| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| ma’am | noun | Madam; my lady; — a colloquial contraction of madam often used in direct address, and sometimes as an appellation. |
| mabby | noun | A spirituous liquor or drink distilled from potatoes; — used in the Barbadoes. |
| macao | noun | A macaw. |
| macaw | noun | Any parrot of the genus Sittace, or Macrocercus. About eighteen species are known, all of them American. They are large and have a very long tail, a strong hooked bill, and a naked space around the eyes. The voice is harsh, and the colors are brilliant and strongly contrasted. |
| macco | noun | A gambling game in vogue in the eighteenth century. |
| macer | noun | A mace bearer; an officer of a court. |
| macho | noun | The striped mullet of California (Mugil cephalus, / Mexicanus). |
| macle | noun | Chiastolite; — so called from the tessellated appearance of a cross section. See Chiastolite., A crystal having a similar tessellated appearance., A twin crystal. |
| madam | noun | A gentlewoman; — an appellation or courteous form of address given to a lady, especially an elderly or a married lady; — much used in the address, at the beginning of a letter, to a woman. The corresponding word in addressing a man is Sir. |
| madge | noun | The barn owl., The magpie. |
| madia | noun | A genus of composite plants, of which one species (Madia sativa) is cultivated for the oil yielded from its seeds by pressure. This oil is sometimes used instead of olive oil for the table. |
| madid | adjective | Wet; moist; as, a madid eye. |
| madly | adjective | In a mad manner; without reason or understanding; wildly. |
| magic | adjective | A comprehensive name for all of the pretended arts which claim to produce effects by the assistance of supernatural beings, or departed spirits, or by a mastery of secret forces in nature attained by a study of occult science, including enchantment, conjuration, witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, incantation, etc., Alt. of Magical |
| magma | noun | Any crude mixture of mineral or organic matters in the state of a thin paste., A thick residuum obtained from certain substances after the fluid parts are expressed from them; the grounds which remain after treating a substance with any menstruum, as water or alcohol., A salve or confection of thick consistency., The molten matter within the earth, the source of the material of lava flows, dikes of eruptive rocks, etc., The glassy base of an eruptive rock., The amorphous or homogenous matrix or ground mass, as distinguished from well-defined crystals; as, the magma of porphyry. |
| magot | noun | The Barbary ape. |
| mahdi | noun | Among Mohammedans, the last imam or leader of the faithful. The Sunni, the largest sect of the Mohammedans, believe that he is yet to appear. |
| mahoe | noun | A name given to several malvaceous trees (species of Hibiscus, Ochroma, etc.), and to their strong fibrous inner bark, which is used for strings and cordage. |
| maian | noun | Any spider crab of the genus Maia, or family Maiadae. |
| maine | noun | One of the New England States. |
| mains | noun | The farm attached to a mansion house. |
| maize | noun | A large species of American grass of the genus Zea (Z. Mays), widely cultivated as a forage and food plant; Indian corn. Also, its seed, growing on cobs, and used as food for men animals. |
| major | adjective | Greater in number, quantity, or extent; as, the major part of the assembly; the major part of the revenue; the major part of the territory., Of greater dignity; more important., Of full legal age., Greater by a semitone, either in interval or in difference of pitch from another tone., An officer next in rank above a captain and next below a lieutenant colonel; the lowest field officer., A person of full age., That premise which contains the major term. It its the first proposition of a regular syllogism; as: No unholy person is qualified for happiness in heaven [the major]. Every man in his natural state is unholy [minor]. Therefore, no man in his natural state is qualified for happiness in heaven [conclusion or inference]., A mayor. |
| maked | past participle | Made. |
| maker | noun | One who makes, forms, or molds; a manufacturer; specifically, the Creator., The person who makes a promissory note., One who writes verses; a poet. |
| malar | adjective | Of or pertaining to the region of the cheek bone, or to the malar bone; jugal., The cheek bone, which forms a part of the lower edge of the orbit. |
| malax | verb t. | Alt. of Malaxate |
| malay | noun | One of a race of a brown or copper complexion in the Malay Peninsula and the western islands of the Indian Archipelago., Alt. of Malayan |
| male- | See Mal-. | |
| maleo | noun | A bird of Celebes (megacephalon maleo), allied to the brush turkey. It makes mounds in which to lay its eggs. |
| malet | noun | A little bag or budget. |
| malic | adjective | Pertaining to, or obtained from, apples; as, malic acid. |
| malma | noun | A spotted trout (Salvelinus malma), inhabiting Northern America, west of the Rocky Mountains; — called also Dolly Varden trout, bull trout, red-spotted trout, and golet. |
| malty | adjective | Consisting, or like, malt. |
| malum | noun | An evil. See Mala. |
| mamma | noun | Mother; — word of tenderness and familiarity., A glandular organ for secreting milk, characteristic of all mammals, but usually rudimentary in the male; a mammary gland; a breast; under; bag. |
| mammy | noun | A child’s name for mamma, mother. |
| manca | noun | See Mancus. |
| maned | adjective | Having a mane. |
| maneh | noun | A Hebrew weight for gold or silver, being one hundred shekels of gold and sixty shekels of silver. |
| manes | noun pl. | The benevolent spirits of the dead, especially of dead ancestors, regarded as family deities and protectors. |
| mange | noun | The scab or itch in cattle, dogs, and other beasts. |
| mango | noun | The fruit of the mango tree. It is rather larger than an apple, and of an ovoid shape. Some varieties are fleshy and luscious, and others tough and tasting of turpentine. The green fruit is pickled for market., A green muskmelon stuffed and pickled. |
| mangy | superl. | Infected with the mange; scabby. |
| mania | noun | Violent derangement of mind; madness; insanity. Cf. Delirium., Excessive or unreasonable desire; insane passion affecting one or many people; as, the tulip mania. |
| manid | noun | Any species of the genus Manis, or family Manidae. |
| manie | noun | Mania; insanity. |
| manis | noun | A genus of edentates, covered with large, hard, triangular scales, with sharp edges that overlap each other like tiles on a roof. They inhabit the warmest parts of Asia and Africa, and feed on ants. Called also Scaly anteater. See Pangolin. |
| manks | adjective | Of or pertaining to the language or people of the of Man., The language spoken in the Isle of Man. See Manx. |
| manly | superl. | Having qualities becoming to a man; not childish or womanish; manlike, esp. brave, courageous, resolute, noble., In a manly manner; with the courage and fortitude of a manly man; as, to act manly. |
| manna | noun | The food supplied to the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness of Arabia; hence, divinely supplied food., A name given to lichens of the genus Lecanora, sometimes blown into heaps in the deserts of Arabia and Africa, and gathered and used as food., A sweetish exudation in the form of pale yellow friable flakes, coming from several trees and shrubs and used in medicine as a gentle laxative, as the secretion of Fraxinus Ornus, and F. rotundifolia, the manna ashes of Southern Europe. |
| manor | noun | The land belonging to a lord or nobleman, or so much land as a lord or great personage kept in his own hands, for the use and subsistence of his family., A tract of land occupied by tenants who pay a free-farm rent to the proprietor, sometimes in kind, and sometimes by performing certain stipulated services. |
| manse | noun | A dwelling house, generally with land attached., The parsonage; a clergyman’s house. |
| manta | noun | See Coleoptera and Sea devil. |
| manto | noun | See Manteau. |
| manul | noun | A wild cat (Felis manul), having long, soft, light-colored fur. It is found in the mountains of Central Asia, and dwells among rocks. |
| manus | plural | of Manus, The distal segment of the fore limb, including the carpus and fore foot or hand. |
| maori | noun | One of the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand; also, the original language of New Zealand., Of or pertaining to the Maoris or to their language. |
| maple | noun | A tree of the genus Acer, including about fifty species. A. saccharinum is the rock maple, or sugar maple, from the sap of which sugar is made, in the United States, in great quantities, by evaporation; the red or swamp maple is A. rubrum; the silver maple, A. dasycarpum, having fruit wooly when young; the striped maple, A. Pennsylvanium, called also moosewood. The common maple of Europe is A. campestre, the sycamore maple is A. Pseudo-platanus, and the Norway maple is A. platanoides. |
| maqui | noun | A Chilian shrub (Aristotelia Maqui). Its bark furnishes strings for musical instruments, and a medicinal wine is made from its berries. |
| marai | noun | A sacred inclosure or temple; — so called by the islanders of the Pacific Ocean. |
| march | noun | The third month of the year, containing thirty-one days., A territorial border or frontier; a region adjacent to a boundary line; a confine; — used chiefly in the plural, and in English history applied especially to the border land on the frontiers between England and Scotland, and England and Wales., To border; to be contiguous; to lie side by side., To move with regular steps, as a soldier; to walk in a grave, deliberate, or stately manner; to advance steadily., To proceed by walking in a body or in military order; as, the German army marched into France., TO cause to move with regular steps in the manner of a soldier; to cause to move in military array, or in a body, as troops; to cause to advance in a steady, regular, or stately manner; to cause to go by peremptory command, or by force., The act of marching; a movement of soldiers from one stopping place to another; military progress; advance of troops., Hence: Measured and regular advance or movement, like that of soldiers moving in order; stately or deliberate walk; steady onward movement., The distance passed over in marching; as, an hour’s march; a march of twenty miles., A piece of music designed or fitted to accompany and guide the movement of troops; a piece of music in the march form. |
| marge | noun | Border; margin; edge; verge. |
| marie | interj. | Marry. |
| marly | superl. | Consisting or partaking of marl; resembling marl; abounding with marl. |
| marry | verb t. | To unite in wedlock or matrimony; to perform the ceremony of joining, as a man and a woman, for life; to constitute (a man and a woman) husband and wife according to the laws or customs of the place., To join according to law, (a man) to a woman as his wife, or (a woman) to a man as her husband. See the Note to def. 4., To dispose of in wedlock; to give away as wife., To take for husband or wife. See the Note below., Figuratively, to unite in the closest and most endearing relation., To enter into the conjugal or connubial state; to take a husband or a wife., Indeed ! in truth ! — a term of asseveration said to have been derived from the practice of swearing by the Virgin Mary. |
| marsh | noun | A tract of soft wet land, commonly covered partially or wholly with water; a fen; a swamp; a morass. |
| maser | noun | Same as Mazer. |
| mashy | adjective | Produced by crushing or bruising; resembling, or consisting of, a mash. |
| mason | noun | One whose occupation is to build with stone or brick; also, one who prepares stone for building purposes., A member of the fraternity of Freemasons. See Freemason., To build stonework or brickwork about, under, in, over, etc.; to construct by masons; — with a prepositional suffix; as, to mason up a well or terrace; to mason in a kettle or boiler. |
| masse | noun | Alt. of Masse shot |
| massy | superl. | Compacted into, or consisting of, a mass; having bulk and weight ot substance; ponderous; bulky and heavy; weight; heavy; as, a massy shield; a massy rock. |
| masty | adjective | Full of mast; abounding in acorns, etc. |
| match | noun | Anything used for catching and retaining or communicating fire, made of some substance which takes fire readily, or remains burning some time; esp., a small strip or splint of wood dipped at one end in a substance which can be easily ignited by friction, as a preparation of phosphorus or chlorate of potassium., A person or thing equal or similar to another; one able to mate or cope with another; an equal; a mate., A bringing together of two parties suited to one another, as for a union, a trial of skill or force, a contest, or the like, A contest to try strength or skill, or to determine superiority; an emulous struggle., A matrimonial union; a marriage., An agreement, compact, etc., A candidate for matrimony; one to be gained in marriage., Equality of conditions in contest or competition., Suitable combination or bringing together; that which corresponds or harmonizes with something else; as, the carpet and curtains are a match., A perforated board, block of plaster, hardened sand, etc., in which a pattern is partly imbedded when a mold is made, for giving shape to the surfaces of separation between the parts of the mold., To be a mate or match for; to be able to complete with; to rival successfully; to equal., To furnish with its match; to bring a match, or equal, against; to show an equal competitor to; to set something in competition with, or in opposition to, as equal., To oppose as equal; to contend successfully against., To make or procure the equal of, or that which is exactly similar to, or corresponds with; as, to match a vase or a horse; to match cloth., To make equal, proportionate, or suitable; to adapt, fit, or suit (one thing to another)., To marry; to give in marriage., To fit together, or make suitable for fitting together; specifically, to furnish with a tongue and a groove, at the edges; as, to match boards., To be united in marriage; to mate., To be of equal, or similar, size, figure, color, or quality; to tally; to suit; to correspond; as, these vases match. |
| mated | imp. & past participle | of Mate |
| mater | noun | See Alma mater, Dura mater, and Pia mater. |
| matie | noun | A fat herring with undeveloped roe. |
| matin | noun | Morning., Morning worship or service; morning prayers or songs., Time of morning service; the first canonical hour in the Roman Catholic Church., Of or pertaining to the morning, or to matins; used in the morning; matutinal. |
| matte | noun | A partly reduced copper sulphide, obtained by alternately roasting and melting copper ore in separating the metal from associated iron ores, and called coarse metal, fine metal, etc., according to the grade of fineness. On the exterior it is dark brown or black, but on a fresh surface is yellow or bronzy in color., A dead or dull finish, as in gilding where the gold leaf is not burnished, or in painting where the surface is purposely deprived of gloss. |
| maule | noun | The common mallow. |
| maund | noun | A hand basket., An East Indian weight, varying in different localities from 25 to about 82 pounds avoirdupois., Alt. of Maunder |
| mauve | noun | A color of a delicate purple, violet, or lilac. |
| mavis | noun | The European throstle or song thrush (Turdus musicus). |
| mawks | noun | A slattern; a mawk. |
| mawky | adjective | Maggoty. |
| maxim | noun | An established principle or proposition; a condensed proposition of important practical truth; an axiom of practical wisdom; an adage; a proverb; an aphorism., The longest note formerly used, equal to two longs, or four breves; a large. |
| maybe | adverb | Perhaps; possibly; peradventure., Possible; probable, but not sure., Possibility; uncertainty. |
| mayor | noun | The chief magistrate of a city or borough; the chief officer of a municipal corporation. In some American cities there is a city court of which the major is chief judge. |
| mazed | imp. & past participle | of Maze |
| mazer | noun | A large drinking bowl; — originally made of maple. |