| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| macarize | verb t. | To congratulate. |
| macaroni | noun | Long slender tubes made of a paste chiefly of wheat flour, and used as an article of food; Italian or Genoese paste., A medley; something droll or extravagant., A sort of droll or fool., A finical person; a fop; — applied especially to English fops of about 1775., The designation of a body of Maryland soldiers in the Revolutionary War, distinguished by a rich uniform. |
| macaroon | noun | A small cake, composed chiefly of the white of eggs, almonds, and sugar., A finical fellow, or macaroni. |
| macavahu | noun | A small Brazilian monkey (Callithrix torquatus), — called also collared teetee. |
| maccaboy | noun | Alt. of Maccoboy |
| maccoboy | noun | A kind of snuff. |
| macerate | verb t. | To make lean; to cause to waste away., To subdue the appetites of by poor and scanty diet; to mortify., To soften by steeping in a liquid, with or without heat; to wear away or separate the parts of by steeping; as, to macerate animal or vegetable fiber. |
| machinal | adjective | Of or pertaining to machines. |
| machined | imp. & past participle | of Machine |
| machiner | noun | One who or operates a machine; a machinist. |
| macilent | adjective | Lean; thin. |
| mackerel | noun | A pimp; also, a bawd., Any species of the genus Scomber, and of several related genera. They are finely formed and very active oceanic fishes. Most of them are highly prized for food. |
| mackinaw | A thick blanket formerly in common use in the western part of the United States. | |
| maclurea | noun | A genus of spiral gastropod shells, often of large size, characteristic of the lower Silurian rocks. |
| maclurin | noun | See Morintannic. |
| macropod | noun | Any one of a group of maioid crabs remarkable for the length of their legs; — called also spider crab. |
| macropus | noun | genus of marsupials including the common kangaroo. |
| macroura | adjective | Alt. of Macroural |
| macrural | adjective | Same as Macrurous. |
| macruran | noun | One of the Macrura. |
| maculate | verb | To spot; to stain; to blur., Marked with spots or maculae; blotched; hence, defiled; impure; as, most maculate thoughts. |
| maculose | adjective | Of or pertaining to spots upon a surface; spotted; maculate. |
| mesdames | plural | of Madam, of Madame, pl. of Madame and Madam. |
| madbrain | adjective | Hot-headed; rash., A rash or hot-headed person. |
| maddened | imp. & past participle | of Madden |
| madecass | noun | Alt. of Madecassee |
| madefied | imp. & past participle | of Madefy |
| madhouse | noun | A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum; a bedlam. |
| madrague | noun | A large fish pound used for the capture of the tunny in the Mediterranean; also applied to the seines used for the same purpose. |
| madrigal | noun | A little amorous poem, sometimes called a pastoral poem, containing some tender and delicate, though simple, thought., An unaccompanied polyphonic song, in four, five, or more parts, set to secular words, but full of counterpoint and imitation, and adhering to the old church modes. Unlike the freer glee, it is best sung with several voices on a part. See Glee. |
| maegbote | noun | Alt. of Magbote |
| maestoso | adjective & adverb | Majestic or majestically; — a direction to perform a passage or piece of music in a dignified manner. |
| magazine | noun | A receptacle in which anything is stored, especially military stores, as ammunition, arms, provisions, etc., The building or room in which the supply of powder is kept in a fortification or a ship., A chamber in a gun for holding a number of cartridges to be fed automatically to the piece., A pamphlet published periodically containing miscellaneous papers or compositions., To store in, or as in, a magazine; to store up for use. |
| magdalen | noun | A reformed prostitute. |
| maggiore | adjective | Greater, in respect to scales, intervals, etc., when used in opposition to minor; major. |
| magician | noun | One skilled in magic; one who practices the black art; an enchanter; a necromancer; a sorcerer or sorceress; a conjurer. |
| magister | noun | Master; sir; — a title of the Middle Ages, given to a person in authority, or to one having a license from a university to teach philosophy and the liberal arts. |
| magnesia | noun | A light earthy white substance, consisting of magnesium oxide, and obtained by heating magnesium hydrate or carbonate, or by burning magnesium. It has a slightly alkaline reaction, and is used in medicine as a mild antacid laxative. See Magnesium. |
| magnesic | adjective | Pertaining to, or containing, magnesium; as, magnesic oxide. |
| magnetic | adjective | Alt. of Magnetical, A magnet., Any metal, as iron, nickel, cobalt, etc., which may receive, by any means, the properties of the loadstone, and which then, when suspended, fixes itself in the direction of a magnetic meridian. |
| magneto- | A prefix meaning pertaining to, produced by, or in some way connected with, magnetism. | |
| magnific | adjective | Alt. of Magnifical |
| magnolia | noun | A genus of American and Asiatic trees, with aromatic bark and large sweet-scented whitish or reddish flowers. |
| maharmah | noun | A muslin wrapper for the head and the lower part of the face, worn by Turkish and Armenian women when they go abroad. |
| mahogany | noun | A large tree of the genus Swietenia (S. Mahogoni), found in tropical America., The wood of the Swietenia Mahogoni. It is of a reddish brown color, beautifully veined, very hard, and susceptible of a fine polish. It is used in the manufacture of furniture., A table made of mahogany wood. |
| mahoohoo | noun | The African white two-horned rhinoceros (Atelodus simus). |
| mahratta | noun | One of a numerous people inhabiting the southwestern part of India. Also, the language of the Mahrattas; Mahrati. It is closely allied to Sanskrit., Of or pertaining to the Mahrattas. |
| maidenly | adjective | Like a maid; suiting a maid; maiden-like; gentle, modest, reserved., In a maidenlike manner. |
| maidhood | noun | Maidenhood. |
| maidpale | adjective | Pale, like a sick girl. |
| maieutic | adjective | Alt. of Maieutical |
| mailable | adjective | Admissible lawfully into the mail. |
| mailclad | adjective | Protected by a coat of mail; clad in armor. |
| maimedly | adverb | In a maimed manner. |
| mainland | noun | The continent; the principal land; — opposed to island, or peninsula. |
| mainmast | noun | The principal mast in a ship or other vessel. |
| mainsail | noun | The principal sail in a ship or other vessel. |
| mainstay | noun | The stay extending from the foot of the foremast to the maintop., Main support; principal dependence. |
| maintain | verb t. | To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation., To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish., To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail., To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed., To affirm; to support or defend by argument. |
| maistrie | noun | Alt. of Maistry |
| majestic | adjective | Possessing or exhibiting majesty; of august dignity, stateliness, or imposing grandeur; lofty; noble; grand. |
| majolica | noun | A kind of pottery, with opaque glazing and showy, which reached its greatest perfection in Italy in the 16th century. |
| majorate | noun | The office or rank of a major., To augment; to increase. |
| majorcan | adjective | Of or pertaining to Majorca., A native or inhabitant of Majorca. |
| majority | noun | The quality or condition of being major or greater; superiority., The military rank of a major., The condition of being of full age, or authorized by law to manage one’s own affairs., The greater number; more than half; as, a majority of mankind; a majority of the votes cast., Ancestors; ancestry., The amount or number by which one aggregate exceeds all other aggregates with which it is contrasted; especially, the number by which the votes for a successful candidate exceed those for all other candidates; as, he is elected by a majority of five hundred votes. See Plurality. |
| makebate | noun | One who excites contentions and quarrels. |
| makeless | adjective | Matchless., Without a mate. |
| maladies | plural | of Malady |
| malagash | noun | Same as Malagasy. |
| malagasy | noun sing. & pl. | A native or natives of Madagascar; also (sing.), the language. |
| malamate | noun | A salt of malamic acid. |
| malamide | noun | The acid amide derived from malic acid, as a white crystalline substance metameric with asparagine. |
| malapert | adjective | Bold; forward; impudent; saucy; pert., A malapert person. |
| malarial | adjective | Alt. of Malarious |
| malarian | adjective | Alt. of Malarious |
| malaxate | verb t. | To soften by kneading or stirring with some thinner substance. |
| maledict | adjective | Accursed; abominable. |
| malefice | noun | An evil deed; artifice; enchantment. |
| maligned | imp. & past participle | of Malign |
| maligner | noun | One who maligns. |
| malignly | adverb | In a malign manner; with malignity. |
| malinger | verb i. | To act the part of a malingerer; to feign illness or inability. |
| malleate | verb t. | To hammer; to beat into a plate or leaf. |
| mallecho | noun | Same as Malicho. |
| malleoli | plural | of Malleolus |
| mallotus | noun | A genus of small Arctic fishes. One American species, the capelin (Mallotus villosus), is extensively used as bait for cod. |
| malonate | adjective | At salt of malonic acid. |
| maltonic | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or derived from, maltose; specif., designating an acid called also gluconic or dextronic acid. See Gluconic. |
| maltreat | verb t. | To treat ill; to abuse; to treat roughly. |
| maltster | noun | A maltman. |
| maltworm | noun | A tippler. |
| malvesie | noun | Malmsey wine. See Malmsey. |
| mamaluke | noun | Same as Mameluke. |
| mameluco | noun | A child born of a white father and Indian mother. |
| mameluke | noun | One of a body of mounted soldiers recruited from slaves converted to Mohammedanism, who, during several centuries, had more or less control of the government of Egypt, until exterminated or dispersed by Mehemet Ali in 1811. |
| mammalia | noun pl. | The highest class of Vertebrata. The young are nourished for a time by milk, or an analogous fluid, secreted by the mammary glands of the mother. |
| mammetry | noun | See Mawmetry. |
| mammifer | noun | A mammal. See Mammalia. |
| mammilae | plural | of Mammilla |
| mammilla | noun | The nipple. |
| mammodis | noun | Coarse plain India muslins. |
| manacled | imp. & past participle | of Manacle |
| managing | present participle & vb. noun | of Manage |
| managery | noun | Management; manner of using; conduct; direction., Husbandry; economy; frugality. |
| manation | noun | The act of issuing or flowing out. |
| manciple | noun | A steward; a purveyor, particularly of a college or Inn of Court. |
| mandamus | noun | A writ issued by a superior court and directed to some inferior tribunal, or to some corporation or person exercising authority, commanding the performance of some specified duty. |
| mandarin | noun | A Chinese public officer or nobleman; a civil or military official in China and Annam., A small orange, with easily separable rind. It is thought to be of Chinese origin, and is counted a distinct species (Citrus nobilis)mandarin orange; tangerine –. |
| mandator | noun | A director; one who gives a mandate or order., The person who employs another to perform a mandate. |
| mandelic | adjective | Pertaining to an acid first obtained from benzoic aldehyde (oil of better almonds), as a white crystalline substance; — called also phenyl glycolic acid. |
| manderil | noun | A mandrel. |
| mandible | noun | The bone, or principal bone, of the lower jaw; the inferior maxilla; — also applied to either the upper or the lower jaw in the beak of birds., The anterior pair of mouth organs of insects, crustaceaus, and related animals, whether adapted for biting or not. See Illust. of Diptera. |
| mandioca | noun | See Manioc. |
| mandment | noun | Commandment. |
| mandolin | noun | Alt. of Mandoline |
| mandrake | noun | A low plant (Mandragora officinarum) of the Nightshade family, having a fleshy root, often forked, and supposed to resemble a man. It was therefore supposed to have animal life, and to cry out when pulled up. All parts of the plant are strongly narcotic. It is found in the Mediterranean region., The May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). See May apple under May, and Podophyllum. |
| mandrill | noun | a large West African baboon (Cynocephalus, / Papio, mormon). The adult male has, on the sides of the nose, large, naked, grooved swellings, conspicuously striped with blue and red. |
| manducus | noun | A grotesque mask, representing a person chewing or grimacing, worn in processions and by comic actors on the stage. |
| maneless | adjective | Having no mane. |
| manequin | noun | An artist’s model of wood or other material. |
| manerial | adjective | See Manorial. |
| maneuver | noun | Alt. of Manoeuvre, Alt. of Manoeuvre, Alt. of Manoeuvre |
| mamgabey | noun | Any one of several African monkeys of the genus Cercocebus, as the sooty mangabey (C. fuliginosus), which is sooty black. |
| manganic | adjective | Of, pertaining to resembling, or containing, manganese; specif., designating compounds in which manganese has a higher valence as contrasted with manganous compounds. Cf. Manganous. |
| mangcorn | noun | A mixture of wheat and rye, or other species of grain. |
| mangling | present participle & vb. noun | of Mangle |
| mangonel | noun | A military engine formerly used for throwing stones and javelins. |
| mangrove | noun | The name of one or two trees of the genus Rhizophora (R. Mangle, and R. mucronata, the last doubtfully distinct) inhabiting muddy shores of tropical regions, where they spread by emitting aerial roots, which fasten in the saline mire and eventually become new stems. The seeds also send down a strong root while yet attached to the parent plant., The mango fish. |
| manhaden | noun | See Menhaden. |
| maniable | adjective | Manageable. |
| maniacal | adjective | Affected with, or characterized by, madness; maniac. |
| manicate | adjective | Covered with hairs or pubescence so platted together and interwoven as to form a mass easily removed. |
| manichee | noun | A believer in the doctrines of Manes, a Persian of the third century A. D., who taught a dualism in which Light is regarded as the source of Good, and Darkness as the source of Evil. |
| manicure | noun | A person who makes a business of taking care of people’s hands, especially their nails. |
| manifest | adjective | Evident to the senses, esp. to the sight; apparent; distinctly perceived; hence, obvious to the understanding; apparent to the mind; easily apprehensible; plain; not obscure or hidden., Detected; convicted; — with of., A public declaration; an open statement; a manifesto. See Manifesto., A list or invoice of a ship’s cargo, containing a description by marks, numbers, etc., of each package of goods, to be exhibited at the customhouse., To show plainly; to make to appear distinctly, — usually to the mind; to put beyond question or doubt; to display; to exhibit., To exhibit the manifests or prepared invoices of; to declare at the customhouse. |
| manifold | adjective | Various in kind or quality; many in number; numerous; multiplied; complicated., Exhibited at divers times or in various ways; — used to qualify nouns in the singular number., A copy of a writing made by the manifold process., A cylindrical pipe fitting, having a number of lateral outlets, for connecting one pipe with several others., The third stomach of a ruminant animal., To take copies of by the process of manifold writing; as, to manifold a letter. |
| maniform | adjective | Shaped like the hand. |
| mannered | adjective | Having a certain way, esp. a polite way, of carrying and conducting one’s self., Affected with mannerism; marked by excess of some characteristic peculiarity. |
| mannerly | adjective | Showing good manners; civil; respectful; complaisant., With good manners. |
| mannitan | noun | A white amorphous or crystalline substance obtained by the partial dehydration of mannite. |
| mannitic | adjective | Of, pertaining to, resembling, or derived from, mannite. |
| mannitol | noun | The technical name of mannite. See Mannite. |
| manofwar | n | A government vessel employed for the purposes of war, esp. one of large size; a ship of war. |
| manorial | adjective | Of or pertaining to a manor. |
| manovery | noun | A contrivance or maneuvering to catch game illegally. |
| mansuete | adjective | Tame; gentle; kind. |
| manswear | verb i. | To swear falsely. Same as Mainswear. |
| mantchoo | adjective & noun | Same as Manchu. |
| manteaux | plural | of Manteau |
| manteaus | plural | of Manteau |
| mantelet | noun | A short cloak formerly worn by knights., A short cloak or mantle worn by women., A musket-proof shield of rope, wood, or metal, which is sometimes used for the protection of sappers or riflemen while attacking a fortress, or of gunners at embrasures; — now commonly written mantlet. |
| mantilla | noun | A lady’s light cloak of cape of silk, velvet, lace, or the like., A kind of veil, covering the head and falling down upon the shoulders; — worn in Spain, Mexico, etc. |
| mantissa | noun | The decimal part of a logarithm, as distinguished from the integral part, or characteristic. |
| mantling | present participle & vb. noun | of Mantle, The representation of a mantle, or the drapery behind and around a coat of arms: — called also lambrequin. |
| manually | adverb | By hand. |
| manubial | adjective | Belonging to spoils; taken in war. |
| manubria | plural | of Manubrium |
| manucode | noun | Any bird of the genus Manucodia, of Australia and New Guinea. They are related to the bird of paradise. |
| manumise | verb t. | To manumit. |
| manurage | noun | Cultivation. |
| manuring | present participle & vb. noun | of Manure, The act of process of applying manure; also, the manure applied. |
| manurial | adjective | Relating to manures. |
| manyways | adverb | Alt. of Manywise |
| manywise | adverb | In many different ways; variously. |
| marabout | noun | A Mohammedan saint; especially, one who claims to work cures supernaturally. |
| marasmus | noun | A wasting of flesh without fever or apparent disease; a kind of consumption; atrophy; phthisis. |
| marauded | imp. & past participle | of Maraud |
| marauder | verb | A rover in quest of booty or plunder; a plunderer; one who pillages. |
| maravedi | noun | A small copper coin of Spain, equal to three mils American money, less than a farthing sterling. Also, an ancient Spanish gold coin. |
| marbling | present participle & vb. noun | of Marble, The art or practice of variegating in color, in imitation of marble., An intermixture of fat and lean in meat, giving it a marbled appearance., Distinct markings resembling the variegations of marble, as on birds and insects. |
| marching | present participle & vb. noun | of March, a. & n., fr. March, v. |
| marchman | noun | A person living in the marches between England and Scotland or Wales. |
| margaric | adjective | Pertaining to, or resembling, pearl; pearly. |
| margarin | noun | A fatty substance, extracted from animal fats and certain vegetable oils, formerly supposed to be a definite compound of glycerin and margaric acid, but now known to be simply a mixture or combination of tristearin and teipalmitin. |
| margined | imp. & past participle | of Margin, Having a margin., Bordered with a distinct line of color. |
| marginal | adjective | Of or pertaining to a margin., Written or printed in the margin; as, a marginal note or gloss. |
| margrave | noun | Originally, a lord or keeper of the borders or marches in Germany., The English equivalent of the German title of nobility, markgraf; a marquis. |
| marigold | noun | A name for several plants with golden yellow blossoms, especially the Calendula officinalis (see Calendula), and the cultivated species of Tagetes. |
| marikina | noun | A small marmoset (Midas rosalia); the silky tamarin. |
| marinade | noun | A brine or pickle containing wine and spices, for enriching the flavor of meat and fish. |
| marinate | verb t. | To salt or pickle, as fish, and then preserve in oil or vinegar; to prepare by the use of marinade. |
| maritime | adjective | Bordering on, or situated near, the ocean; connected with the sea by site, interest, or power; having shipping and commerce or a navy; as, maritime states., Of or pertaining to the ocean; marine; pertaining to navigation and naval affairs, or to shipping and commerce by sea. |
| marjoram | noun | A genus of mintlike plants (Origanum) comprising about twenty-five species. The sweet marjoram (O. Majorana) is pecularly aromatic and fragrant, and much used in cookery. The wild marjoram of Europe and America is O. vulgare, far less fragrant than the other. |
| markable | adjective | Remarkable. |
| marketed | imp. & past participle | of Market |
| marketer | noun | One who attends a market to buy or sell; one who carries goods to market. |
| markhoor | noun | A large wild goat (Capra megaceros), having huge flattened spiral horns. It inhabits the mountains of Northern India and Cashmere. |
| marksmen | plural | of Marksman |
| marksman | noun | One skillful to hit a mark with a missile; one who shoots well., One who makes his mark, instead of writing his name, in signing documents. |
| marlitic | adjective | Partaking of the qualites of marlite. |
| marmalet | noun | See Marmalade. |
| marmoset | noun | Any one of numerous species of small South American monkeys of the genera Hapale and Midas, family Hapalidae. They have long soft fur, and a hairy, nonprehensile tail. They are often kept as pets. Called also squirrel monkey. |
| marmozet | noun | See Marmoset. |
| maronite | noun | One of a body of nominal Christians, who speak the Arabic language, and reside on Mount Lebanon and in different parts of Syria. They take their name from one Maron of the 6th century. |
| marooned | imp. & past participle | of Maroon |
| marquess | noun | A marquis. |
| marquise | noun | The wife of a marquis; a marchioness. |
| marriage | verb t. | The act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife; wedlock; matrimony., The marriage vow or contract., A feast made on the occasion of a marriage., Any intimate or close union. |
| marrried | adjective | Being in the state of matrimony; wedded; as, a married man or woman., Of or pertaining to marriage; connubial; as, the married state. |
| marrowed | imp. & past participle | of Marrow |
| marrying | present participle & vb. noun | of Marry |
| marsupia | plural | of Marsupium |
| martagon | noun | A lily (Lilium Martagon) with purplish red flowers, found in Europe and Asia. |
| mar-text | noun | A blundering preacher. |
| martinet | noun | In military language, a strict disciplinarian; in general, one who lays stress on a rigid adherence to the details of discipline, or to forms and fixed methods., The martin. |
| martyred | imp. & past participle | of Martyr |
| martyrly | adverb | In the manner of a martyr. |
| marveled | imp. & past participle | of Marvel |
| mary-bud | noun | The marigold; a blossom of the marigold. |
| marysole | noun | A large British fluke, or flounder (Rhombus megastoma); — called also carter, and whiff. |
| mascotte | noun | A person who is supposed to bring good luck to the household to which he or she belongs; anything that brings good luck. |
| masorite | noun | One of the writers of the Masora. |
| massacre | noun | The killing of a considerable number of human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty, or contrary to the usages of civilized people; as, the massacre on St. Bartholomew’s Day., Murder., To kill in considerable numbers where much resistance can not be made; to kill with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and contrary to the usages of nations; to butcher; to slaughter; — limited to the killing of human beings. |
| masseter | noun | The large muscle which raises the under jaw, and assists in mastication. |
| masseuse | noun f. | One who performs massage. |
| massicot | noun | Lead protoxide, PbO, obtained as a yellow amorphous powder, the fused and crystalline form of which is called litharge; lead ocher. It is used as a pigment. |
| massoret | noun | Same as Masorite. |
| mastered | imp. & past participle | of Master |
| masterly | adjective | Suitable to, or characteristic of, a master; indicating thorough knowledge or superior skill and power; showing a master’s hand; as, a masterly design; a masterly performance; a masterly policy., Imperious; domineering; arbitrary., With the skill of a master. |
| masthead | noun | The top or head of a mast; the part of a mast above the hounds., To cause to go to the masthead as a punishment. |
| masticin | noun | A white, amorphous, tenacious substance resembling caoutchouc, and obtained as an insoluble residue of mastic. |
| masticot | noun | Massicot. |
| mastiffs | plural | of Mastiff |
| mastives | plural | of Mastiff |
| mastitis | noun | Inflammation of the breast. |
| mastless | adjective | Bearing no mast; as, a mastless oak or beech., Having no mast; as, a mastless vessel. |
| mastodon | noun | An extinct genus of mammals closely allied to the elephant, but having less complex molar teeth, and often a pair of lower, as well as upper, tusks, which are incisor teeth. The species were mostly larger than elephants, and their romains occur in nearly all parts of the world in deposits ranging from Miocene to late Quaternary time. |
| mastress | noun | Mistress. |
| matachin | noun | An old dance with swords and bucklers; a sword dance. |
| matadore | noun | Alt. of Matador |
| matamata | noun | The bearded tortoise (Chelys fimbriata) of South American rivers. |
| matching | present participle & vb. noun | of Match |
| mateless | adjective | Having no mate. |
| matelote | noun | A dish of food composed of many kinds of fish. |
| material | adjective | Consisting of matter; not spiritual; corporeal; physical; as, material substance or bodies., Hence: Pertaining to, or affecting, the physical nature of man, as distinguished from the mental or moral nature; relating to the bodily wants, interests, and comforts., Of solid or weighty character; not insubstantial; of cinsequence; not be dispensed with; important., Pertaining to the matter, as opposed to the form, of a thing. See Matter., The substance or matter of which anything is made or may be made., To form from matter; to materialize. |
| materiel | noun | That in a complex system which constitutes the materials, or instruments employed, in distinction from the personnel, or men; as, the baggage, munitions, provisions, etc., of an army; or the buildings, libraries, and apparatus of a college, in distinction from its officers. |
| maternal | adjective | Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. |
| matfelon | noun | The knapweed (Centaurea nigra). |
| mathesis | noun | Learning; especially, mathematics. |
| mathurin | noun | See Trinitarian. |
| matrices | plural | of Matrix |
| matronal | adjective | Of or pertaining to a matron; suitable to an elderly lady or to a married woman; grave; motherly. |
| matronly | adjective | Advanced in years; elderly., Like, or befitting, a matron; grave; sedate. |
| mattages | noun | A shrike or butcher bird; — written also matagasse. |
| mattered | imp. & past participle | of Matter |
| mattress | noun | A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable material, and quilted or otherwise fastened., A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc., to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves. |
| maturant | noun | A medicine, or application, which promotes suppuration. |
| maturate | adjective | To bring to ripeness or maturity; to ripen., To promote the perfect suppuration of (an abscess)., To ripen; to become mature; specif/cally, to suppurate. |
| maturing | present participle & vb. noun | of Mature, Approaching maturity; as, maturing fruits; maturing notes of hand. |
| maturely | adverb | In a mature manner; with ripeness; completely., With caution; deliberately., Early; soon. |
| maturity | noun | The state or quality of being mature; ripeness; full development; as, the maturity of corn or of grass; maturity of judgment; the maturity of a plan., Arrival of the time fixed for payment; a becoming due; termination of the period a note, etc., has to run. |
| matutine | adjective | Matutinal. |
| maundril | noun | A pick with two prongs, to pry with. |
| mauveine | noun | An artificial organic base, obtained by oxidizing a mixture of aniline and toluidine, and valuable for the dyestuffs it forms. |
| maverick | noun | In the southwestern part of the united States, a bullock or heifer that has not been branded, and is unclaimed or wild; — said to be from Maverick, the name of a cattle owner in Texas who neglected to brand his cattle. |
| mawmetry | noun | The religion of Mohammed; also, idolatry. See Mawmet. |
| maxillae | plural | of Maxilla |
| maxillar | adjective | Alt. of Maxillary |
| maximize | verb t. | To increase to the highest degree. |
| maybloom | noun | The hawthorn. |
| mayoress | noun | The wife of a mayor. |
| mazarine | adjective | Of or pertaining to Cardinal Mazarin, prime minister of France, 1643-1661., Mazarine blue. |
| mazdeism | noun | The Zoroastrian religion. |
| maziness | noun | The state or quality of being mazy. |
| mazology | noun | Same as Mastology. |
| mazourka | noun | Alt. of Mazurka |
| meagerly | adverb | Alt. of Meagrely |
| meagrely | adverb | Poorly; thinly. |
| mealtime | noun | The usual time of eating a meal. |
| meanness | noun | The condition, or quality, of being mean; want of excellence; poorness; lowness; baseness; sordidness; stinginess., A mean act; as, to be guilty of meanness. |
| meantime | noun | Alt. of Meanwhile, Alt. of Meanwhile |
| measelry | noun | Leprosy. |
| measured | imp. & past participle | of Measure, Regulated or determined by a standard; hence, equal; uniform; graduated; limited; moderated; as, he walked with measured steps; he expressed himself in no measured terms. |
| measurer | noun | One who measures; one whose occupation or duty is to measure commondities in market. |
| meatless | adjective | Having no meat; without food. |
| meatuses | plural | of Meatus |
| meazling | adjective | Falling in small drops; mistling; mizzing. |
| meccawee | adjective | Of or pertaining to Mecca, in Arabia., A native or inhabitant of Mecca. |
| mechanic | adjective | The art of the application of the laws of motion or force to construction., A mechanician; an artisan; an artificer; one who practices any mechanic art; one skilled or employed in shaping and uniting materials, as wood, metal, etc., into any kind of structure, machine, or other object, requiring the use of tools, or instruments., Having to do with the application of the laws of motion in the art of constructing or making things; of or pertaining to mechanics; mechanical; as, the mechanic arts., Of or pertaining to a mechanic or artificer, or to the class of artisans; hence, rude; common; vulgar., Base. |
| meconate | noun | A salt of meconic acid. |
| meconium | noun | Opium., The contents of the fetal intestine; hence, first excrement. |
| medalled | of Medal | |
| medaling | present participle & vb. noun | of Medal |
| medalist | noun | A person that is skilled or curious in medals; a collector of medals., A designer of medals., One who has gained a medal as the reward of merit. |
| medallic | adjective | Of or pertaining to a medal, or to medals. |
| meddling | present participle & vb. noun | of Meddle, Meddlesome. |
| mediated | imp. & past participle | of Mediate |
| mediator | noun | One who mediates; especially, one who interposes between parties at variance for the purpose of reconciling them; hence, an intercessor. |
| medicate | verb t. | To tincture or impregnate with anything medicinal; to drug., To treat with medicine. |
| medicean | adjective | Of or relating to the Medici, a noted Italian family; as, the Medicean Venus. |
| medicine | noun | The science which relates to the prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease., Any substance administered in the treatment of disease; a remedial agent; a remedy; physic., A philter or love potion., A physician., To give medicine to; to affect as a medicine does; to remedy; to cure. |
| medieval | Alt. of Medievalist | |
| mediocre | adjective | Of a middle quality; of but a moderate or low degree of excellence; indifferent; ordinary., A mediocre person., A young monk who was excused from performing a portion of a monk’s duties. |
| meditate | verb i. | To keep the mind in a state of contemplation; to dwell on anything in thought; to think seriously; to muse; to cogitate; to reflect., To contemplate; to keep the mind fixed upon; to study., To purpose; to intend; to design; to plan by revolving in the mind; as, to meditate a war. |
| medregal | noun | See Bonito, 3. |
| medullar | adjective | See Medullary. |
| medullin | noun | A variety of lignin or cellulose found in the medulla, or pith, of certain plants. Cf. Lignin, and Cellulose. |
| medusian | noun | A medusa. |
| medusoid | adjective | Like a medusa; having the fundamental structure of a medusa, but without a locomotive disk; — said of the sessile gonophores of hydroids., A sessile gonophore. See Illust. under Gonosome. |
| meekness | noun | The quality or state of being meek. |
| meetness | noun | Fitness; suitableness; propriety. |
| megacosm | noun | See Macrocosm. |
| megaderm | noun | Any one of several species of Old World blood-sucking bats of the genus Megaderma. |
| megadyne | noun | One of the larger measures of force, amounting to one million dynes. |
| megalerg | noun | A million ergs; a megerg. |
| megalith | noun | A large stone; especially, a large stone used in ancient building. |
| megalops | noun | A larva, in a stage following the zoea, in the development of most crabs. In this stage the legs and abdominal appendages have appeared, the abdomen is relatively long, and the eyes are large. Also used adjectively., A large fish; the tarpum. |
| megapode | noun | Any one of several species of large-footed, gallinaceous birds of the genera Megapodius and Leipoa, inhabiting Australia and other Pacific islands. See Jungle fowl (b) under Jungle, and Leipoa. |
| megarian | adjective | Alt. of Megaric |
| megaseme | adjective | Having the orbital index relatively large; having the orbits narrow transversely; — opposed to microseme. |
| megavolt | noun | One of the larger measures of electro-motive force, amounting to one million volts. |
| meiocene | adjective | See Miocene. |
| meionite | noun | A member of the scapolite, group, occuring in glassy crystals on Monte Somma, near Naples. |
| melamine | noun | A strong nitrogenous base, C3H6N6, produced from several cyanogen compounds, and obtained as a white crystalline substance, — formerly supposed to be produced by the decomposition of melam. Called also cyanuramide. |
| melanian | noun | One of a family of fresh-water pectinibranchiate mollusks, having a turret-shaped shell. |
| melanism | noun | An undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages; — the opposite of albinism., A disease; black jaundice. See Mel/na. |
| melanite | noun | A black variety of garnet. |
| melanure | noun | A small fish of the Mediterranean; a gilthead. See Gilthead (a). |
| melasses | noun | See Molasses. |
| melassic | adjective | Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from molasses or glucose, and probably identical with saccharic acid. See Saccharic. |
| melchite | noun | 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. |
| melenite | noun | An explosive of great destructive power; — so called from its color, which resembles honey. |
| melibean | adjective | Alt. of Melib/an |
| melib/an | adjective | Alternately responsive, as verses. |
| melilite | noun | A mineral occurring in small yellow crystals, found in the lavas (melilite basalt) of Vesuvius, and elsewhere. |
| melissic | adjective | Pertaining to, or derived from, beeswax; specif., denoting an acid obtained by oxidation of myricin. |
| melissyl | noun | See Myricyl. |
| melitose | noun | 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). |
| mellific | adjective | Producing honey. |
| mellitic | adjective | Containing saccharine matter; marked by saccharine secretions; as, mellitic diabetes., Pertaining to, or derived from, the mineral mellite. |
| mellowed | imp. & past participle | of Mellow |
| mellowly | adverb | In a mellow manner. |
| melodeon | noun | A kind of small reed organ; — a portable form of the seraphine., A music hall. |
| melodics | noun | The department of musical science which treats of the pitch of tones, and of the laws of melody. |
| melodist | noun | A composer or singer of melodies. |
| melodize | verb t. | To make melodious; to form into, or set to, melody., To make melody; to compose melodies; to harmonize. |
| melodies | plural | of Melody |
| melop/ia | noun | The art of forming melody; melody; — now often used for a melodic passage, rather than a complete melody. |
| melotype | noun | 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. |
| meltable | adjective | Capable of being melted. |
| membered | adjective | Having limbs; — chiefly used in composition., Having legs of a different tincture from that of the body; — said of a bird in heraldic representations. |
| membrane | noun | 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. |
| mementos | plural | of Memento |
| memorate | verb t. | To commemorate. |
| memorial | adjective | Serving to preserve remembrance; commemorative; as, a memorial building., Mnemonic; assisting the memory., Anything intended to preserve the memory of a person or event; something which serves to keep something else in remembrance; a monument., A memorandum; a record., 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., Memory; remembrance., A species of informal state paper, much used in negotiation. |
| memorist | noun | One who, or that which, causes to be remembered. |
| memorize | verb t. | To cause to be remembered ; hence, to record., To commit to memory; to learn by heart. |
| memories | plural | of Memory |
| memphian | adjective | Of or pertaining to the ancient city of Memphis in Egypt; hence, Egyptian; as, Memphian darkness. |
| menacing | present participle & vb. noun | of Menace |
| mendable | adjective | Capable of being mended. |
| mendiant | noun | See Mendinant. |
| mendment | noun | Amendment. |
| menhaden | noun | An American marine fish of the Herring familt (Brevoortia tyrannus), chiefly valuable for its oil and as a component of fertilizers; — called also mossbunker, bony fish, chebog, pogy, hardhead, whitefish, etc. |
| menilite | noun | See Opal. |
| meninges | noun pl. | The three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord; the pia mater, dura mater, and arachnoid membrane. |
| meniscal | adjective | Pertaining to, or having the form of, a meniscus. |
| meniscus | noun | A crescent., A lens convex on one side and concave on the other., An interarticular synovial cartilage or membrane; esp., one of the intervertebral synovial disks in some parts of the vertebral column of birds. |
| menology | noun | A register of months., 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. |
| menopoma | noun | Alt. of Menopome |
| menopome | noun | The hellbender. |
| menstrue | noun | The menstrual flux; menses. |
| menstrua | plural | of Menstruum |
| mensural | adjective | Of or pertaining to measure. |
| mentagra | noun | Sycosis. |
| mentally | adverb | In the mind; in thought or meditation; intellectually; in idea. |
| menthene | noun | A colorless liquid hydrocarbon resembling oil of turpentine, obtained by dehydrating menthol. It has an agreeable odor and a cooling taste. |
| mephitic | adjective | Alt. of Mephitical |
| mephitis | noun | Noxious, pestilential, or foul exhalations from decomposing substances, filth, or other source., A genus of mammals, including the skunks. |
| mercable | adjective | Capable of being bought or sold. |
| merchand | verb i. | To traffic. |
| merchant | noun | One who traffics on a large scale, especially with foreign countries; a trafficker; a trader., A trading vessel; a merchantman., One who keeps a store or shop for the sale of goods; a shopkeeper., Of, pertaining to, or employed in, trade or merchandise; as, the merchant service., To be a merchant; to trade. |
| merciful | adjective | Full of mercy; having or exercising mercy; disposed to pity and spare offenders; unwilling to punish., Unwilling to give pain; compassionate. |
| mercuric | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or derived from, mercury; containing mercury; — said of those compounds of mercury into which this element enters in its lowest proportion. |
| meresman | noun | An officer who ascertains meres or boundaries. |
| mericarp | noun | One carpel of an umbelliferous fruit. See Cremocarp. |
| meridian | adjective | Being at, or pertaining to, midday; belonging to, or passing through, the highest point attained by the sun in his diurnal course., Pertaining to the highest point or culmination; as, meridian splendor., Midday; noon., Hence: The highest point, as of success, prosperity, or the like; culmination., 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., 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. |
| meringue | noun | A delicate pastry made of powdered sugar and the whites of eggs whipped up, — with jam or cream added. |
| meristem | noun | A tissue of growing cells, or cells capable of further division. |
| meriting | present participle & vb. noun | of Merit |
| merithal | noun | Alt. of Merithallus |
| meritory | adjective | Meritorious. |
| merocele | noun | Hernia in the thigh; femoral hernia . |
| merosome | noun | One of the serial segments, or metameres, of which the bodies of vertebrate and articulate animals are composed. |
| mesaraic | adjective | Mesenteric. |
| meseemed | imp. | of Meseems |
| meseraic | adjective | Mesaraic. |
| mesially | adverb | In, near, or toward, the mesial plane; mesiad. |
| mesmeree | noun | A person subjected to mesmeric influence; one who is mesmerized. |
| mesmeric | adjective | Alt. of Mesmerical |
| mesocarp | noun | The middle layer of a pericarp which consists of three distinct or dissimilar layers. |
| mesoderm | noun | The layer of the blastoderm, between the ectoderm and endoderm; mesoblast. See Illust. of Blastoderm and Ectoderm., The middle body layer in some invertebrates., The middle layer of tissue in some vegetable structures. |
| mesodont | adjective | Having teeth of moderate size. |
| mesogl/a | noun | A thin gelatinous tissue separating the ectoderm and endoderm in certain coelenterates. |
| mesolabe | noun | 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. |
| mesolite | noun | 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. |
| mesoseme | adjective | Having a medium orbital index; having orbits neither broad nor narrow; between megaseme and microseme. |
| mesotype | noun | An old term covering natrolite or soda mesolite, scolecite or lime mesotype, and mesolite or lime-soda mesotype. |
| mesozoic | adjective | Belonging, or relating, to the secondary or reptilian age, or the era between the Paleozoic and Cenozoic. See Chart of Geology., The Mesozoic age or formation. |
| mesprise | noun | Contempt; scorn., Misadventure; ill-success. |
| mesquite | noun | Alt. of Mesquit |
| messager | noun | A messenger. |
| messidor | noun | The tenth month of the French republican calendar dating from September 22, 1792. It began June 19, and ended July 18. See VendEmiaire. |
| messmate | noun | An associate in a mess. |
| messuage | noun | A dwelling house, with the adjacent buildings and curtilage, and the adjoining lands appropriated to the use of the household. |
| mestinos | plural | of Mestino |
| mestizos | plural | of Mestizo |
| mestling | noun | A kind of brass. See Maslin. |
| metabola | noun | Alt. of Metabole, Alt. of Metabolia |
| metabole | noun | A change or mutation; a change of disease, symptoms, or treatment. |
| metacism | noun | A defect in pronouncing the letter m, or a too frequent use of it. |
| metalled | of Metal | |
| metaling | present participle & vb. noun | of Metal |
| metallic | adjective | Of or pertaining to a metal; of the nature of metal; resembling metal; as, a metallic appearance; a metallic alloy., Of, pertaining to, or characterized by, the essential and implied properties of a metal, as contrasted with a nonmetal or metalloid; basic; antacid; positive. |
| metalmen | plural | of Metalman |
| metalman | noun | A worker in metals. |
| metamere | noun | 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. |
| metaphor | noun | 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. |
| metapode | noun | The posterior division of the foot in the Gastropoda and Pteropoda. |
| metasome | noun | One of the component segments of the body of an animal. |
| metayage | noun | A system of farming on halves. |
| metazoan | noun | One of the Metazoa. |
| metazoic | adjective | Of or pertaining to the Metazoa. |
| metazoon | noun | One of the Metazoa. |
| metecorn | noun | A quantity of corn formerly given by the lord to his customary tenants, as an encouragement to, or reward for, labor and faithful service. |
| meteoric | adjective | Of or pertaining to a meteor, or to meteors; atmospheric, as, meteoric phenomena; meteoric stones., Influenced by the weather; as, meteoric conditions., Flashing; brilliant; transient; like a meteor; as, meteoric fame. |
| meterage | noun | The act of measuring, or the cost of measuring. |
| metewand | noun | A measuring rod. |
| meteyard | noun | A yard, staff, or rod, used as a measure. |
| methenyl | noun | The hypothetical hydrocarbon radical CH, regarded as an essential residue of certain organic compounds. |
| methinks | verb impers. | It seems to me; I think. See Me. |
| methodic | adjective | Alt. of Methodical |
| methoxyl | noun | A hypothetical radical, CH3O, analogous to hydroxyl. |
| methylal | noun | 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. |
| methylic | adjective | Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, methyl; specifically, designating methyl alcohol. See under Methyl. |
| metonymy | noun | 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. |
| metrical | adjective | Of or pertaining to the meter; arranged in meter; consisting of verses; as, metrical compositions., Of or pertaining to measurement; as, the inch, foot, yard, etc., are metrical terms; esp., of or pertaining to the metric system. |
| metritis | noun | Inflammation of the womb. |
| mezereon | noun | A small European shrub (Daphne Mezereum), whose acrid bark is used in medicine. |
| mezquita | noun | A mosque. |
| mezuzoth | noun | A piece of parchment bearing the Decalogue and attached to the doorpost; — in use among orthodox Hebrews. |
| miascite | noun | A granitoid rock containing feldspar, biotite, elaeolite, and sodalite. |
| miasmata | plural | of Miasma |
| miauling | present participle & vb. noun | of Miaul |
| micellae | plural | of Micella |
| microbic | adjective | Of or pertaining to a microbe. |
| microzoa | noun pl. | The Infusoria. |
| midbrain | noun | The middle segment of the brain; the mesencephalon. See Brain. |
| middling | adjective | Of middle rank, state, size, or quality; about equally distant from the extremes; medium; moderate; mediocre; ordinary. |
| midnight | noun | The middle of the night; twelve o’clock at night., Being in, or characteristic of, the middle of the night; as, midnight studies; midnight gloom. |
| midships | adverb | In the middle of a ship; — properly amidships., The timbers at the broadest part of the vessel. |
| midwives | plural | of Midwife |
| mightful | adjective | Mighty. |
| mightily | adverb | In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully., To a great degree; very much. |
| mighties | plural | of Mighty |
| migniard | adjective | Soft; dainty. |
| migraine | noun | Same as Megrim. |
| migrated | imp. & past participle | of Migrate |
| milanese | adjective | Of or pertaining to Milan in Italy, or to its inhabitants., A native or inhabitant of Milan; people of Milan. |
| mildewed | imp. & past participle | of Mildew |
| mildness | noun | The quality or state of being mild; as, mildness of temper; the mildness of the winter. |
| milepost | noun | 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. |
| milesian | adjective | Of or pertaining to Miletus, a city of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants., 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., A native or inhabitant of Miletus., A native or inhabitant of Ireland. |
| miliaria | noun | A fever accompanied by an eruption of small, isolated, red pimples, resembling a millet seed in form or size; miliary fever. |
| militant | adjective | Engaged in warfare; fighting; combating; serving as a soldier. |
| military | adjective | 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., Performed or made by soldiers; as, a military election; a military expedition., The whole body of soldiers; soldiery; militia; troops; the army. |
| militate | verb i. | To make war; to fight; to contend; — usually followed by against and with. |
| milkmaid | noun | A woman who milks cows or is employed in the dairy. |
| milkweed | noun | 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. |
| milkwort | noun | 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. |
| milleped | noun | A myriapod with many legs, esp. a chilognath, as the galleyworm. |
| milliard | noun | A thousand millions; — called also billion. See Billion. |
| milliary | adjective | Of or pertaining to a mile, or to distance by miles; denoting a mile or miles., A milestone. |
| milliner | noun | Formerly, a man who imported and dealt in small articles of a miscellaneous kind, especially such as please the fancy of women., A person, usually a woman, who makes, trims, or deals in hats, bonnets, headdresses, etc., for women. |
| millinet | noun | A stiff cotton fabric used by milliners for lining bonnets. |
| milliped | noun | The same Milleped. |
| millreis | noun | See Milreis. |
| millrind | noun | Alt. of Millrynd |
| millrynd | noun | A figure supposed to represent the iron which holds a millstone by being set into its center. |
| millwork | noun | The shafting, gearing, and other driving machinery of mills., The business of setting up or of operating mill machinery. |
| miltonic | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or resembling, Milton, or his writings; as, Miltonic prose. |
| mimetene | noun | See Mimetite. |
| mimetism | noun | Same as Mimicry. |
| mimetite | noun | A mineral occurring in pale yellow or brownish hexagonal crystals. It is an arseniate of lead. |
| mimicked | imp. & past participle | of Mimic |
| mimicker | noun | One who mimics; a mimic., An animal which imitates something else, in form or habits. |
| minacity | noun | Disposition to threaten. |
| minatory | adjective | Threatening; menacing. |
| mindless | adjective | Not indued with mind or intellectual powers; stupid; unthinking., Unmindful; inattentive; heedless; careless. |
| mingling | present participle & vb. noun | of Mingle |
| miniated | imp. & past participle | of Miniate |
| minified | imp. & past participle | of Minify |
| miniment | noun | A trifle; a trinket; a token. |
| minimize | verb t. | To reduce to the smallest part or proportion possible; to reduce to a minimum. |
| minionly | adjective & adverb | Like a minion; daintily. |
| minister | noun | A servant; a subordinate; an officer or assistant of inferior rank; hence, an agent, an instrument., An officer of justice., One to whom the sovereign or executive head of a government intrusts the management of affairs of state, or some department of such affairs., A representative of a government, sent to the court, or seat of government, of a foreign nation to transact diplomatic business., 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., To furnish or apply; to afford; to supply; to administer., To act as a servant, attendant, or agent; to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular., To supply or to things needful; esp., to supply consolation or remedies. |
| ministry | noun | The act of ministering; ministration; service., Agency; instrumentality., The office, duties, or functions of a minister, servant, or agent; ecclesiastical, executive, or ambassadorial function or profession., The body of ministers of state; also, the clergy, as a body., Administration; rule; term in power; as, the ministry of Pitt. |
| minorate | verb t. | To diminish. |
| minoress | noun | See Franciscan Nuns, under Franciscan, a. |
| minorite | noun | A Franciscan friar. |
| minority | adjective & noun | The state of being a minor, or under age., State of being less or small., The smaller number; — opposed to majority; as, the minority must be ruled by the majority. |
| minotaur | noun | A fabled monster, half man and half bull, confined in the labyrinth constructed by Daedalus in Crete. |
| minstrel | noun | 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. |
| minutary | adjective | Pertaining to, or consisting of, minutes. |
| minutely | adverb | In a minute manner; with minuteness; exactly; nicely., Happening every minute; continuing; unceasing., At intervals of a minute; very often and regularly. |
| minutiae | plural | of Minutia |
| miquelet | noun | An irregular or partisan soldier; a bandit. |
| miriness | noun | The quality of being miry. |
| mirksome | adjective | Dark; gloomy; murky. |
| mirrored | imp. & past participle | of Mirror |
| mirthful | adjective | Full of mirth or merriment; merry; as, mirthful children., Indicating or inspiring mirth; as, a mirthful face. |
| misaimed | adjective | Not rightly aimed. |
| misalter | verb t. | To alter wrongly; esp., to alter for the worse. |
| misapply | verb t. | To apply wrongly; to use for a wrong purpose; as, to misapply a name or title; to misapply public money. |
| misassay | verb t. | To assay, or attempt, improperly or unsuccessfully. |
| misavize | verb t. | To misadvise. |
| misboden | past participle | of Misbede, p. p. of Misbede. |
| misbegot | p. adjective | Alt. of Misbegotten |
| miscarry | verb i. | To carry, or go, wrong; to fail of reaching a destination, or fail of the intended effect; to be unsuccessful; to suffer defeat., To bring forth young before the proper time. |
| mischief | noun | 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., Cause of trouble or vexation; trouble., To do harm to. |
| mischnic | adjective | See Mishnic. |
| mischose | imp. | of Mischoose |
| miscible | adjective | Capable of being mixed; mixable; as, water and alcohol are miscible in all proportions. |
| misclaim | noun | A mistaken claim. |
| miscolor | verb t. | To give a wrong color to; figuratively, to set forth erroneously or unfairly; as, to miscolor facts. |
| miscount | verb t. & i. | To count erroneously., An erroneous counting. |
| miscovet | verb t. | To covet wrongfully. |
| misdated | imp. & past participle | of Misdate |
| misdealt | imp. & past participle | of Misdeal |
| misdempt | p. p. of Misdeem. | |
| misdight | adjective | Arrayed, prepared, or furnished, unsuitably. |
| misdoing | present participle & vb. noun | of Misdo, A wrong done; a fault or crime; an offense; as, it was my misdoing. |
| misdoubt | verb t. & i. | To be suspicious of; to have suspicion., Suspicion., Irresolution; hesitation. |
| misdread | noun | Dread of evil. |
| miseased | adjective | Having discomfort or misery; troubled. |
| misenter | verb t. | To enter or insert wrongly, as a charge in an account. |
| misentry | noun | An erroneous entry or charge, as of an account. |
| miserere | noun | The psalm usually appointed for penitential acts, being the 50th psalm in the Latin version. It commences with the word miserere., A musical composition adapted to the 50th psalm., 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., Same as Ileus. |
| miseries | plural | of Misery |
| misfaith | noun | Want of faith; distrust. |
| misfeign | verb i. | To feign with an evil design. |
| misframe | verb t. | To frame wrongly. |
| misgiven | past participle | of Misgive |
| misgraff | verb t. | To misgraft. |
| misgraft | verb t. | To graft wrongly. |
| misguess | verb t. & i. | To guess wrongly. |
| misguide | verb t. | To guide wrongly; to lead astray; as, to misguide the understanding., Misguidance; error. |
| mishappy | adjective | Unhappy. |
| mishmash | noun | A hotchpotch. |
| misinfer | verb t. | To infer incorrectly. |
| misjudge | verb t. & i. | To judge erroneously or unjustly; to err in judgment; to misconstrue. |
| mislayer | noun | One who mislays. |
| mislearn | verb t. | To learn wrongly. |
| misletoe | noun | See Mistletoe. |
| mislight | verb t. | To deceive or lead astray with a false light. |
| misliked | imp. & past participle | of Mislike |
| misliker | noun | One who dislikes. |
| mislodge | verb t. | To lodge amiss. |
| mismatch | verb t. | To match unsuitably. |
| mismeter | verb t. | To give the wrong meter to, as to a line of verse. |
| misnomer | noun | 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., To misname. |
| misogamy | noun | Hatre/ of marriage. |
| misogyny | noun | Hatred of women. |
| misology | noun | Hatred of argument or discussion; hatred of enlightenment. |
| misorder | verb t. | To order ill; to manage erroneously; to conduct badly., Irregularity; disorder. |
| mispaint | verb t. | To paint ill, or wrongly. |
| mispense | noun | See Misspense. |
| misplace | verb t. | To put in a wrong place; to set or place on an improper or unworthy object; as, he misplaced his confidence. |
| misplead | verb i. | To err in pleading. |
| mispoint | verb t. | To point improperly; to punctuate wrongly. |
| misprint | verb t. | To print wrong., A mistake in printing; a deviation from the copy; as, a book full of misprints. |
| misprise | verb t. | See Misprize., To mistake. |
| misprize | verb | To slight or undervalue. |
| misproud | adjective | Viciously proud. |
| misquote | verb t. & i. | To quote erroneously or incorrectly. |
| misraise | verb t. | To raise or exite unreasonable. |
| misserve | verb t. & i. | To serve unfaithfully. |
| misshape | verb t. | To shape ill; to give an ill or unnatural from to; to deform. |
| missound | verb t. | To sound wrongly; to utter or pronounce incorrectly. |
| misspeak | verb i. | To err in speaking., To utter wrongly. |
| misspelt | of Misspell | |
| misspell | verb t. | To spell incorrectly. |
| misspent | imp. & past participle | of Misspend, imp. & p. p. of Misspend. |
| misspend | verb t. | To spend amiss or for wrong purposes; to aquander; to waste; as, to misspend time or money. |
| misstate | verb t. | To state wrongly; as, to misstate a question in debate. |
| misswear | verb i. | To swear falsely. |
| mistaken | past participle | of Mistake, Being in error; judging wrongly; having a wrong opinion or a misconception; as, a mistaken man; he is mistaken., Erroneous; wrong; as, a mistaken notion. |
| mistaker | noun | One who mistakes. |
| misteach | verb t. | To teach wrongly; to instruct erroneously. |
| misthink | verb i. | To think wrongly., To have erroneous thoughts or judgment of; to think ill of. |
| misthrow | verb t. | To throw wrongly. |
| mistigri | noun | A variety of the game of poker in which the joker is used, and called mistigris or mistigri. |
| mistitle | verb t. | To call by a wrong title. |
| mistrain | verb t. | To train amiss. |
| mistreat | verb t. | To treat amiss; to abuse. |
| mistress | noun | A woman having power, authority, or ownership; a woman who exercises authority, is chief, etc.; the female head of a family, a school, etc., A woman well skilled in anything, or having the mastery over it., A woman regarded with love and devotion; she who has command over one’s heart; a beloved object; a sweetheart., A woman filling the place, but without the rights, of a wife; a concubine; a loose woman with whom one consorts habitually., 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., A married woman; a wife., The old name of the jack at bowls., To wait upon a mistress; to be courting. |
| mistrial | noun | A false or erroneous trial; a trial which has no result. |
| mistrist | verb t. | To mistrust. |
| mistrust | noun | Want of confidence or trust; suspicion; distrust., To regard with jealousy or suspicion; to suspect; to doubt the integrity of; to distrust., To forebode as near, or likely to occur; to surmise. |
| mistutor | verb t. | To instruct amiss. |
| misurato | adjective | Measured; — a direction to perform a passage in strict or measured time. |
| misusage | noun | Bad treatment; abuse. |
| misvalue | verb t. | To value wrongly or too little; to undervalue. |
| misvouch | verb t. | To vouch falsely. |
| miswrite | verb t. | To write incorrectly. |
| mitering | present participle & vb. noun | of Mitre |
| mitigant | adjective | Tending to mitigate; mitigating; lentitive. |
| mitigate | verb t. | 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., To make mild and accessible; to mollify; — applied to persons. |
| mittened | adjective | Covered with a mitten or mittens. |
| mittimus | noun | A precept or warrant granted by a justice for committing to prison a party charged with crime; a warrant of commitment to prison., A writ for removing records from one court to another. |
| mizzling | present participle & vb. noun | of Mizzle |
| mnemonic | adjective | Alt. of Mnemonical |
| mobility | noun | The quality or state of being mobile; as, the mobility of a liquid, of an army, of the populace, of features, of a muscle., The mob; the lower classes. |
| mobilize | verb t. | To put in a state of readiness for active service in war, as an army corps. |
| mobocrat | noun | One who favors a form of government in which the unintelligent populace rules without restraint. |
| moccasin | noun | 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., 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. |
| mockable | adjective | Such as can be mocked. |
| mockbird | noun | The European sedge warbler (Acrocephalus phragmitis). |
| modalist | noun | One who regards Father, Son, and Spirit as modes of being, and not as persons, thus denying personal distinction in the Trinity. |
| modality | noun | The quality or state of being modal., 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. |
| modelled | of Model | |
| modeling | present participle & vb. noun | of Model, 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. |
| modelize | verb t. | To model. |
| modenese | adjective | Of or pertaining to Modena or its inhabitants., A native or inhabitant of Modena; the people of Modena. |
| moderate | adjective | Kept within due bounds; observing reasonable limits; not excessive, extreme, violent, or rigorous; limited; restrained, Limited in quantity; sparing; temperate; frugal; as, moderate in eating or drinking; a moderate table., Limited in degree of activity, energy, or excitement; reasonable; calm; slow; as, moderate language; moderate endeavors., Not extreme in opinion, in partisanship, and the like; as, a moderate Calvinist., Not violent or rigorous; temperate; mild; gentle; as, a moderate winter., Limited as to degree of progress; as, to travel at moderate speed., Limited as to the degree in which a quality, principle, or faculty appears; as, an infusion of moderate strength; a man of moderate abilities., Limited in scope or effects; as, a reformation of a moderate kind., 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., 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., To preside over, direct, or regulate, as a public meeting; as, to moderate a synod., To become less violent, severe, rigorous, or intense; as, the wind has moderated., To preside as a moderator. |
| moderato | adjective & adverb | With a moderate degree of quickness; moderately. |
| modernly | adverb | In modern times. |
| modestly | adverb | In a modest manner. |
| modicity | noun | Moderateness; smallness; meanness. |
| modifier | noun | One who, or that which, modifies. |
| modified | imp. & past participle | of Modify |
| modiolar | adjective | Shaped like a bushel measure. |
| modiolus | noun | The central column in the osseous cochlea of the ear. |
| modulate | verb t. | To form, as sound, to a certain key, or to a certain portion., To vary or inflect in a natural, customary, or musical manner; as, the organs of speech modulate the voice in reading or speaking., To pass from one key into another. |
| moelline | noun | An unguent for the hair. |
| mohicans | noun pl. | A tribe of Lenni-Lenape Indians who formerly inhabited Western Connecticut and Eastern New York. |
| mohurrum | noun | Alt. of Muharram |
| muharram | noun | The first month of the Mohammedan year., A festival of the Shiah sect of the Mohammedans held during the first ten days of the month Mohurrum. |
| moieties | plural | of Moiety |
| moistful | adjective | Full of moisture. |
| moisture | noun | A moderate degree of wetness., That which moistens or makes damp or wet; exuding fluid; liquid in small quantity. |
| mokadour | noun | A handkerchief. |
| molasses | noun | 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. |
| moulding | of Mould, The act or process of shaping in or on a mold, or of making molds; the art or occupation of a molder., Anything cast in a mold, or which appears to be so, as grooved or ornamental bars of wood or metal., 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., Used in making a mold or moldings; used in shaping anything according to a pattern. | |
| moldable | adjective | Alt. of Mouldable |
| moldered | imp. & past participle | of Moulder |
| mouldery | adjective | Covered or filled with mold; consisting of, or resembling, mold. |
| moldwarp | noun | Alt. of Mouldwarp |
| molecast | noun | A little elevation of earth made by a mole; a molehill. |
| molecule | noun | One of the very small invisible particles of which all matter is supposed to consist., 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., 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. |
| molehill | noun | A little hillock of earth thrown up by moles working under ground; hence, a very small hill, or an insignificant obstacle or difficulty. |
| moleskin | noun | Any fabric having a thick soft shag, like the fur of a mole; esp., a kind of strong twilled fustian. |
| molested | imp. & past participle | of Molest |
| molester | noun | One who molests. |
| molestie | noun | Alt. of Molesty |
| molewarp | noun | See Moldwarp. |
| molinism | noun | The doctrines of the Molinists, somewhat resembling the tenets of the Arminians. |
| molinist | noun | A follower of the opinions of Molina, a Spanish Jesuit (in respect to grace); an opposer of the Jansenists. |
| mollient | adjective | Serving to soften; assuaging; emollient. |
| mollinet | noun | A little mill. |
| mollusca | noun pl. | One of the grand divisions of the animal kingdom, including the classes Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, PteropodaScaphopoda, 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. |
| molosses | noun | Molasses. |
| molossus | noun | A foot of three long syllables. |
| moulting | of Moult | |
| moltable | adjective | Capable of assuming a molten state; meltable; fusible. |
| molybdic | adjective | 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. |
| momental | adjective | Lasting but a moment; brief., Important; momentous., Of or pertaining to moment or momentum. |
| momently | adverb | For a moment., In a moment; every moment; momentarily. |
| momentum | noun | The quantity of motion in a moving body, being always proportioned to the quantity of matter multiplied into the velocity; impetus., Essential element, or constituent element. |
| monachal | adjective | Of or pertaining to monks or a monastic life; monastic. |
| monamide | noun | An amido compound with only one amido group. |
| monamine | noun | A basic compound containing one amido group; as, methyl amine is a monamine. |
| monander | noun | One of the Monandria. |
| monandry | noun | The possession by a woman of only one husband at the same time; — contrasted with polyandry. |
| monarcho | noun | The nickname of a crackbrained Italian who fancied himself an emperor. |
| monarchy | noun | A state or government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch., A system of government in which the chief ruler is a monarch., The territory ruled over by a monarch; a kingdom. |
| monastic | noun | A monk., Alt. of Monastical |
| monaxial | adjective | Having only one axis; developing along a single line or plane; as, monaxial development. |
| monazite | noun | A mineral occurring usually in small isolated crystals, — a phosphate of the cerium metals. |
| monecian | adjective | Alt. of Monecious |
| monerons | plural | of Moneron |
| monerula | noun | 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. |
| monetary | adjective | Of or pertaining to money, or consisting of money; pecuniary. |
| monetize | verb t. | To convert into money; to adopt as current money; as, to monetize silver. |
| moneyage | noun | A tax paid to the first two Norman kings of England to prevent them from debashing the coin., Mintage; coinage. |
| mongcorn | noun | See Mangcorn. |
| mongolic | adjective | See Mongolian. |
| mongoose | noun | Alt. of Mongoos |
| monifier | noun | A fossil fish. |
| moniment | noun | Something to preserve memory; a reminder; a monument; hence, a mark; an image; a superscription; a record. |
| monisher | noun | One who monishes; an admonisher. |
| monistic | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or involving, monism. |
| monition | noun | Instruction or advice given by way of caution; an admonition; a warning; a caution., Information; indication; notice; advice., A process in the nature of a summons to appear and answer., An order monishing a party complained against to obey under pain of the law. |
| monitive | adjective | Conveying admonition; admonitory. |
| monitory | adjective | Giving admonition; instructing by way of caution; warning., Admonition; warning; especially, a monition proceeding from an ecclesiastical court, but not addressed to any one person. |
| monitrix | noun | A female monitor. |
| monkfish | noun | The angel fish (Squatina)., The angler (Lophius). |
| monkhood | noun | The character or condition of a monk., Monks, regarded collectively. |
| monocarp | noun | A monocarpic plant. |
| monocrat | noun | One who governs alone. |
| monocule | noun | A small crustacean with one median eye. |
| monodist | noun | A writer of a monody. |
| monodies | plural | of Monody |
| monoecia | noun pl. | A Linnaean class of plants, whose stamens and pistils are in distinct flowers in the same plant. |
| monogamy | noun | 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., State of being paired with a single mate. |
| monogeny | noun | Monogenesis., The doctrine that the members of the human race have all a common origin. |
| monogram | noun | 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., A picture in lines; a sketch., An arbitrary sign for a word. |
| monogyny | noun | Marriage with the one woman only., The state or condition of being monogynous. |
| monolith | noun | A single stone, especially one of large size, shaped into a pillar, statue, or monument. |
| monology | noun | The habit of soliloquizing, or of monopolizing conversation. |
| monomane | noun | A monomaniac. |
| monomial | noun | A single algebraic expression; that is, an expression unconnected with any other by the sign of addition, substraction, equality, or inequality., Consisting of but a single term or expression. |
| monopode | noun | One of a fabulous tribe or race of Ethiopians having but one leg and foot., A monopodium. |
| monopody | noun | A measure of but a single foot. |
| monopoly | noun | The exclusive power, or privilege of selling a commodity; the exclusive power, right, or privilege of dealing in some article, or of trading in some market; sole command of the traffic in anything, however obtained; as, the proprietor of a patented article is given a monopoly of its sale for a limited time; chartered trading companies have sometimes had a monopoly of trade with remote regions; a combination of traders may get a monopoly of a particular product., Exclusive possession; as, a monopoly of land., The commodity or other material thing to which the monopoly relates; as, tobacco is a monopoly in France. |
| monotone | noun | A single unvaried tone or sound., The utterance of successive syllables, words, or sentences, on one unvaried key or line of pitch. |
| monotony | noun | A frequent recurrence of the same tone or sound, producing a dull uniformity; absence of variety, as in speaking or singing., Any irksome sameness, or want of variety. |
| monotype | adjective | Alt. of Monotypic |
| monoxide | noun | An oxide containing one atom of oxygen in each molecule; as, barium monoxide. |
| monsieur | noun | The common title of civility in France in speaking to, or of, a man; Mr. or Sir., The oldest brother of the king of France., A Frenchman. |
| montanic | noun | Of or pertaining to mountains; consisting of mountains. |
| monteith | noun | See Monteth., A vessel in which glasses are washed; — so called from the name of the inventor. |
| monticle | noun | A little mount; a hillock; a small elevation or prominence. |
| montross | noun | See Matross. |
| monument | noun | Something which stands, or remains, to keep in remembrance what is past; a memorial., A building, pillar, stone, or the like, erected to preserve the remembrance of a person, event, action, etc.; as, the Washington monument; the Bunker Hill monument. Also, a tomb, with memorial inscriptions., A stone or other permanent object, serving to indicate a limit or to mark a boundary., A saying, deed, or example, worthy of record. |
| monureid | noun | Any one of a series of complex nitrogenous substances regarded as derived from one molecule of urea; as, alloxan is a monureid. |
| moonbeam | noun | A ray of light from the moon. |
| mooncalf | noun | A monster; a false conception; a mass of fleshy matter, generated in the uterus., A dolt; a stupid fellow. |
| moon-eye | noun | A eye affected by the moon; also, a disease in the eye of a horse., Any species of American fresh-water fishes of the genus Hyodon, esp. H. tergisus of the Great Lakes and adjacent waters., The cisco. |
| moonfish | noun | An American marine fish (Vomer setipennis); — called also bluntnosed shiner, horsefish, and sunfish., A broad, thin, silvery marine fish (Selene vomer); — called also lookdown, and silver moonfish., The mola. See Sunfish, 1. |
| moonless | adjective | Being without a moon or moonlight. |
| moonling | noun | A simpleton; a lunatic. |
| moonrise | noun | The rising of the moon above the horizon; also, the time of its rising. |
| moonsail | noun | A sail sometimes carried in light winds, above a skysail. |
| moonseed | noun | A climbing plant of the genus Menispermum; — so called from the crescentlike form of the seeds. |
| moonshee | noun | A Mohammedan professor or teacher of language. |
| moonwort | noun | The herb lunary or honesty. See Honesty., Any fern of the genus Botrychium, esp. B. Lunaria; — so named from the crescent-shaped segments of its frond. |
| moorball | noun | A fresh-water alga (Cladophora Aegagropila) which forms a globular mass. |
| moorband | noun | See Moorpan. |
| moorland | noun | Land consisting of a moor or moors. |
| mootable | adjective | Capable of being mooted. |
| mopboard | noun | A narrow board nailed against the wall of a room next to the floor; skirting board; baseboard. See Baseboard. |
| mopsical | adjective | Shortsighted; mope-eyed. |
| mopstick | noun | The long handle of a mop. |
| moquette | noun | A kind of carpet having a short velvety pile. |
| morainic | adjective | Of or pertaining to a moranie. |
| moralism | noun | A maxim or saying embodying a moral truth. |
| moralist | noun | One who moralizes; one who teaches or animadverts upon the duties of life; a writer of essays intended to correct vice and inculcate moral duties., One who practices moral duties; a person who lives in conformity with moral rules; one of correct deportment and dealings with his fellow-creatures; — sometimes used in contradistinction to one whose life is controlled by religious motives. |
| morality | noun | The relation of conformity or nonconformity to the moral standard or rule; quality of an intention, a character, an action, a principle, or a sentiment, when tried by the standard of right., The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the accepted standard of right., The doctrines or rules of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics., The practice of the moral duties; rectitude of life; conformity to the standard of right; virtue; as, we often admire the politeness of men whose morality we question., A kind of allegorical play, so termed because it consisted of discourses in praise of morality between actors representing such characters as Charity, Faith, Death, Vice, etc. Such plays were occasionally exhibited as late as the reign of Henry VIII., Intent; meaning; moral. |
| moralize | verb t. | To apply to a moral purpose; to explain in a moral sense; to draw a moral from., To furnish with moral lessons, teachings, or examples; to lend a moral to., To render moral; to correct the morals of., To give a moral quality to; to affect the moral quality of, either for better or worse., To make moral reflections; to regard acts and events as involving a moral. |
| moration | noun | A delaying tarrying; delay. |
| moravian | adjective | Of or pertaining to Moravia, or to the United Brethren. See Moravian, n., One of a religious sect called the United Brethren (an offshoot of the Hussites in Bohemia), which formed a separate church of Moravia, a northern district of Austria, about the middle of the 15th century. After being nearly extirpated by persecution, the society, under the name of The Renewed Church of the United Brethren, was reestablished in 1722-35 on the estates of Count Zinzendorf in Saxony. Called also Herrnhuter. |
| morbidly | adverb | In a morbid manner. |
| morbific | adjective | Alt. of Morbifical |
| mordente | noun | An embellishment resembling a trill. |
| moreland | noun | Moorland. |
| moreness | noun | Greatness. |
| moreover | adverb | Beyond what has been said; further; besides; in addition; furthermore; also; likewise. |
| morepork | noun | The Australian crested goatsucker (Aegotheles Novae-Hollandiae). Also applied to other allied birds, as Podargus Cuveiri. |
| moresque | adjective | Of or pertaining to, or in the manner or style of, the Moors; Moorish., The Moresque style of architecture or decoration. See Moorish architecture, under Moorish. |
| moribund | adjective | In a dying state; dying; at the point of death., A dying person. |
| morindin | noun | A yellow dyestuff extracted from the root bark of an East Indian plant (Morinda citrifolia). |
| moringic | adjective | Designating an organic acid obtained from oil of ben. See Moringa. |
| mornward | adverb | Towards the morn. |
| moroccan | adjective | Of or pertaining to Morocco, or its inhabitants. |
| morology | noun | Foolish talk; nonsense; folly. |
| morosely | adverb | Sourly; with sullen austerity. |
| morosity | noun | Moroseness. |
| moroshop | noun | A philosophical or learned fool. |
| morosous | adjective | Morose. |
| moroxite | noun | A variety of apatite of a greenish blue color. |
| morphean | adjective | Of or relating to Morpheus, to dreams, or to sleep. |
| morpheus | noun | The god of dreams. |
| morphine | noun | A bitter white crystalline alkaloid found in opium, possessing strong narcotic properties, and much used as an anodyne; — called also morphia, and morphina. |
| morricer | noun | A morris dancer. |
| morrimal | noun & adjective | See Mormal. |
| mortally | adverb | In a mortal manner; so as to cause death; as, mortally wounded., In the manner of a mortal or of mortal beings., In an extreme degree; to the point of dying or causing death; desperately; as, mortally jealous. |
| mortgage | noun | A conveyance of property, upon condition, as security for the payment of a debt or the preformance of a duty, and to become void upon payment or performance according to the stipulated terms; also, the written instrument by which the conveyance is made., State of being pledged; as, lands given in mortgage., To grant or convey, as property, for the security of a debt, or other engagement, upon a condition that if the debt or engagement shall be discharged according to the contract, the conveyance shall be void, otherwise to become absolute, subject, however, to the right of redemption., Hence: To pledge, either literally or figuratively; to make subject to a claim or obligation. |
| mortised | imp. & past participle | of Mortise |
| mortling | noun | An animal, as a sheep, dead of disease or privation; a mortling., Wool plucked from a dead sheep; morling. |
| mortmain | noun | Possession of lands or tenements in, or conveyance to, dead hands, or hands that cannot alienate. |
| mortress | noun | Alt. of Mortrew |
| mortuary | adjective | A sort of ecclesiastical heriot, a customary gift claimed by, and due to, the minister of a parish on the death of a parishioner. It seems to have been originally a voluntary bequest or donation, intended to make amends for any failure in the payment of tithes of which the deceased had been guilty., A burial place; a place for the dead., A place for the reception of the dead before burial; a deadhouse; a morgue., Of or pertaining to the dead; as, mortuary monuments. |
| mosaical | adjective | Mosaic (in either sense). |
| mosasaur | noun | Alt. of Mosasaurian |
| moschine | adjective | Of or pertaining to Moschus, a genus including the musk deer. |
| moslings | noun pl. | Thin shreds of leather shaved off in dressing skins. |
| mosquito | noun | Any one of various species of gnats of the genus Culex and allied genera. The females have a proboscis containing, within the sheathlike labium, six fine, sharp, needlelike organs with which they puncture the skin of man and animals to suck the blood. These bites, when numerous, cause, in many persons, considerable irritation and swelling, with some pain. The larvae and pupae, called wigglers, are aquatic. |
| mossback | noun | A veteran partisan; one who is so conservative in opinion that he may be likened to a stone or old tree covered with moss. |
| mostwhat | adverb | For the most part. |
| motation | noun | The act of moving; motion. |
| moth-eat | verb t. | To eat or prey upon, as a moth eats a garment. |
| mothered | imp. & past participle | of Mother, Thick, like mother; viscid. |
| motherly | adjective | Of or pertaining to a mother; like, or suitable for, a mother; tender; maternal; as, motherly authority, love, or care., In a manner of a mother. |
| motility | noun | Capability of motion; contractility. |
| motioned | imp. & past participle | of Motion |
| motioner | noun | One who makes a motion; a mover. |
| motivity | noun | The power of moving or producing motion., The quality of being influenced by motives. |
| motorial | noun | Causing or setting up motion; pertaining to organs of motion; — applied especially in physiology to those nerves or nerve fibers which only convey impressions from a nerve center to muscles, thereby causing motion. |
| motorman | noun | A man who controls a motor. |
| mottling | present participle & vb. noun | of Mottle |
| mouchoir | noun | A handkerchief. |
| mouazzin | noun | See Muezzin. |
| moulinet | noun | The drum upon which the rope is wound in a capstan, crane, or the like., A machine formerly used for bending a crossbow by winding it up., In sword and saber exercises, a circular swing of the weapon. |
| mounding | present participle & vb. noun | of Mound |
| mounting | present participle & vb. noun | of Mount, The act of one that mounts., That by which anything is prepared for use, or set off to advantage; equipment; embellishment; setting; as, the mounting of a sword or diamond. |
| mountain | noun | A large mass of earth and rock, rising above the common level of the earth or adjacent land; earth and rock forming an isolated peak or a ridge; an eminence higher than a hill; a mount., A range, chain, or group of such elevations; as, the White Mountains., A mountainlike mass; something of great bulk., Of or pertaining to a mountain or mountains; growing or living on a mountain; found on or peculiar to mountains; among mountains; as, a mountain torrent; mountain pines; mountain goats; mountain air; mountain howitzer., Like a mountain; mountainous; vast; very great. |
| mountant | adjective | Raised; high. |
| mountlet | noun | A small or low mountain. |
| mourning | present participle & vb. noun | of Mourn, The act of sorrowing or expressing grief; lamentation; sorrow., Garb, drapery, or emblems indicative of grief, esp. clothing or a badge of somber black., Grieving; sorrowing; lamenting., Employed to express sorrow or grief; worn or used as appropriate to the condition of one bereaved or sorrowing; as, mourning garments; a mourning ring; a mourning pin, and the like. |
| mournful | adjective | Full of sorrow; expressing, or intended to express, sorrow; mourning; grieving; sad; also, causing sorrow; saddening; grievous; as, a mournful person; mournful looks, tones, loss. |
| mousekin | noun | A little mouse. |
| mouthing | present participle & vb. noun | of Mouth |
| mouthful | noun | As much as is usually put into the mouth at one time., Hence, a small quantity. |
| movables | plural | of Movable |
| moveless | adjective | Motionless; fixed. |
| movement | noun | The act of moving; change of place or posture; transference, by any means, from one situation to another; natural or appropriate motion; progress; advancement; as, the movement of an army in marching or maneuvering; the movement of a wheel or a machine; the party of movement., Motion of the mind or feelings; emotion., Manner or style of moving; as, a slow, or quick, or sudden, movement., The rhythmical progression, pace, and tempo of a piece., One of the several strains or pieces, each complete in itself, with its own time and rhythm, which make up a larger work; as, the several movements of a suite or a symphony., A system of mechanism for transmitting motion of a definite character, or for transforming motion; as, the wheelwork of a watch. |
| movingly | adverb | In a moving manner. |
| mozzetta | noun | A cape, with a small hood; — worn by the pope and other dignitaries of the Roman Catholic Church. |
| mucamide | noun | The acid amide of mucic acid, obtained as a white crystalline substance. |
| muchness | noun | Greatness; extent. |
| muchwhat | adverb | Nearly; almost; much. |
| muciform | adjective | Resembling mucus; having the character or appearance of mucus. |
| mucilage | noun | A gummy or gelatinous substance produced in certain plants by the action of water on the cell wall, as in the seeds of quinces, of flax, etc., An aqueous solution of gum, or of substances allied to it; as, medicinal mucilage; mucilage for fastening envelopes. |
| mucivore | noun | An insect which feeds on mucus, or the sap of plants, as certain Diptera, of the tribe Mucivora. |
| muckerer | noun | A miser; a niggard. |
| muckworm | noun | A larva or grub that lives in muck or manure; — applied to the larvae of the tumbledung and allied beetles., One who scrapes together money by mean labor and devices; a miser. |
| mucocele | noun | An enlargement or protrusion of the mucous membrane of the lachrymal passages, or dropsy of the lachrymal sac, dependent upon catarrhal inflammation of the latter. |
| muconate | noun | A salt of muconic acid. |
| mucosity | noun | The quality or state of being mucous or slimy; mucousness. |
| muculent | adjective | Slimy; moist, and moderately viscous. |
| muddling | present participle & vb. noun | of Muddle |
| muddying | present participle & vb. noun | of Muddy |
| muffetee | noun | A small muff worn over the wrist. |
| muffling | present participle & vb. noun | of Muffle |
| mughouse | noun | An alehouse; a pothouse. |
| mugiency | noun | A bellowing. |
| mugiloid | adjective | Like or pertaining to the genus Mugil, or family Mugilidae. |
| mulberry | noun | The berry or fruit of any tree of the genus Morus; also, the tree itself. See Morus., A dark pure color, like the hue of a black mulberry. |
| mulching | present participle & vb. noun | of Mulch |
| mulcting | present participle & vb. noun | of Mulct |
| mulctary | adjective | Alt. of Mulctuary |
| muleteer | noun | One who drives mules. |
| mulewort | noun | A fern of the genus Hemionitis. |
| mulierly | adverb | In the manner or condition of a mulier; in wedlock; legitimately. |
| mulierty | noun | Condition of being a mulier; position of one born in lawful wedlock. |
| multeity | noun | Multiplicity. |
| multifid | adjective | Having many segments; cleft into several parts by linear sinuses; as, a multifid leaf or corolla. |
| multiped | noun | An insect having many feet, as a myriapod., Having many feet. |
| multiple | adjective | Containing more than once, or more than one; consisting of more than one; manifold; repeated many times; having several, or many, parts., A quantity containing another quantity a number of times without a remainder. |
| multiply | verb t. | To increase in number; to make more numerous; to add quantity to., To add (any given number or quantity) to itself a certain number of times; to find the product of by multiplication; thus 7 multiplied by 8 produces the number 56; to multiply two numbers. See the Note under Multiplication., To increase (the amount of gold or silver) by the arts of alchemy., To become greater in number; to become numerous., To increase in extent and influence; to spread., To increase amount of gold or silver by the arts of alchemy. |
| mumbling | present participle & vb. noun | of Mumble, Low; indistinct; inarticulate. |
| mummying | present participle & vb. noun | of Mummy |
| munching | present participle & vb. noun | of Munch |
| mungcorn | noun | Same as Mangcorn. |
| mungoose | noun | Alt. of Mungoos |
| muniment | noun | The act of supporting or defending., That which supports or defends; stronghold; place or means of defense; munition; assistance., A record; the evidences or writings whereby a man is enabled to defend the title to his estate; title deeds and papers. |
| munition | noun | Fortification; stronghold., Whatever materials are used in war for defense or for annoying an enemy; ammunition; also, stores and provisions; military stores of all kinds. |
| murenoid | adjective | Like or pertaining to the genus Muraena, or family Muraenidae. |
| murdered | imp. & past participle | of Murder |
| murderer | noun | One guilty of murder; a person who, in possession of his reason, unlawfully kills a human being with premeditated malice., A small cannon, formerly used for clearing a ship’s decks of boarders; — called also murdering piece. |
| murdress | noun | A battlement in ancient fortifications with interstices for firing through. |
| murenger | noun | One who had charge of the wall of a town, or its repairs. |
| murexide | noun | A crystalline nitrogenous substance having a splendid dichroism, being green by reflected light and garnet-red by transmitted light. It was formerly used in dyeing calico, and was obtained in a large quantities from guano. Formerly called also ammonium purpurate. |
| murexoin | noun | A complex nitrogenous compound obtained as a scarlet crystalline substance, and regarded as related to murexide. |
| muriated | adjective | Put in brine., Combined or impregnated with muriatic or hydrochloric acid., Prepared with chloride of silver through the agency of common salt. |
| muriatic | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, sea salt, or from chlorine, one of the constituents of sea salt; hydrochloric. |
| muricate | adjective | Alt. of Muricated |
| muricoid | adjective | Like, or pertaining to, the genus Murex, or family Muricidae. |
| muriform | adjective | Resembling courses of bricks or stones in squareness and regular arrangement; as, a muriform variety of cellular tissue. |
| muringer | noun | See Murenger. |
| murmured | imp. & past participle | of Murmur |
| murmurer | noun | One who murmurs. |
| murnival | noun | In the game of gleek, four cards of the same value, as four aces or four kings; hence, four of anything. |
| murrayin | noun | A glucoside found in the flowers of a plant (Murraya exotica) of South Asia, and extracted as a white amorphous slightly bitter substance. |
| murrelet | noun | One of several species of sea birds of the genera Synthliboramphus and Brachyramphus, inhabiting the North Pacific. They are closely related to the murres. |
| murrhine | adjective | Made of the stone or material called by the Romans murrha; — applied to certain costly vases of great beauty and delicacy used by the luxurious in Rome as wine cups; as, murrhine vases, cups, vessels. |
| muscadel | noun | See Muscatel, n. |
| muscales | noun pl. | An old name for mosses in the widest sense, including the true mosses and also hepaticae and sphagna. |
| muscarin | noun | A solid crystalline substance, C5H13NO2, found in the toadstool (Agaricus muscarius), and in putrid fish. It is a typical ptomaine, and a violent poison. |
| muscatel | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or designating, or derived from, a muscat grapes or similar grapes; a muscatel grapes; muscatel wine, etc., A common name for several varieties of rich sweet wine, made in Italy, Spain, and France., Finest raisins, dried on the vine; “sun raisins.” |
| muscling | noun | Exhibition or representation of the muscles. |
| muscular | adjective | Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber., Performed by, or dependent on, a muscle or the muscles., Well furnished with muscles; having well-developed muscles; brawny; hence, strong; powerful; vigorous; as, a muscular body or arm. |
| musculin | noun | See Syntonin. |
| museless | adjective | Unregardful of the Muses; disregarding the power of poetry; unpoetical. |
| mushroom | noun | An edible fungus (Agaricus campestris), having a white stalk which bears a convex or oven flattish expanded portion called the pileus. This is whitish and silky or somewhat scaly above, and bears on the under side radiating gills which are at first flesh-colored, but gradually become brown. The plant grows in rich pastures and is proverbial for rapidity of growth and shortness of duration. It has a pleasant smell, and is largely used as food. It is also cultivated from spawn., Any large fungus, especially one of the genus Agaricus; a toadstool. Several species are edible; but many are very poisonous., One who rises suddenly from a low condition in life; an upstart., Of or pertaining to mushrooms; as, mushroom catchup., Resembling mushrooms in rapidity of growth and shortness of duration; short-lived; ephemerial; as, mushroom cities. |
| musicale | noun | A social musical party. |
| musician | noun | One skilled in the art or science of music; esp., a skilled singer, or performer on a musical instrument. |
| musingly | adverb | In a musing manner. |
| muskadel | noun | See Muscadel. |
| musketry | noun | Muskets, collectively., The fire of muskets. |
| muskwood | noun | The wood of a West Indian tree of the Mahogany family (Moschoxylum Swartzii)., The wood of an Australian tree (Eurybia argophylla). |
| muslinet | noun | A sort of coarse or light cotton cloth. |
| musquash | noun | See Muskrat. |
| musquito | noun | See Mosquito. |
| mustache | noun | That part of the beard which grows on the upper lip; hair left growing above the mouth., A West African monkey (Cercopithecus cephus). It has yellow whiskers, and a triangular blue mark on the nose., Any conspicuous stripe of color on the side of the head, beneath the eye of a bird. |
| mustacho | noun | A mustache. |
| mustaiba | noun | A close-grained, neavy wood of a brownish color, brought from Brazil, and used in turning, for making the handles of tools, and the like. |
| mustered | imp. & past participle | of Muster |
| mutacism | noun | See Mytacism. |
| mutandum | noun | A thing which is to be changed; something which must be altered; — used chiefly in the plural. |
| mutation | noun | Change; alteration, either in form or qualities. |
| muteness | noun | The quality or state of being mute; speechlessness. |
| muticous | adjective | Without a point or pointed process; blunt. |
| mutilate | adjective | Deprived of, or having lost, an important part; mutilated., Having finlike appendages or flukes instead of legs, as a cetacean., A cetacean, or a sirenian., To cut off or remove a limb or essential part of; to maim; to cripple; to hack; as, to mutilate the body, a statue, etc., To destroy or remove a material part of, so as to render imperfect; as, to mutilate the orations of Cicero. |
| mutilous | adjective | Mutilated; defective; imperfect. |
| mutineer | noun | One guilty of mutiny. |
| mutinous | adjective | Disposed to mutiny; in a state of mutiny; characterized by mutiny; seditious; insubordinate. |
| mutinies | plural | of Mutiny |
| mutinied | imp. & past participle | of Mutiny |
| muttered | imp. & past participle | of Mutter |
| mutterer | noun | One who mutters. |
| mutually | adverb | In a mutual manner. |
| muzzling | present participle & vb. noun | of Muzzle |
| mycelium | noun | The white threads or filamentous growth from which a mushroom or fungus is developed; the so-called mushroom spawn. |
| myceloid | adjective | Resembling mycelium. |
| mycetoid | Resembling a fungus. | |
| mycology | noun | That branch of botanical science which relates to the musgrooms and other fungi. |
| myelitis | noun | Inflammation of the spinal marrow or its membranes. |
| myelonal | adjective | Of or pertaining to the myelon; as, the myelonal, or spinal, nerves. |
| mynchery | noun | A nunnery; — a term still applied to the ruins of certain nunneries in England. |
| myocomma | noun | A myotome. |
| myogalid | noun | One of the Myogalodae, a family of Insectivora, including the desman, and allied species. |
| myograph | noun | An instrument for determining and recording the different phases, as the intensity, velocity, etc., of a muscular contraction. |
| myolemma | noun | Sarcolemma. |
| myologic | adjective | Alt. of Myological |
| myomancy | noun | Divination by the movements of mice. |
| myomorph | noun | One of the Myomorpha. |
| myopathy | noun | Same as Myopathia. |
| myositic | adjective | Myotic. |
| myositis | noun | Inflammation of the muscles. |
| myosotis | noun | A genus of plants. See Mouse-ear. |
| myotomic | adjective | Of or pertaining to a myotome or myotomes. |
| myriapod | noun | One of the Myriapoda. |
| myriarch | noun | A captain or commander of ten thousand men. |
| myristic | adjective | Pertaining to, or derived from, the nutmeg (Myristica). Specifically, designating an acid found in nutmeg oil and otoba fat, and extracted as a white crystalline waxy substance. |
| myristin | noun | The myristate of glycerin, — found as a vegetable fat in nutmeg butter, etc. |
| myrmidon | noun | One of a fierce tribe or troop who accompained Achilles, their king, to the Trojan war., A soldier or a subordinate civil officer who executes cruel orders of a superior without protest or pity; — sometimes applied to bailiffs, constables, etc. |
| myrrhine | adjective | Murrhine. |
| myselven | pronoun | Myself. |
| mystacal | adjective | Of or pertaining to the upper lip, or mustache. |
| mystical | adjective | Remote from or beyond human comprehension; baffling human understanding; unknowable; obscure; mysterious., Importing or implying mysticism; involving some secret meaning; allegorical; emblematical; as, a mystic dance; mystic Babylon. |
| mytacism | noun | Too frequent use of the letter m, or of the sound represented by it. |
| mythical | adjective | Of or relating to myths; described in a myth; of the nature of a myth; fabulous; imaginary; fanciful. |
| mytiloid | adjective | Like, or pertaining to, the genus Mytilus, or family Mytilidae. |
| myxinoid | adjective | Like, or pertaining to, the genus Myxine., A hagfish. |
| myxomata | plural | of Myxoma |
| myzontes | noun pl. | The Marsipobranchiata. |