n. [Cf. F. misogamie.] Hatre&?; of marriage.

Mi*sog"y*nist (m*sj"*nst), n. [Gr. misogy`nhs, misogy`naios; misei^n to hate + gynh`: cf. F. misogyne.] A woman hater. Fuller.

Mi*sog"y*nous (?), a. Hating women.

Mi*sog"y*ny (?; 277), n. [Gr. misogyni`a: cf. F. misogynie.] Hatred of women. Johnson.

Mi*sol"o*gy (m*sl"*j), n. [Gr. misologi`a; misei^n to hate + lo`gos discourse.] Hatred of argument or discussion; hatred of enlightenment. G. H. Lewes.

Mis`o*pin"ion, n. Wrong opinion. [Obs.]

Mis*or"der (?), v. t. To order ill; to manage erroneously; to conduct badly. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*or"der, n. Irregularity; disorder. [Obs.] Camden.

Mis*or"der*ly, a. Irregular; disorderly. [Obs.]

Mis*or`di*na"tion (?), n. Wrong ordination.

Mis"o*the`ism (?), n. [Gr. misei^n to hate + qeo`s god.] Hatred of God. De Quincey.

Mis*paint" (?), v. t. To paint ill, or wrongly.

Mis*pas"sion (?), n. Wrong passion or feeling. [Obs.]

Mis*pay" (?), v. t. [Cf. Appay.] To dissatisfy. [Obs.]

Mis*pell" (?), v. t., Mis*pend" (&?;), v. t., etc. See Misspell, Misspend, etc.

Mis*pense" (?), n. See Misspense. Bp. Hall.

Mis`per*cep"tion (?), n. Erroneous perception.

Mis`per*suade" (?), v. t. To persuade amiss.

Mis`per*sua"sion (?), n. A false persuasion; wrong notion or opinion. Dr. H. More.

Mis*pick"el (?), n. [G.] (Min.) Arsenical iron pyrites; arsenopyrite.

Mis*place" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misplaced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misplacing (?).] To put in a wrong place; to set or place on an improper or unworthy object; as, he misplaced his confidence.

Mis*place"ment (?), n. The act of misplacing, or the state of being misplaced.

Mis*plead" (?), v. i. To err in pleading.

Mis*plead"ing, n. (Law) An error in pleading.

Mis*point" (?), v. t. To point improperly; to punctuate wrongly.

Mis*pol"i*cy (?), n. Wrong policy; impolicy.

Mis*prac"tice (?), n. Wrong practice.

Mis*praise" (?), v. t. To praise amiss.

Mis*print" (?), v. t. To print wrong.

Mis*print", n. A mistake in printing; a deviation from the copy; as, a book full of misprints.

Mis*prise" (?), v. t. See Misprize. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*prise", v. t. [OF. mesprise mistake, F. méprise, fr. mespris, masc., mesprise, fem., p. p. of mesprendre to mistake; F. méprendre; pref. mes- amiss + prendre to take, L. prehendere.] To mistake. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*pri"sion (?), n. [LL. misprisio, or OF. mesprison, prop., a mistaking, but confused with OF. mespris contempt, F. mépris. See 2d Misprise, Misprize, Prison.]

1. The act of misprising; misapprehension; misconception; mistake. [Archaic] Fuller.

The misprision of this passage has aided in fostering the delusive notion.

Hare.

2. Neglect; undervaluing; contempt. [Obs.] Shak.

3. (Law) A neglect, negligence, or contempt.

In its larger and older sense it was used to signify "every considerable misdemeanor which has not a certain name given to it in the law." Russell.

In a more modern sense it is applied exclusively to two offenses: - - 1. Misprision of treason, which is omission to notify the authorities of an act of treason by a person cognizant thereof. Stephen. 2. Misprision of felony, which is a concealment of a felony by a person cognizant thereof. Stephen.

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Mis*prize" (ms*prz"), v. t. [OF. mesprisier to deprise, F. mépriser; pref. amiss, wrong (L. minus less + LL. pretium price. See price, Prize, v.] To slight or undervalue.

O, for those vanished hours, so much misprized!

Hillhouse.

I do not blame them, madam, nor misprize.

Mrs. Browning.

Mis`pro*ceed"ing (?), n. Wrong or irregular proceding.

Mis`pro*fess" (?), v. i. To make a false profession; to make pretensions to skill which is not possessed.

Mis`pro*fess", v. t. To make a false profession of.

Mis`pro*nounce" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Mispronounced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mispronouncing (?).] To pronounce incorrectly.

Mis`pro*nun`ci*a"tion (? or ?), n. Wrong or improper pronunciation.

Mis`pro*por"tion (?), v. t. To give wrong proportions to; to join without due proportion.

Mis*proud", a. Viciously proud. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*punc"tu*ate (?; 135), v. t. To punctuate wrongly or incorrectly.

Mis`quo*ta"tion (?), n. Erroneous or inaccurate quotation.

Mis*quote" (?), v. t. & i. To quote erroneously or incorrectly. Shak.

Mis*raise" (?), v. t. To raise or excite unreasonable. "Misraised fury." Bp. Hall.

Mis*rate" (?), v. t. To rate erroneously.

Mis*read" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misread (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misreading (?).] To read amiss; to misunderstand in reading.

Mis`re*ceive" (?), v. t. To receive wrongly.

Mis`re*cit"al (?), n. An inaccurate recital.

Mis`re*cite" (?), v. t. & i. To recite erroneously.

Mis*reck"on (?), v. t. & i. To reckon wrongly; to miscalculate. Swift.

Mis*reck"on*ing, n. An erroneous computation.

Mis*rec`ol*lect" (?), v. t. & i. To have an erroneous remembrance of; to suppose erroneously that one recollects. Hitchcock.

Mis*rec`ol*lec"tion (?), n. Erroneous or inaccurate recollection.

Mis`re*form" (?), v. t. To reform wrongly or imperfectly.

Mis`re*gard" (?), n. Wrong understanding; misconstruction. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*reg"u*late (?), v. t. To regulate wrongly or imperfectly; to fail to regulate.

Mis`re*hearse" (?), v. t. To rehearse or quote incorrectly. Sir T. More.

Mis`re*late" (?), v. t. To relate inaccurately.

Mis`re*la"tion (?), n. Erroneous relation or narration. Abp. Bramhall.

Mis`re*li"gion (?), n. False religion. [R.]

Mis`re*mem"ber (?), v. t. & i. To mistake in remembering; not to remember correctly. Sir T. More.

Mis*ren"der (?), v. t. To render wrongly; to translate or recite wrongly. Boyle.

Mis`re*peat" (?), v. t. To repeat wrongly; to give a wrong version of. Gov. Winthrop.

Mis`re*port" (?), v. t. & i. To report erroneously; to give an incorrect account of. Locke.

Mis`re*port", n. An erroneous report; a false or incorrect account given. Denham. South.

Mis*rep`re*sent" (?), v. t. To represent incorrectly (almost always, unfavorably); to give a false or erroneous representation of, either maliciously, ignorantly, or carelessly. Swift.

Mis*rep`re*sent", v. i. To make an incorrect or untrue representation. Milton.

Mis*rep`re*sen*ta"tion (?), n. Untrue representation; false or incorrect statement or account; -- usually unfavorable to the thing represented; as, a misrepresentation of a person's motives. Sydney Smith.

In popular use, this word often conveys the idea of intentional untruth.

Mis*rep`re*sent"a*tive (?), a. Tending to convey a wrong impression; misrepresenting.

Mis*rep`re*sent"er (?), n. One who misrepresents.

Mis`re*pute" (?), v. t. To have in wrong estimation; to repute or estimate erroneously.

Mis*rule" (?), v. t. & i. To rule badly; to misgovern.

Mis*rule", n. 1. The act, or the result, of misruling.

2. Disorder; confusion; tumult from insubordination.

Enormous riot and misrule surveyed.

Pope.

Abbot of Misrule, or Lord of Misrule. See under Abbot, and Lord.

Mis*rul"y (?), a. Unruly. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Miss (ms), n.; pl. Misses (-sz). [Contr. fr. mistress.] 1. A title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a girl or a woman who has not been married. See Mistress, 5.

There is diversity of usage in the application of this title to two or more persons of the same name. We may write either the Miss Browns or the Misses Brown.

2. A young unmarried woman or a girl; as, she is a miss of sixteen.

Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses, Was busy 'mongst the maids and misses.

Cawthorn.

3. A kept mistress. See Mistress, 4. [Obs.] Evelyn.

4. (Card Playing) In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.

Miss, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Missed (mst); p. pr. & vb. n. Missing.] [AS. missan; akin to D. & G. missen, OHG. missan, Icel. missa, Sw. mista, Dan. miste. &radic;100. See Mis-, pref.] 1. To fail of hitting, reaching, getting, finding, seeing, hearing, etc.; as, to miss the mark one shoots at; to miss the train by being late; to miss opportunites of getting knowledge; to miss the point or meaning of something said.

When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right.

Locke.

2. To omit; to fail to have or to do; to get without; to dispense with; -- now seldom applied to persons.

She would never miss, one day, A walk so fine, a sight so gay.

Prior.

We cannot miss him; he does make our fire, Fetch in our wood.

Shak.

3. To discover the absence or omission of; to feel the want of; to mourn the loss of; to want. Shak.

Neither missed we anything . . . Nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him.

1 Sam. xxv. 15, 21.

What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss.

Milton.

To miss stays. (Naut.) See under Stay.

Miss (?), v. i. 1. To fail to hit; to fly wide; to deviate from the true direction.

Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss.

Bacon.

Flying bullets now, To execute his rage, appear too slow; They miss, or sweep but common souls away.

Waller.

2. To fail to obtain, learn, or find; -- with of.

Upon the least reflection, we can not miss of them.

Atterbury.

3. To go wrong; to err. [Obs.]

Amongst the angels, a whole legion Of wicked sprites did fall from happy bliss; What wonder then if one, of women all, did miss?

Spenser.

4. To be absent, deficient, or wanting. [Obs.] See Missing, a.

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Shak.

Miss, n. 1. The act of missing; failure to hit, reach, find, obtain, etc.

2. Loss; want; felt absence. [Obs.]

There will be no great miss of those which are lost.

Locke.

3. Mistake; error; fault. Shak.

He did without any great miss in the hardest points of grammar.

Ascham.

4. Harm from mistake. [Obs.] Spenser.

||Mis"sa (?), n.; pl. Missæ (#). [LL. See 1st Mass.] (R.C.Ch.) The ||service or sacrifice of the Mass.

Mis"sal (?), n. [LL. missale, liber missalis, from missa mass: cf. F. missel. See 1st Mass.] The book containing the service of the Mass for the entire year; a Mass book.

Mis"sal, a. Of or pertaining to the Mass, or to a missal or Mass book. Bp. Hall.

Mis*say" (?), v. t. 1. To say wrongly.

2. To speak evil of; to slander. [Obs.]

Mis*say", v. i. To speak ill. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*seek" (?), v. t. To seek for wrongly. [Obs.]

Mis*seem" (?), v. i. 1. To make a false appearance. [Obs.]

2. To misbecome; to be misbecoming. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis"sel (?), n. Mistletoe. [Obs.]

Missel bird, Missel thrush (Zoöl.), a large European thrush (Turdus viscivorus) which feeds on the berries of the mistletoe; -- called also mistletoe thrush and missel.

Mis"sel*dine (?), n. [See Mistletoe.] [Written also misselden.] The mistletoe. [Obs.] Baret.

Mis"sel*toe (?), n. See Mistletoe.

Mis*sem"blance (?), n. False resemblance or semblance. [Obs.]

Mis*send" (?), v. t. To send amiss or incorrectly.

Mis*serve" (?), v. t. & i. To serve unfaithfully.

Mis*set" (ms*st"), v. t. To set or place wrongly.

Mis*shape" (?), v. t. To shape ill; to give an ill or unnatural from to; to deform. "Figures monstrous and misshaped." Pope.

Mis*shap"en (?), a. Having a bad or ugly form. "The mountains are misshapen." Bentley.

-- Mis*shap"en*ly, adv. -- Mis*shap"en*ness, n.

Mis*sheathed" (?), a. Sheathed by mistake; wrongly sheathed; sheathed in a wrong place. Shak.

Mis*sif"i*cate (?), v. i. [LL. missa Mass + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See fy- .] To perform Mass. [Obs.] Milton.

Mis"sile (?), a. [L. missils, fr. mittere, missum, to cause to go, to send, to throw; cf. Lith. mesti to throw: cf. F. missile. Cf. Admit, Dismiss, Mass the religious service, Message, Mission.] Capable of being thrown; adapted for hurling or to be projected from the hand, or from any instrument or engine, so as to strike an object at a distance.

We bend the bow, or wing the missile dart.

Pope.

Mis"sile, n. [L. missile.] A weapon thrown or projected or intended to be projected, as a lance, an arrow, or a bullet.

Miss"ing (?), a. [From Miss, v. i.] Absent from the place where it was expected to be found; lost; wanting; not present when called or looked for.

Neither was there aught missing unto them.

1 Sam. xxv. 7.

For a time caught up to God, as once Moses was in the mount, and missing long.

Milton.

Miss"ing*ly, adv. With a sense of loss. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis"sion (?), n. [L. missio, fr. mittere, missum, to send: cf. F. mission. See Missile.] 1. The act of sending, or the state of being sent; a being sent or delegated by authority, with certain powers for transacting business; comission.

Whose glorious deeds, but in these fields of late, Made emulous missions 'mongst the gods themselves.

Shak.

2. That with which a messenger or agent is charged; an errand; business or duty on which one is sent; a commission.

How to begin, how to accomplish best His end of being on earth, and mission high.

Milton.

3. Persons sent; any number of persons appointed to perform any service; a delegation; an embassy.

In these ships there should be a mission of three of the fellows or brethren of Solomon's house.

Bacon.

4. An assotiation or organization of missionaries; a station or residence of missionaries.

5. An organization for worship and work, dependent on one or more churches.

6. A course of extraordinary sermons and services at a particular place and time for the special purpose of quickening the faith and zeal participants, and of converting unbelievers. Addis & Arnold.

7. Dismission; discharge from service. [Obs.]

Mission school. (a) A school connected with a mission and conducted by missionaries. (b) A school for the religious instruction of children not having regular church privileges.

Syn. -- Message; errand; commission; deputation.

Mis"sion (?), v. t. To send on a mission. [Mostly used in the form of the past participle.] Keats.

Mis"sion*ary (?), n.; pl. Missionaries (#). [Cf. F. missionnaire. See Mission, n.] One who is sent on a mission; especially, one sent to propagate religion. Swift.

Missionary apostolic, a Roman Catholic missionary sent by commission from the pope.

Mis"sion*a*ry, a. Of or pertaining to missions; as, a missionary meeting; a missionary fund.

Mis"sion*er (?), n. A missionary; an envoy; one who conducts a mission. See Mission, n., 6. "Like mighty missioner you come." Dryden.

Mis"sis (?), n. A mistress; a wife; -- so used by the illiterate. G. Eliot.

Miss"ish, a. Like a miss; prim; affected; sentimental.

-- Miss"ish*ness, n.

Mis*sit" (?), v. t. To sit badly or imperfectly upon; to misbecome. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis"sive (?), a. [See Missive, n.] 1. Specially sent; intended or prepared to be sent; as, a letter missive. Ayliffe.

2. Missile. "The missive weapons fly." Dryden.

Letters missive, letters conveying the permission, comand, or advice of a superior authority, as a sovereign. They are addressed and sent to some certain person or persons, and are distinguished from letters patent, which are addressed to the public.

Mis"sive, n. [F. lettre missive. See Mission, n.] 1. That which is sent; a writing containing a message.

2. One who is sent; a messenger. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*sound" (?), v. t. To sound wrongly; to utter or pronounce incorrectly. E,Hall.

Mis*speak" (?), v. i. To err in speaking.

Mis*speak", v. t. To utter wrongly.

Mis*speech" (?), n. Wrong speech. [Obs.]

Mis*spell" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misspelled (?), or Misspelt (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Misspelling.] To spell incorrectly.

Mis*spell"ing, n. A wrong spelling.

Mis*spend" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misspent (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misspending.] To spend amiss or for wrong purposes; to squander; to waste; as, to misspend time or money. J. Philips.

Mis*spend"er (?), n. One who misspends.

Mis*spense" (?), n. A spending improperly; a wasting. [Obs.] Barrow.

Mis*spent" (?), imp. & p. p. of Misspend.

Mis*state" (?), v. t. To state wrongly; as, to misstate a question in debate. Bp. Sanderson.

Mis*state"ment (?), n. An incorrect statement.

Mis*stayed" (?), a. (Naut.) Having missed stays; -- said of a ship.

Mis*step", n. A wrong step; an error of conduct.

Mis*step", v. i. To take a wrong step; to go astray.

Mis`suc*cess" (?), n. Failure. [Obs.]

Mis`sug*ges"tion (? or ?), n. Wrong or evil suggestion. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mis`sum*ma"tion, n. Wrong summation.

Mis*swear" (?), v. i. To swear falsely.

Mis"sy (?), n. (Min.) See Misy.

Mis"sy, n. An affectionate, or contemptuous, form of miss; a young girl; a miss. -- a. Like a miss, or girl.

Mist (mst), n. [AS. mist; akin to D. & Sw. mist, Icel. mistr, G. mist dung, Goth. maíhstus, AS. mgan to make water, Icel. mga, Lith. migla mist, Russ. mgla, L. mingere, meiere, to make water, Gr. &?; to make water, &?; mist, Skr. mih to make water, n., a mist mgha cloud. &radic;102. Cf. Misle, Mizzle, Mixen.] 1. Visible watery vapor suspended in the atmosphere, at or near the surface of the earth; fog.

2. Coarse, watery vapor, floating or falling in visible particles, approaching the form of rain; as, Scotch mist.

3. Hence, anything which dims or darkens, and obscures or intercepts vision.

His passion cast a mist before his sense.

Dryden.

Mist flower (Bot.), a composite plant (Eupatorium cœlestinum), having heart-shaped leaves, and corymbs of lavender-blue flowers. It is found in the Western and Southern United States.

Mist, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misted; p. pr. & vb. n. Misting.] To cloud; to cover with mist; to dim. Shak.

Mist, v. i. To rain in very fine drops; as, it mists.

Mis*tak"a*ble (?), a. Liable to be mistaken; capable of being misconceived. Sir T. Browne.

Mis*take" (ms*tk"), v. t. [imp. & obs. p. p. Mistook (- tk"); p. p. Mistaken (-tk"'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Mistaking.] [Pref. mis- + take: cf. Icel. mistaka.] 1. To take or choose wrongly. [Obs. or R.] Shak.

2. To take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand misapprehend, or misconceive; as, to mistake a remark; to mistake one's meaning. Locke.

My father's purposes have been mistook.

Shak.

3. To substitute in thought or perception; as, to mistake one person for another.

A man may mistake the love of virtue for the practice of it.

Johnson.

4. To have a wrong idea of in respect of character, qualities, etc.; to misjudge.

Mistake me not so much, To think my poverty is treacherous.

Shak.

Mis*take", v. i. To err in knowledge, perception, opinion, or judgment; to commit an unintentional error.

Servants mistake, and sometimes occasion misunderstanding among friends.

Swift.

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Mis*take" (ms*tk"), n. 1. An apprehending wrongly; a misconception; a misunderstanding; a fault in opinion or judgment; an unintentional error of conduct.

Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake.

Tillotson.

2. (Law) Misconception, error, which when non-negligent may be ground for rescinding a contract, or for refusing to perform it.

No mistake, surely; without fail; as, it will happen at the appointed time, and no mistake. [Low]

Syn. -- Blunder; error; bull. See Blunder.

Mis*tak"en (?), p. a. 1. Being in error; judging wrongly; having a wrong opinion or a misconception; as, a mistaken man; he is mistaken.

2. Erroneous; wrong; as, a mistaken notion.

Mis*tak"en*ly, adv. By mistake. Goldsmith.

Mis*tak"en*ness, n. Erroneousness.

Mis*tak"er (?), n. One who mistakes.

Well meaning ignorance of some mistakers.

Bp. Hall.

Mis*tak"ing, n. An error; a mistake. Shak.

Mis*tak"ing*ly, adv. Erroneously.

Mis*taught" (ms*tt"), a. [See Misteach.] Wrongly taught; as, a mistaught youth. L'Estrange.

Mis*teach" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mistaught (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Misteaching.] [AS. mistcan.] To teach wrongly; to instruct erroneously.

Mis*tell" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mistold (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mistelling.] To tell erroneously.

Mis*tem"per (?), v. t. To temper ill; to disorder; as, to mistemper one's head. Warner.

This inundation of mistempered humor.

Shak.

Mis"ter (?), n. [See Master, and cf. Mistress.] A title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a man or youth. It is usually written in the abbreviated form Mr.

To call your name, inquire your where, Or what you think of Mister Some-one's book, Or Mister Other's marriage or decease.

Mrs. Browning.

Mis"ter, v. t. To address or mention by the title Mr.; as, he mistered me in a formal way. [Colloq.]

Mis"ter, n. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.] [Written also mester.] 1. A trade, art, or occupation. [Obs.]

In youth he learned had a good mester.

Chaucer.

2. Manner; kind; sort. [Obs.] Spenser.

But telleth me what mester men ye be.

Chaucer.

3. Need; necessity. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

Mis"ter, v. i. To be needful or of use. [Obs.]

As for my name, it mistereth not to tell.

Spenser.

Mis*term" (?), v. t. To call by a wrong name; to miscall.

Mis"ter*y (?), n. See Mystery, a trade.

Mist"ful (?), a. Clouded with, or as with, mist.

Mis*think" (?), v. i. [See Think.] To think wrongly. [Obs.] "Adam misthought of her." Milton.

Mis*think", v. t. To have erroneous thoughts or judgment of; to think ill of. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*thought" (?), n. Erroneous thought; mistaken opinion; error. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*thrive" (?), v. i. To thrive poorly; to be not thrifty or prosperous. [Obs.]

Mis*throw" (?), v. t. To throw wrongly.

{ Mis"tic (?), Mis"ti*co (?), } n. [Sp. místico.] A kind of small sailing vessel used in the Mediterranean. It is rigged partly like a xebec, and partly like a felucca.

Mis*tide" (?), v. i. [AS. mistdan. See Tide.] To happen or come to pass unfortunately; also, to suffer evil fortune. [Obs.]

{ ||Mis`ti`gris" (?), ||Mis`ti`gri" }, n. [F. mistigri.] A variety of the game of poker in which the joker is used, and called mistigris or mistigri.

Mist"i*head (?), n. Mistiness. [Obs.]

Mist"i*ly, adv. With mist; darkly; obscurely.

Mis*time" (?), v. t. [AS. mistmain to turn out ill.] To time wrongly; not to adapt to the time.

Mist"i*ness (?), n. State of being misty.

Mis"tion (?), n. [L. mistio, mixtio. See Mix, and cf. Mixtion.] Mixture. [Obs.]

Mis*ti"tle (?), v. t. To call by a wrong title.

Mis"tle (?), v. i. [Eng. mist. See Misle, and Mizzle.] To fall in very fine drops, as rain.

Mis"tle*toe (?), n. [AS. misteltn; mistel mistletoe + tn twig. AS. mistel is akin of D., G., Dan. & Sw. mistel, OHG. mistil, Icel. mistilteinn; and AS. tn to D. teen, OHG. zein, Icel. teinn, Goth. tains. Cf. Missel.] (Bot.) A parasitic evergreen plant of Europe (Viscum album), bearing a glutinous fruit. When found upon the oak, where it is rare, it was an object of superstitious regard among the Druids. A bird lime is prepared from its fruit. [Written also misletoe, misseltoe, and mistleto.] Lindley. Loudon.

The mistletoe of the United States is Phoradendron flavescens, having broader leaves than the European kind. In different regions various similar plants are called by this name.

||Mis"to*nusk (?), n. [From the Indian name.] (Zoöl.) The American ||badger.

Mis*took" (?), imp. & obs. p. p. of Mistake.

Mis`tra*di"tion (?), n. A wrong tradition. "Monsters of mistradition." Tennyson.

Mis*train" (?), v. t. To train amiss.

Mis"tral (?), n. [F., fr. Provençal.] A violent and cold northwest wind experienced in the Mediterranean provinces of France, etc.

Mis`trans*late" (?), v. t. To translate erroneously.

Mis`trans*la"tion (?), n. Wrong translation.

Mis`trans*port" (?), v. t. To carry away or mislead wrongfully, as by passion. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mis*tread"ing (?), n. Misstep; misbehavior. "To punish my mistreadings." Shak.

Mis*treat" (?), v. t. To treat amiss; to abuse.

Mis*treat"ment (?), n. Wrong treatment.

Mis"tress (?), n. [OE. maistress, OF. maistresse, F. maîtresse, LL. magistrissa, for L. magistra, fem. of magister. See Master, Mister, and cf. Miss a young woman.] 1. A woman having power, authority, or ownership; a woman who exercises authority, is chief, etc.; the female head of a family, a school, etc.

The late queen's gentlewoman! a knight's daughter! To be her mistress' mistress!

Shak.

2. A woman well skilled in anything, or having the mastery over it.

A letter desires all young wives to make themselves mistresses of Wingate's Arithmetic.

Addison.

3. A woman regarded with love and devotion; she who has command over one's heart; a beloved object; a sweetheart. [Poetic] Clarendon.

4. A woman filling the place, but without the rights, of a wife; a concubine; a loose woman with whom one consorts habitually. Spectator.

5. A title of courtesy formerly prefixed to the name of a woman, married or unmarried, but now superseded by the contracted forms, Mrs., for a married, and Miss, for an unmarried, woman.

Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul).

Cowper.

6. A married woman; a wife. [Scot.]

Several of the neighboring mistresses had assembled to witness the event of this memorable evening.

Sir W. Scott.

7. The old name of the jack at bowls. Beau. & Fl.

To be one's own mistress, to be exempt from control by another person.

Mis"tress, v. i. To wait upon a mistress; to be courting. [Obs.] Donne.

Mis"tress*ship, n. 1. Female rule or dominion.

2. Ladyship, a style of address; -- with the personal pronoun. [Obs.] Massinger.

Mis*tri"al (?), n. (Law) A false or erroneous trial; a trial which has no result.

Mis*trist" (?), v. t. To mistrust. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*trow" (?), v. i. To think wrongly. [Obs.]

Mis*trust" (?), n. Want of confidence or trust; suspicion; distrust. Milton.

Mis*trust", v. t. 1. To regard with jealousy or suspicion; to suspect; to doubt the integrity of; to distrust.

I will never mistrust my wife again.

Shak.

2. To forebode as near, or likely to occur; to surmise.

By a divine instinct, men's minds mistrust Ensuing dangers.

Shak.

Mis*trust"er (?), n. One who mistrusts.

Mis*trust"ful (?), a. Having or causing mistrust, suspicions, or forebodings.

Their light blown out in some mistrustful wood.

Shak.

-- Mis*trust"ful*ly, adv. -- Mis*trust"ful*ness, n.

Mis*trust"ing*ly, adv. With distrust or suspicion.

Mis*trust"less, a. Having no mistrust or suspicion.

The swain mistrustless of his smutted face.

Goldsmith.

Mis*tune" (?), v. t. To tune wrongly.

||Mis*tu"ra (?), n. [L. See Mixture.] (Med.) (a) A mingled compound in ||which different ingredients are contained in a liquid state; a ||mixture. See Mixture, n., 4. (b) Sometimes, a liquid medicine ||containing very active substances, and which can only be administered ||by drops. Dunglison.

Mis*turn" (?), v. t. To turn amiss; to pervert.

Mis*tu"tor (?), v. t. To instruct amiss.

Mist"y (mst"), a. [Compar. Mistier (-*r); superl. Mistiest.] [AS. mistig. See Mist. In some senses misty has been confused with mystic.] 1. Accompanied with mist; characterized by the presence of mist; obscured by, or overspread with, mist; as, misty weather; misty mountains; a misty atmosphere.

2. Obscured as if by mist; dim; obscure; clouded; as, misty sight.

The more I muse therein [theology], The mistier it seemeth.

Piers Plowman.

Mis*un`der*stand" (ms*n`dr*stnd"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misunderstood (- std"); p. pr. & vb. n. Misunderstanding.] To misconceive; to mistake; to miscomprehend; to take in a wrong sense.

Mis*un`der*stand"er (-r), n. One who misunderstands. Sir T. More.

Mis*un`der*stand"ing, n. 1. Mistake of the meaning; error; misconception. Bacon.

2. Disagreement; difference of opinion; dissension; quarrel. "Misunderstandings among friends." Swift.

||Mi`su*ra"to (m`s*rä"t), a. [It.] (Mus.) Measured; -- a direction to ||perform a passage in strict or measured time.

Mis*us"age (ms*z"j), n. [Cf. F. mésusage.] Bad treatment; abuse. Spenser.

Mis*use" (-z"), v. t. [F. mésuser. See Mis-, prefix from French, and Use.] 1. To treat or use improperly; to use to a bad purpose; to misapply; as, to misuse one's talents. South.

The sweet poison of misused wine.

Milton.

2. To abuse; to treat ill.

O, she misused me past the endurance of a block.

Shak.

Syn. -- To maltreat; abuse; misemploy; misapply.

Mis*use" (ms*s"), n. 1. Wrong use; misapplication; erroneous or improper use.

Words little suspected for any such misuse.

Locke.

2. Violence, or its effects. [Obs.] Shak.

Mis*use"ment (?), n. Misuse. [Obs.]

Mis*us"er (?), n. 1. One who misuses. "Wretched misusers of language." Coleridge.

2. (Law) Unlawful use of a right; use in excess of, or varying from, one's right. Bouvier.

Mis*val"ue (?), v. t. To value wrongly or too little; to undervalue.

But for I am so young, I dread my work Wot be misvalued both of old and young.

W. Browne.

Mis*vouch" (?), v. t. To vouch falsely.

Mis*wan"der (?), v. i. To wander in a wrong path; to stray; to go astray. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*way" (?), n. A wrong way. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mis*wear" (?), v. t. To wear ill. [Obs.] Bacon.

Mis*wed" (?), v. t. To wed improperly.

Mis*ween" (?), v. i. To ween amiss; to misjudge; to distrust; to be mistaken. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mis*wend" (?), v. i. To go wrong; to go astray. [Obs.] "The world is miswent." Gower.

Mis*word" (?), v. t. To word wrongly; as, to misword a message, or a sentence.

Mis*word", n. A word wrongly spoken; a cross word. [Obs.] Sylvester. Breton.

Mis*wor"ship (?), n. Wrong or false worship; mistaken practices in religion. Bp. Hall.

Such hideous jungle of misworships.

Carlyle.

Mis*wor"ship, v. t. To worship wrongly. Bp. Hall.

Mis*wor"ship*er (?), n. One who worships wrongly.

Mis*write" (?), v. t. To write incorrectly.

Mis*wrought" (?), a. Badly wrought. Bacon.

Mi"sy (?), n. [Cf. L. misy a mineral, perh. copperas, Gr. &?;.] (Min.) An impure yellow sulphate of iron; yellow copperas or copiapite.

Mis*yoke" (?), v. t. To yoke improperly.

Mis*zeal"ous (?), a. Mistakenly zealous. [Obs.]

Mite (mt), n. [AS. mte mite (in sense 1); akin to LG. mite, D. mijt, G. miete, OHG. mza; cf. Goth. maitan to cut.] 1. (Zoöl.) A minute arachnid, of the order Acarina, of which there are many species; as, the cheese mite, sugar mite, harvest mite, etc. See Acarina.

2. [D. mijt; prob. the same word.] A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing. The name is also applied to a small coin used in Palestine in the time of Christ.

Two mites, which make a farthing.

Mark xii. 49.

3. A small weight; one twentieth of a grain.

4. Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle.

For in effect they be not worth a myte.

Chaucer.

{ Mi"ter, Mi"tre } (?), n. [F. mitre, fr. L. mitra headband, turban, Gr. &?;.] 1. A covering for the head, worn on solemn occasions by church dignitaries. It has been made in many forms, the present form being a lofty cap with two points or peaks. Fairholt.

2. The surface forming the beveled end or edge of a piece where a miter joint is made; also, a joint formed or a junction effected by two beveled ends or edges; a miter joint.

3. (Numis.) A sort of base money or coin.

Miter box (Carp. & Print.), an apparatus for guiding a handsaw at the proper angle in making a miter joint; esp., a wooden or metal trough with vertical kerfs in its upright sides, for guides. -- Miter dovetail (Carp.), a kind of dovetail for a miter joint in which there is only one joint line visible, and that at the angle. -- Miter gauge (Carp.), a gauge for determining the angle of a miter. -- Miter joint, a joint formed by pieces matched and united upon a line bisecting the angle of junction, as by the beveled ends of two pieces of molding or brass rule, etc. The term is used especially when the pieces form a right angle. See Miter, 2. -- Miter shell (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of marine univalve shells of the genus Mitra. -- Miter square (Carp.), a bevel with an immovable arm at an angle of 45°, for striking lines on stuff to be mitered; also, a square with an arm adjustable to any angle. -- Miter wheels, a pair of bevel gears, of equal diameter, adapted for working together, usually with their axes at right angles.

{ Mi"ter, Mi"tre }, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mitered (?) or Mitred; p. pr. & vb. n. Mitering (?) or Mitring.] 1. To place a miter upon; to adorn with a miter. "Mitered locks." Milton.

2. To match together, as two pieces of molding or brass rule on a line bisecting the angle of junction; to bevel the ends or edges of, for the purpose of matching together at an angle.

{ Mi"ter, Mi"tre }, v. i. To meet and match together, as two pieces of molding, on a line bisecting the angle of junction.

Mi"ter*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Mitella, -- slender, perennial herbs with a pod slightly resembling a bishop's miter; bishop's cap.

False miterwort, a white-flowered perennial herb of the United States (Tiarella cardifolia).

Mith"ic (?), a. See Mythic.

||Mi"thras (?), n. [L., from Gr. &?;.] The sun god of the Persians.

Mith"ri*date (?), n. (Med.) An antidote against poison, or a composition in form of an electuary, supposed to serve either as a remedy or a preservative against poison; an alexipharmic; -- so called from King Mithridates, its reputed inventor.

[Love is] a drop of the true elixir; no mithridate so effectual against the infection of vice.

Southey.

<! p. 933 !>

Mith`ri*dat"ic (mth`r*dt"k), a. Of or pertaining to King Mithridates, or to a mithridate.

Mit"i*ga*ble (?), a. Admitting of mitigation; that may be mitigated.

Mit"i*gant (?), a. [L. mitigans, p. pr. of mitigare. See Mitigate.] Tending to mitigate; mitigating; lenitive. Johnson.

Mit"i*gate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mitigated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mitigating.] [L. mitigatus, p. p. of mitigare to soften, mitigate; mitis mild, soft + the root of agere to do, drive.] 1. To make less severe, intense, harsh, rigorous, painful, etc.; to soften; to meliorate; to alleviate; to diminish; to lessen; as, to mitigate heat or cold; to mitigate grief.

2. To make mild and accessible; to mollify; - - applied to persons. [Obs.]

This opinion . . . mitigated kings into companions.

Burke.

Syn. -- To alleviate; assuage; allay. See Alleviate.

Mit`i*ga"tion (?), n. [OE. mitigacioun, F. mitigation, fr. L. mitigatio.] The act of mitigating, or the state of being mitigated; abatement or diminution of anything painful, harsh, severe, afflictive, or calamitous; as, the mitigation of pain, grief, rigor, severity, punishment, or penalty.

Syn. -- Alleviation; abatement; relief.

Mit"i*ga*tive (?), a. [L. mitigativus: cf. F. mitigatif.] Tending to mitigate; alleviating.

Mit"i*ga`tor (?), n. One who, or that which, mitigates.

Mit"i*ga*to*ry (?), a. Tending to mitigate or alleviate; mitigative.

Mit"ing (?), n. [From Mite.] A little one; -- used as a term of endearment. [Obs.] Skelton.

Mi"tome (?), n. [Gr. &?; a thread.] (Biol.) The denser part of the protoplasm of a cell.

||Mi*to"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a thread.] (Biol.) See ||Karyokinesis.

||Mi`traille" (?), n. [F. See Mitrailleur.] Shot or bits of iron used ||sometimes in loading cannon.

||Mi`tra`illeur" (?), n. [F.] (Mil.) One who serves a mitrailleuse.

||Mi`tra`illeuse" (?), n. [F., fr. mitrailler to fire grapeshot, fr. ||mitraille old iron, grapeshot, dim. of OF. mite a mite.] (Mil.) A ||breech-loading machine gun consisting of a number of barrels fitted ||together, so arranged that the barrels can be fired simultaneously, ||or successively, and rapidly.

Mi"tral (?), a. [Cf. F. mitral. See Miter.] Pertaining to a miter; resembling a miter; as, the mitral valve between the left auricle and left ventricle of the heart.

Mi"tre (?), n. & v. See Miter.

Mit"ri*form (?), a. [Miter + -form: cf. F. mitriforme.] Having the form of a miter, or a peaked cap; as, a mitriform calyptra. Gray.

Mitt (?), n. [Abbrev. fr. mitten.] A mitten; also, a covering for the wrist and hand and not for the fingers.

Mit"ten (?), n. [OE. mitaine, meteyn, F. mitaine, perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. miotog, Gael. miotag, Ir. & Gael. mutan a muff, a thick glove. Cf. Mitt.] 1. A covering for the hand, worn to defend it from cold or injury. It differs from a glove in not having a separate sheath for each finger. Chaucer.

2. A cover for the wrist and forearm.

To give the mitten to, to dismiss as a lover; to reject the suit of. [Colloq.] -- To handle without mittens, to treat roughly; to handle without gloves. [Colloq.]

Mit"tened (?), a. Covered with a mitten or mittens. "Mittened hands." Whittier.

Mit"tent (?), a. [L. mittens, p. pr. of mittere to send.] Sending forth; emitting. [Obs.] Wiseman.

||Mit"ti*mus (?), n. [L., we send, fr. mittere to send.] (Law) (a) A ||precept or warrant granted by a justice for committing to prison a ||party charged with crime; a warrant of commitment to prison. Burrill. ||(b) A writ for removing records from one court to another. Brande & ||C.

Mit"tler's green` (?). (Chem.) A pigment of a green color, the chief constituent of which is oxide of chromium.

Mit"ty (?), n. The stormy petrel. [Prov. Eng.]

Mi"tu (m"t), n. [Braz. mitu poranga.] (Zoöl.) A South American curassow of the genus Mitua.

Mit"y (?), a. [From Mite.] Having, or abounding with, mites.

Mix (mks), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mixed (mkst) (less properly Mixt); p. pr. & vb. n. Mixing.] [AS. miscan; akin to OHG. misken, G. mischen, Russ. mieshate, W. mysgu, Gael. measg, L. miscere, mixtum, Gr. mi`sgein, migny`nai, Skr. miçra mixed. The English word has been influenced by L. miscere, mixtum (cf. Mixture), and even the AS. miscan may have been borrowed fr. L. miscere. Cf. Admix, Mash to bruise, Meddle.] 1. To cause a promiscuous interpenetration of the parts of, as of two or more substances with each other, or of one substance with others; to unite or blend into one mass or compound, as by stirring together; to mingle; to blend; as, to mix flour and salt; to mix wines.

Fair persuasions mixed with sugared words.

Shak.

2. To unite with in company; to join; to associate.

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people.

Hos. vii. 8.

3. To form by mingling; to produce by the stirring together of ingredients; to compound of different parts.

Hast thou no poison mixed?

Shak.

I have chosen an argument mixed of religious and civil considerations.

Bacon.

Mix (?), v. i. 1. To become united into a compound; to be blended promiscuously together.

2. To associate; to mingle.

He had mixed Again in fancied safety with his kind.

Byron.

Mix"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being mixed.

Mixed (?), a. Formed by mixing; united; mingled; blended. See Mix, v. t. & i.

Mixed action (Law), a suit combining the properties of a real and a personal action. -- Mixed angle, a mixtilineal angle. -- Mixed fabric, a textile fabric composed of two or more kinds of fiber, as a poplin. -- Mixed marriage, a marriage between persons of different races or religions; specifically, one between a Roman Catholic and a Protestant. -- Mixed number, a whole number and a fraction taken together. -- Mixed train, a railway train containing both passenger and freight cars. -- Mixed voices (Mus.), voices of both males and females united in the same performance.

Mix"ed*ly (?), adv. In a mixed or mingled manner.

Mix"en (?), n. [AS. mixen, myxen, fr. meohx, meox, dung, filth; akin to E. mist. See Mist.] A compost heap; a dunghill. Chaucer. Tennyson.

Mix"er (?), n. One who, or that which, mixes.

Mix*og"a*mous (?), a. [Gr. &?; a mixing + &?; marriage.] (Zoöl.) Pairing with several males; -- said of certain fishes of which several males accompany each female during spawning.

Mix`o*lyd"i*an mode` (?). [Gr. &?; a mixing + E. Lydian.] (Mus.) The seventh ecclesiastical mode, whose scale commences on G.

{ Mix`ti*lin"e*al (?), Mix`ti*lin"e*ar (?), } a. [L. mixtus mixed (p. p. of miscere to mix) + E. lineal, linear.] Containing, or consisting of, lines of different kinds, as straight, curved, and the like; as, a mixtilinear angle, that is, an angle contained by a straight line and a curve. [R.]

Mix"tion (?), n. [L. mixtio, mistio: cf. F. mixtion. See Mistion, Mix.] 1. Mixture. [Obs.]

2. A kind of cement made of mastic, amber, etc., used as a mordant for gold leaf.

Mixt"ly (?), adv. With mixture; in a mixed manner; mixedly. Bacon.

Mix"ture (?), n. [L. mixtura, fr. miscere, mixtum, to mix: cf. F. mixture. See Mix.] 1. The act of mixing, or the state of being mixed; as, made by a mixture of ingredients. Hooker.

2. That which results from mixing different ingredients together; a compound; as, to drink a mixture of molasses and water; -- also, a medley.

There is also a mixture of good and evil wisely distributed by God, to serve the ends of his providence.

Atterbury.

3. An ingredient entering into a mixed mass; an additional ingredient.

Cicero doubts whether it were possible for a community to exist that had not a prevailing mixture of piety in its constitution.

Addison.

4. (Med.) A kind of liquid medicine made up of many ingredients; esp., as opposed to solution, a liquid preparation in which the solid ingredients are not completely dissolved.

5. (Physics & Chem.) A mass of two or more ingredients, the particles of which are separable, independent, and uncompounded with each other, no matter how thoroughly and finely commingled; -- contrasted with a compound; thus, gunpowder is a mechanical mixture of carbon, sulphur, and niter.

6. (Mus.) An organ stop, comprising from two to five ranges of pipes, used only in combination with the foundation and compound stops; -- called also furniture stop. It consists of high harmonics, or overtones, of the ground tone.

Syn. -- Union; admixture; intermixture; medley.

Miz"maze` (?), n. A maze or labyrinth. [Obs.]

Miz"zen (?), a. [It. mezzana, fr. mezzano middle, fr. mezzo middle, half: cf. F. misaine foresail. See Mezzo.] (Naut.) Hindmost; nearest the stern; as, the mizzen shrouds, sails, etc.

Miz"zen, n. (Naut.) The hindmost of the fore and aft sails of a three-masted vessel; also, the spanker.

Miz"zen*mast (?), n. (Naut.) The hindmost mast of a three-masted vessel, or of a yawl-rigged vessel.

Miz"zle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mizzled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mizzling (?).] [See Misle, and cf. Mistle.] 1. To rain in very fine drops. Spenser.

2. To take one's self off; to go. [Slang]

As long as George the Fourth could reign, he reigned, And then he mizzled.

Epigram, quoted by Wright.

Miz"zle, n. Mist; fine rain.

Miz"zy (?), n. [Cf. F. moisi moldy, musty, p. p. of moisir to mold, fr. L. mucere to be moldy.] A bog or quagmire. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

{ Mne*mon"ic (n*mn"k), Mne*mon"ic*al (-*kal), } a. [Gr. mnhmoniko`s, fr. mnh`mwn mindful, remembering, mnh`mh memory, mna^sqai to think on, remember; akin to E. mind.] Assisting in memory.

Mne`mo*ni"cian (?), n. One who instructs in the art of improving or using the memory.

Mne*mon"ics (?), n. [Gr. ta~ mnhmonika`: cf. F. mnémonique.] The art of memory; a system of precepts and rules intended to assist the memory; artificial memory.

Mne*mos"y*ne (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. mnhmosy`nh remembrance, memory, and the goddess of memory. See Mnemonic.] (Class Myth.) The goddess of memory and the mother of the Muses.

Mne"mo*tech`ny (?), n. [Gr. &?; memory + &?; art: cf. F. mnémotechnie.] Mnemonics.

Mo (?), a., adv., & n. [Written also moe.] [AS. m. See More.] More; -- usually, more in number. [Obs.]

An hundred thousand mo.

Chaucer.

Likely to find mo to commend than to imitate it.

Fuller.

-mo (?). A suffix added to the names of certain numerals or to the numerals themselves, to indicate the number of leaves made by folding a sheet of paper; as, sixteenmo or 16mo; eighteenmo or 18mo. It is taken from the Latin forms similarly used; as, duodecimo, sextodecimo, etc. A small circle, placed after the number and near its top, is often used for -mo; as, 16°, 18°, etc.

Mo"a (m"), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several very large extinct species of wingless birds belonging to Dinornis, and other related genera, of the suborder Dinornithes, found in New Zealand. They are allied to the apteryx and the ostrich. They were probably exterminated by the natives before New Zealand was discovered by Europeans. Some species were much larger than the ostrich.

Mo"ab*ite (?), n. One of the posterity of Moab, the son of Lot. (Gen. xix. 37.) Also used adjectively.

Mo"ab*i`tess (?), n. A female Moabite. Ruth i. 22.

Mo"ab*i`tish (?), a. Moabite. Ruth ii. 6.

Moan (mn), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Moaned (mnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Moaning.] [AS. mnan to moan, also, to mean; but in the latter sense perh. a different word. Cf. Mean to intend.] 1. To make a low prolonged sound of grief or pain, whether articulate or not; to groan softly and continuously.

Unpitied and unheard, where misery moans.

Thomson.

Let there bechance him pitiful mischances, To make him moan.

Shak.

2. To emit a sound like moan; -- said of things inanimate; as, the wind moans.

Moan, v. t. 1. To bewail audibly; to lament.

Ye floods, ye woods, ye echoes, moan My dear Columbo, dead and gone.

Prior.

2. To afflict; to distress. [Obs.]

Which infinitely moans me.

Beau. & Fl.

Moan, n. [OE. mone. See Moan, v. i.] 1. A low prolonged sound, articulate or not, indicative of pain or of grief; a low groan.

Sullen moans, hollow groans.

Pope.

2. A low mournful or murmuring sound; -- of things.

Rippling waters made a pleasant moan.

Byron.

Moan"ful (?), a. Full of moaning; expressing sorrow. -- Moan"ful*ly, adv.

Moat (?), n. [OF. mote hill, dike, bank, F. motte clod, turf: cf. Sp. & Pg. mota bank or mound of earth, It. motta clod, LL. mota, motta, a hill on which a fort is built, an eminence, a dike, Prov. G. mott bog earth heaped up; or perh. F. motte, and OF. mote, are from a LL. p. p. of L. movere to move (see Move). The name of moat, properly meaning, bank or mound, was transferred to the ditch adjoining: cf. F. dike and ditch.] (Fort.) A deep trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place, sometimes filled with water; a ditch.

Moat, v. t. To surround with a moat. Dryden.

Moate (?), v. i. [See Mute to molt.] To void the excrement, as a bird; to mute. [Obs.]

Mob (?), n. [See Mobcap.] A mobcap. Goldsmith.

Mob, v. t. To wrap up in, or cover with, a cowl. [R.]

Mob, n. [L. mobile vulgus, the movable common people. See Mobile, n.] 1. The lower classes of a community; the populace, or the lowest part of it.

A cluster of mob were making themselves merry with their betters.

Addison.

2. Hence: A throng; a rabble; esp., an unlawful or riotous assembly; a disorderly crowd.

The mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease.

Pope.

Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.

Madison.

Confused by brainless mobs.

Tennyson.

Mob law, law administered by the mob; lynch law. -- Swell mob, well dressed thieves and swindlers, regarded collectively. [Slang] Dickens.

Mob, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mobbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mobbing.] To crowd about, as a mob, and attack or annoy; as, to mob a house or a person.

Mob"bish (?), a. Like a mob; tumultuous; lawless; as, a mobbish act. Bp. Kent.

Mob"cap` (?), n. [D. mop-muts; OD. mop a woman's coif + D. muts cap.] A plain cap or headdress for women or girls; especially, one tying under the chin by a very broad band, generally of the same material as the cap itself. Thackeray.

Mo"bile (?), a. [L. mobilis, for movibilis, fr. movere to move: cf. F. mobile. See Move.] 1. Capable of being moved; not fixed in place or condition; movable. "Fixed or else mobile." Skelton.

2. Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom; as, benzine and mercury are mobile liquids; -- opposed to viscous, viscoidal, or oily.

3. Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle. Testament of Love.

The quick and mobile curiosity of her disposition.

Hawthorne.

4. Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind; as, mobile features.

5. (Physiol.) Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement.

Mo"bile (m"bl; L. mb"*l), n. [L. mobile vulgus. See Mobile, a., and cf. 3d Mob.] The mob; the populace. [Obs.] "The unthinking mobile." South.

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Mo*bil"i*ty (m*bl"*t), n. [L. mobilitas: cf. F. mobilité.] 1. The quality or state of being mobile; as, the mobility of a liquid, of an army, of the populace, of features, of a muscle. Sir T. Browne.

2. The mob; the lower classes. [Humorous] Dryden.

Mob`i*li*za"tion (?), n. [F. mobilization.] The act of mobilizing.

Mob"i*lize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mobilized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mobilizing (?).] [F. mobiliser.] To put in a state of readiness for active service in war, as an army corps.

Mo"ble (?), v. t. [From Mob to wrap up.] To wrap the head of in a hood. [Obs.] Shak.

Mo"bles (?), n. pl. See Moebles. [Obs.]

Mob*oc"ra*cy (?), n. [Mob rabble + -cracy, as in democracy.] A condition in which the lower classes of a nation control public affairs without respect to law, precedents, or vested rights.

It is good name that Dr. Stevens has given to our present situation (for one can not call it a government), a mobocracy.

Walpole.

Mob"o*crat (?), n. One who favors a form of government in which the unintelligent populace rules without restraint. Bayne.

Mob`o*crat"ic (?), a. Of, or relating to, a mobocracy.

Moc"ca*sin (?), n. [An Indian word. Algonquin makisin.] [Sometimes written moccason.] 1. A shoe made of deerskin, or other soft leather, the sole and upper part being one piece. It is the customary shoe worn by the American Indians.

2. (Zoöl.) A poisonous snake of the Southern United States. The water moccasin (Ancistrodon piscivorus) is usually found in or near water. Above, it is olive brown, barred with black; beneath, it is brownish yellow, mottled with darker. The upland moccasin is Ancistrodon atrofuscus. They resemble rattlesnakes, but are without rattles.

Moccasin flower (Bot.), a species of lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule) found in North America. The lower petal is two inches long, and forms a rose-colored moccasin-shaped pouch. It grows in rich woods under coniferous trees.

Moc"ca*sined (?), a. Covered with, or wearing, a moccasin or moccasins. "Moccasined feet." Harper's Mag.

Mo"cha (?), n. 1. A seaport town of Arabia, on the Red Sea.

2. A variety of coffee brought from Mocha.

3. An Abyssinian weight, equivalent to a Troy grain.

Mocha stone (Min.), moss agate.

||Moche (?), n. [F.] A bale of raw silk.

Moche (?), a. Much. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Moch"el (?), a. & adv. Much. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||Mo*chi"la (?), n. [Sp.] A large leather flap which covers the ||saddletree. [Western U.S.]

Mock (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mocked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mocking.] [F. moquer, of uncertain origin; cf. OD. mocken to mumble, G. mucken, OSw. mucka.] 1. To imitate; to mimic; esp., to mimic in sport, contempt, or derision; to deride by mimicry.

To see the life as lively mocked as ever Still sleep mocked death.

Shak.

Mocking marriage with a dame of France.

Shak.

2. To treat with scorn or contempt; to deride.

Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud.

1 Kings xviii. 27.

Let not ambition mock their useful toil.

Gray.

3. To disappoint the hopes of; to deceive; to tantalize; as, to mock expectation.

Thou hast mocked me, and told me lies.

Judg. xvi. 13.

He will not . . . Mock us with his blest sight, then snatch him hence.

Milton.

Syn. -- To deride; ridicule; taunt; jeer; tantalize; disappoint. See Deride.

Mock, v. i. To make sport in contempt or in jest; to speak in a scornful or jeering manner.

When thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?

Job xi. 3.

She had mocked at his proposal.

Froude.

Mock, n. 1. An act of ridicule or derision; a scornful or contemptuous act or speech; a sneer; a jibe; a jeer.

Fools make a mock at sin.

Prov. xiv. 9.

2. Imitation; mimicry. [R.] Crashaw.

Mock, a. Imitating reality, but not real; false; counterfeit; assumed; sham.

That superior greatness and mock majesty.

Spectator.

Mock bishop's weed (Bot.), a genus of slender umbelliferous herbs (Discopleura) growing in wet places. -- Mock heroic, burlesquing the heroic; as, a mock heroic poem. -- Mock lead. See Blende (a). -- Mock nightingale (Zoöl.), the European blackcap. -- Mock orange (Bot.), a genus of American and Asiatic shrubs (Philadelphus), with showy white flowers in panicled cymes. P. coronarius, from Asia, has fragrant flowers; the American kinds are nearly scentless. -- Mock sun. See Parhelion. -- Mock turtle soup, a soup made of calf's head, veal, or other meat, and condiments, in imitation of green turtle soup. -- Mock velvet, a fabric made in imitation of velvet. See Mockado.

Mock"a*ble (?), a. Such as can be mocked. Shak.

Mock"a*do (?), n. A stuff made in imitation of velvet; -- probably the same as mock velvet. [Obs.]

Our rich mockado doublet.

Ford.

Mock"a*dour (?), n. See Mokadour. [Obs.]

Mock"age (?), n. Mockery. [Obs.] Fuller.

Mock"bird` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The European sedge warbler (Acrocephalus phragmitis).

Mock"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, mocks; a scorner; a scoffer; a derider.

2. A deceiver; an impostor.

3. (Zoöl.) A mocking bird.

Mocker nut (Bot.), a kind of hickory (Carya tomentosa) and its fruit, which is far inferior to the true shagbark hickory nut.

Mock"er*y (?), n.; pl. Mockeries (#). [F. moquerie.] 1. The act of mocking, deriding, and exposing to contempt, by mimicry, by insincere imitation, or by a false show of earnestness; a counterfeit appearance.

It is, as the air, invulnerable, And our vain blows malicious mockery.

Shak.

Grace at meals is now generally so performed as to look more like a mockery upon devotion than any solemn application of the mind to God.

Law.

And bear about the mockery of woe.

Pope.

2. Insulting or contemptuous action or speech; contemptuous merriment; derision; ridicule.

The laughingstock of fortune's mockeries.

Spenser.

3. Subject of laughter, derision, or sport.

The cruel handling of the city whereof they made a mockery.

2 Macc. viii. 17.

Mock"ing, a. Imitating, esp. in derision, or so as to cause derision; mimicking; derisive.

Mocking bird (Zoöl.), a North American singing bird (Mimus polyglottos), remarkable for its exact imitations of the notes of other birds. Its back is gray; the tail and wings are blackish, with a white patch on each wing; the outer tail feathers are partly white. The name is also applied to other species of the same genus, found in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. -- Mocking thrush (Zoöl.), any species of the genus Harporhynchus, as the brown thrush (H. rufus). -- Mocking wren (Zoöl.), any American wren of the genus Thryothorus, esp. T. Ludovicianus.

Mock"ing*ly, adv. By way of derision; in a contemptuous or mocking manner.

Mock"ing*stock` (?), n. A butt of sport; an object of derision. [R.]

Mock"ish, a. Mock; counterfeit; sham. [Obs.]

Moc"kle (?), a. See Mickle.

Mo"co (?), n. (Zoöl.) A South American rodent (Cavia rupestris), allied to the Guinea pig, but larger; -- called also rock cavy.

Mo"dal (?), a. [Cf. F. modal. See Mode.] 1. Of or pertaining to a mode or mood; consisting in mode or form only; relating to form; having the form without the essence or reality. Glanvill.

2. (Logic & Metaph.) Indicating, or pertaining to, some mode of conceiving existence, or of expressing thought.

Mo"dal*ist, n. (Theol.) One who regards Father, Son, and Spirit as modes of being, and not as persons, thus denying personal distinction in the Trinity. Eadie.

Mo*dal"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. modalité.] 1. The quality or state of being modal.

2. (Logic & Metaph.) A modal relation or quality; a mode or point of view under which an object presents itself to the mind. According to Kant, the quality of propositions, as assertory, problematical, or apodeictic.

Mo"dal*ly (?), adv. In a modal manner.

A compound proposition, the parts of which are united modally . . . by the particles "as" and "so."

Gibbs.

Mode (?), n. [L. modus a measure, due or proper measure, bound, manner, form; akin to E. mete: cf. F. mode. See Mete, and cf. Commodious, Mood in grammar, Modus.] 1. Manner of doing or being; method; form; fashion; custom; way; style; as, the mode of speaking; the mode of dressing.

The duty of itself being resolved on, the mode of doing it may easily be found.

Jer. Taylor.

A table richly spread in regal mode.

Milton.

2. Prevailing popular custom; fashion, especially in the phrase the mode.

The easy, apathetic graces of a man of the mode.

Macaulay.

3. Variety; gradation; degree. Pope.

4. (Metaph.) Any combination of qualities or relations, considered apart from the substance to which they belong, and treated as entities; more generally, condition, or state of being; manner or form of arrangement or manifestation; form, as opposed to matter.

Modes I call such complex ideas, which, however compounded, contain not in them the supposition of subsisting by themselves, but are considered as dependencies on, or affections of, substances.

Locke.

5. (Logic) The form in which the proposition connects the predicate and subject, whether by simple, contingent, or necessary assertion; the form of the syllogism, as determined by the quantity and quality of the constituent proposition; mood.

6. (Gram.) Same as Mood.

7. (Mus.) The scale as affected by the various positions in it of the minor intervals; as, the Dorian mode, the Ionic mode, etc., of ancient Greek music.

In modern music, only the major and the minor mode, of whatever key, are recognized.

8. A kind of silk. See Alamode, n.

Syn. -- Method; manner. See Method.

Mod"el (?), n. [F. modèle, It. modello, fr. (assumed) L. modellus, fr. modulus a small measure, dim. of modus. See Mode, and cf. Module.] 1. A miniature representation of a thing, with the several parts in due proportion; sometimes, a facsimile of the same size.

In charts, in maps, and eke in models made.

Gascoigne.

I had my father's signet in my purse, Which was the model of that Danish seal.

Shak.

You have the models of several ancient temples, though the temples and the gods are perished.

Addison.

2. Something intended to serve, or that may serve, as a pattern of something to be made; a material representation or embodiment of an ideal; sometimes, a drawing; a plan; as, the clay model of a sculpture; the inventor's model of a machine.

[The application for a patent] must be accompanied by a full description of the invention, with drawings and a model where the case admits of it.

Am. Cyc.

When we mean to build We first survey the plot, then draw the model.

Shak.

3. Anything which serves, or may serve, as an example for imitation; as, a government formed on the model of the American constitution; a model of eloquence, virtue, or behavior.

4. That by which a thing is to be measured; standard.

He that despairs measures Providence by his own little, contracted model.

South.

5. Any copy, or resemblance, more or less exact.

Thou seest thy wretched brother die, Who was the model of thy father's life.

Shak.

6. A person who poses as a pattern to an artist.

A professional model.

H. James.

Working model, a model of a machine which can do on a small scale the work which the machine itself does, or is expected to do.

Mod"el (?), a. Suitable to be taken as a model or pattern; as, a model house; a model husband.

Mod"el, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modeled (?) or Modelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Modeling or Modelling.] [Cf. F. modeler, It. modellare.] To plan or form after a pattern; to form in model; to form a model or pattern for; to shape; to mold; to fashion; as, to model a house or a government; to model an edifice according to the plan delineated.

Mod"el, v. i. (Fine Arts) To make a copy or a pattern; to design or imitate forms; as, to model in wax.

Mod"el*er (?), n. One who models; hence, a worker in plastic art. [Written also modeller.]

Mod"el*ing, n. (Fine Arts) The act or art of making a model from which a work of art is to be executed; the formation of a work of art from some plastic material. Also, in painting, drawing, etc., the expression or indication of solid form. [Written also modelling.]

Modeling plane, a small plane for planing rounded objects. -- Modeling wax, beeswax melted with a little Venice turpentine, or other resinous material, and tinted with coloring matter, usually red, -- used in modeling.

Mod"el*ize (?), v. t. To model. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

||Mod"e*na (?), n. [From Modena, in Italy.] A certain crimsonlike ||color. Good.

Mod`e*nese" (?), a. Of or pertaining to Modena or its inhabitants. -- n. sing. & pl. A native or inhabitant of Modena; the people of Modena.

Mo"der (?), n. [OE. See Mother female parent.] 1. A mother. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. The principal piece of an astrolabe, into which the others are fixed. [Obs.]

Mod"er (?), v. t. To moderate. [Obs.]

Mod"er*a*ble (?), a. [L. moderabilis.] Moderate; temperate. [Obs.]

Mod"er*ance (?), n. Moderation. [Obs.] Caxton.

Mod"er*ate (?), a. [L. moderatus, p. p. of moderate, moderati, to moderate, regulate, control, fr. modus measure. See Mode.] Kept within due bounds; observing reasonable limits; not excessive, extreme, violent, or rigorous; limited; restrained; as: (a) Limited in quantity; sparing; temperate; frugal; as, moderate in eating or drinking; a moderate table. (b) Limited in degree of activity, energy, or excitement; reasonable; calm; slow; as, moderate language; moderate endeavors. (c) Not extreme in opinion, in partisanship, and the like; as, a moderate Calvinist.

A number of moderate members managed . . . to obtain a majority in a thin house.

Swift.

(d) Not violent or rigorous; temperate; mild; gentle; as, a moderate winter. "Moderate showers." Walter. (e) Limited as to degree of progress; as, to travel at moderate speed. (f) Limited as to the degree in which a quality, principle, or faculty appears; as, an infusion of moderate strength; a man of moderate abilities. (g) Limited in scope or effects; as, a reformation of a moderate kind. Hooker.

Mod"er*ate, n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a party in the Church of Scotland in the 18th century, and part of the 19th, professing moderation in matters of church government, in discipline, and in doctrine.

Mod"er*ate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Moderated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Moderating.] 1. To restrain from excess of any kind; to reduce from a state of violence, intensity, or excess; to keep within bounds; to make temperate; to lessen; to allay; to repress; to temper; to qualify; as, to moderate rage, action, desires, etc.; to moderate heat or wind.

By its astringent quality, it moderates the relaxing quality of warm water.

Arbuthnot.

To moderate stiff minds disposed to strive.

Spenser.

2. To preside over, direct, or regulate, as a public meeting; as, to moderate a synod.

Mod"er*ate, v. i. 1. To become less violent, severe, rigorous, or intense; as, the wind has moderated.

2. To preside as a moderator.

Dr. Barlow [was] engaged . . . to moderate for him in the divinity disputation.

Bp. Barlow's Remains (1693).

Mod"er*ate*ly (?), adv. In a moderate manner or degree; to a moderate extent.

Each nymph but moderately fair.

Waller.

Mod"er*ate*ness, n. The quality or state of being moderate; temperateness; moderation.

Mod`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. moderatio: cf. F. modération.] 1. The act of moderating, or of imposing due restraint.

2. The state or quality of being mmoderate.

In moderation placing all my glory, While Tories call me Whig, and Whigs a Tory.

Pope.

3. Calmness of mind; equanimity; as, to bear adversity with moderation.

The calm and judicious moderation of Orange.

Motley.

4. pl. The first public examinations for degrees at the University of Oxford; -- usually contracted to mods.

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Mod"er*a*tism (md"r**tz'm), n. Moderation in doctrines or opinion, especially in politics or religion.

||Mod`e*ra"to (?), a. & adv. [It. See Moderate.] (Mus.) With a moderate ||degree of quickness; moderately.

Allegro moderato, a little slower than allegro. -- Andante moderato, a little faster than andante.

Mod"er*a`tor (?), n. [L.: cf. F. modérateur.] 1. One who, or that which, moderates, restrains, or pacifies. Sir W. Raleigh.

Angling was . . . a moderator of passions.

Walton.

2. The officer who presides over an assembly to preserve order, propose questions, regulate the proceedings, and declare the votes.

3. In the University of Oxford, an examiner for moderations; at Cambridge, the superintendant of examinations for degrees; at Dublin, either the first (senior) or second (junior) in rank in an examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

4. A mechanical arrangement for regulating motion in a machine, or producing equality of effect.

Mod"er*a`tor*ship, n. The office of a moderator.

Mod"er*a`tress (?), n. A female moderator. Fuller.

Mod"er*a`trix (?), n. [L.] A female moderator.

Mod"ern (?), a. [F. moderne, L. modernus; akin to modo just now, orig. abl. of modus measure; hence, by measure, just now. See Mode.] 1. Of or pertaining to the present time, or time not long past; late; not ancient or remote in past time; of recent period; as, modern days, ages, or time; modern authors; modern fashions; modern taste; modern practice. Bacon.

2. New and common; trite; commonplace. [Obs.]

We have our philosophical persons, to make modern and familiar, things supernatural and causeless.

Shak.

Modern English. See the Note under English.

Mod"ern, n. A person of modern times; -- opposed to ancient. Pope.

Mod"ern*ism (?), n. Modern practice; a thing of recent date; esp., a modern usage or mode of expression.

Mod"ern*ist, n. [Cf. F. moderniste.] One who admires the moderns, or their ways and fashions.

Mo*der"ni*ty (?), n. Modernness; something modern. Walpole.

Mod`ern*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of rendering modern in style; the act or process of causing to conform to modern of thinking or acting.

Mod"ern*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modernized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Modernizing (?).] [Cf. F. moderniser.] To render modern; to adapt to modern person or things; to cause to conform to recent or present usage or taste. Percy.

Mod"ern*i`zer (?), n. One who modernizes.

Mod"ern*ly, adv. In modern times. Milton.

Mod"ern*ness, n. The quality or state of being modern; recentness; novelty. M. Arnold.

Mod"est (?), a. [F. modeste, L. modestus, fr. modus measure. See Mode.] 1. Restraining within due limits of propriety; not forward, bold, boastful, or presumptious; rather retiring than pushing one's self forward; not obstructive; as, a modest youth; a modest man.

2. Observing the proprieties of the sex; not unwomanly in act or bearing; free from undue familiarity, indecency, or lewdness; decent in speech and demeanor; -- said of a woman.

Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife.

Shak.

The blushing beauties of a modest maid.

Dryden.

3. Evincing modestly in the actor, author, or speaker; not showing presumption; not excessive or extreme; moderate; as, a modest request; modest joy.

Syn. -- Reserved; unobtrusive; diffident; bashful; coy; shy; decent; becoming; chaste; virtuous.

Mod"est*ly, adv. In a modest manner.

Mod"es*ty (?), n. [L. modestia: cf. F. modestie. See Modest.] 1. The quality or state of being modest; that lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one's own worth and importance; absence of self-assertion, arrogance, and presumption; humility respecting one's own merit.

2. Natural delicacy or shame regarding personal charms and the sexual relation; purity of thought and manners; due regard for propriety in speech or action.

Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty.

Shak.

Modesty piece, a narrow piece of lace worn by women over the bosom. [Obs.] Addison.

Syn. -- Bashfulness; humility; diffidence; shyness. See Bashfulness, and Humility.

Mo*dic"i*ty (?), n. [LL. modicitas; cf. F. modicité.] Moderateness; smallness; meanness. [Obs.]

Mod"i*cum (?), n. [L., fr. modicus moderate, fr. modus. See Mode.] A little; a small quantity; a measured supply. "Modicums of wit." Shak.

Her usual modicum of beer and punch.

Thackeray.

Mod`i*fi`a*bil"i*ty (?), n. Capability of being modified; state or quality of being modifiable.

Mod"i*fi`a*ble (?), a. [From Modify.] Capable of being modified; liable to modification.

Mo*dif"i*ca*ble (?), a. Modifiable. [Obs.]

Mod"i*fi*cate (?), v. t. [See Modify.] To qualify. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

Mod`i*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [L. modificatio a measuring: cf. F. modification. See Modify.] The act of modifying, or the state of being modified; a modified form or condition; state as modified; a change; as, the modification of an opinion, or of a machine; the various modifications of light. Bentley.

Mod"i*fi*ca*tive (?), n. That which modifies or qualifies, as a word or clause.

Mod"i*fi*ca`to*ry (?), a. Tending or serving to modify; modifying. Max Müller.

Mod"i*fi`er (?), n. One who, or that which, modifies. Hume.

Mod"i*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Modifying (?).] [F. modifier, L. modificare, modificari; modus limit + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Mode, and -fy.] 1. To change somewhat the form or qualities of; to alter somewhat; as, to modify a contrivance adapted to some mechanical purpose; to modify the terms of a contract.

2. To limit or reduce in extent or degree; to moderate; to qualify; to lower.

Of his grace He modifies his first severe decree.

Dryden.

Mo*dil"lion (?), n. [F. modillon, It. modiglione. Cf. Module, n.] (Arch.) The enriched block or horizontal bracket generally found under the cornice of the Corinthian and Composite entablature, and sometimes, less ornamented, in the Ionic and other orders; -- so called because of its arrangement at regulated distances.

Mo*di"o*lar (?), a. [L. modiolus, dim. of modius the Roman corn measure.] Shaped like a bushel measure.

||Mo*di"o*lus (?), n.; pl. Modioli (#). [L., a small measure.] (Anat.) ||The central column in the osseous cochlea of the ear.

Mod"ish (?), a. According to the mode, or customary manner; conformed to the fashion; fashionable; hence, conventional; as, a modish dress; a modish feast. Dryden. "Modish forms of address." Barrow.

-- Mod"ish*ly, adv. -- Mod"ish*ness, n.

Mod"ist (?), n. One who follows the fashion.

||Mo`diste" (?), n. [F. See Mode, and cf. Modist.] A female maker of, ||or dealer in, articles of fashion, especially of the fashionable ||dress of ladies; a woman who gives direction to the style or mode of ||dress.

||Mo"di*us (?), n.; pl. Modii (#). [L.] (Rom. Antiq.) A dry measure, ||containing about a peck.

Mo"docs (?), n. pl.; sing. Modoc (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of warlike Indians formerly inhabiting Northern California. They are nearly extinct.

Mod"u*lar (?), a. Of or pertaining to mode, modulation, module, or modius; as, modular arrangement; modular accent; modular measure.

Mod"u*late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modulated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Modulating (?).] [L. modulatus, p. p. of modulari to measure, to modulate, fr. modulus a small measure, meter, melody, dim. of modus. See Mode.] 1. To form, as sound, to a certain key, or to a certain portion.

2. To vary or inflect in a natural, customary, or musical manner; as, the organs of speech modulate the voice in reading or speaking.

Could any person so modulate her voice as to deceive so many?

Broome.

Mod"u*late, v. i. (Mus.) To pass from one key into another.

Mod`u*la"tion (?), n. [L. modulatio: cf. F. modulation.] 1. The act of modulating, or the state of being modulated; as, the modulation of the voice.

2. Sound modulated; melody. [R.] Thomson.

3. (Mus.) A change of key, whether transient, or until the music becomes established in the new key; a shifting of the tonality of a piece, so that the harmonies all center upon a new keynote or tonic; the art of transition out of the original key into one nearly related, and so on, it may be, by successive changes, into a key quite remote. There are also sudden and unprepared modulations.

Mod"u*la`tor (?), n. [L.] One who, or that which, modulates. Denham.

Mod"ule (?), n. [F., fr. L. modulus a small measure, dim. of modus. See Mode, and cf. Model, Modulus, Mold a matrix.] 1. A model or measure.

2. (Arch.) The size of some one part, as the diameter of semi-diameter of the base of a shaft, taken as a unit of measure by which the proportions of the other parts of the composition are regulated. Generally, for columns, the semi-diameter is taken, and divided into a certain number of parts, called minutes (see Minute), though often the diameter is taken, and any dimension is said to be so many modules and minutes in height, breadth, or projection.

Mod"ule, v. t. [See module, n., Modulate.] To model; also, to modulate. [Obs.] Sandys. Drayton.

||Mod"u*lus (?), n.; pl. Moduli (#). [L., a small measure. See Module, ||n.] (Math., Mech., & Physics) A quantity or coefficient, or constant, ||which expresses the measure of some specified force, property, or ||quality, as of elasticity, strength, efficiency, etc.; a parameter.

Modulus of a machine, a formula expressing the work which a given machine can perform under the conditions involved in its construction; the relation between the work done upon a machine by the moving power, and that yielded at the working points, either constantly, if its motion be uniform, or in the interval of time which it occupies in passing from any given velocity to the same velocity again, if its motion be variable; -- called also the efficiency of the machine. Mosley. Rankine. -- Modulus of a system of logarithms (Math.), a number by which all the Napierian logarithms must be multiplied to obtain the logarithms in another system. -- Modulus of elasticity. (a) The measure of the elastic force of any substance, expressed by the ratio of a stress on a given unit of the substance to the accompanying distortion, or strain. (b) An expression of the force (usually in terms of the height in feet or weight in pounds of a column of the same body) which would be necessary to elongate a prismatic body of a transverse section equal to a given unit, as a square inch or foot, to double, or to compress it to half, its original length, were that degree of elongation or compression possible, or within the limits of elasticity; -- called also Young's modulus. -- Modulus of rupture, the measure of the force necessary to break a given substance across, as a beam, expressed by eighteen times the load which is required to break a bar of one inch square, supported flatwise at two points one foot apart, and loaded in the middle between the points of support. Rankine.

||Mo"dus (?), n.; pl. Modi (#). [L. See Mode.] (Old Law) 1. The ||arrangement of, or mode of expressing, the terms of a contract or ||conveyance.

2. (Law) A qualification involving the idea of variation or departure from some general rule or form, in the way of either restriction or enlargement, according to the circumstances of the case, as in the will of a donor, an agreement between parties, and the like. Bracton.

3. (Law) A fixed compensation or equivalent given instead of payment of tithes in kind, expressed in full by the phrase modus decimandi. Blackstone.

They, from time immemorial, had paid a modus, or composition.

Landor.

||Modus operandi (&?;) [L.], manner of operating.

Mod"y (?), a. [From Mode.] Fashionable. [R.]

Moe (?), n. A wry face or mouth; a mow. [Obs.]

Moe, v. i. To make faces; to mow. [Obs.]

Moe, a., adv., & n. [AS. m See More.] More. See Mo. [Obs.] "Sing no more ditties, sing no moe." Shak.

Moe"bles (?), n. pl. [OE., fr. OF. moeble, mueble, movable, from L. mobilis.] Movables; furniture; -- also used in the singular (moeble). [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mo"el*line (?), n. [F. moelle, fr. L. medulla marrow.] An unguent for the hair.

Mo"el*lon (?), n. [F.] Rubble masonry.

Mœ`so*goth"ic (?), a. Belonging to the Mœsogoths, a branch of the Goths who settled in Mœsia.

Mœ`so*goth"ic, n. The language of the Mœsogoths; -- also called Gothic.

Moeve (?), v. t. & i. To move. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Moff (?), n. A thin silk stuff made in Caucasia.

Mog"gan (?), n. A closely fitting knit sleeve; also, a legging of knitted material. [Scot.]

Mo*gul" (?), n. [From the Mongolian.] 1. A person of the Mongolian race.

2. (Railroad) A heavy locomotive for freight traffic, having three pairs of connected driving wheels and a two-wheeled truck.

Great, or Grand, Mogul, the sovereign of the empire founded in Hindostan by the Mongols under Baber in the sixteenth century. Hence, a very important personage; a lord; -- sometimes only mogul. Dryden.

Mo"ha (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of millet (Setaria Italica); German millet.

Mo"hair` (?), n. [F. moire, perh. from Ar. mukhayyar a kind of coarse camelot or haircloth; but prob. fr. L. marmoreus of marble, resembling marble. Cf. Moire, Marble.] The long silky hair or wool of the Angora goat of Asia Minor; also, a fabric made from this material, or an imitation of such fabric.

Mo*ham"med*an (?), a. [From Mohammed, fr. Ar. muhámmad praiseworthy, highly praised.] Of or pertaining to Mohammed, or the religion and institutions founded by Mohammed. [Written also Mahometan, Mahomedan, Muhammadan, etc.]

Mo*ham"med*an, n. A follower of Mohammed, the founder of Islamism; one who professes Mohammedanism or Islamism.

{ Mo*ham"med*an*ism, Mo*ham"med*ism } (?), n. The religion, or doctrines and precepts, of Mohammed, contained in the Koran; Islamism.

{ Mo*ham"med*an*ize, Mo*ham"med*ize } (?), v. t. To make conformable to the principles, or customs and rites, of Mohammedanism. [Written also Mahometanize.]

Mo"hawk (?), n. 1. (Ethnol.) One of a tribe of Indians who formed part of the Five Nations. They formerly inhabited the valley of the Mohawk River.

2. One of certain ruffians who infested the streets of London in the time of Addison, and took the name from the Mohawk Indians. [Slang] Spectator. Macaulay.

Mo*hi"cans (?), n. pl.; sing. Mohican (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Lenni-Lenape Indians who formerly inhabited Western Connecticut and Eastern New York. [Written also Mohegans.]

||Mo"ho (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A gallinule (Notornis Mantelli) ||formerly inhabiting New Zealand, but now supposed to be extinct. It ||was incapable of flight. See Notornis.

Mo"hock (?), n. See Mohawk.

||Mo*ho"li (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Maholi.

Mohr (?), n. (Zoöl.) A West African gazelle (Gazella mohr), having horns on which are eleven or twelve very prominent rings. It is one of the species which produce bezoar. [Written also mhorr.]

Mo"hur (?), n. [Hind., fr. Per. muhur, muhr, a gold coin, a seal, seal ring.] A British Indian gold coin, of the value of fifteen silver rupees, or $7.21. Malcom.

{ ||Mo*hur"rum (?), ||Mu*har"ram (?) }, n. [Ar. muharram, prop., sacred, forbidden, n., the first month of the Mohammedan lunar year.] 1. The first month of the Mohammedan year. Whitworth.

2. A festival of the Shiah sect of the Mohammedans held during the first ten days of the month Mohurrum.

Moi"der (?), v. i. To toil. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Moi"dore (?), n. [Pg. moeda d'ouro, lit., coin of gold. Cf. Money, and Aureate.] A gold coin of Portugal, valued at about 27s. sterling.

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Moi"e*ty (moi"*t), n.; pl. Moieties (-tz). [F. moitié, L. medietas, fr. medius middle, half. See Mid, a., and cf. Mediate, Mediety.] 1. One of two equal parts; a half; as, a moiety of an estate, of goods, or of profits; the moiety of a jury, or of a nation. Shak.

The more beautiful moiety of his majesty's subject.

Addison.

2. An indefinite part; a small part. Shak.

Moil (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Moiled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Moiling.] [OE. moillen to wet, OF. moillier, muillier, F. mouller, fr. (assumed) LL. molliare, fr. L. mollis soft. See Mollify.] To daub; to make dirty; to soil; to defile.

Thou . . . doest thy mind in dirty pleasures moil.

Spenser.

Moil, v. i. [From Moil to daub; prob. from the idea of struggling through the wet.] To soil one's self with severe labor; to work with painful effort; to labor; to toil; to drudge.

Moil not too much under ground.

Bacon.

Now he must moil and drudge for one he loathes.

Dryden.

Moil, n. A spot; a defilement.

The moil of death upon them.

Mrs. Browning.

Moile (?), n. [F. mule a slipper.] A kind of high shoe anciently worn. [Written also moyle.]

||Moi"neau (?), n. [F.] (Fort.) A small flat bastion, raised in the ||middle of an overlong curtain.

||Moi"ra (moi"r), n. [NL., fr. Gr. Moi^ra.] (Greek Myth.) The deity who ||assigns to every man his lot.

||Moire (?), n. [F. Cf. Mohair.] 1. Originally, a fine textile fabric ||made of the hair of an Asiatic goat; afterwards, any textile fabric ||to which a watered appearance is given in the process of calendering.

2. A watered, clouded, or frosted appearance produced upon either textile fabrics or metallic surfaces.

Moire antique, a superior kind of thick moire.

||Moi`ré" mé`tal`lique" (?). [F.] A crystalline or frosted appearance ||produced by some acids on tin plate; also, the tin plate thus ||treated.

Moist (?), a. [OE. moiste, OF. moiste, F. moite, fr. L. muccidus, for mucidus, moldy, musty. Cf. Mucus, Mucid.] 1. Moderately wet; damp; humid; not dry; as, a moist atmosphere or air. "Moist eyes." Shak.

2. Fresh, or new. [Obs.] "Shoes full moist and new." "A draught of moist and corny ale." Chaucer.

Moist, v. t. To moisten. [Obs.] Shak.

Mois"ten (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Moistened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Moistening.] 1. To make damp; to wet in a small degree.

A pipe a little moistened on the inside.

Bacon.

2. To soften by making moist; to make tender.

It moistened not his executioner's heart with any pity.

Fuller.

Mois"ten*er (?), n. One who, or that which, moistens. Johnson.

Moist"ful (?), a. Full of moisture. [R.]

Moist"less, a. Without moisture; dry. [R.]

Moist"ness, n. The quality or state of being moist.

Mois"ture (?), n. [Cf. OF. moistour, F. moiteur.] 1. A moderate degree of wetness. Bacon.

2. That which moistens or makes damp or wet; exuding fluid; liquid in small quantity.

All my body's moisture Scarce serves to quench my furnace-burning heat.

Shak.

Mois"ture*less, a. Without moisture.

Moist"y (?), a. Moist. [Obs.]

Moi"ther (?), v. t. [Etymol. uncertain.] To perplex; to confuse. [Prov. Eng.] Lamb.

Moi"ther, v. i. To toil; to labor. [Prov. Eng.]

Mok"a*dour (?), n. [Sp. mocador handkerchief.] A handkerchief. [Obs.]

Moke (?), n. A donkey. [Cant] Thackeray.

Moke (?), n. A mesh of a net, or of anything resembling a net. Halliwell.

Mo"ky (?), a. [Cf. Icel. mökkvi cloud, mist, mökkr a dense cloud, W. mwg smoke, and E. muggy, muck.] Misty; dark; murky; muggy. [Obs.]

Mo"la (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Sunfish, 1.

Mo"lar (?), a. [L. moles mass.] (Mech.) Of or pertaining to a mass of matter; -- said of the properties or motions of masses, as distinguished from those of molecules or atoms. Carpenter.

Mo"lar, a. [L. molaris, fr. mola mill, fr. molere to grind in a mill. See Mill the machine.] Having power to grind; grinding; as, the molar teeth; also, of or pertaining to the molar teeth. Bacon.

Mo"lar, n. (Anat.) Any one of the teeth back of the incisors and canines. The molars which replace the deciduous or milk teeth are designated as premolars, and those which are not preceded by deciduous teeth are sometimes called true molars. See Tooth.

Mo"la*ry (?), a. Same as 2d Molar.

Mo*lasse" (?), n. [F. molasse, prob. fr. mollasse flabby, flimsy, fr. L. mollis soft.] (Geol.) A soft Tertiary sandstone; -- applied to a rock occurring in Switzerland. See Chart of Geology.

Mo*las"ses (?), n. [F. mélasse, cf. Sp. melaza, Pg. melaço, fr. L. mellaceus honeylike, honey-sweet, mel, mellis, honey. See Mellifluous, and cf. Melasses.] The thick, brown or dark colored, viscid, uncrystallizable sirup which drains from sugar, in the process of manufacture; any thick, viscid, sweet sirup made from vegetable juice or sap, as of the sorghum or maple. See Treacle.

Mold (?), n. [See Mole a spot.] A spot; a blemish; a mole. [Obs.] Spenser.

{ Mold, Mould} (?), n. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole an animal, Mull, v.] [The prevalent spelling is, perhaps, mould; but as the u has not been inserted in the other words of this class, as bold, gold, old, cold, etc., it seems desirable to complete the analogy by dropping it from this word, thus spelling it as Spenser, South, and many others did. The omission of the u is now very common in America.] 1. Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil.

2. Earthy material; the matter of which anything is formed; composing substance; material.

The etherial mold, Incapable of stain.

Milton.

Nature formed me of her softest mold.

Addison.

{ Mold, Mould } (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Molded or Moulded; p. pr. & vb. n. Molding or Moulding.] To cover with mold or soil. [R.]

{ Mold, Mould, } n. [From the p. p. of OE. moulen to become moldy, to rot, prob. fr. Icel. mygla to grow musty, mugga mugginess; cf. Sw. mögla to grow moldy. See Muggy, and cf. Moldy.] (Bot.) A growth of minute fungi of various kinds, esp. those of the great groups Hyphomycetes, and Physomycetes, forming on damp or decaying organic matter.

The common blue mold of cheese, the brick-red cheese mold, and the scarlet or orange strata which grow on tubers or roots stored up for use, when commencing to decay, are familiar examples. M. J. Berkley.

{ Mold, Mould, } v. t. To cause to become moldy; to cause mold to grow upon.

{ Mold, Mould, } v. i. To become moldy; to be covered or filled, in whole or in part, with a mold.

{ Mold, Mould, } n. [OE. molde, OF. mole, F. moule, fr. L. modulus. See Model.] [For spelling, see 2d Mold, above.] 1. The matrix, or cavity, in which anything is shaped, and from which it takes its form; also, the body or mass containing the cavity; as, a sand mold; a jelly mold. Milton.

2. That on which, or in accordance with which, anything is modeled or formed; anything which serves to regulate the size, form, etc., as the pattern or templet used by a shipbuilder, carpenter, or mason.

The glass of fashion and the mold of form.

Shak.

3. Cast; form; shape; character.

Crowned with an architrave of antique mold.

Pope.

4. (Arch.) A group of moldings; as, the arch mold of a porch or doorway; the pier mold of a Gothic pier, meaning the whole profile, section, or combination of parts.

5. (Anat.) A fontanel.

6. (Paper Making) A frame with a wire cloth bottom, on which the pump is drained to form a sheet, in making paper by hand.

{ Mold, Mould, } v. t. [Cf. F. mouler, OF. moler, moller. See Mold the matrix.] 1. To form into a particular shape; to shape; to model; to fashion.

He forgeth and moldeth metals.

Sir M. Hale.

Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mold me man?

Milton.

2. To ornament by molding or carving the material of; as, a molded window jamb.

3. To knead; as, to mold dough or bread.

4. (Founding) To form a mold of, as in sand, in which a casting may be made.

{ Mold"a*ble, Mould"a*ble } (?), a. Capable of being molded or formed.

{ Mold"board`, Mould"board` } (?), n. 1. A curved plate of iron (originally of wood) back of the share of a plow, which turns over the earth in plowing.

2. (Founding) A follow board.

{ Mold"er, Mould"er } (?), n. One who, or that which, molds or forms into shape; specifically (Founding), one skilled in the art of making molds for castings.

{ Mold"er, Mould"er, } v. i. [imp. & p. p. Moldered (?) or Mouldered; p. pr. & vb. n. Moldering or Mouldering.] [From Mold fine soft earth: cf. Prov. G. multern.] To crumble into small particles; to turn to dust by natural decay; to lose form, or waste away, by a gradual separation of the component particles, without the presence of water; to crumble away.

The moldering of earth in frosts and sun.

Bacon.

When statues molder, and when arches fall.

Prior.

If he had sat still, the enemy's army would have moldered to nothing.

Clarendon.

{ Mold"er, Mould"er, } v. t. To turn to dust; to cause to crumble; to cause to waste away.

[Time's] gradual touch Has moldered into beauty many a tower.

Mason.

{ Mold"er*y, Mould"er*y } (?), a. Covered or filled with mold; consisting of, or resembling, mold.

{ Mold"i*ness, Mould"i*ness } (?), n. [From Moldy.] The state of being moldy.

{ Mold"ing, Mould"ing, } n. 1. The act or process of shaping in or on a mold, or of making molds; the art or occupation of a molder.

2. Anything cast in a mold, or which appears to be so, as grooved or ornamental bars of wood or metal.

3. (Arch.) A plane, or curved, narrow surface, either sunk or projecting, used for decoration by means of the lights and shades upon its surface. Moldings vary greatly in pattern, and are generally used in groups, the different members of each group projecting or retreating, one beyond another. See Cable, n., 3, and Crenelated molding, under Crenelate, v. t.

{ Mold"ing, Mould"ing, } p. a. Used in making a mold or moldings; used in shaping anything according to a pattern.

Molding, or Moulding, board. (a) See Follow board, under Follow, v. t. (b) A board on which bread or pastry is kneaded and shaped. -- Molding, or Moulding, machine. (a) (Woodworking) A planing machine for making moldings. (b) (Founding) A machine to assist in making molds for castings. -- Molding, or Moulding, mill, a mill for shaping timber. -- Molding, or Moulding, sand (Founding), a kind of sand containing clay, used in making molds.

{ Mold"warp, Mould"warp } (?), n. [OE. moldwerp: AS. molde soil + weorpan to throw up; cf. OD. molworp, G. maulwurf, Icel. moldvarpa, Dan. muldvarp. See Mold soil, Warp, and cf. Mole the animal.] (Zoöl.) See Mole the animal. Spenser.

{ Mold"y, Mould"y } (?), a. [Compar. Moldier (?) or Mouldier; superl. Moldiest or Mouldiest.] [From Mold the growth of fungi.] Overgrown with, or containing, mold; as, moldy cheese or bread.

Mole (?), n. [AS. ml; akin to OHG. meil, Goth. mail Cf. Mail a spot.] 1. A spot; a stain; a mark which discolors or disfigures. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

2. A spot, mark, or small permanent protuberance on the human body; esp., a spot which is dark-colored, from which commonly issue one or more hairs.

Mole, n. [L. mola.] A mass of fleshy or other more or less solid matter generated in the uterus.

Mole, n. [F. môle, L. moles. Cf. Demolish, Emolument, Molest.] A mound or massive work formed of masonry or large stones, etc., laid in the sea, often extended either in a right line or an arc of a circle before a port which it serves to defend from the violence of the waves, thus protecting ships in a harbor; also, sometimes, the harbor itself. Brande & C.

Mole, n. [OE. molle, either shortened fr. moldwerp, or from the root of E. mold soil: cf. D. mol, OD. molworp. See Moldwarp.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any insectivore of the family Talpidæ. They have minute eyes and ears, soft fur, and very large and strong fore feet.

The common European mole, or moldwarp (Talpa Europæa), is noted for its extensive burrows. The common American mole, or shrew mole (Scalops aquaticus), and star- nosed mole (Condylura cristata) have similar habits.

In the Scriptures, the name is applied to two unindentified animals, perhaps the chameleon and mole rat.

2. A plow of peculiar construction, for forming underground drains. [U.S.]

Duck mole. See under Duck. -- Golden mole. See Chrysochlore. -- Mole cricket (Zoöl.), an orthopterous insect of the genus Gryllotalpa, which excavates subterranean galleries, and throws up mounds of earth resembling those of the mole. It is said to do damage by injuring the roots of plants. The common European species (Gryllotalpa vulgaris), and the American (G. borealis), are the best known. -- Mole rat (Zoöl.), any one of several species of Old World rodents of the genera Spalax, Georychus, and several allied genera. They are molelike in appearance and habits, and their eyes are small or rudimentary. -- Mole shrew (Zoöl.), any one of several species of short-tailed American shrews of the genus Blarina, esp. B. brevicauda. -- Water mole, the duck mole.

Mole, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Moled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Moling.] 1. To form holes in, as a mole; to burrow; to excavate; as, to mole the earth.

2. To clear of molehills. [Prov. Eng.] Pegge.

Mole"but (?), n. (Zoöl.) The sunfish (Orthagoriscus, or Mola). [Written also molebat.]

Mole"cast` (?), n. A little elevation of earth made by a mole; a molehill. Mortimer.

Mo"lech (?), n. [Heb. molek king.] (Script.) The fire god of the Ammonites, to whom human sacrifices were offered; Moloch. Lev. xviii. 21.

Mo*lec"u*lar (?), a. [Cf. F. moléculare. See Molecule.] (Phys. & Chem.) Pertaining to, connected with, produced by, or consisting of, molecules; as, molecular forces; molecular groups of atoms, etc.

Molecular attraction (Phys.), attraction acting between the molecules of bodies, and at insensible distances. -- Molecular weight (Chem.), the weight of a molecule of any gas or vapor as compared with the hydrogen atom as a standard; the sum of the atomic weights of the constituents of a molecule; thus, the molecular weight of water (H2O) is 18.

Mo*lec`u*lar"i*ty (?), n. (Phys. & Chem.) The state of consisting of molecules; the state or quality of being molecular.

Mo*lec"u*lar*ly (?), adv. (Phys. & Chem.) With molecules; in the manner of molecules. W. R. Grove.

Mol"e*cule (?), n. [Dim. fr. L. moles a mass: cf. F. molécule. See 3d Mole.] 1. One of the very small invisible particles of which all matter is supposed to consist.

2. (Physics) The smallest part of any substance which possesses the characteristic properties and qualities of that substance, and which can exist alone in a free state.

3. (Chem.) A group of atoms so united and combined by chemical affinity that they form a complete, integrated whole, being the smallest portion of any particular compound that can exist in a free state; as, a molecule of water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen. Cf. Atom.

Mole"-eyed` (?), a. Having eyes like those of the mole; having imperfect sight.

Mole"hill` (?), n. A little hillock of earth thrown up by moles working under ground; hence, a very small hill, or an insignificant obstacle or difficulty.

Having leapt over such mountains, lie down before a molehill.

South.

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{ Mo*len`di*na"ceous (m*ln`d*n"shs), Mo*len`di*na"ri*ous (m*ln`d*n"r*s), } a. [L. molendinarius, fr. molendinum a mill, fr. molere to grind.] (Bot.) Resembling the sails of a windmill.

Mole"skin` (ml"skn), n. Any fabric having a thick soft shag, like the fur of a mole; esp., a kind of strong twilled fustian.

Mo*lest" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Molested; p. pr. & vb. n. Molesting.] [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.] To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex.

They have molested the church with needless opposition.

Hooker.

Syn. -- To trouble; disturb; incommode; inconvenience; annoy; vex; tease.

Mo*lest", n. Molestation. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mol`es*ta"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. molestation.] The act of molesting, or the state of being molested; disturbance; annoyance.

Mo*lest"er (?), n. One who molests.

Mo*lest"ful (?), a. Troublesome; vexatious. [R.]

{ Mo*les"tie, Mo*les"ty (?) }, n. [L. molestia.] Molestation. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mole"warp` (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Moldwarp.

Mo*lim"i*nous (?), a. [L. molimen a great exertion; moles a heavy mass.] Of great bulk or consequence; very important. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Mo"line (?), n. [L. molina mill, fr. molere to grind. See Mill.] The crossed iron that supports the upper millstone by resting on the spindle; a millrind.

Cross moline (Her.), a cross each arm of which is divided at the end into two rounded branches or divisions.

Mo"lin*ism (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) The doctrines of the Molinists, somewhat resembling the tenets of the Arminians.

Mo"lin*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of the opinions of Molina, a Spanish Jesuit (in respect to grace); an opposer of the Jansenists.

||Moll (?), a. [G., fr. L. mollis soft, tender, elegiac. Cf. Molle.] ||(Mus.) Minor; in the minor mode; as, A moll, that is, A minor.

||Mol"lah (?), n. [Ar. maul, commonly mollin Turkey.] One of the higher ||order of Turkish judges; also, a Turkish title of respect for a ||religious and learned man. [Written also moolah.]

Mol"le (?), a. [See Moll.] (Mus.) Lower by a semitone; flat; as, E molle, that is, E flat.

Mol"le*bart (?), n. An agricultural implement used in Flanders, consisting of a kind of large shovel drawn by a horse and guided by a man. [Written also mollebært and mouldebært.] Simmonds.

Mol"le*moke` (?), n. [Sw. mallemucke the stormy petrel.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of large pelagic petrels and fulmars, as Fulmarus glacialis, of the North Atlantic, and several species of Æstrelata, of the Southern Ocean. See Fulmar. [Written also mollymawk, malmock, mollemock, mallemocke, etc.]

Mol"lient (?), a. [L. molliens, p. p. of mollire to soften, fr. mollis soft.] Serving to soften; assuaging; emollient.

Mol"lient*ly, adv. Assuagingly.

Mol"li*fi`a*ble (?), a. Capable of being mollified.

Mol`li*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [LL. mollificatio; cf. F. mollification.] The act of mollifying, or the state of being mollified; a softening. Chaucer.

Mol"li*fi`er (?), n. One who, or that which, mollifies. Bacon.

Mol"li*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mollified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mollifying (?).] [F. mollifier, L. mollificare; mollis soft + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Enmollient, Moil, v. t., and - fy.] 1. To soften; to make tender; to reduce the hardness, harshness, or asperity of; to qualify; as, to mollify the ground.

With sweet science mollified their stubborn hearts.

Spenser.

2. To assuage, as pain or irritation, to appease, as excited feeling or passion; to pacify; to calm.

Mol"li*net (?), n. [Cf. Moline.] A little mill.

Mol`li*pi*lose" (?), a. [L. mollis soft + pilosus hairy.] (Zoöl.) Having soft hairs; downy.

||Mol*li"ti*es (?), n. [L., softness.] (Med.) Unnatural softness of any ||organ or part. Dunglison.

Mol"li*tude (?), n. [L. mollitudo, fr. mollis soft.] Softness; effeminacy; weakness. [R.]

Mol"lusc (?), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Mollusk.

||Mol*lus"ca (?), n. pl. [NL. See Mollusk.] (Zoöl.) One of the grand ||divisions of the animal kingdom, including the classes Cephalopoda, ||Gastropoda, Pteropoda, Scaphopoda, and Lamellibranchiata, or ||Conchifera. These animals have an unsegmented bilateral body, with ||most of the organs and parts paired, but not repeated longitudinally. ||Most of them develop a mantle, which incloses either a branchial or a ||pulmonary cavity. They are generally more or less covered and ||protected by a calcareous shell, which may be univalve, bivalve, or ||multivalve.

Formerly the Brachiopoda, Bryzoa, and Tunicata were united with the Lamellibranchiata in an artificial group called Acephala, which was also included under Mollusca. See Molluscoidea.

Mol*lus"can (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to mollusks. -- n. A mollusk; one of the Mollusca.

Mol*lus"coid (?), a. [Mollusca + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Resembling the true mollusks; belonging to the Molluscoidea. -- n. One of the Molluscoidea.

Mol`lus*coid"al (?), a. (Zoöl.) Molluscoid.

||Mol`lus*coi"de*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Mollusk, and -oid.] (Zoöl.) A ||division of Invertebrata which includes the classes Brachiopoda and ||Bryozoa; - - called also Anthoid Mollusca.

Originally the Tunicata were included under Molluscoidea, from which they are known to differ widely in structure and embryology. Molluscoidea were formerly considered a subdivision of Mollusca, but they are now known to have more relationship with Annelida than with Mollusca.

Mol*lus"cous (?), a. (Zoöl.) Molluscan.

||Mol*lus"cum (?), n. [NL. See Mollusk.] (Med.) A cutaneous disease ||characterized by numerous tumors, of various forms, filled with a ||thick matter; -- so called from the resemblance of the tumors to some ||molluscous animals. Dunglison.

Mol"lusk (?), n. [F. mollusque, L. mollusca a kind of soft nut with a thin shell, fr. molluscus soft, mollis soft. See Mollify.] (Zoöl.) One of the Mollusca. [Written also mollusc.]

Mol"ly (?), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Mollemoke.

Mol"ly, n. A pet or colloquial name for Mary.

Molly cottontail. (Zoöl.) See Cottontail. -- Molly Maguire (m*gwr"); pl. Molly Maguires (- gwrz). (a) A member of a secret association formed among the tenantry in Ireland about 1843, principally for the purpose of intimidating law officers and preventing the service of legal writs. Its members disguised themselves in the dress of women. (b) A member of a similar association of Irishmen organized in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, about 1854, for the purpose of intimidating employers and officers of the law, and for avenging themselves by murder on persons obnoxious to them. The society was broken up by criminal prosecutions in 1876.

Mol"ly-mawk` (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Mollemoke.

Mo"loch (?), n. [Heb. molek king.] 1. (Script.) The fire god of the Ammonites in Canaan, to whom human sacrifices were offered; Molech. Also applied figuratively.

2. (Zoöl.) A spiny Australian lizard (Moloch horridus). The horns on the head and numerous spines on the body give it a most formidable appearance.

Mo*losse" (?), n. See Molossus.

Mo*los"ses (?), n. Molasses. [Obs.]

Mo*los"sine (?), n. (Zoöl.) A bat of the genus Molossus, as the monk bat.

||Mo*los"sus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, prop., Molossian, belonging to ||the Molossians, a people in the eastern part of Epirus.] (Gr. & Lat. ||Pros.) A foot of three long syllables. [Written also molosse.]

Molt (?), obs. imp. of Melt. Chaucer. Spenser.

{ Molt, Moult } (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Molted or Moulted; p. pr. & vb. n. Molting or Moulting.] [OE. mouten, L. mutare. See Mew to molt, and cf. Mute, v. t.] [The prevalent spelling is, perhaps, moult; but as the u has not been inserted in the otherwords of this class, as, bolt, colt, dolt, etc., it is desirable to complete the analogy by the spelling molt.] To shed or cast the hair, feathers, skin, horns, or the like, as an animal or a bird. Bacon.

{ Molt, Moult, } v. t. To cast, as the hair, skin, feathers, or the like; to shed.

{ Molt, Moult, } n. The act or process of changing the feathers, hair, skin, etc.; molting.

Molt"a*ble (?), a. Capable of assuming a molten state; meltable; fusible. [Obs.]

Mol"ten (?), a. [See Melt.] 1. Melted; being in a state of fusion, esp. when the liquid state is produced by a high degree of heat; as, molten iron.

2. Made by melting and casting the substance or metal of which the thing is formed; as, a molten image.

||Mol"to (?), adv. [It.] (Mus.) Much; very; as, molto adagio, very ||slow.

Mo"ly (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] 1. A fabulous herb of occult power, having a black root and white blossoms, said by Homer to have been given by Hermes to Ulysses to counteract the spells of Circe. Milton.

2. (Bot.) A kind of garlic (Allium Moly) with large yellow flowers; -- called also golden garlic.

Mo*lyb"date (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of molybdic acid.

Mol`yb*de"na (?), n. [L. molybdaena galena, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; lead.] (Min.) See Molybdenite.

Mo*lyb"de*nite (?), n. [Cf. F. molybdénite. See Molybdena.] (Min.) A mineral occurring in soft, lead-gray, foliated masses or scales, resembling graphite; sulphide of molybdenum.

Mo*lyb"de*nous (?), a. (Chem.) See Molybdous.

Mol`yb*de"num (?), n. [NL.: cf. F. molybdène. See Molybdena.] (Chem.) A rare element of the chromium group, occurring in nature in the minerals molybdenite and wulfenite, and when reduced obtained as a hard, silver-white, difficulty fusible metal. Symbol Mo. Atomic weight 95.9.

Mo*lyb"dic (?), a. [Cf. F. molybdique. See molybdena.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or containing, molybdenum; specif., designating those compounds in which the element has a higher valence, as contrasted with molybdous compounds; as, molybdic oxide.

Mo*lyb"dite (?), n. (Min.) Molybdic ocher.

Mo*lyb"dous (?), a. [See Molybdena.] Of, pertaining to, or containing, molybdenum; specif., designating those compounds in which molybdenum has a lower valence as contrasted with molybdic compounds.

Mome (?), n. [Cf. Mumm, Momus.] A dull, silent person; a blockhead. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mo"ment (?), n. [F. moment, L. momentum, for movimentum movement, motion, moment, fr. movere to move. See Move, and cf. Momentum, Movement.] 1. A minute portion of time; a point of time; an instant; as, at that very moment.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

1 Cor. xv. 52.

2. Impulsive power; force; momentum.

The moments or quantities of motion in bodies.

Berkley.

Touch, with lightest moment of impulse, His free will.

Milton.

3. Importance, as in influence or effect; consequence; weight or value; consideration.

Matters of great moment.

Shak.

It is an abstruse speculation, but also of far less moment and consequence of us than the others.

Bentley.

4. An essential element; a deciding point, fact, or consideration; an essential or influential circumstance.

5. (Math.) An infinitesimal change in a varying quantity; an increment or decrement. [Obs.]

6. (Mech.) Tendency, or measure of tendency, to produce motion, esp. motion about a fixed point or axis.

Moment of a couple (Mech.), the product of either of its forces into the perpendicular distance between them. -- Moment of a force. (Mech.) (a) With respect to a point, the product of the intensity of the force into the perpendicular distance from the point to the line of direction of the force. (b) With respect to a line, the product of that component of the force which is perpendicular to the plane passing through the line and the point of application of the force, into the shortest distance between the line and this point. (c) With respect to a plane that is parallel to the force, the product of the force into the perpendicular distance of its point of application from the plane. -- Moment of inertia, of a rotating body, the sum of the mass of each particle of matter of the body into the square of its distance from the axis of rotation; -- called also moment of rotation and moment of the mass. -- Statical moment, the product of a force into its leverage; the same as moment of a force with respect to a point, line, etc. -- Virtual moment. See under Virtual.

Syn. -- Instant; twinkling; consequence; weight; force; value; consideration; signification; avail.

Mo*men"tal (?), a. [Cf. OF. momental.] [Obs.] 1. Lasting but a moment; brief.

Not one momental minute doth she swerve.

Breton.

2. Important; momentous.

3. (Mech.) Of or pertaining to moment or momentum.

Mo*men"tal*ly, adv. For a moment. [Obs.]

{ Mo`men*ta"ne*ous (?), Mo"men*ta*ny (?), } a. [L. momentaneus: cf. F. momentané.] Momentary. [Obs.] Hooker. "Momentany as a sound." Shak.

Mo"men*ta*ri*ly (?), adv. Every moment; from moment to moment. Shenstone.

Mo"men*ta*ri*ness, n. The state or quality of being momentary; shortness of duration.

Mo"men*ta*ry (?), a. [L. momentarius. See Moment.] Done in a moment; continuing only a moment; lasting a very short time; as, a momentary pang.

This momentary joy breeds months of pain.

Shak.

Mo"ment*ly (?), adv. 1. For a moment.

2. In a moment; every moment; momentarily.

Mo*men"tous (?), a. [Cf. L. momentosus rapid, momentary.] Of moment or consequence; very important; weighty; as, a momentous decision; momentous affairs. -- Mo*men"tous*ly, adv. -- Mo*men"tous*ness, n.

Mo*men"tum (?), n.; pl. L. Momenta (#), F. Momentums (#). [L. See Moment.] 1. (Mech.) The quantity of motion in a moving body, being always proportioned to the quantity of matter multiplied into the velocity; impetus.

2. Essential element, or constituent element.

I shall state the several momenta of the distinction in separate propositions.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Mom"i*er (?), n. [F. mômier, fr. OF. momer, mommer, to mumm, to mask one's self.] A name given in contempt to strict Calvinists in Switzerland, France, and some parts of Germany, in the early part of the 19th century.

Mom"mer*y (?), n. See Mummery. Rowe.

Mo"mot (?), n. [Momot and motmot, the native American name.] (Zoöl.) See Motmot.

||Mo"mus (?), n. [Gr. &?; blame, ridicule, Momus.] (Gr. Myth.) The god ||of mockery and censure.

Mon- (?). Same as Mono-.

||Mo"na (?), n. [CF. Sp. & Pg. mona, fem. of mono a monkey, ape.] ||(Zoöl.) A small, handsome, long-tailed West American monkey ||(Cercopithecus mona). The body is dark olive, with a spot of white on ||the haunches.

Mon"a*chal (?), a. [L. monachus a monk: cf. F. monacal. See Monk.] Of or pertaining to monks or a monastic life; monastic.

Mon"a*chism (?), n. [Cf. F. monachisme.] The system and influences of a monastic life; monasticism.

Mon*ac"id (?), a. [Mon- + acid.] (Chem.) Having one hydrogen atom replaceable by a negative or acid atom or radical; capable of neutralizing a monobasic acid; -- said of bases, and of certain metals.

Mon"ad (?), n. [L. monas, - adis, a unit, Gr. &?;, &?;, fr. mo`nos alone.] 1. An ultimate atom, or simple, unextended point; something ultimate and indivisible.

2. (Philos. of Leibnitz) The elementary and indestructible units which were conceived of as endowed with the power to produce all the changes they undergo, and thus determine all physical and spiritual phenomena.

3. (Zoöl.) One of the smallest flagellate Infusoria; esp., the species of the genus Monas, and allied genera.

4. (Biol.) A simple, minute organism; a primary cell, germ, or plastid.

5. (Chem.) An atom or radical whose valence is one, or which can combine with, be replaced by, or exchanged for, one atom of hydrogen.

Monad deme (Biol.), in tectology, a unit of the first order of individuality.

<! p. 938 !>

||Mon`a*da"ri*a (mn`*d"r*), n. pl. [NL. See Monad.] (Zoöl.) The ||Infusoria.

||Mon`a*del"phi*a (?), n. pl. [NL., from Gr. mo`nos alone + 'adelfo`s ||brother.] (Bot.) A Linnæan class of plants having the stamens united ||into a tube, or ring, by the filaments, as in the Mallow family.

{ Mon`a*del"phi*an (?), Mon`a*del"phous (?), } a. [Cf. F. monadelphie.] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the Monadelphia; having the stamens united in one body by the filaments.

{ Mo*nad"ic (?), Mo*nad"ic*al (?), } a. Of, pertaining to, or like, a monad, in any of its senses. See Monad, n. Dr. H. More.

Mo*nad"i*form (?), a. [Monad + -form.] (Biol.) Having the form of a monad; resembling a monad in having one or more filaments of vibratile protoplasm; as, monadiform young.

Mon`ad*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Monad + -logy.] (Philos.) The doctrine or theory of monads.

Mo*nal" (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any Asiatic pheasant of the genus Lophophorus, as the Impeyan pheasant.

Mon*am"ide (?), n. [Mon- + amide.] (Chem.) An amido compound with only one amido group.

Mon*am"ine (?), n. [Mon- + amine.] (Chem.) A basic compound containing one amido group; as, methyl amine is a monamine.

Mo*nan"der (?), n. (Bot.) One of the Monandria.

||Mo*nan"dri*a (?), n. pl. [NL., from Gr. mo`nos alone + 'anh`r, ||'andro`s, a man.] (Bot.) A Linnæan class of plants embracing those ||having but a single stamen.

Mo*nan"dri*an (?), a.; (Bot.) Same as Monandrous.

Mo*nan"dric (?), a. Of or pertaining to monandry; practicing monandry as a system of marriage.

Mo*nan"drous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the monandria; having but one stamen.

Mo*nan"dry (?), n. [See Monandria.] The possession by a woman of only one husband at the same time; -- contrasted with polyandry.

Mo*nan"thous (?), a. [Mon- + Gr. 'a`nqos flower.] (Bot.) Having but one flower; one-flowered. Gray.

Mon"arch (?), n. [F. monarque, L. monarcha, fr. Gr. &?;, &?;; mo`nos alone + &?; to be first, rule, govern. See Archi-.] 1. A sole or supreme ruler; a sovereign; the highest ruler; an emperor, king, queen, prince, or chief.

He who reigns Monarch in heaven, . . . upheld by old repute.

Milton.

2. One superior to all others of the same kind; as, an oak is called the monarch of the forest.

3. A patron deity or presiding genius.

Come, thou, monarch of the vine, Plumpy Bacchus.

Shak.

4. (Zoöl.) A very large red and black butterfly (Danais Plexippus); -- called also milkweed butterfly.

Mon"arch, a. Superior to others; preëminent; supreme; ruling. "Monarch savage." Pope.

Mo*nar"chal (?), a. Pertaining to a monarch; suiting a monarch; sovereign; regal; imperial.

Satan, whom now transcendent glory raised Above his fellows, with monarchal pride.

Milton.

Mon"arch*ess, n. A female monarch. [Obs.]

Mo*nar"chi*al (?), a. Monarchic. Burke.

Mo*nar"chi*an (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in the early Christian church which rejected the doctrine of the Trinity; -- called also patripassian.

{ Mo*nar"chic (?), Mo*nar"chic*al (?), } a. [F. monarchique, Gr. &?;.] Of or pertaining to a monarch, or to monarchy. Burke. -- Mo*nar"chic*al*ly, adv.

Mon"arch*ism (?), n. The principles of, or preference for, monarchy.

Mon"arch*ist, n. [Cf. F. monarchiste.] An advocate of, or believer in, monarchy.

Mon"arch*ize (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Monarchized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Monarchizing (?).] To play the sovereign; to act the monarch. [R.] Shak.

Mon"arch*ize, v. t. To rule; to govern. [R.]

Mon"arch*i`zer (?), n. One who monarchizes; also, a monarchist.

Mo*nar"cho (?), n. The nickname of a crackbrained Italian who fancied himself an emperor. [Obs.] Shak.

Mon"arch*y (?), n.; pl. Monarchies (#). [F. monarchie, L. monarchia, Gr. &?;. See Monarch.] 1. A state or government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch.

2. A system of government in which the chief ruler is a monarch.

In those days he had affected zeal for monarchy.

Macaulay.

3. The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom.

What scourage for perjury Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence.

Shak.

Fifth monarchy, a universal monarchy, supposed to be the subject of prophecy in Daniel ii.; the four preceding monarchies being Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman. See Fifth Monarchy men, under Fifth.

||Mo"nas (?), n. [NL. See Monad.] (Zoöl.) A genus of minute flagellate ||Infusoria of which there are many species, both free and attached. ||See Illust. under Monad.

Mon`as*te"ri*al (?), a. [L. monasterials, fr. monasterium.] Of or pertaining to monastery, or to monastic life. -- Mon`as*te"ri*al*ly, adv.

Mon"as*te*ry (?), n.; pl. Monasteries (#). [L. monasterium, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; a solitary, a monk, fr. &?; to be alone, live in solitude, fr. mo`nos alone. Cf. Minister.] A house of religious retirement, or of secusion from ordinary temporal concerns, especially for monks; -- more rarely applied to such a house for females.

Syn. -- Convent; abbey; priory. See Cloister.

Mo*nas"tic (?), n. A monk.

{ Mo*nas"tic (?), Mo*nas"tic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?; monk: cf. F. monastique. See Monastery.] 1. Of or pertaining to monasteries, or to their occupants, rules, etc., as, monastic institutions or rules.

2. Secluded from temporal concerns and devoted to religion; recluse. "A life monastic." Denham.

Mo*nas"tic*al*ly, adv. In a monastic manner.

Mo*nas"ti*cism (?), n. The monastic life, system, or condition. Milman.

Mo*nas"ti*con (?), n. [NL. See Monastic.] A book giving an account of monasteries.

Mon`a*tom"ic (?), adv. [Mon- + atomic.] (Chem.) (a) Consisting of, or containing, one atom; as, the molecule of mercury is monatomic. (b) Having the equivalence or replacing power of an atom of hydrogen; univalent; as, the methyl radical is monatomic.

Mo*nax"i*al (?), a. [Mon- + axial.] (Biol.) Having only one axis; developing along a single line or plane; as, monaxial development.

Mon"a*zite (mn"*zt), n. [From Gr. mona`zein to be solitary, in allusion to its isolated crystals.] (Min.) A mineral occurring usually in small isolated crystals, -- a phosphate of the cerium metals.

Mon"day (mn"d; 48), n. [OE. moneday, monenday, AS. mnandæg, i.e., day of the moon, day sacred to the moon; akin to D. maandag, G. montag, OHG. mnatag, Icel. mnadagr, Dan. mandag, Sw. måndag. See Moon, and Day.] The second day of the week; the day following Sunday.

||Monde (môNd), n. [F. See Mundane.] The world; a globe as an ensign of ||royalty. [R.] A. Drummond.

||Le beau monde [F.], fashionable society. See Beau monde. -- ||Demi ||monde. See Demimonde.

Mone (?), n. The moon. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mone, n. A moan. [Obs.] Chaucer.

{ Mo*ne"cian (?), Mo*ne"cious (?), } a. (Bot.) See Monœcian, and Monœcious.

Mon*em"bry*o*ny (?), n. [See Mono- , and Embryo.] (Bot.) The condition of an ovule having but a single embryo. -- Mon*em`bry*on"ic (#), a.

Mo"ner (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Monera.

||Mo*ne"ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos single.] (Zoöl.) The lowest ||division of rhizopods, including those which resemble the amœbas, but ||are destitute of a nucleus.

Mo*ne"ral (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Monera.

Mo*ne"ran (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Monera. -- n. One of the Monera.

||Mo*ne"ron (?), n.; pl. L. Monera (#); E. Monerons (#). [NL.] (Zoöl.) ||One of the Monera.

||Mo*ner"u*la (?), n. [NL., dim. of moner. See Monera.] (Biol.) A germ ||in that stage of development in which its form is simply that of a ||non- nucleated mass of protoplasm. It precedes the one-celled germ. ||So called from its likeness to a moner. Haeckel.

Mo*ne"sia (?), n. (Pharm.) The bark, or a vegetable extract brought in solid cakes from South America and believed to be derived from the bark, of the tree Chrysophyllum glycyphlœum. It is used as an alterative and astringent.

Mo*ne"sin (?), n. The acrid principle of Monesia, sometimes used as a medicine.

Mo*nest" (?), v. t. [See Admonish.] To warn; to admonish; to advise. [Obs.] Wyclif (2 Cor. v. 20).

Mon"e*ta*ry (?), a. [L. monetarius belonging to a mint. See Money.] Of or pertaining to money, or consisting of money; pecuniary. "The monetary relations of Europe." E. Everett.

Monetary unit, the standard of a national currency, as the dollar in the United States, the pound in England, the franc in France, the mark in Germany.

Mon"eth (?), n. A month. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mon`e*ti*za"tion (?), n. The act or process of converting into money, or of adopting as money; as, the monetization of silver.

Mon"e*tize (?), v. t. To convert into money; to adopt as current money; as, to monetize silver.

Mon"ey (?), n.; pl. Moneys (#). [OE. moneie, OF. moneie, F. monnaie, fr. L. moneta. See Mint place where coin is made, Mind, and cf. Moidore, Monetary.] 1. A piece of metal, as gold, silver, copper, etc., coined, or stamped, and issued by the sovereign authority as a medium of exchange in financial transactions between citizens and with government; also, any number of such pieces; coin.

To prevent such abuses, . . . it has been found necessary . . . to affix a public stamp upon certain quantities of such particular metals, as were in those countries commonly made use of to purchase goods. Hence the origin of coined money, and of those public offices called mints.

A. Smith.

2. Any written or stamped promise, certificate, or order, as a government note, a bank note, a certificate of deposit, etc., which is payable in standard coined money and is lawfully current in lieu of it; in a comprehensive sense, any currency usually and lawfully employed in buying and selling.

Whatever, among barbarous nations, is used as a medium of effecting exchanges of property, and in the terms of which values are reckoned, as sheep, wampum, copper rings, quills of salt or of gold dust, shovel blades, etc., is, in common language, called their money.

3. In general, wealth; property; as, he has much money in land, or in stocks; to make, or lose, money.

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

1 Tim vi. 10 (Rev. Ver. ).

Money bill (Legislation), a bill for raising revenue. -- Money broker, a broker who deals in different kinds of money; one who buys and sells bills of exchange; -- called also money changer. -- Money cowrie (Zoöl.), any one of several species of Cypræa (esp. C. moneta) formerly much used as money by savage tribes. See Cowrie. -- Money of account, a denomination of value used in keeping accounts, for which there may, or may not, be an equivalent coin; e. g., the mill is a money of account in the United States, but not a coin. -- Money order, an order for the payment of money; specifically, a government order for the payment of money, issued at one post office as payable at another; -- called also postal money order. -- Money scrivener, a person who procures the loan of money to others. [Eng.] -- Money spider, Money spinner (Zoöl.), a small spider; -- so called as being popularly supposed to indicate that the person upon whom it crawls will be fortunate in money matters. -- Money's worth, a fair or full equivalent for the money which is paid. -- A piece of money, a single coin. -- Ready money, money held ready for payment, or actually paid, at the time of a transaction; cash. - - To make money, to gain or acquire money or property; to make a profit in dealings.

Mon"ey (?), v. t. To supply with money. [Obs.]

Mon"ey*age (?), n. [Cf. F. monnayage coinage.] 1. A tax paid to the first two Norman kings of England to prevent them from debashing the coin. Hume.

2. Mintage; coinage. [Obs.]

Mon"eyed (?), adv. 1. Supplied with money; having money; wealthy; as, moneyed men. Bacon.

2. Converted into money; coined.

If exportation will not balance importation, away must your silver go again, whether moneyed or not moneyed.

Locke.

3. Consisting in, or composed of, money. A. Hamilton.

Mon"ey*er (?), n. [From Money; cf. OF. monoier, F. monnoayeur, L. monetarius a master of the mint. Cf. Monetary.] 1. A person who deals in money; banker or broker. [Obs. or R.]

2. An authorized coiner of money. Sir M. Hale.

The Company of Moneyers, the officials who formerly coined the money of Great Britain, and who claimed certain prescriptive rights and privileges.

Mon"ey*less, a. Destitute of money; penniless; impecunious. Swift.

Mon"ey-mak`er (?), n. 1. One who coins or prints money; also, a counterfeiter of money. [R.]

2. One who accumulates money or wealth; specifically, one who makes money-getting his governing motive.

Mon"ey-mak`ing, n. The act or process of making money; the acquisition and accumulation of wealth.

Obstinacy in money-making.

Milman.

Mon"ey-mak`ing, a. 1. Affording profitable returns; lucrative; as, a money- making business.

2. Successful in gaining money, and devoted to that aim; as, a money-making man.

Mon"ey*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) A trailing plant (Lysimachia Nummularia), with rounded opposite leaves and solitary yellow flowers in their axils.

Mong"corn` (?), n. See Mangcorn.

Mon"ger (?), n. [AS. mangere, fr. mangian to trade; akin to Icel. manga to trade, mangari a trader, OHG. mangari, mengari; cf. L. mango a dealer in slaves.] 1. A trader; a dealer; -- now used chiefly in composition; as, fishmonger, ironmonger, newsmonger.

2. A small merchant vessel. [Obs.] Blount.

Mon"ger, v. t. To deal in; to make merchandise of; to traffic in; -- used chiefly of discreditable traffic.

Mon"gol (?), n. One of the Mongols. -- a. Of or pertaining to Mongolia or the Mongols.

Mon*go"li*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Mongolia or the Mongols. -- n. One of the Mongols.

Mon*gol"ic (?), a. See Mongolian.

Mon"go*loid (?), a. [Mongol + -oid.] Resembling a Mongol or the Mongols; having race characteristics, such as color, hair, and features, like those of the Mongols. Huxley.

{ Mon"gols (?), Mon*go"li*ans (?) }, n. pl. (Ethnol.) One of the great races of man, including the greater part of the inhabitants of China, Japan, and the interior of Asia, with branches in Northern Europe and other parts of the world. By some American Indians are considered a branch of the Mongols. In a more restricted sense, the inhabitants of Mongolia and adjacent countries, including the Burats and the Kalmuks.

{ Mon"goose, Mon"goos } (?), n. (Zoöl.) A species of ichneumon (Herpestes griseus), native of India. Applied also to other allied species, as the African banded mongoose (Crossarchus fasciatus). [Written also mungoose, mungoos, mungous.]

Mon"grel (?), n. [Prob. shortened fr. mongrel, and akin to AS. mengan to mix, and E. mingle. See Mingle.] The progeny resulting from a cross between two breeds, as of domestic animals; anything of mixed breed. Drayton.

Mon"grel, a. 1. (Zoöl.) Not of a pure breed.

2. Of mixed kinds; as, mongrel language.

Mon"grel*ize (?), v. t. & i. To cause to be mongrel; to cross breeds, so as to produce mongrels.

'Mongst (?), prep. See Amongst.

Mon"ied (?), a. See Moneyed.

Mo*nif"i*er (?), n. [NL., fr. L. monile necklace + ferre to bear.] (Paleon.) A fossil fish.

Mo*nil"i*form (?), a. [L. monile necklace + -form: cf. F. moniliforme.] (Biol.) Joined or constricted, at regular intervals, so as to resemble a string of beads; as, a moniliform root; a moniliform antenna. See Illust. of Antenna.

Mon"i*ment (?), n. [L. monimentum, monumentum. See Monument.] Something to preserve memory; a reminder; a monument; hence, a mark; an image; a superscription; a record. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mon"ish (?), v. t. [OE. monesten. See Admonish, Monition.] To admonish; to warn. See Admonish. [Archaic] Ascham.

Mon"ish*er (?), n. One who monishes; an admonisher. [Archaic]

Mon"ish*ment (?), n. Admonition. [Archaic]

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Mon"ism (mn"z'm or m"nz'm), n. [From Gr. mo`nos single.] 1. (Metaph.) That doctrine which refers all phenomena to a single ultimate constituent or agent; -- the opposite of dualism.

The doctrine has been held in three generic forms: matter and its phenomena have been explained as a modification of mind, involving an idealistic monism; or mind has been explained by and resolved into matter, giving a materialistic monism; or, thirdly, matter, mind, and their phenomena have been held to be manifestations or modifications of some one substance, like the substance of Spinoza, or a supposed unknown something of some evolutionists, which is capable of an objective and subjective aspect.

2. (Biol.) See Monogenesis, 1.

Mon"ist, n. A believer in monism.

Mo*nis"tic (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or involving, monism.

Mo*ni"tion (?), n. [F., fr. L. monitio, from monere to warn, bring to mind; akin to E. mind. See Mind, and cf. Admonish, Money, Monster.] 1. Instruction or advice given by way of caution; an admonition; a warning; a caution.

Sage monitions from his friends.

Swift.

2. Information; indication; notice; advice.

We have no visible monition of . . . other periods, such as we have of the day by successive light and darkness.

Holder.

3. (Admiralty Practice) A process in the nature of a summons to appear and answer.

4. (Eccl. Law) An order monishing a party complained against to obey under pain of the law. Shipley.

Mon"i*tive (?), a. Conveying admonition; admonitory. Barrow.

Mon"i*tor (?), n. [L., fr. monere. See Monition, and cf. Mentor.] 1. One who admonishes; one who warns of faults, informs of duty, or gives advice and instruction by way of reproof or caution.

You need not be a monitor to the king.

Bacon.

2. Hence, specifically, a pupil selected to look to the school in the absence of the instructor, to notice the absence or faults of the scholars, or to instruct a division or class.

3. (Zoöl.) Any large Old World lizard of the genus Varanus; esp., the Egyptian species (V. Niloticus), which is useful because it devours the eggs and young of the crocodile. It is sometimes five or six feet long.

4. [So called from the name given by Captain Ericson, its designer, to the first ship of the kind.] An ironclad war vessel, very low in the water, and having one or more heavily-armored revolving turrets, carrying heavy guns.

5. (Mach.) A tool holder, as for a lathe, shaped like a low turret, and capable of being revolved on a vertical pivot so as to bring successively the several tools in holds into proper position for cutting.

Monitor top, the raised central portion, or clearstory, of a car roof, having low windows along its sides.

Mon`i*to"ri*al (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to a monitor or monitors.

2. Done or performed by a monitor; as, monitorial work; conducted or taught by monitors; as, a monitorial school; monitorial instruction.

Mon`i*to"ri*al*ly, adv. In a monitorial manner.

Mon"i*tor*ship (?), n. The post or office of a monitor.

Mon"i*to*ry (?), a. [L. monitorius.] Giving admonition; instructing by way of caution; warning.

Losses, miscarriages, and disappointments, are monitory and instructive.

L'Estrange.

Mon"i*to*ry, n. Admonition; warning; especially, a monition proceeding from an ecclesiastical court, but not addressed to any one person.

{ Mon"i*tress (?), Mon"i*trix (?), } n. A female monitor.

Monk (?), n. [AS. munuc, munec, munc, L. monachus, Gr. &?;, fr. mo`nos alone. Cf. Monachism.] 1. A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious community of men inhabiting a monastery, and bound by vows to a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty. "A monk out of his cloister." Chaucer.

Monks in some respects agree with regulars, as in the substantial vows of religion; but in other respects monks and regulars differ; for that regulars, vows excepted, are not tied up to so strict a rule of life as monks are.

Ayliffe.

2. (Print.) A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink.

3. A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine.

4. (Zoöl.) (a) A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthocephalus. (b) The European bullfinch.

Monk bat (Zoöl.), a South American and West Indian bat (Molossus nasutus); -- so called because the males live in communities by themselves. -- Monk bird(Zoöl.), the friar bird. -- Monk seal (Zoöl.), a species of seal (Monachus albiventer) inhabiting the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic. -- Monk's rhubarb (Bot.), a kind of dock; -- also called patience (Rumex Patientia).

Monk"er*y (?), n.; pl. Monkeries (&?;). 1. The life of monks; monastic life; monastic usage or customs; -- now usually applied by way of reproach.

Miters, and wretched dead mediæval monkeries.

Carlyle.

2. A collective body of monks. [Obs.]

Though he have a whole monkery to sing for him.

Latimer.

Mon"key (?), n.; pl. Monkeys (#). [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It. monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr. fr. madonna. See Madonna.] 1. (Zoöl.) (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana, including apes, baboons, and lemurs. (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs. (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of apes and baboons.

The monkeys are often divided into three groups: (a) Catarrhines, or Simidæ. These have an oblong head, with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old World. (b) Platyrhines, or Cebidæ. These have a round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not opposable. These are natives of the New World. (c) Strepsorhines, or Lemuroidea. These have a pointed head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.

2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a mischievous child.

This is the monkey's own giving out; she is persuaded I will marry her.

Shak.

3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.

4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.

Monkey boat. (Naut.) (a) A small boat used in docks. (b) A half- decked boat used on the River Thames. -- Monkey block (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a swivel. R. H. Dana, Jr. -- Monkey flower (Bot.), a plant of the genus Mimulus; -- so called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. Gray. -- Monkey gaff (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast for the better display of signals at sea. -- Monkey jacket, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by sailors. -- Monkey rail (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about six inches above the quarter rail of a ship. -- Monkey shine, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.] -- Monkey trick, a mischievous prank. Saintsbury. -- Monkey wheel. See Gin block, under 5th Gin. -- Monkey wrench, a wrench or spanner having a movable jaw.

Mon"key, v. t. & i. To act or treat as a monkey does; to ape; to act in a grotesque or meddlesome manner.

To monkey with, to handle in a meddlesome manner. [Colloq.]

Mon"key-bread` (?), n. (Bot.) The fruit of the Adansonia digitata; also, the tree. See Adansonia.

Mon"key-cup` (?), n. (Bot.) See Nepenthes.

Mon"key-pot` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The fruit of two South American trees (Lecythis Ollaria, and L. Zabucajo), which have for their fruit large, pot-shaped, woody capsules containing delicious nuts, and opening almost explosively by a circular lid at the top. Vases and pots are made of this capsule.

Mon"key's puz"zle (?). (Bot.) A lofty coniferous Chilian tree (Araucaria imbricata), the branches of which are so crowded and intertwisted "as to puzzle a monkey to climb." The edible nuts are over an inch long, and are called piñon by the Chilians.

Mon"key*tail` (?), n. (Naut.) A short, round iron bar or lever used in naval gunnery. Totten.

Monk"fish (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The angel fish (Squatina). (b) The angler (Lophius).

Monk"flow`er (?), n. (Bot.) A name of certain curious orchids which bear three kinds of flowers formerly referred to three genera, but now ascertained to be sexually different forms of the same genus (Catasetum tridentatum, etc.).

Monk"hood (?), n. [Monk + - hood.] 1. The character or condition of a monk. Atterbury.

2. Monks, regarded collectively. Longfellow.

Monk"ing, a. Monkish. [R.] Coleridge.

Monk"ish, a. Like a monk, or pertaining to monks; monastic; as, monkish manners; monkish dress; monkish solitude. -- Monk"ish*ness, n.

Monk"ly, a. Like, or suitable to, a monk. [R.]

Monks"hood` (?), n. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Aconitum; aconite. See Aconite.

Monk's" seam` (?). (Naut.) An extra middle seam made at the junction of two breadths of canvas, ordinarily joined by only two rows of stitches.

{ Mon"o- (?), Mon- (?) }. [Gr. &?;.] A prefix signifying one, single, alone; as, monocarp, monopoly; (Chem.) indicating that a compound contains one atom, radical, or group of that to the name of which it is united; as, monoxide, monosulphide, monatomic, etc.

||Mo"no (?), n. [Sp.] (Zoöl.) The black howler of Central America ||(Mycetes villosus).

Mon`o*ba"sic (?), a. [Mono- + basic.] (Chem.) Capable of being neutralized by a univalent base or basic radical; having but one acid hydrogen atom to be replaced; -- said of acids; as, acetic, nitric, and hydrochloric acids are monobasic.

Mon`o*car*bon"ic (?), a. [Mono- + carbonic.] (Chem.) Containing one carboxyl group; as, acetic acid is a monocarbonic acid.

Mon`o*car"di*an (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; heart.] (Zoöl.) Having a single heart, as fishes and amphibians. -- n. An animal having a single heart.

Mon"o*carp (?), n. (Bot.) A monocarpic plant.

Mon`o*car"pel*la*ry (?), a. [Mono- + carpellary.] (Bot.) Consisting of a single carpel, as the fruit of the pea, cherry, and almond.

{ Mon`o*car"pic (?), Mon`o*car"pous (?), } a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; fruit: cf. F. monocarpe.] (Bot.) Bearing fruit but once, and dying after fructification, as beans, maize, mustard, etc.

Annual and biennual herbs are monocarpic, so also some plants of longer duration, as the century plant.

Mon`o*ceph"a*lous (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. kefalh` head.] (Bot.) Having a solitary head; -- said of unbranched composite plants.

||Mo*noc"e*ros (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;; mo`nos alone, single + ke`ras ||horn.] 1. A one-horned creature; a unicorn; a sea monster with one ||horn.

Mighty monoceroses with immeasured tails.

Spenser.

2. (Astron.) The Unicorn, a constellation situated to the east Orion.

Mon`o*chla*myd"e*ous (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?;, &?;, cloak: cf. F. monochlamydé.] (Bot.) Having a single floral envelope, that is, a calyx without a corolla, or, possibly, in rare cases, a corolla without a calyx.

Mon"o*chord (?), n. [L. monochordon, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; with but one string; &?; only, single + &?; string: cf. F. monocorde. See Chord, and cf. Mainchord.] (Mus.) An instrument for experimenting upon the mathematical relations of musical sounds. It consists of a single string stretched between two bridges, one or both of which are movable, and which stand upon a graduated rule for the purpose of readily changing and measuring the length of the part of the string between them.

Mon`o*chro*mat"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. monochromatique. See Monochrome.] Consisting of one color, or presenting rays of light of one color only.

Monochromatic lamp (Opt.),a lamp whose flame yields rays of some one homogenous light. It is of great importance in optical experiments.

Mon"o*chrome (?), n. [Gr. &?; of one color; mo`nos single + &?; color: cf. F. monochrome.] A painting or drawing in a single color; a picture made with a single color.

Mon`o*chro"mic (?), a. Made, or done, with a single color; as, a monochromic picture.

Mon"o*chro`my (?), n. The art of painting or drawing in monochrome.

Mon`o*chron"ic (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; time.] Existing at the same time; contemporaneous.

Mon`o*cil"i*a`ted (?), a. [Mono- + ciliated.] (Biol.) Having but one cilium.

Mon"o*cle (?), n. [F. See Monocular.] An eyeglass for one eye. Simmonds.

Mon`o*cli"nal (?), a. [See Monoclinic.] (Geol.) Having one oblique inclination; -- applied to strata that dip in only one direction from the axis of elevation.

Mon"o*cline (?), n. (Geol.) A monoclinal fold.

Mon`o*clin"ic (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; to incline.] (Crystallog.) Having one oblique intersection; -- said of that system of crystallization in which the vertical axis is inclined to one, but at right angles to the other, lateral axis. See Crystallization.

Mo*noc"li*nous (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; couch, fr. &?; to lie down: cf. F. monocline.] (Bot.) Hermaphrodite, or having both stamens and pistils in every flower.

||Mon`o*con"dy*la (?), n. pl. [NL. See Mono-, and Condyle.] (Zoöl.) A ||group of vertebrates, including the birds and reptiles, or those that ||have only one occipital condyle; the Sauropsida.

Mon"o*co*tyl (?), n. (Bot.) Any monocotyledonous plant.

Mon"o*co*tyle (?), a. [Cf. F. monocotyle.] (Bot.) Monocotyledonous.

Mon`o*cot`y*le"don (?), n. [Mono- + cotyledon: cf. F. monocotylédone.] (Bot.) A plant with only one cotyledon, or seed lobe.

The plural, monocotyledons, is used as the name of a large class of plants, and is generally understood to be equivalent to the term endogens.

Mon`o*cot`y*le"don*ous (?), a. [Cf. F. monocotylédoné.] (Bot.) Having only one cotyledon, seed lobe, or seminal leaf. Lindley.

Mo*noc"ra*cy (?), n. [Mono- + -cracy, as in democracy.] Government by a single person; undivided rule. Sydney Smith.

Mon"o*crat (?), n. [Cf. Gr. &?; ruling alone.] One who governs alone.

Mon`o*crot"ic (?), a. (Physiol.) Of, pertaining to, or showing, monocrotism; as, a monocrotic pulse; a pulse of the monocrotic type.

Mo*noc"ro*tism (?), n. [Gr. mo`nos alone + &?; a beating.] (Physiol.) That condition of the pulse in which the pulse curve or sphygmogram shows but a single crest, the dicrotic elevation entirely disappearing.

Mo*noc"u*lar (?), a. [L. monoculus; Gr. mo`nos single + L. oculus eye: cf. F. monoculaire.] 1. Having only one eye; with one eye only; as, monocular vision.

2. Adapted to be used with only one eye at a time; as, a monocular microscope.

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Mon"o*cule (mn"*kl), n. [See Monocular.] (Zoöl.) A small crustacean with one median eye.

Mo*noc"u*lous (?), a. Monocular. Glanvill.

Mon`o*cys"tic (?), a. [See Mono- , and Cyst.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to a division (Monocystidea) of Gregarinida, in which the body consists of one sac.

Mon`o*dac"tyl*ous (?), a. [Gr. monoda`ktylos; mo`nos single + da`ktylos finger: cf. F. monodactyle.] (Zoöl.) Having but one finger or claw.

{ Mon"o*delph (?), Mon`o*del"phi*an (?), } n. (Zoöl.) One of the Monodelphia.

||Mon`o*del"phi*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos single + delfy`s the ||womb.] (Zoöl.) The group that includes all ordinary or placental ||mammals; the Placentalia. See Mammalia.

{ Mon`o*del"phic (?), Mon`o*del"phous (?), } a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Monodelphia.

{ Mo*nod"ic (?), Mo*nod"ic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;.] 1. Belonging to a monody.

2. (Mus.) (a) For one voice; monophonic. (b) Homophonic; -- applied to music in which the melody is confined to one part, instead of being shared by all the parts as in the style called polyphonic.

Mon`o*di*met"ric (?), a. [Mono- + dimetric.] (Crystallog.) Dimetric.

Mon"o*dist (?), n. A writer of a monody.

{ Mon"o*dra`ma (?), Mon"o*drame (?), } n. [Mono- + Gr. &?; drama.] A drama acted, or intended to be acted, by a single person.

Mon`o*dra*mat"ic (?), a. Pertaining to a monodrama.

Mon"o*dy (?), n.; pl. Monodies (#). [L. monodia, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; singing alone; mo`nos single + &?; song: cf. F. monodie. See Ode.] A species of poem of a mournful character, in which a single mourner expresses lamentation; a song for one voice.

Mon`o*dy*nam"ic (?), a. [Mono- + dynamic.] Possessing but one capacity or power. "Monodynamic men." De Quincey.

Mon`o*dy"na*mism (?), n. The theory that the various forms of activity in nature are manifestations of the same force. G. H. Lewes.

||Mo*nœ"ci*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos single + &?; house.] ||(Bot.) A Linnæan class of plants, whose stamens and pistils are in ||distinct flowers in the same plant.

Mo*nœ"cian (?), a. 1. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the Monœcia; monœcious. -- n. One of the Monœcia.

2. (Zoöl.) A monœcious animal, as certain mollusks.

Mo*nœ"cious (?), a. (Biol.) Having the sexes united in one individual, as when male and female flowers grow upon the same individual plant; hermaphrodite; -- opposed to diœcious.

Mo*nœ"cism (?), n. (Biol.) The state or condition of being monœcious.

Mon"o*gam (?), n. (Bot.) One of the Monogamia.

||Mon`o*ga"mi*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Monogamous.] (Bot.) A Linnæan ||order of plants, having solitary flowers with united anthers, as in ||the genus Lobelia.

{ Mon`o*ga"mi*an (?), Mon`o*gam"ic (?), } a. [See Monogamous.] 1. Pertaining to, or involving, monogamy.

2. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the Monogamia; having a simple flower with united anthers.

Mo*nog"a*mist (?), n. One who practices or upholds monogamy. Goldsmith.

Mo*nog"a*mous (?), a. [L. monogamus having but one wife, Gr. &?;; mo`nos single + &?; marriage.] 1. Upholding, or practicing, monogamy.

2. (Bot.) Same as Monogamian.

3. (Zoöl.) Mating with but one of the opposite sex; -- said of birds and mammals.

Mo*nog"a*my (?), n. [L. monogamia, Gr. &?;: cf. F. monogamie.] 1. Single marriage; marriage with but one person, husband or wife, at the same time; -- opposed to polygamy. Also, one marriage only during life; -- opposed to deuterogamy.

2. (Zoöl.) State of being paired with a single mate.

Mon`o*gas"tric (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; belly.] Having but a single stomach.

Mon`o*gen"e*sis (?), n. [Mono- + genesis.] 1. Oneness of origin; esp. (Biol.), development of all beings in the universe from a single cell; -- opposed to polygenesis. Called also monism. Dana. Haeckel.

2. (Biol.) That form of reproduction which requires but one parent, as in reproduction by fission or in the formation of buds, etc., which drop off and form new individuals; asexual reproduction. Haeckel.

3. (Biol.) The direct development of an embryo, without metamorphosis, into an organism similar to the parent organism; -- opposed to metagenesis. E. van Beneden.

Mon`o*ge*net"ic (?), a. [See Monogenesis.] 1. (Geol.) One in genesis; resulting from one process of formation; -- used of a mountain range. Dana.

2. (Biol.) Relating to, or involving, monogenesis; as, the monogenetic school of physiologists, who admit but one cell as the source of all beings.

Mon`o*gen"ic (?), a. 1. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to monogenesis.

2. (Zoöl.) Producing only one kind of germs, or young; developing only in one way.

Mo*nog"e*nism (?), n. (Anthropol.) The theory or doctrine that the human races have a common origin, or constitute a single species.

Mo*nog"e*nist (?), n. (Anthropol.) One who maintains that the human races are all of one species; -- opposed to polygenist.

Mon`o*ge*nis"tic (?), a. Monogenic.

Mo*nog"e*nous (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to monogenesis; as, monogenous, or asexual, reproduction.

Mo*nog"e*ny (?), n. 1. Monogenesis.

2. (Anthropol.) The doctrine that the members of the human race have all a common origin.

Mon`o*go*neu"tic (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; offspring.] (Zoöl.) Having but one brood in a season.

Mon"o*gram (?), n. [L. monogramma; Gr. mo`nos single + gra`mma letter, fr. gra`fein to write: cf. F. monogramme. See Graphic.] 1. A character or cipher composed of two or more letters interwoven or combined so as to represent a name, or a part of it (usually the initials). Monograms are often used on seals, ornamental pins, rings, buttons, and by painters, engravers, etc., to distinguish their works.

Monogram.

The monogram above, combining the letters of the name Karolvs, was used by Charlemagne.

2. A picture in lines; a sketch. [R.]

3. An arbitrary sign for a word. [R.]

Mon"o*gram`mal (?), a. See Monogrammic.

Mon`o*gram*mat"ic (?), a. Monogrammic.

Mon`o*gram"mic (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a monogram.

Mon"o*gram`mous (?), a. Monogrammic.

Mon"o*graph (?), n. [Mono- + -graph.] A written account or description of a single thing, or class of things; a special treatise on a particular subject of limited range.

Mo*nog"ra*pher (?), n. A writer of a monograph.

{ Mon`o*graph"ic (?), Mon`o*graph"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. monographique.] Of or pertaining to a monograph, or to a monography; as, a monographic writing; a monographic picture. -- Mon`o*graph"ic*al*ly, adv.

Mo*nog"ra*phist (?), n. One who writes a monograph.

Mo*nog"ra*phous (?), a. Monographic. [Obs.]

Mo*nog"ra*phy (?), n. [Mono- + -graphy: cf. F. monographie.] 1. Representation by lines without color; an outline drawing.

2. A monograph. [Obs.]

Mon"o*gyn (?), n. (Bot.) One of the Monogynia.

||Mon`o*gyn"i*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos single + &?; woman, ||female.] (Bot.) A Linnæan order of plants, including those which have ||only one style or stigma.

Mon`o*gyn"i*an (?), a. (Bot.) Pertaining to the Monogynia; monogynous. -- n. One of the Monogynia.

Mo*nog"y*nous (?), a. [Cf. F. monogyne.] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to Monogynia; having only one style or stigma.

Mo*nog"y*ny (?), n. [See Monogynia.] 1. Marriage with the one woman only.

2. (Bot.) The state or condition of being monogynous.

Mon`o*hem"er*ous (?), a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; day.] (Med.) Lasting but one day.

Mo*noi"cous (?), a. (Bot.) Monœcious.

Mo*nol"a*try (?), n. [Mono- + Gr. &?; worship.] Worship of a single deity.

Mon"o*lith (?), n. [F. monolithe, L. monolithus consisting of a single stone, Gr. &?;; mo`nos single + li`qos stone.] A single stone, especially one of large size, shaped into a pillar, statue, or monument.

Mon"o*lith`al (?), a. Monolithic.

Mon`o*lith"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to a monolith; consisting of a single stone.

Mo*nol"o*gist (?), n. [See Monologue.] One who soliloquizes; esp., one who monopolizes conversation in company. De Quincey.

Mon"o*logue (?), n. [F. monologue, Gr. &?; speaking alone; mo`nos alone, single, sole + lo`gos speech, discourse, le`gein to speak. See Legend.] 1. A speech uttered by a person alone; soliloquy; also, talk or discourse in company, in the strain of a soliloquy; as, an account in monologue. Dryden.

2. A dramatic composition for a single performer.

Mo*nol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;.] The habit of soliloquizing, or of monopolizing conversation.

It was not by an insolent usurpation that Coleridge persisted in monology through his whole life.

De Quincey.

{ ||Mon`o*ma"chi*a (?), Mo*nom"a*chy (?), } n. [L. monomachia, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; fighting in single combat; mo`nos single, alone + &?; to fight.] A duel; single combat. "The duello or monomachia." Sir W. Scott.

Mo*nom"a*chist (?), n. One who fights in single combat; a duelist.

Mon"o*mane (?), n. A monomaniac. [R.]

Mon`o*ma"ni*a (?), n. [Mono- + mania.] Derangement of the mind in regard of a single subject only; also, such a concentration of interest upon one particular subject or train of ideas to show mental derangement.

Syn. -- Insanity; madness; alienation; aberration; derangement; mania. See Insanity.

Mon`oma"ni*ac (?), n. A person affected by monomania.

{ Mon`oma"ni*ac (?), Mon`oma"ni*a*cal (?), } a. [Cf. F. monomaniaque.] Affected with monomania, or partial derangement of intellect; caused by, or resulting from, monomania; as, a monomaniacal delusion.

Mon"ome (?), n. [F., fr. Gr. mo`nos single + -nome as in binome. See Binomial.] (Math.) A monomial.

Mo*nom"er*ous (?), a. [Gr. mo`nos single; mo`nos alone + &?; part.] 1. (Bot.) Composed of solitary parts, as a flower with one sepal, one petal, one stamen, and one pistil.

2. (Zoöl.) Having but one joint; -- said of the foot of certain insects.

Mon`o*me*tal"lic (?), a. Consisting of one metal; of or pertaining to monometallism.

Mon`o*met"al*lism (?), n. [Mono- + metal.] The legalized use of one metal only, as gold, or silver, in the standard currency of a country, or as a standard of money values. See Bimetallism.

Mon`o*met"al*list (?), n. One who believes in monometallism as opposed to bimetallism, etc.

Mo*nom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; of one meter; mo`nos single + &?; measure.] A rhythmic series, consisting of a single meter.

Mon`o*met"ric (?), a. [Cf. F. monométrique.] (Crystallog.) Same as Isometric.

Mo*no"mi*al (?), n. [See Monome, Binomial.] (Alg.) A single algebraic expression; that is, an expression unconnected with any other by the sign of addition, substraction, equality, or inequality.

Mo*no"mi*al, a. (Alg.) Consisting of but a single term or expression.

{ Mon`o*mor"phic (?), Mon`o*mor"phous (?), } a. [Mono- + Gr. &?; form.] (Biol.) Having but a single form; retaining the same form throughout the various stages of development; of the same or of an essentially similar type of structure; -- opposed to dimorphic, trimorphic, and polymorphic.

||Mo*nom"pha*lus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos alone + &?; the navel.] A ||form of double monster, in which two individuals are united by a ||common umbilicus.

{ ||Mo*no"my*a (?), ||Mon`o*my*a"ri*a (?), } n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. mo`nos single + &?;, &?;, muscle.] (Zoöl.) An order of lamellibranchs having but one muscle for closing the shell, as the oyster.

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