Ma (mä), n. [Cf. Mamma.]
1. A child’s word for mother.
2. [Hind.] In Oriental countries, a respectful form of address given to a woman; mother. Balfour (Cyc. of India).

Ma, conj. [It.] (Mus.) But; — used in cautionary phrases; as "Vivace, ma non troppo presto" (i. e., lively, but not too quick). Moore (Encyc. of Music).

Ma’am, n. Madam; my lady; — a colloquial contraction of madam often used in direct address, and sometimes as an appellation.

Maa, n. [See New a gull.] (Zoöl.) The common European gull ( Larus canus); — called also mar. See New, a gull.

Maara shell
Ma"a•ra shell (Zoöl.) A large, pearly, spiral, marine shell ( Turbo margaritaceus), from the Pacific Islands. It is used as an ornament.

Maasha
Ma•ash´a, n. An East Indian coin, of about one tenth of the weight of a rupee.

Maat, a. [See Mate, a. ] Dejected; sorrowful; downcast. [Obs.] "So piteous and so maat." Chaucer.

Mabble
Mab´ble, v. t. To wrap up. [Obs.]

Mabby
Mab´by, n. A spirituous liquor or drink distilled from potatoes; — used in the Barbadoes.

Mabolo
Ma•bo´lo, n. (Bot.) A kind of persimmon tree ( Diospyros discolor) from the Philippine Islands, now introduced into the East and West Indies. It bears an edible fruit as large as a quince.

Mac [Gael., son.] A prefix, in names of Scotch origin, signifying son.

Macaco
Ma•ca´co, n. [Cf. Pg. macaco.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of lemurs, as the ruffed lemur ( Lemur macaco), and the ring- tailed lemur ( L. catta).

Macacus
Ma•ca´cus, n. [NL., a word of African origin. Cf. Macaco, Macaque.] (Zoöl.) A genus of monkeys, found in Asia and the East Indies. They have short tails and prominent eyebrows.

Macadamize
Mac•ad´am•ize, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Macadamized p. pr. & vb. n. Macadamizing.] [From John Loudon McAdam, who introduced the process into Great Britain in 1816.] To cover, as a road, or street, with small, broken stones, so as to form a smooth, hard, convex surface.

Macaque
Ma•caque´, n. [F. See Macacus.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of short-tailed monkeys of the genus Macacus; as M. maurus, the moor macaque of the East Indies.

Macarize
Mac´a•rize, v. t. [Gr. to bless.] To congratulate. [Oxford Univ. Cant] Whately.

Macaroni
Mac•a•ro´ni, n. ; pl. Macaronis (#), or Macaronies. [Prov. It. macaroni, It. maccheroni, fr. Gr. happiness, later, a funeral feast, fr. blessed, happy. Prob. so called because eaten at such feasts in honor of the dead; cf. Gr. blessed, i. e., dead. Cf. Macaroon.]
1. Long slender tubes made of a paste chiefly of wheat flour, and used as an article of food; Italian or Genoese paste. A paste similarly prepared is largely used as food in Persia, India, and China, but is not commonly made tubular like the Italian macaroni. Balfour (Cyc. of India).
2. A medley; something droll or extravagant.
3. A sort of droll or fool. [Obs.] Addison.
4. A finical person; a fop; — applied especially to English fops of about 1775. Goldsmith.
5. pl. (U. S. Hist.) The designation of a body of Maryland soldiers in the Revolutionary War, distinguished by a rich uniform. W. Irving. { Mac•a•ro´ni•an, Mac•a•ron´ic } a. [Cf. It. maccheronico, F. macaronique.]
1. Pertaining to, or like, macaroni (originally a dish of mixed food); hence, mixed; confused; jumbled.
2. Of or pertaining to the burlesque composition called macaronic; as macaronic poetry.

Macaroon
Mac•a•roon´, n. [F. macaron, It. maccherone. See Macaroni.]
1. A small cake, composed chiefly of the white of eggs, almonds, and sugar.
2. A finical fellow, or macaroni. [Obs.]

Macauco
Ma•cau´co, n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small lemurs, as Lemur murinus, which resembles a rat in size.

Macavahu
Ma•ca•va´hu, n. (Zoöl.) A small Brazilian monkey ( Callithrix torquatus), — called also collared teetee.

Macaw
Ma•caw´, n. [From the native name in the Antilles.] (Zoöl.) Any parrot of the genus Sittace, or Macrocercus. About eighteen species are known, all of them American. They are large and have a very long tail, a strong hooked bill, and a naked space around the eyes. The voice is harsh, and the colors are brilliant and strongly contrasted. Macaw bush (Bot.), a West Indian name for a prickly kind of nightshade ( Solanum mammosum). — Macaw palm, Macaw tree (Bot.), a tropical American palm ( Acrocomia fusiformis and other species) having a prickly stem and pinnately divided leaves. Its nut yields a yellow butter, with the perfume of violets, which is used in making violet soap. Called also grugru palm.

Maccabean
Mac•ca•be´an, a. Of or pertaining to Judas Maccabeus or to the Maccabees; as the Maccabean princes; Maccabean times.

Maccabees
Mac´ca•bees, n. pl.
1. The name given in later times to the Asmonaeans, a family of Jewish patriots, who headed a religious revolt in the reign of Antiochus IV., 168-161 B. C., which led to a period of freedom for Israel. Schaff-Herzog.
2. The name of two ancient historical books, which give accounts of Jewish affairs in or about the time of the Maccabean princes, and which are received as canonical books in the Roman Catholic Church, but are included in the Apocrypha by Protestants. Also applied to three books, two of which are found in some MSS. of the Septuagint. { Mac´ca•boy, Mac´co•boy } n. [From a district in the Island of Martinique where it is made: cf. F. macouba.] A kind of snuff.

Mace, n. [Jav. & Malay. mas, fr. Skr. masha a bean.] A money of account in China equal to one tenth of a tael; also a weight of 57.98 grains. S. W. Williams.

Mace, n. [F. macis, L. macis, macir, Gr. ; cf. Skr. makaranda the nectar or honey of a flower, a fragrant mango.] (Bot.) A kind of spice; the aril which partly covers nutmegs. See Nutmeg. Red mace is the aril of Myristica tingens, and white mace that of M. Otoba, — East Indian trees of the same genus with the nutmeg tree.

Mace, n. [OF. mace, F. masse, from (assumed) L. matea, of which the dim. mateola a kind of mallet or beetle, is found.]
1. A heavy staff or club of metal; a spiked club; — used as weapon in war before the general use of firearms, especially in the Middle Ages, for breaking metal armor. Chaucer.
"Death with his mace petrific … smote." Milton.
2. Hence: A staff borne by, or carried before, a magistrate as an ensign of his authority. "Swayed the royal mace." Wordsworth.
3. An officer who carries a mace as an emblem of authority. Macaulay.
4. A knobbed mallet used by curriers in dressing leather to make it supple.
5. (Billiards) A rod for playing billiards, having one end suited to resting on the table and pushed with one hand. Mace bearer, an officer who carries a mace before persons in authority.

Macedoine
Ma•ce•doine´, n. [F., apparently the same word as Macedoine Macedonia.] A kind of mixed dish, as of cooked vegetables with white sauce, sweet jelly with whole fruit, etc. also fig., a medley.

Macedonian
Mac•e•do´ni•an, a. [L. Macedonius, Gr. .] (Geog.) Belonging, or relating, to Macedonia. — n. A native or inhabitant of Macedonia.

Macedonian
Mac•e•do´ni•an, n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a certain religious sect, followers of Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople, in the fourth century, who held that the Holy Ghost was a creature, like the angels, and a servant of the Father and the Son.

Macedonianism
Mac•e•do´ni•an•ism, n. The doctrines of Macedonius.

Macer
Ma´cer, n. [F. massier. See Mace staff.] A mace bearer; an officer of a court. P. Plowman.

Maceration
Mac•er•a´tion, n. [L. maceratio: cf. F. maceration.] The act or process of macerating. { Ma•chae´ro•dus (ma•ke"ro•dus), Ma•chai´ro•dus (ma•ki"ro•dus), } n. [NL., fr. Gr. ma•chaira dagger + ’odoy•s tooth.] (Paleon.) A genus of extinct mammals allied to the cats, and having in the upper jaw canine teeth of remarkable size and strength; — hence called saber-toothed tigers.

Machete
Ma•che´te (ma•cha"ta), n. [Sp.] A large heavy knife resembling a broadsword, often two or three feet in length, — used by the inhabitants of Spanish America as a hatchet to cut their way through thickets, and for various other purposes. J. Stevens.

Machiavelian
Mach•i•a•vel´ian, a. [From Machiavel, an Italian writer, secretary and historiographer to the republic of Florence.] Of or pertaining to Machiavel, or to his supposed principles; politically cunning; characterized by duplicity or bad faith; crafty.

Machiavelian
Mach•i•a•vel´ian, n. One who adopts the principles of Machiavel; a cunning and unprincipled politician. { Mach´i•a•vel•ism, Mach•i•a•vel´ian•ism } n. [Cf. F. machiavelisme; It. machiavellismo.] The supposed principles of Machiavel, or practice in conformity to them; political artifice, intended to favor arbitrary power.

Machicolated
Ma•chic´o•la•ted, a. [LL. machicolatus, p. p. of machicolare, machicollare. See Machicolation.] Having machicolations. "Machicolated turrets." C. Kingsley.

Machinate
Mach´i•nate, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Machinated p. pr. & vb. n. Machinating ] [L. machinatus, p. p. of machinari to devise, plot. See Machine.] To plan; to contrive; esp., to form a scheme with the purpose of doing harm; to contrive artfully; to plot. "How long will you machinate!" Sandys.

Machinate
Mach´i•nate, v. t. To contrive, as a plot; to plot; as to machinate evil.

Machination
Mach•i•na´tion, n. [L. machinatio: cf. F. machination.]
1. The act of machinating. Shak.
2. That which is devised; a device; a hostile or treacherous scheme; an artful design or plot.
"Devilish machinations come to naught." Milton.
"His ingenious machinations had failed." Macaulay.

Machinator
Mach´i•na•tor, n. [L.] One who machinates, or forms a scheme with evil designs; a plotter or artful schemer. Glanvill. Sir W. Scott.

Machine
Ma•chine´ (ma•shen"), n. [F., fr. L. machina machine, engine, device, trick, Gr., from means, expedient. Cf. Mechanic.]
1. In general, any combination of bodies so connected that their relative motions are constrained, and by means of which force and motion may be transmitted and modified, as a screw and its nut, or a lever arranged to turn about a fulcrum or a pulley about its pivot, etc.; especially, a construction, more or less complex, consisting of a combination of moving parts, or simple mechanical elements, as wheels, levers, cams, etc., with their supports and connecting framework, calculated to constitute a prime mover, or to receive force and motion from a prime mover or from another machine, and transmit, modify, and apply them to the production of some desired mechanical effect or work, as weaving by a loom, or the excitation of electricity by an electrical machine. The term machine is most commonly applied to such pieces of mechanism as are used in the industrial arts, for mechanically shaping, dressing, and combining materials for various purposes, as in the manufacture of cloth, etc. Where the effect is chemical, or other than mechanical, the contrivance is usually denominated an apparatus, not a machine; as a bleaching apparatus. Many large, powerful, or specially important pieces of mechanism are called engines; as a steam engine, fire engine, graduating engine, etc. Although there is no well-settled distinction between the terms engine and machine among practical men, there is a tendency to restrict the application of the former to contrivances in which the operating part is not distinct from the motor.
2. Any mechanical contrivance, as the wooden horse with which the Greeks entered Troy; a coach; a bicycle. Dryden. Southey. Thackeray.
3. A person who acts mechanically or at the will of another.
4. A combination of persons acting together for a common purpose, with the agencies which they use; as the social machine.
"The whole machine of government ought not to bear upon the people with a weight so heavy and oppressive." Landor.
5. A political organization arranged and controlled by one or more leaders for selfish, private or partisan ends. [Political Cant]
6. Supernatural agency in a poem, or a superhuman being introduced to perform some exploit. Addison. Elementary machine, a name sometimes given to one of the simple mechanical powers. See under Mechanical. — Infernal machine. See under Infernal. — Machine gun.See under Gun. — Machine screw, a screw or bolt adapted for screwing into metal, in distinction from one which is designed especially to be screwed into wood. — Machine shop, a workshop where machines are made, or where metal is shaped by cutting, filing, turning, etc. — Machine tool, a machine for cutting or shaping wood, metal, etc., by means of a tool; especially, a machine, as a lathe, planer, drilling machine, etc., designed for a more or less general use in a machine shop, in distinction from a machine for producing a special article as in manufacturing. — Machine twist, silken thread especially adapted for use in a sewing machine. — Machine work, work done by a machine, in contradistinction to that done by hand labor.

Machine
Ma•chine´, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Machined p. pr. & vb. n. Machining.] To subject to the action of machinery; to effect by aid of machinery; to print with a printing machine.

Machinery
Ma•chin´er•y, n. [From Machine: cf. F. machinerie.]
1. Machines, in general, or collectively.
2. The working parts of a machine, engine, or instrument; as the machinery of a watch.
3. The supernatural means by which the action of a poetic or fictitious work is carried on and brought to a catastrophe; in an extended sense, the contrivances by which the crises and conclusion of a fictitious narrative, in prose or verse, are effected.
"The machinery, madam, is a term invented by the critics, to signify that part which the deities, angels, or demons, are made to act in a poem." Pope.
4. The means and appliances by which anything is kept in action or a desired result is obtained; a complex system of parts adapted to a purpose.
"An indispensable part of the machinery of state." Macaulay.
"The delicate inflexional machinery of the Aryan languages." I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

Machinist
Ma•chin´ist, n. [Cf. F. machiniste.]
1. A constrictor of machines and engines; one versed in the principles of machines.
2. One skilled in the use of machine tools.
3. A person employed to shift scenery in a theater.

Macho
Ma´cho, n. [Sp.] (Zoöl.) The striped mullet of California ( Mugil cephalus, or Mexicanus).

Macilency
Mac´i•len•cy, n. [See Macilent.] Leanness. [Obs.] Sandys.

Macintosh
Mac´in•tosh, n. Same as Mackintosh.

Mackinaw coat. A short, heavy, double-breasted plaid coat, the design of which is large and striking. [Local, U. S.]

Mackinaw trout. The namaycush.

Mackintosh
Mack´in•tosh, n. A waterproof outer garment; — so called from the name of the inventor.

Mackle
Mac´kle, n. [See Macle.] Same as Macule.

Mackle
Mac´kle, v. t. & i. To blur, or be blurred, in printing, as if there were a double impression.

Macle
Ma´cle, n. [L. macula a spot: cf. F. macle. Cf. Mackle, Mascle.] (Min.) (a) Chiastolite; — so called from the tessellated appearance of a cross section. See Chiastolite. (b) A crystal having a similar tessellated appearance. (c) A twin crystal.

Maclurin
Ma•clu´rin, n. (Chem.) See Morintannic.

Macro-
Mac´ro- [Gr. makro•s, adj.] A combining form signifying long, large, great; as macrodiagonal, macrospore.

Macrobiotic
Mac•ro•bi•ot´ic, a. [Gr. long- lived; makro•s long + life: cf. F. macrobiotique.] Long-lived. Dunglison.

Macrobiotics
Mac•ro•bi•ot´ics, n. (Physiol.) The art of prolonging life.

Macrocephalous
Mac•ro•ceph´a•lous, a. [ Macro + Gr. kefalh• the head.]
1. Having a large head.
2. (Bot.) Having the cotyledons of a dicotyledonous embryo confluent, and forming a large mass compared with the rest of the body. Henslow.

Macro-chemistry
Mac•ro-chem´is•try, n. [ Macro- + chemistry.] (Chem.) The science which treats of the chemical properties, actions or relations of substances in quantity; — distinguished from micro-chemistry.

Macrochires
Mac•ro•chi´res, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. makro•s long + hand.] (Zoöl.) A division of birds including the swifts and humming birds. So called from the length of the distal part of the wing.

Macrocosm
Mac´ro•cosm, n. [ Macro- + Gr. the world: cf. F. macrocosme.] The great world; that part of the universe which is exterior to man; — contrasted with microcosm, or man. See Microcosm.

Macrocystis
Mac•ro•cys´tis, n. [NL. See Macro-, and Cyst.] (Bot.) An immensely long blackish seaweed of the Pacific ( Macrocystis pyrifera), having numerous almond-shaped air vessels.

Macrodiagonal
Mac•ro•di•ag´o•nal, n. [ Macro- + diagonal.] (Crystallog.) The longer of two diagonals, as of a rhombic prism. See Crystallization.

Macrofarad
Mac´ro•far•ad, n. [ Macro- + farad.] (Elec.) See Megafarad. [R.]

Macrograph
Mac´ro•graph, n. [ Macro- + -graph.] A picture of an object as seen by the naked eye (that is, unmagnified); as a macrograph of a metallic fracture.

Macrography
Ma•crog´ra•phy, n. Examination or study with the naked eye, as distinguished from micrography.

Macrology
Ma•crol´o•gy, n. [L. macrologia, Gr. ; long + lo•gos discourse: cf. F. macrologie.] Long and tedious talk without much substance; superfluity of words.

Macrometer
Ma•crom´e•ter, n. [ Macro- + -meter.] An instrument for determining the size or distance of inaccessible objects by means of two reflectors on a common sextant.

Macron
Ma´cron, n. [NL., fr. Gr. long.] (Pron.) A short, straight, horizontal mark [-], placed over vowels to denote that they are to be pronounced with a long sound; as a, in dame; e, in seam, etc.

Macropetalous
Mac•ro•pet´al•ous, a. [ Macro- + petal.] (Bot.) Having long or large petals.

Macrophyllous
Ma•croph´yl•lous, a. [ Macro- + Gr. a leaf.] (Bot.) Having long or large leaves.

Macropinacoid
Mac•ro•pin´a•coid, n. [ Macro- + pinacoid.] (Crystallog.) One of the two planes of an orthorhombic crystal which are parallel to the vertical and longer lateral (macrodiagonal) axes.

Macropod
Mac´ro•pod, n. [ Macro- + -pod.] (Zoöl.) Any one of a group of maioid crabs remarkable for the length of their legs; — called also spider crab.

Macropodal
Ma•crop´o•dal, a. Having long or large feet, or a long stem.

Macropodian
Mac•ro•po´di•an, n. A macropod.

Macropodous
Ma•crop´o•dous, a. (Zoöl.) Having long legs or feet.

Macroprism
Mac´ro•prism, n. [ Macro- + prism.] (Crystallog.) A prism of an orthorhombic crystal between the macropinacoid and the unit prism; the corresponding pyramids are called macropyramids.

Macropteres
Ma•crop´te•res, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. long + feather, wing.] (Zoöl.) A division of birds; the Longipennes.

Macropterous
Ma•crop´ter•ous, a. [See Macropteres.] (Zoöl.) Having long wings.

Macrosporic
Mac•ro•spor´ic, a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to macrospores.

Macrotone
Mac´ro•tone, n. [Gr. stretched out. See Macro-, and Tone.] (Pron.) Same as Macron.

Macroura
Ma•crou´ra, n. pl., Ma•crou´ral, a. , etc. (Zoöl.) Same as Macrura, Macrural, etc.

Macrura
Ma•cru´ra, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. long + tail.] (Zoöl.) A subdivision of decapod Crustacea, having the abdomen largely developed. It includes the lobster, prawn, shrimp, and many similar forms. Cf. Decapoda.

Macruroid
Ma•cru´roid, a. [ Macrura + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to the Macrura.

Macrurous
Ma•cru´rous, a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Macrura; having a long tail.

Mactation
Mac•ta´tion, n. [L. mactatio, fr. macture to slay, sacrifice.] The act of killing a victim for sacrifice. [Obs.]

Mactra
Mac´tra, n. [NL., fr. Gr. kneading trough, fr. to knead.] (Zoöl.) Any marine bivalve shell of the genus Mactra, and allied genera. Many species are known. Some of them are used as food, as Mactra stultorum, of Europe. See Surf clam, under Surf.

Maculated
Mac´u•la•ted, a. Having spots or blotches; maculate.

Maculation
Mac´u•la´tion, n. [L. maculatio.] The act of spotting; a spot; a blemish. Shak.

Maculatory
Mac´u•la•to•ry, a. Causing a spot or stain. T. Adams.

Maculature
Mac´u•la•ture, n. Blotting paper. [Obs.]

Macule
Mac´ule, n. [F. macule. See Macula.]
1. A spot. [Obs.]
2. (Print.) A blur, or an appearance of a double impression, as when the paper slips a little; a mackle.

Macule
Mac´ule, v. t. [Cf. F. maculer. See Maculate, v. ] To blur; especially (Print.), to blur or double an impression from type. See Mackle.

Mad, obs. p. p. of Made. Chaucer.

Mad, a. [ Compar. Madder superl. Maddest ] [AS. gemd, gemad, mad; akin to OS. gemd foolish, OHG. gameit, Icel. meia to hurt, Goth. gamáids weak, broken. .]
1. Disordered in intellect; crazy; insane.
"I have heard my grandsire say full oft, Extremity of griefs would make men mad." Shak.
2. Excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason; inflamed by violent or uncontrollable desire, passion, or appetite; as to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred; mad against political reform.
"It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols." Jer. 1. 88.
"And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities." Acts xxvi. 11.
3. Proceeding from, or indicating, madness; expressing distraction; prompted by infatuation, fury, or extreme rashness. "Mad demeanor." Milton.
"Mad wars destroy in one year the works of many years of peace." Franklin.
"The mad promise of Cleon was fulfilled." Jowett (Thucyd.).
4. Extravagant; immoderate. "Be mad and merry." Shak. "Fetching mad bounds." Shak.
5. Furious with rage, terror, or disease; — said of the lower animals; as a mad bull; esp., having hydrophobia; rabid; as a mad dog.
6. Angry; out of patience; vexed; as to get mad at a person. [Colloq.]
7. Having impaired polarity; — applied to a compass needle. [Colloq.] Like mad, like a mad person; in a furious manner; as to run like mad. L’Estrange. — To run mad. (a) To become wild with excitement. (b) To run wildly about under the influence of hydrophobia; to become affected with hydrophobia. — To run mad after, to pursue under the influence of infatuation or immoderate desire. "The world is running mad after farce." Dryden.

Mad, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Madded; p. pr. & vb. n. Madding.] To make mad or furious; to madden.
"Had I but seen thy picture in this plight, It would have madded me." Shak.

Mad, v. i. To be mad; to go mad; to rave. See Madding. [Archaic] Chaucer.
"Festus said with great voice, Paul thou maddest." Wyclif (Acts).

Mad, n. [AS. maa; akin to D. & G. made, Goth. mapa, and prob. to E. moth.] (Zoöl.) An earthworm. [Written also made.]

Madam
Mad´am, n. ; pl. Madams, or Mesdames (#). [See Madame.] A gentlewoman; — an appellation or courteous form of address given to a lady, especially an elderly or a married lady; — much used in the address, at the beginning of a letter, to a woman. The corresponding word in addressing a man is Sir.

Madbrained
Mad´brained, a. Disordered in mind; hot-headed. Shak.

Madcap
Mad´cap, a.
1. Inclined to wild sports; delighting in rash, absurd, or dangerous amusements. "The merry madcap lord." Shak.
2. Wild; reckless. "Madcap follies" Beau. & Fl.

Madcap
Mad´cap, n. A person of wild behavior; an excitable, rash, violent person. Shak.

Madden
Mad´den, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Maddened p. pr. & vb. n. Maddening.] To make mad; to drive to madness; to craze; to excite violently with passion; to make very angry; to enrage.

Madden
Mad´den, v. i. To become mad; to act as if mad.
"They rave, recite, and madden round the land." Pope.

Madder
Mad´der (mad"der), n. [OE. mader, AS. maedere; akin to Icel. maðra.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Rubia ( R. tinctorum). The root is much used in dyeing red, and formerly was used in medicine. It is cultivated in France and Holland. See Rubiaceous. Madder is sometimes used in forming pigments, as lakes, etc., which receive their names from their colors; as. madder yellow. Field madder, an annual European weed ( Sherardia arvensis) resembling madder. — Indian madder, the East Indian Rubia cordifolia, used in the East for dyeing; — called also munjeet. — Wild madder, Rubia peregrina of Europe; also the Galium Mollugo, a kind of bedstraw.

Madding
Mad´ding, a. Affected with madness; raging; furious. — Mad´ding•ly, adv. [Archaic]
"Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife." Gray.
"The madding wheels Of brazen chariots raged." Milton.

Maddish
Mad´dish, a. Somewhat mad. Beau. & Fl.

Made, n. (Zoöl.) See Mad, n.

Made, imp. & p. p. of Make.

Made, a. Artificially produced; pieced together; formed by filling in; as made ground; a made mast, in distinction from one consisting of a single spar. Made up. (a) Complete; perfect. "A made up villain." Shak. (b) Falsely devised; fabricated; as a made up story. (c) Artificial; as a made up figure or complexion. { Mad´e•cass, Mad•e•cas´see } n. A native or inhabitant of Madagascar, or Madecassee; the language of the natives of Madagascar. See Malagasy.

Madefy
Mad´e•fy, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Madefied p. pr. & vb. n. Madefying ] [Cf. F. madefier, L. madefacere. See Madefaction.] To make wet or moist. [R.]

Madeira wood. (Bot.) (a) The mahogany tree ( Swietenia Mahogoni). (b) A West Indian leguminous tree ( Lysiloma Latisiliqua) the wood of which is used for boat trimming.

Mademoiselle
Ma•de•moi•selle´, n. ; pl. Mesdemoiselles (#). [F., fr. ma my, f. of mon + demoiselle young lady. See Damsel.]
1. A French title of courtesy given to a girl or an unmarried lady, equivalent to the English Miss. Goldsmith.
2. (Zoöl.) A marine food fish ( Sciaena chrysura), of the Southern United States; — called also yellowtail, and silver perch.

Mad-headed
Mad´-head•ed, a. Wild; crack- brained.

Madhouse
Mad´house, n. A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum; a bedlam.

Madia
Ma´di•a, n. [NL., fr. Sp. madi, fr. Chilian madi, the native name.] (Bot.) A genus of composite plants, of which one species ( Madia sativa) is cultivated for the oil yielded from its seeds by pressure. This oil is sometimes used instead of olive oil for the table.

Madid
Mad´id, a. [L. madidus, fr. madere to be wet.] Wet; moist; as a madid eye. [R.] Beaconsfield.

Madisterium
Mad•is•te´ri•um, n. [NL., fr. Gr. .] (Surg.) An instrument to extract hairs.

Madjoun
Mad´joun, n. [Hind., fr. Ar. ma’jn.] An intoxicating confection from the hemp plant; — used by the Turks and Hindoos. [Written also majoun.]

Madly
Mad´ly, adv. [From Mad, a. ] In a mad manner; without reason or understanding; wildly.

Madnep
Mad´nep, n. (Bot.) The masterwort ( Peucedanum Ostruthium).

Madness
Mad´ness, n. [From Mad, a. ]
1. The condition of being mad; insanity; lunacy.
2. Frenzy; ungovernable rage; extreme folly.
Syn. — Insanity; distraction; derangement; craziness; lunacy; mania; frenzy; franticness; rage; aberration; alienation; monomania. See Insanity.

Madrague
Ma•drague´, n. [R.] A large fish pound used for the capture of the tunny in the Mediterranean; also applied to the seines used for the same purpose.

Madras
Ma•dras´, n. [So named after Madras, a city and presidency of India.] A large silk-and- cotton kerchief, usually of bright colors, such as those often used by negroes for turbans.
"A black woman in blue cotton gown, red-and-yellow madras turban … crouched against the wall." G. W. Cable. { Maf´fi•a, Ma´fi•a }, n. [It. maffia.] A secret society which organized in Sicily as a political organization, but is now widespread among Italians, and is used to further or protect private interests, reputedly by illegal methods. { Maf•fi•o´so, Ma•fi•o´so }, n. ; pl. -si (#). [It. maffioso.] A member of the maffia.

Madreperl
Ma´dre•perl, n. [It. madreperla.] Mother-of-pearl.

Madrepora
Mad•re•po´ra (mad•re•po"ra), n. [NL. See Madrepore.] (Zoöl.) A genus of reef corals abundant in tropical seas. It includes than one hundred and fifty species, most of which are elegantly branched. — Mad•re•po´ral (#), a.

Madreporite
Mad´re•po•rite, n. [Cf. F. madreporite]
1. (Paleon.) A fossil coral.
2. (Zoöl.) The madreporic plate of echinoderms.

Madrier
Ma•drier´, n. [F., from Sp. madero, or Pg. madeiro, fr. Sp. madera wood for building, timber, Pg. madeira, L. materia stuff, materials, lumber. See Matter.] A thick plank, used for several mechanical purposes; especially: (a) A plank to receive the mouth of a petard, with which it is applied to anything intended to be broken down. (b) A plank or beam used for supporting the earth in mines or fortifications.

Madrigalist
Mad´ri•gal•ist, n. A composer of madrigals.

Madrilenian
Mad•ri•le´ni•an, a. [Sp. Madrileño.] Of or pertaining to Madrid in Spain, or to its inhabitants. — n. A native or inhabitant of Madrid.

Madrina
Ma•dri´na, n. [Sp., prop., a godmother.] An animal (usually an old mare), wearing a bell and acting as the leader of a troop of pack mules. [S. America]

Madroña
Ma•dro"ña, n. [Sp. madroño.] (Bot.) A small evergreen tree or shrub ( Arbutus Menziesii), of California, having a smooth bark, thick shining leaves, and edible red berries, which are often called madroña apples. [Written also madroño.]

Madwort
Mad´wort, n. (Bot.) A genus of cruciferous plants ( Alyssum) with white or yellow flowers and rounded pods. A. maritimum is the commonly cultivated sweet alyssum, a fragrant white-flowered annual. { Maeg´bote•, Mag´bote• }, n. [AS. maeg kinsman + bot compensation.] (Anglo-Saxon Law) Compensation for the injury done by slaying a kinsman. Spelman.

Maelstrom
Mael´strom, n. [Norw., a whirlpool.]
1. A celebrated whirlpool on the coast of Norway.
2. Also Fig. ; as a maelstrom of vice.

Maenad
Mae´nad, n. [L. Maenas, -adis, Gr.,, fr. to rave.]
1. A Bacchante; a priestess or votary of Bacchus.
2. A frantic or frenzied woman.

Maestoso
Ma•es•to´so, a. & adv. [It.] (Mus.) Majestic or majestically; — a direction to perform a passage or piece of music in a dignified manner.

Maestricht monitor
Maes"tricht mon"i•tor [So called from Maestricht, a town in Holland.] (Paleon.) The Mosasaurus Hofmanni. See Mosasaurus.

Magazine
Mag•a•zine´, n. [F. magasin, It. magazzino, or Sp. magacen, almagacen; all fr. Ar. makhzan, almakhzan, a storehouse, granary, or cellar.]
1. A receptacle in which anything is stored, especially military stores, as ammunition, arms, provisions, etc. "Armories and magazines." Milton.
2. The building or room in which the supply of powder is kept in a fortification or a ship.
3. A chamber in a gun for holding a number of cartridges to be fed automatically to the piece.
4. A pamphlet published periodically containing miscellaneous papers or compositions. Magazine dress, clothing made chiefly of woolen, without anything metallic about it, to be worn in a powder magazine. — Magazine gun, a portable firearm, as a rifle, with a chamber carrying cartridges which are brought automatically into position for firing. — Magazine stove, a stove having a chamber for holding fuel which is supplied to the fire by some self-feeding process, as in the common base-burner.

Magazine
Mag•a•zine´, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Magazined p. pr. & vb. n. Magazining.] To store in, or as in, a magazine; to store up for use.

Magazine
Mag•a•zine´, n.
1. A country or district especially rich in natural products.
2. A city viewed as a marketing center.
3. A reservoir or supply chamber for a stove, battery, camera, typesetting machine, or other apparatus.
4. A store, or shop, where goods are kept for sale.

Magazine camera. (Photog.) A camera in which a number of plates can be exposed without reloading.

Magaziner
Mag•a•zin´er, n. One who edits or writes for a magazine. [R.] Goldsmith.

Magazining
Mag•a•zin´ing, n. The act of editing, or writing for, a magazine. [Colloq.] Byron.

Magazinist
Mag•a•zin´ist, n. One who edits or writes for a magazine. [R.]

Magbote
Mag´bote, n. See Maegbote.

Magdalen
Mag´da•len, n. [From Mary Magdalene, traditionally reported to have been the repentant sinner forgiven by Christ. See Luke vii. 36.] A reformed prostitute.

Magdaleon
Mag•da´le•on, n. [NL., fr. Gr. crumb of bread, fr. to knead.] (Med.) A medicine in the form of a roll, a esp. a roll of plaster.

Magdeburg
Mag´de•burg, n. A city of Saxony. Magdeburg centuries, Magdeburg hemispheres. See under Century, and Hemisphere.

Magenta
Ma•gen´ta, n. (Chem.) An aniline dye obtained as an amorphous substance having a green bronze surface color, which dissolves to a shade of red; also the color; — so called from Magenta, in Italy, in allusion to the battle fought there about the time the dye was discovered. Called also fuchsine, roseïne, etc.

Magged, a. (Naut.) Worn; fretted; as a magged brace. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Maggiore
Mag•gio´re, a. [It., from L. major, compar. of magnus great. See Major.] (Mus.) Greater, in respect to scales, intervals, etc., when used in opposition to minor; major. Moore (Encyc. of Music).

Maggotish
Mag´got•ish, a. Full of whims or fancies; maggoty.

Maggot-pie
Mag´got-pie, n. A magpie. [Obs.] Shak.

Maggoty
Mag´got•y, a.
1. Infested with maggots.
2. Full of whims; capricious. Norris.

Maghet
Ma´ghet, n. [Cf. Fl. maghet maid.] (Bot.) A name for daisies and camomiles of several kinds.

Magi
Ma´gi, n. pl. [L., pl. of Magus, Gr. ; of Per. origin. Cf. Mage, Magic.] A caste of priests, philosophers, and magicians, among the ancient Persians; hence, any holy men or sages of the East.
"The inspired Magi from the Orient came." Sandys.

Magic
Mag´ic, n. [OE. magique, L. magice, Gr. (sc. ), fr. . See Magic, a. , and Magi.] A comprehensive name for all of the pretended arts which claim to produce effects by the assistance of supernatural beings, or departed spirits, or by a mastery of secret forces in nature attained by a study of occult science, including enchantment, conjuration, witchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, incantation, etc.
"An appearance made by some magic." Chaucer. Celestial magic, a supposed supernatural power which gave to spirits a kind of dominion over the planets, and to the planets an influence over men. — Natural magic, the art of employing the powers of nature to produce effects apparently supernatural. — Superstitious, or Geotic, magic, the invocation of devils or demons, involving the supposition of some tacit or express agreement between them and human beings.
Syn. — Sorcery; witchcraft; necromancy; conjuration; enchantment. { Mag´ic, Mag´ic•al } a. [L. magicus, Gr., fr. : cf. F. magique. See Magi.]
1. Pertaining to the hidden wisdom supposed to be possessed by the Magi; relating to the occult powers of nature, and the producing of effects by their agency.
2. Performed by, or proceeding from, occult and superhuman agencies; done by, or seemingly done by, enchantment or sorcery. Hence: Seemingly requiring more than human power; imposing or startling in performance; producing effects which seem supernatural or very extraordinary; having extraordinary properties; as a magic lantern; a magic square or circle.
"The painter’s magic skill." Cowper. Although with certain words magic is used more than magical, — as magic circle, magic square, magic wand, — we may in general say magic or magical; as a magic or magical effect; a magic or magical influence, etc. But when the adjective is predicative, magical, and not magic, is used; as the effect was magical. Magic circle, a series of concentric circles containing the numbers 12 to 75 in eight radii, and having somewhat similar properties to the magic square. — Magic humming bird (Zoöl.), a Mexican humming bird ( Iache magica), having white downy thing tufts. — Magic lantern. See Lantern. — Magic square, numbers so disposed in parallel and equal rows in the form of a square, that each row, taken vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, shall give the same sum, the same product, or an harmonical series, according as the numbers taken are in arithmetical, geometrical, or harmonical progression. — Magic wand, a wand used by a magician in performing feats of magic.

Magician
Ma•gi´cian, n. [F. magicien. See Magic, n. ] One skilled in magic; one who practices the black art; an enchanter; a necromancer; a sorcerer or sorceress; a conjurer. { Ma•gilp´, Ma•gilph´ } n. (Paint.) See Megilp.

Magisterially
Mag•is•te´ri•al•ly, adv. In a magisterial manner.

Magisterialness
Mag•is•te´ri•al•ness, n. The quality or state of being magisterial.

Magistery
Mag´is•ter•y, n. [L. magisterium the office of a chief, president, director, tutor. See Magistrate.]
1. Mastery; powerful medical influence; renowned efficacy; a sovereign remedy. [Obs.] Holland.
2. A magisterial injunction. [R.] Brougham.
3. (Chem.) A precipitate; a fine substance deposited by precipitation; — applied in old chemistry to certain white precipitates from metallic solutions; as magistery of bismuth. Ure.

Magistrality
Mag•is•tral´i•ty, n. ; pl. -ties . Magisterialness; arbitrary dogmatism. Bacon.

Magistrally
Mag´is•tral•ly, adv. In a magistral manner. Abp. Bramhall.

Magistrate
Mag´is•trate, n. [L. magistratus, fr. magister master: cf. F. magistrat. See Master.] A person clothed with power as a public civil officer; a public civil officer invested with the executive government, or some branch of it. "All Christian rulers and magistrates." Book of Com. Prayer.
"Of magistrates some also are supreme, in whom the sovereign power of the state resides; others are subordinate." Blackstone. { Mag•is•trat´ic, Mag•is•trat´ic•al } a. Of, pertaining to, or proceeding from, a magistrate; having the authority of a magistrate. Jer. Taylor.

Magma
Mag´ma, n. [L., fr. Gr., fr. to squeeze, knead.]
1. Any crude mixture of mineral or organic matters in the state of a thin paste. Ure.
2. (Med.) (a) A thick residuum obtained from certain substances after the fluid parts are expressed from them; the grounds which remain after treating a substance with any menstruum, as water or alcohol. (b) A salve or confection of thick consistency. Dunglison.
3. (Geol.) (a) The molten matter within the earth, the source of the material of lava flows, dikes of eruptive rocks, etc. (b) The glassy base of an eruptive rock.
4. (Chem.) The amorphous or homogenous matrix or ground mass, as distinguished from well-defined crystals; as the magma of porphyry.

Magna Charta
Mag"na Char"ta [L., great charter.]
1. The great Charter, so called, obtained by the English barons from King John, A. D. 1215. This name is also given to the charter granted to the people of England in the ninth year of Henry III., and confirmed by Edward I.
2. Hence, a fundamental constitution which guaranties rights and privileges.

Magnanimity
Mag•na•nim´i•ty, n. [F. magnanimite, L. magnanimitas.] The quality of being magnanimous; greatness of mind; elevation or dignity of soul; that quality or combination of qualities, in character, which enables one to encounter danger and trouble with tranquility and firmness, to disdain injustice, meanness and revenge, and to act and sacrifice for noble objects.

Magnanimous
Mag•nan´i•mous, a. [L. magnanimus; magnus great + animus mind. See Magnate, and Animus.]
1. Great of mind; elevated in soul or in sentiment; raised above what is low, mean, or ungenerous; of lofty and courageous spirit; as a magnanimous character; a magnanimous conqueror.
"Be magnanimous in the enterprise." Shak.
"To give a kingdom hath been thought Greater and nobler done, and to lay down Far more magnanimous than to assume." Milton.
2. Dictated by or exhibiting nobleness of soul; honorable; noble; not selfish.
"Both strived for death; magnanimous debate." Stirling.
"There is an indissoluble union between a magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity." Washington.

Magnase black
Mag"nase black (Paint.) A black pigment which dries rapidly when mixed with oil, and is of intense body. Fairholt.

Magnate
Mag´nate, [F. magnat, L. (pl.) magnates, magnati, fr. magnus great. See Master.]
1. A person of rank; a noble or grandee; a person of influence or distinction in any sphere. Macaulay.
2. One of the nobility, or certain high officers of state belonging to the noble estate in the national representation of Hungary, and formerly of Poland.

Magnesia
Mag•ne´si•a ( 277), n. [L. Magnesia, fem. of Magnesius of the country Magnesia, Gr. h• Magnhsi•a li•qos a magnet. Cf. Magnet.] (Chem.) 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. Magnesia alba [L.] (Med. Chem.), a bulky white amorphous substance, consisting of a hydrous basic carbonate of magnesium, and used as a mild cathartic.

Magnesite
Mag´ne•site, n. [Cf. F. magnesite.] (Min.) Native magnesium carbonate occurring in white compact or granular masses, and also in rhombohedral crystals.

Magnesium
Mag•ne´si•um, n. [NL. & F. See Magnesia.] (Chem.) A light silver-white metallic element, malleable and ductile, quite permanent in dry air but tarnishing in moist air. It burns, forming (the oxide) magnesia, with the production of a blinding light (the so-called magnesium light) which is used in signaling, in pyrotechny, or in photography where a strong actinic illuminant is required. Its compounds occur abundantly, as in dolomite, talc, meerschaum, etc. Symbol Mg. Atomic weight, 24.4. Specific gravity, 1.75. Magnesium sulphate. (Chem.) Same as Epsom salts.

Magnetically
Mag•net´ic•al•ly, adv. By or as by, magnetism.

Magneticalness
Mag•net´ic•al•ness, n. Quality of being magnetic.

Magnetician
Mag•ne•ti´cian, n. One versed in the science of magnetism; a magnetist.

Magneticness
Mag•net´ic•ness, n. Magneticalness. [Obs.]

Magnetics
Mag•net´ics, n. The science of magnetism.

Magnetiferous
Mag•net•if´er•ous, a. [L. magnes, -etis + -ferous.] Producing or conducting magnetism.

Magnetism
Mag´net•ism, n. [Cf. F. magnetisme.] The property, quality, or state, of being magnetic; the manifestation of the force in nature which is seen in a magnet.
2. The science which treats of magnetic phenomena.
3. Power of attraction; power to excite the feelings and to gain the affections. "By the magnetism of interest our affections are irresistibly attracted." Glanvill. Animal magnetism, a force, more or less analogous to magnetism, which, it has been alleged, is produced in animal tissues, and passes from one body to another with or without actual contact. The existence of such a force, and its potentiality for the cure of disease, were asserted by Mesmer in 1775. His theories and methods were afterwards called mesmerism, a name which has been popularly applied to theories and claims not put forward by Mesmer himself. See Mesmerism, Biology, Od, Hypnotism. — Terrestrial magnetism, the magnetic force exerted by the earth, and recognized by its effect upon magnetized needles and bars.

Magnetite
Mag´net•ite, n. (Min.) An oxide of iron (Fe₃O₄) occurring in isometric crystals, also massive, of a black color and metallic luster. It is readily attracted by a magnet and sometimes possesses polarity, being then called loadstone. It is an important iron ore. Called also magnetic iron.

Magnetizable
Mag´net•i•za•ble, a. Capable of being magnetized.

Magnetization
Mag•net•i•za´tion, n. The act of magnetizing, or the state of being magnetized.

Magnetize
Mag´net•ize, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Magnetized prep. & adv. Magnetizing ] [Cf. F. magnetiser.]
1. To communicate magnetic properties to; as to magnetize a needle.
2. To attract as a magnet attracts, or like a magnet; to move; to influence.
"Fascinated, magnetized, as it were, by his character." Motley.
3. To bring under the influence of animal magnetism.

Magnetizer
Mag´net•i•zer, n. One who, or that which, imparts magnetism.

Magneto-
Mag´net•o- [See Magnet.] A prefix meaning pertaining to, produced by, or in some way connected with, magnetism. { Mag•net•o-e•lec´tric, Mag•net•o-e•lec´tric•al } a. (Physics) Pertaining to, or characterized by, electricity by the action of magnets; as magneto-electric induction. Magneto-electric machine, a form of dynamo- electric machine in which the field is maintained by permanent steel magnets instead of electro-magnets.

Magnetograph
Mag•net´o•graph, n. [ Magneto- + -graph.] (Physics) An automatic instrument for registering, by photography or otherwise, the states and variations of any of the terrestrial magnetic elements.

Magnetometer
Mag•net•om´e•ter, n. [ Magneto- + -meter: cf. F. magnetomètre.] (Physics) An instrument for measuring the intensity of magnetic forces; also less frequently, an instrument for determining any of the terrestrial magnetic elements, as the dip and declination.

Magnetometric
Mag•net•o•met´ric, a. Pertaining to, or employed in, the measurement of magnetic forces; obtained by means of a magnetometer; as magnetometric instruments; magnetometric measurements.

Magnetomotive
Mag•net•o•mo´tive, a. [ Magneto- + motive, a.] (Elec.) Pertaining to, or designating, a force producing magnetic flux, analogous to electromotive force, and equal to the magnetic flux multiplied by the magnetic reluctance.

Magnetomotor
Mag•net•o•mo´tor, n. A voltaic series of two or more large plates, producing a great quantity of electricity of low tension, and hence adapted to the exhibition of electro-magnetic phenomena. [R.]

Magnetotherapy
Mag•net•o•ther´a•py, n. (Med.) The treatment of disease by the application of magnets to the surface of the body.

Magnifiable
Mag´ni•fi•a•ble, a. [From Magnify.] Such as can be magnified, or extolled. { Mag•nif´ic, Mag•nif´ic•al } a. [L. magnificus; magnus great + facere to make: cf. F. magnifique. See Magnitude, Fact. and cf. Magnificent.] Grand; splendid; illustrious; magnificent. [Obs.] 1 Chron. xxii. 5. "Thy magnific deeds." Milton. — Mag•nif´ic•al•ly, adv. [Obs.]

Magnificate
Mag•nif´i•cate, v. t. [L. magnificatus, p. p. of magnificare.] To magnify or extol. [Obs.] Marston.

Magnification
Mag•ni•fi•ca´tion, n. The act of magnifying; enlargement; exaggeration. [R.]

Magnificence
Mag•nif´i•cence, n. [F. magnificence, L. magnificentia. See Magnific.] The act of doing what is magnificent; the state or quality of being magnificent. Acts xix. 27. "Then cometh magnificence." Chaucer.
"And, for the heaven’s wide circuit, let it speak The Maker’s high magnificence, who built so spacious." Milton.
"The noblest monuments of Roman magnificence. " Eustace.

Magnifico
Mag•nif´i•co, n. ; pl. Magnificoes (#). [It. See Magnific.]
1. A grandee or nobleman of Venice; — so called in courtesy. Shak.
2. A rector of a German university.

Magnify
Mag´ni•fy, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Magnified p. pr. & vb. n. Magnifying ] [OE. magnifien, F. magnifier, L. magnificare. See Magnific.]
1. To make great, or greater; to increase the dimensions of; to amplify; to enlarge, either in fact or in appearance; as the microscope magnifies the object by a thousand diameters.
"The least error in a small quantity … will in a great one … be proportionately magnified." Grew.
2. To increase the importance of; to augment the esteem or respect in which one is held.
"On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel." Joshua iv. 14.
3. To praise highly; to laud; to extol. [Archaic]
"O, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." Ps. xxxiv. 3.
4. To exaggerate; as to magnify a loss or a difficulty. To magnify one’s self (Script.), to exhibit pride and haughtiness; to boast. — To magnify one’s self against (Script.), to oppose with pride.

Magnify
Mag´ni•fy, v. i.
1. To have the power of causing objects to appear larger than they really are; to increase the apparent dimensions of objects; as some lenses magnify but little.
2. To have effect; to be of importance or significance. [Cant & Obs.] Spectator. Magnifying glass, a lens which magnifies the apparent dimensions of objects seen through it.

Magniloquence
Mag•nil´o•quence, n. [L. magniloquentia.] The quality of being magniloquent; pompous discourse; grandiloquence.

Magniloquent
Mag•nil´o•quent, a. [L. magnus great + loquens, -entis, p. pr. of loqui to speak. See Magnitude, Loquacious.] Speaking pompously; using swelling discourse; bombastic; tumid in style; grandiloquent. — Mag•nil´o•quent•ly, adv.

Magnitude
Mag´ni•tude, n. [L. magnitudo, from magnus great. See Master, and cf. Maxim.]
1. Extent of dimensions; size; — applied to things that have length, breadth, and thickness.
"Conceive those particles of bodies to be so disposed amongst themselves, that the intervals of empty spaces between them may be equal in magnitude to them all." Sir I. Newton.
2. (Geom.) That which has one or more of the three dimensions, length, breadth, and thickness.
3. Anything of which greater or less can be predicated, as time, weight, force, and the like.
4. Greatness; grandeur. "With plain, heroic magnitude of mind." Milton.
5. Greatness, in reference to influence or effect; importance; as an affair of magnitude.
"The magnitude of his designs." Bp. Horsley.Apparent magnitude (Opt.), the angular breadth of an object viewed as measured by the angle which it subtends at the eye of the observer; — called also apparent diameter. — Magnitude of a star (Astron.), the rank of a star with respect to brightness. About twenty very bright stars are said to be of first magnitude, the stars of the sixth magnitude being just visible to the naked eye. Telescopic stars are classified down to the twelfth magnitude or lower. The scale of the magnitudes is quite arbitrary, but by means of photometers, the classification has been made to tenths of a magnitude.

Magnoliaceous
Mag•no•li•a´ceous, a. (Bot.) Pertaining to a natural order ( Magnoliaceae) of trees of which the magnolia, the tulip tree, and the star anise are examples.

Magnum
Mag´num, n. [Neut. sing. of L. magnus great.]
1. A large wine bottle.
"They passed the magnum to one another freely." Sir W. Scott.
2. (Anat.) A bone of the carpus at the base of the third metacarpal bone.

Magot
Mag´ot, n. [F.] (Zoöl.) The Barbary ape.

Magot-pie
Mag´ot-pie, n. A magpie. [Obs.] Shak.

Magpie
Mag´pie, n. [OE. & Prov. E. magot pie, maggoty pie, fr. Mag, Maggot, equiv. to Margaret, and fr. F. Marquerite, and common name of the magpie. Marguerite is fr. L. margarita pearl, Gr., prob. of Eastern origin. See Pie magpie, and cf. the analogous names Tomtit, and Jackdaw.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of the genus Pica and related genera, allied to the jays, but having a long graduated tail. The common European magpie ( Pica pica, or P. caudata) is a black and white noisy and mischievous bird. It can be taught to speak. The American magpie ( P. Hudsonica) is very similar. The yellow-belled magpie ( P. Nuttalli) inhabits California. The blue magpie ( Cyanopolius Cooki) inhabits Spain. Other allied species are found in Asia. The Tasmanian and Australian magpies are crow shrikes, as the white magpie ( Gymnorhina organicum), the black magpie ( Strepera fuliginosa), and the Australian magpie ( Cracticus picatus). Magpie lark (Zoöl.), a common Australian bird ( Grallina picata), conspicuously marked with black and white; — called also little magpie. — Magpie moth (Zoöl.), a black and white European geometrid moth ( Abraxas grossulariata); the harlequin moth. Its larva feeds on currant and gooseberry bushes.

Maguey
Mag´uey, n. [Sp. maguey, Mexican maguei and metl.] (Bot.) The century plant, a species of Agave ( A. Americana). See Agave.

Maha
Ma´ha, n. (Zoöl.) A kind of baboon; the wanderoo. { Ma•ha•ba´ra•ta, Ma•ha•bha´ra•tam, } n. [Skr. mahabharata.] A celebrated epic poem of the Hindus. It is of great length, and is chiefly devoted to the history of a civil war between two dynasties of ancient India.

Mahaled
Ma•ha´led, n. [Ar. mahled.] (Bot.) A cherry tree ( Prunus Mahaleb) of Southern Europe. The wood is prized by cabinetmakers, the twigs are used for pipe stems, the flowers and leaves yield a perfume, and from the fruit a violet dye and a fermented liquor (like kirschwasser) are prepared.

Maharajah
Ma•ha•ra´jah, n. [Skr. maharaja; mahat great + raja king.] A sovereign prince in India; — a title given also to other persons of high rank.

Maharif
Ma•ha•rif´, n. (Zoöl.) An African antelope ( Hippotragus Bakeri). Its face is striped with black and white.

Maharmah
Ma•har´mah, n. A muslin wrapper for the head and the lower part of the face, worn by Turkish and Armenian women when they go abroad.

Mahatma
Ma•hat´ma, n. [Skr. mahatman, lit., great-souled, wise.] (Theosophy) One of a class of sages, or "adepts," reputed to have knowledge and powers of a higher order than those of ordinary men. — Ma•hat´ma•ism (#), n.

Mahdi
Mah´di, n. [Ar., guide, leader.] Among Mohammedans, the last imam or leader of the faithful. The Sunni, the largest sect of the Mohammedans, believe that he is yet to appear. The title has been taken by several persons in countries where Mohammedanism prevails, — notably by Mohammad Ahmed, who overran the Egyptian Sudan, and in 1885 captured Khartum, his soldiers killing General Gordon, an Englishman, who was then the Egyptian governor of the region.

Mahdiism
Mah´di•ism, n. See Mahdism.

Mahl-stick
Mahl´-stick, n. See Maul- stick.

Mahogany
Ma•hog´a•ny, n. [From the South American name.]
1. (Bot.) A large tree of the genus Swietenia ( S. Mahogoni), found in tropical America. Several other trees, with wood more or less like mahogany, are called by this name; as African mahogany ( Khaya Senegalensis), Australian mahogany ( Eucalyptus marginatus), Bastard mahogany ( Batonia apetala of the West Indies), Indian mahogany ( Cedrela Toona of Bengal, and trees of the genera Soymida and Chukrassia), Madeira mahogany ( Persea Indica), Mountain mahogany, the black or cherry birch ( Betula lenta), also the several species of Cercocarpus of California and the Rocky Mountains.
2. 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.
3. A table made of mahogany wood. [Colloq.] To be under the mahogany, to be so drunk as to have fallen under the table. [Eng.] — To put one’s legs under some one’s mahogany, to dine with him. [Slang]

Maholi
Ma•ho´li, n. (Zoöl.) A South African lemur ( Galago maholi), having very large ears. [Written also moholi.] { Ma•hom´ed•an, Ma•hom´et•an } n. See Mohammedan.

Mahometry
Ma•hom´et•ry, n. Mohammedanism. [Obs.]

Mahon stock
Ma•hon" stock (Bot.) An annual cruciferous plant with reddish purple or white flowers ( Malcolmia maritima). It is called in England Virginia stock, but the plant comes from the Mediterranean.

Mahone
Ma•hone´, n. A large Turkish ship. Crabb.

Mahonia
Ma•ho´ni•a, n. [Named after Bernard Mc Mahon.] (Bot.) The Oregon grape, a species of barberry ( Berberis Aquifolium), often cultivated for its hollylike foliage.

Mahoohoo
Ma•hoo´hoo, n. (Zoöl.) The African white two-horned rhinoceros ( Atelodus simus).

Mahori
Ma´ho•ri, n. [Native name. Cf. Maori.] (Ethnol.) One of the dark race inhabiting principally the islands of Eastern Polynesia. Also used adjectively.

Mahout
Ma•hout´, n. [Hind. mahawat, Skr. mahamatra; mahat great + matra measure.] The keeper and driver of an elephant. [East Indies]

Mahovo
Ma•ho´vo, n. (Mach.) A device for saving power in stopping and starting a railroad car, by means of a heavy fly wheel.

Mahrati
Mah•rat´i, n. The language of the Mahrattas; the language spoken in the Deccan and Concan. [Written also Marathi.]

Mahratta
Mah•rat´ta, n. [Hind. Marhata, Marhatta, the name of a famous Hindoo race, from the old Skr. name Maha- rashtra.] One of a numerous people inhabiting the southwestern part of India. also the language of the Mahrattas; Mahrati. It is closely allied to Sanskrit. — a. Of or pertaining to the Mahrattas. [Written also Maratha.] { Ma•hu´met•an, Ma•hu´met•an•ism, n. } See Mohammedan, Mohammedanism.

Maia
Ma´i•a, n. [From L. Maia, a goddess.] (Zoöl.) (a) A genus of spider crabs, including the common European species ( Maia squinado). (b) A beautiful American bombycid moth ( Eucronia maia).

Maian
Ma´ian, n. (Zoöl.) Any spider crab of the genus Maia, or family Maiadae.

Maid, n. [Shortened from maiden. . See Maiden.]
1. An unmarried woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; esp., a girl; a virgin; a maiden.
"Would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son." Shak.
"Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me." Jer. ii. 32.
2. A man who has not had sexual intercourse. [Obs.]
"Christ was a maid and shapen as a man." Chaucer.
3. A female servant.
"Spinning amongst her maids." Shak. Maid is used either adjectively or in composition, signifying female, as in maid child, maidservant.
4. (Zoöl.) The female of a ray or skate, esp. of the gray skate ( Raia batis), and of the thornback ( R. clavata). [Prov. Eng.] Fair maid. (Zoöl.) See under Fair, a. — Maid of honor, a female attendant of a queen or royal princess; — usually of noble family, and having to perform only nominal or honorary duties. — Old maid. See under Old. Maid´en n. [OE. maiden meiden AS. maegden dim. of AS. maeg fr. mago son servant akin to G. magd mädchen maid OHG. magad Icel. mögr son Goth. magus boy child magaps virgin and perh. to Zend. magu youth. Cf. Maid a virgin.]
1. An unmarried woman a girl or woman who has not experienced sexual intercourse a virgin a maid.
" She employed the residue of her life to repairing of highways building of bridges and endowing of maidens." Carew.
"A maiden of our century yet most meek." Tennyson.
2. A female servant. [Obs.]
3. An instrument resembling the guillotine formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals. Wharton.
4. A machine for washing linen.

Maidan
Mai•dan´, n. [Written also midan, meidan, mydan, etc.] [Hind. & Per. maidan, fr. Ar. maidan.] In various parts of Asia, an open space, as for military exercises, or for a market place; an open grassy tract; an esplanade.
"A gallop on the green maidan." M. Crawford.

Maiden
Maid´en, a.
1. Of or pertaining to a maiden, or to maidens; suitable to, or characteristic of, a virgin; as maiden innocence. "Amid the maiden throng." Addison.
"Have you no modesty, no maiden shame ?" Shak.
2. Never having been married; not having had sexual intercourse; virgin; — said usually of the woman, but sometimes of the man; as a maiden aunt. "A surprising old maiden lady." Thackeray.
3. Fresh; innocent; unpolluted; pure; hitherto unused. "Maiden flowers." Shak.
"Full bravely hast thou fleshed Thy maiden sword." Shak.
4. Used of a fortress, signifying that it has never been captured, or violated. T. Warton. Macaulay.Maiden assize (Eng. Law), an assize which there is no criminal prosecution; an assize which is unpolluted with blood. It was usual, at such an assize, for the sheriff to present the judge with a pair of white gloves. Smart. — Maiden name, the surname of a woman before her marriage. — Maiden pink. (Bot.) See under Pink. — Maiden plum (Bot.), a West Indian tree ( Comocladia integrifolia) with purplish drupes. The sap of the tree is glutinous, and gives a persistent black stain. — Maiden speech, the first speech made by a person, esp. by a new member in a public body. — Maiden tower, the tower most capable of resisting an enemy.

Maiden
Maid´en, v. t. To act coyly like a maiden; — with it as an indefinite object.
"For had I maiden’d it, as many use. Loath for to grant, but loather to refuse." Bp. Hall.

Maidenhair
Maid´en•hair, n. (Bot.) A fern of the genus Adiantum ( A. pedatum), having very slender graceful stalks. It is common in the United States, and is sometimes used in medicine. The name is also applied to other species of the same genus, as to the Venus-hair. Maiden grass, the smaller quaking grass. — Maiden tree. See Ginkgo.

Maidenliness
Maid´en•li•ness, n. The quality of being maidenly; the behavior that becomes a maid; modesty; gentleness.

Maidenly
Maid´en•ly, a. Like a maid; suiting a maid; maiden-like; gentle, modest, reserved.
"Must you be blushing ? … What a maidenly man-at-arms are you become !" Shak.

Maidenly
Maid´en•ly, adv. In a maidenlike manner. "Maidenly demure." Skelton.

Maidenship
Maid´en•ship, n. Maidenhood. [Obs.] Fuller.

Maidhood
Maid´hood, n. [AS. maegðhad. See Maid, and -hood.] Maidenhood. Shak.

Maidpale
Maid´pale, a. Pale, like a sick girl. Shak.

Maidservant
Maid´serv•ant, n. A female servant.

Maieutics
Ma•ieu´tics, n. The art of giving birth ( i. e., clearness and conviction) to ideas which are conceived as struggling for birth. Payne.

Maiger
Mai´ger, n. (Zoöl.) The meagre.

Maigre
Mai´gre, a. [F. See Meager.] Belonging to a fast day or fast; as a maigre day. Walpole. Maigre food (R. C. Ch.), food allowed to be eaten on fast days.

Maikong
Mai•kong´, n. (Zoöl.) A South American wild dog ( Canis cancrivorus); the crab- eating dog.

Mail (mal), n. A spot. [Obs.]

Mail, n. [F. maille, OF. also maaille, LL. medalia. See Medal.]
1. A small piece of money; especially, an English silver half-penny of the time of Henry V. [Obs.] [Written also maile, and maille.]
2. Rent; tribute. [Obs., except in certain compounds and phrases, as blackmail, mails and duties, etc.] Mail and duties (Scots Law), the rents of an estate, in whatever form paid.

Mail, n. [OE. maile, maille, F. maille a ring of mail, mesh, network, a coat of mail, fr. L. macula spot, a mesh of a net. Cf. Macle, Macula, Mascle.]
1. A flexible fabric made of metal rings interlinked. It was used especially for defensive armor. Chaucer. Chain mail, Coat of mail. See under Chain, and Coat.
2. Hence generally, armor, or any defensive covering.
3. (Naut.) A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.
4. (Zoöl.) Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.
"We … strip the lobster of his scarlet mail." Gay.

Mail, v. t.
1. To arm with mail.
2. To pinion. [Obs.]

Mail, n. [OE. male bag, OF. male, F. malle bag, trunk, mail, OHG. malaha, malha, wallet; akin to D. maal, male; cf. Gael. & Ir. mala, Gr. molgo•s hide, skin.]
1. A bag; a wallet. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. The bag or bags with the letters, papers, or other matter contained therein, conveyed under public authority from one post office to another; the whole system of appliances used by government in the conveyance and delivery of mail matter.
"There is a mail come in to-day, with letters dated Hague." Tatler.
3. That which comes in the mail; letters, etc., received through the post office.
4. A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried. [Obs.] Sir W. Scott.Mail bag, a bag in which mailed matter is conveyed under public authority. — Mail boat, a boat that carries the mail. — Mail catcher, an iron rod, or other contrivance, attached to a railroad car for catching a mail bag while the train is in motion. — Mail guard, an officer whose duty it is to guard the public mails. [Eng.] — Mail train, a railroad train carrying the mail.

Mail, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mailed p. pr. & vb. n. Mailing.] To deliver into the custody of the postoffice officials, or place in a government letter box, for transmission by mail; to post; as to mail a letter. [U. S.] In the United States to mail and to post are both in common use; as to mail or post a letter. In England post is the commoner usage.

Mailclad
Mail´clad, a. Protected by a coat of mail; clad in armor. Sir W. Scott.

Mailed, a. (Zoöl.) Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.

Mailed, a. [See 1st Mail.] Spotted; speckled.

Maim (mam), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Maimed (mamd); p. pr. & vb. n. Maiming.] [OE. maimen, OF. mahaignier, mehaignier, meshaignier, cf. It. magagnare, LL. mahemiare, mahennare; perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Armor. mac’haña to mutilate, mac’ha to crowd, press; or cf. OHG. mangon to lack, perh. akin to E. mangle to lacerate. Cf. Mayhem.]
1. To deprive of the use of a limb, so as to render a person in fighting less able either to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
"By the ancient law of England he that maimed any man whereby he lost any part of his body, was sentenced to lose the like part." Blackstone.
2. To mutilate; to cripple; to injure; to disable; to impair.
"My late maimed limbs lack wonted might." Spenser.
"You maimed the jurisdiction of all bishops." Shak.
Syn. — To mutilate; mangle; cripple.

Maim, n. [Written in law language maihem, and mayhem.] [OF. mehaing. See Maim, v. ]
1. The privation of the use of a limb or member of the body, by which one is rendered less able to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
2. The privation of any necessary part; a crippling; mutilation; injury; deprivation of something essential. See Mayhem.
"Surely there is more cause to fear lest the want there of be a maim than the use of it a blemish." Hooker.
"A noble author esteems it to be a maim in history that the acts of Parliament should not be recited." Hayward.

Maimedness
Maim´ed•ness, n. State of being maimed. Bolton.

Main, n. [F. main hand, L. manus. See Manual.]
1. A hand or match at dice. Prior. Thackeray.
2. A stake played for at dice. [Obs.] Shak.
3. The largest throw in a match at dice; a throw at dice within given limits, as in the game of hazard.
4. A match at cockfighting. "My lord would ride twenty miles … to see a main fought." Thackeray.
5. A main-hamper. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

Main, n. [AS. maegen strength, power, force; akin to OHG. magan, Icel. megin, and to E. may, v. . See May, v. ]
1. Strength; force; might; violent effort. [Obs., except in certain phrases.]
"There were in this battle of most might and main." R. of Gl.
"He ’gan advance, With huge force, and with importable main." Spenser.
2. The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing. [Obs., except in special uses.]
"Resolved to rest upon the title of Lancaster as the main, and to use the other two … but as supporters." Bacon.
3. Specifically: (a) The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc. ; the high sea; the ocean. "Struggling in the main." Dryden. (b) The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland. "Invaded the main of Spain." Bacon. (c) principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as a fire main. Forcing main, the delivery pipe of a pump. — For the main, or In the main, for the most part; in the greatest part. — With might and main, or With all one’s might and main, with all one’s strength; with violent effort.
"With might and main they chased the murderous fox." Dryden.

Main, a. [From Main strength, possibly influenced by OF. maine, magne, great, L. magnus. Cf. Magnate.]
1. Very or extremely strong. [Obs.]
"That current with main fury ran." Daniel.
2. Vast; huge. [Obs.] "The main abyss." Milton.
3. Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. [Obs.] "It’s a man untruth." Sir W. Scott.
4. Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.
"Our main interest is to be happy as we can." Tillotson.
5. Important; necessary. [Obs.]
"That which thou aright Believest so main to our success, I bring." Milton. By main force, by mere force or sheer force; by violent effort; as to subdue insurrection by main force.
"That Maine which by main force Warwick did win." Shak. — By main strength, by sheer strength; as to lift a heavy weight by main strength. — Main beam (Steam Engine), working beam. — Main boom (Naut.), the boom which extends the foot of the mainsail in a fore and aft vessel. — Main brace. (a) (Mech.) The brace which resists the chief strain. Cf. Counter brace. (b) (Naut.) The brace attached to the main yard. — Main center (Steam Engine), a shaft upon which a working beam or side lever swings. — Main chance. See under Chance. — Main couple (Arch.), the principal truss in a roof. — Main deck (Naut.), the deck next below the spar deck; the principal deck. — Main keel (Naut.), the principal or true keel of a vessel, as distinguished from the false keel.
Syn. — Principal; chief; leading; cardinal; capital.

Main, adv. [See Main, a. ] Very; extremely; as main heavy. "I’m main dry." Foote. [Obs. or Low]

Maine, n. One of the New England States. Maine law, any law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages, esp. one resembling that enacted in the State of Maine.

Main-gauche
Main•-gauche´ (maN•gosh"), n. [F., the left hand.] (Ancient Armor) The dagger held in the left hand, while the rapier is held in the right; — used to parry thrusts of the adversary’s rapier.

Main-hamper
Main´-ham•per, n. [F. main hand (see Main a hand at dice) + E. hamper.] A hamper to be carried in the hand; a hand basket used in carrying grapes to the press.

Mainly
Main´ly, adv. [From main strong. See Main strength.] Very strongly; mightily; to a great degree. [Obs.] Bacon. Shak.

Mainly
Main´ly, adv. [From main principal, chief.] Principally; chiefly.

Mainmast
Main´mast, n. (Naut.) The principal mast in a ship or other vessel.

Mainor
Main´or, n. [Anglo-Norm. meinoure, OF. manuevre. See Maneuver.] (O. Eng. Law) A thing stolen found on the person of the thief. A thief was said to be "taken with the mainor," when he was taken with the thing stolen upon him, that is, in his hands. Wharton. Bouvier.

Mainpin
Main´pin, n. (Vehicles) A kingbolt.

Mainprise
Main´prise, n. [F. main hand + prise a taking, fr. prendre, p. p. pris to take, fr. L. prehendere, prehensum.] (Law) (a) A writ directed to the sheriff, commanding him to take sureties, called mainpernors, for the prisoner’s appearance, and to let him go at large. This writ is now obsolete. Wharton. (b) Deliverance of a prisoner on security for his appearance at a day.

Mainprise
Main´prise, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mainprised p. pr. & vb. n. Mainprising.] (Law) To suffer to go at large, on his finding sureties, or mainpernors, for his appearance at a day; — said of a prisoner.

Mainsheet
Main´sheet, n. (Naut.) One of the ropes by which the mainsail is hauled aft and trimmed.

Mainspring
Main´spring, n. The principal or most important spring in a piece of mechanism, especially the moving spring of a watch or clock or the spring in a gunlock which impels the hammer. Hence: The chief or most powerful motive; the efficient cause of action.

Mainstay
Main´stay, n.
1. (Naut.) The stay extending from the foot of the foremast to the maintop.
2. Main support; principal dependence.
"The great mainstay of the Church." Buckle.

Mainswear
Main´swear, v. i. [AS. manswerian to forswear; man sin, crime + swerian to swear.] To swear falsely. [Obs.] Blount.

Maintain
Main•tain, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Maintained p. pr. & vb. n. Maintaining.] [OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L. tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.]
1. 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.
2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.
"God values … every one as he maintains his post." Grew.
3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.
"Maintain talk with the duke." Shak.
4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.
"Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life." Stirling.
"What maintains one vice would bring up two children." Franklin.
5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument.
"It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it." South.
Syn. — To assert; vindicate; allege. See Assert.

Maintainer
Main•tain´er, n. One who maintains.

Maintainor
Main•tain´or, n. [OF. mainteneor, F. mainteneur.] (Crim. Law) One who, not being interested, maintains a cause depending between others, by furnishing money, etc., to either party. Bouvier. Wharton.

Maintenance
Main´te•nance, n. [OF. maintenance. See Maintain.]
1. The act of maintaining; sustenance; support; defense; vindication.
"Whatsoever is granted to the church for God’s honor and the maintenance of his service, is granted to God." South.
2. That which maintains or supports; means of sustenance; supply of necessaries and conveniences.
"Those of better fortune not making learning their maintenance." Swift.
3. (Crim. Law) An officious or unlawful intermeddling in a cause depending between others, by assisting either party with money or means to carry it on. See Champerty. Wharton. Cap of maintenance. See under Cap.

Maioid
Mai´oid, a. [ Maia + - oid.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the genus Maia, or family Maiadeae.

Maister
Mais´ter, n. Master. [Obs.] Chaucer. Spenser.

Maister
Mais´ter, a. Principal; chief. [Obs.] Chaucer. { Mais´tre, Mais´trie, Mais´try }, n. Mastery; superiority; art. See Mastery. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Maithes
Mai´thes, n. (Bot.) Same as Maghet.

Majestic
Ma•jes´tic, a. [From Majesty.] Possessing or exhibiting majesty; of august dignity, stateliness, or imposing grandeur; lofty; noble; grand. "The majestic world." Shak. "Tethys’ grave majestic pace." Milton.
"The least portions must be of the epic kind; all must be grave, majestic, and sublime." Dryden.
Syn. — August; splendid; grand; sublime; magnificent; imperial; regal; pompous; stately; lofty; dignified; elevated.

Majesticness
Ma•jes´tic•ness, n. The quality or state of being majestic. Oldenburg.

Majesty
Maj´es•ty, n. ; pl. Majesties (#). [OE. magestee, F. majeste, L. majestas, fr. an old compar. of magnus great. See Major, Master.] The dignity and authority of sovereign power; quality or state which inspires awe or reverence; grandeur; exalted dignity, whether proceeding from rank, character, or bearing; imposing loftiness; stateliness; — usually applied to the rank and dignity of sovereigns.
"The Lord reigneth; he is clothed with majesty." Ps. xciii. 1.
"No sovereign has ever represented the majesty of a great state with more dignity and grace." Macaulay.
2. Hence, used with the possessive pronoun, the title of an emperor, king or queen; — in this sense taking a plural; as their majesties attended the concert.
"In all the public writs which he [Emperor Charles V.] now issued as King of Spain, he assumed the title of Majesty, and required it from his subjects as a mark of respect. Before that time all the monarchs of Europe were satisfied with the appellation of Highness or Grace." Robertson.
3. Dignity; elevation of manner or style. Dryden.

Major
Ma´jor, [L. major, compar. of magnus great: cf. F. majeur. Cf. Master, Mayor, Magnitude, More, a. ]
1. Greater in number, quantity, or extent; as the major part of the assembly; the major part of the revenue; the major part of the territory.
2. Of greater dignity; more important. Shak.
3. Of full legal age. [Obs.]
4. (Mus.) Greater by a semitone, either in interval or in difference of pitch from another tone. Major axis (Geom.), the greater axis. See Focus, n. , 2. — Major key (Mus.), a key in which one and two, two and three, four and five, five and six and seven, make major seconds, and three and four, and seven and eight, make minor seconds. — Major offense (Law), an offense of a greater degree which contains a lesser offense, as murder and robbery include assault. — Major premise (Logic), that premise of a syllogism which contains the major term. — Major scale (Mus.), the natural diatonic scale, which has semitones between the third and fourth, and seventh and fourth, and seventh and eighth degrees; the scale of the major mode, of which the third is major. See Scale, and Diatonic. — Major second (Mus.), a second between whose tones is a difference in pitch of a step. — Major sixth (Mus.), a sixth of four steps and a half step. In major keys the third and sixth from the key tone are major. Major keys and intervals, as distinguished from minors, are more cheerful. — Major term (Logic), that term of a syllogism which forms the predicate of the conclusion. — Major third (Mus.), a third of two steps.

Major
Ma´jor, n. [F. major. See Major, a. ]
1. (Mil.) An officer next in rank above a captain and next below a lieutenant colonel; the lowest field officer.
2. (Law) A person of full age.
3. (Logic) That premise which contains the major term. It its the first proposition of a regular syllogism; as: No unholy person is qualified for happiness in heaven [the major]. Every man in his natural state is unholy [minor]. Therefore, no man in his natural state is qualified for happiness in heaven [conclusion or inference]. In hypothetical syllogisms, the hypothetical premise is called the major.
4. [LL. See Major.] A mayor. [Obs.] Bacon.

Majorat
Ma•jo•rat´, n. [F. majorat, LL. majoratus. See Major, a. , and cf. Majorate.]
1. The right of succession to property according to age; — so termed in some of the countries of continental Europe.
2. (French Law) Property, landed or funded, so attached to a title of honor as to descend with it.

Majorcan
Ma•jor´can, a. Of or pertaining to Majorca. — n. A native or inhabitant of Majorca.

Major-domo
Ma•jor-do´mo, n. [Sp. mayordomo, or It. maggiordomo; both fr. LL. majordomus; L. major greater + domus house.] A man who has authority to act, within certain limits, as master of the house; a steward; also a chief minister or officer.

Majority
Ma•jor´i•ty, n. ; pl. Majorities (#). [F. majorite. See Major.]
1. The quality or condition of being major or greater; superiority. Specifically: (a) The military rank of a major. (b) The condition of being of full age, or authorized by law to manage one’s own affairs.
2. The greater number; more than half; as a majority of mankind; a majority of the votes cast.
3. [Cf. L. majores.] Ancestors; ancestry. [Obs.]
4. 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. To go over to, or To join, the majority, to die.

Majoun
Maj´oun, n. See Madjoun.

Makaron
Mak´a•ron, n. See Macaroon, 2. [Obs.]

Make and break. (Elec.) Any apparatus for making and breaking an electric circuit; a circuit breaker.

Makebate
Make´bate, n. [ Make, v. + bate a quarrel.] One who excites contentions and quarrels. [Obs.]

Make-belief
Make´-be•lief, n. A feigning to believe; make believe. J. H. Newman.

Make-believe
Make´-be•lieve, n. A feigning to believe, as in the play of children; a mere pretense; a fiction; an invention. "Childlike make-believe." Tylor.
"To forswear self-delusion and make- believe." M. Arnold.

Make-believe
Make´-be•lieve, a. Feigned; insincere. "Make-believe reverence." G. Eliot.

Maked
Mak´ed, obs. p. p. of Make. Made. Chaucer.

Makeless
Make´less, a. [See 1st Make, and cf. Matchless, Mateless.]
1. Matchless. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Without a mate. Shak.

Maker
Mak´er (mak"er), n.
1. One who makes, forms, or molds; a manufacturer; specifically, the Creator.
"The universal Maker we may praise." Milton.
2. (Law) The person who makes a promissory note.
3. One who writes verses; a poet. [Obs.] "The Greeks named the poet poihth•s, which name, as the most excellent, hath gone through other languages. It cometh of this word poiei^n, make; wherein, I know not whether by luck or wisdom, we Englishmen have met well the Greeks in calling him a maker." Sir P. Sidney.

Makeshift
Make´shift (mak"shift•), n. That with which one makes shift; a temporary expedient. James Mill.
"I am not a model clergyman, only a decent makeshift." G. Eliot.

Make-up
Make´-up, n. The way in which the parts of anything are put together; often, the way in which an actor is dressed, painted, etc., in personating a character.
"The unthinking masses are necessarily teleological in their mental make-up." L. F. Ward.

Makeweight
Make´weight, n. That which is thrown into a scale to make weight; something of little account added to supply a deficiency or fill a gap.

Maki
Ma´ki, n. [F., from native name.] (Zoöl.) A lemur. See Lemur.

Making-iron
Mak´ing-i•ron, n. A tool somewhat like a chisel with a groove in it, used by calkers of ships to finish the seams after the oakum has been driven in.

Making-up
Mak´ing-up, n.
1. The act of bringing spirits to a certain degree of strength, called proof.
2. The act of becoming reconciled or friendly.

Mal- (mal-). A prefix in composition denoting ill, or evil, F. male, adv., fr. malus, bad, ill. In some words it has the form male-, as in malediction, malevolent. See Malice. The form male- is chiefly used in cases where the e, either alone or with other letters, is pronounced as a separate syllable, as in malediction, malefactor, maleficent, etc. Where this is not the case, as in malfeasance or male-feasance, malformation or male-formation, etc., as also where the word to which it is prefixed commences with a vowel, as in maladministration, etc., the form mal is to be preferred, and is the one commonly employed.

Malabar
Mal´a•bar, n. A region in the western part of the Peninsula of India, between the mountains and the sea. Malabar nut (Bot.), the seed of an East Indian acanthaceous shrub, the Adhatoda Vasica, sometimes used medicinally.

Malacatune
Mal•a•ca•tune´, n. See Melocoton.

Malachite
Mal´a•chite, n. [Fr. Gr. a mallow, from its resembling the green color of the leaf of mallows: cf. F. malachite. Cf. Mallow.] (Min.) Native hydrous carbonate of copper, usually occurring in green mammillary masses with concentric fibrous structure. Green malachite, or malachite proper, admits of a high polish, and is sometimes used for ornamental work. Blue malachite, or azurite, is a related species of a deep blue color. Malachite green. See Emerald green, under Green, n.

Malacobdella
Mal•a•cob•del´la, n. [NL., fr. Gr. soft + a leech.] (Zoöl.) A genus of nemertean worms, parasitic in the gill cavity of clams and other bivalves. They have a large posterior sucker, like that of a leech. See Illust. of Bdellomorpha.

Malacolite
Mal´a•co•lite, n. [Gr. soft + -lite.] (Min.) A variety of pyroxene.

Malacologist
Mal•a•col´o•gist, n. One versed in the science of malacology.

Malacology
Mal•a•col´o•gy, n. [Gr. soft + -logy: cf. F. malacologie.] The science which relates to the structure and habits of mollusks.

Malacopoda
Mal•a•cop´o•da, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. soft + -poda.] (Zoöl.) A class of air-breathing Arthropoda; — called also Protracheata, and Onychophora. They somewhat resemble myriapods, and have from seventeen to thirty-three pairs of short, imperfectly jointed legs, two pairs of simple jaws, and a pair of antennae. The trancheae are connected with numerous spiracles scattered over the surface of the body. Peripatus is the only known genus. See Peripatus.

Malacopterygii
Mal•a•cop•te•ryg´i•i, n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. soft + wing, fin, fr. feather.] (Zoöl.) An order of fishes in which the fin rays, except the anterior ray of the pectoral and dorsal fins, are closely jointed, and not spiny. It includes the carp, pike, salmon, shad, etc. Called also Malacopteri.

Malacopterygious
Mal•a•cop•ter•yg´i•ous, a. (Zoöl.) Belonging to the Malacopterygii.

Malacosteon
Mal•a•cos´te•on, n. [NL., Gr. fr. soft + bone.] (Med.) A peculiar disease of the bones, in consequence of which they become softened and capable of being bent without breaking.

Malacostomous
Mal•a•cos´to•mous, a. [Gr. soft + mouth.] (Zoöl.) Having soft jaws without teeth, as certain fishes.

Malacostraca
Mal•a•cos´tra•ca, n. pl. [NL., from Gr. soft + shell of a testacean.] (Zoöl.) A subclass of Crustacea, including Arthrostraca and Thoracostraca, or all those higher than the Entomostraca.

Malacostracan
Mal•a•cos´tra•can, n. (Zoöl.) One of the Malacostraca.

Malacostracology
Mal•a•cos•tra•col´o•gy, n. [ Malacostracan + -logy.] That branch of zoölogical science which relates to the crustaceans; — called also carcinology.

Malacostracous
Mal•a•cos´tra•cous, a. (Zoöl.) Belonging to the Malacostraca.

Malacotoon
Mal•a•co•toon´, n. (Bot.) See Melocoton.

Malacozoic
Mal•a•co•zo´ic, a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Malacozoa.

Maladdress
Mal•ad•dress´, n. [ Mal- + address.] Bad address; an awkward, tactless, or offensive way of accosting one or talking with one. W. D. Howells.

Maladjustment
Mal•ad•just´ment, n. [ Mal- + adjustment.] A bad adjustment.

Maladministration
Mal•ad•min•is•tra´tion, n. [ Mal- + administration.] Bad administration; bad management of any business, especially of public affairs. [Written also maleadministration.]

Maladroit
Mal•a•droit´, a. [F. See Malice, and Adroit.] Of a quality opposed to adroitness; clumsy; awkward; unskillful. — Mal´a•droit•ly, adv. — Mal•a•droit´ness, n.

Malagash
Mal•a•gash´, n. Same as Malagasy.

Malaise
Ma•laise´, n. [F., fr. mal ill + aise ease.] (Med.) An indefinite feeling of uneasiness, or of being sick or ill at ease.

Malamate
Ma•lam´ate, n. (Chem.) A salt of malamic acid.

Malambo
Ma•lam´bo, n. [Pg.] A yellowish aromatic bark, used in medicine and perfumery, said to be from the South American shrub Croton Malambo.

Malamethane
Mal•am•eth´ane, n. [ Malamic + ethane.] (Chem.) A white crystalline substance forming the ethyl salt of malamic acid.

Malamic
Ma•lam´ic, a. [ Malic + amic.] (Chem.) Of or designating an acid intermediate between malic acid and malamide, and known only by its salts.

Malamide
Ma•lam´ide, n. [ Malic + amide.] (Chem.) The acid amide derived from malic acid, as a white crystalline substance metameric with asparagine.

Malanders
Mal´an•ders, n. pl. [F. malandres, fr. L. malandria blisters or pustules on the neck, especially in horses.] (Far.) A scurfy eruption in the bend of the knee of the fore leg of a horse. See Sallenders. [Written also mallenders.]

Malapterurus
Mal•ap•te•ru´rus (mal•ap•te•ru"rus), n. [NL., from Gr. malako•s soft + ptero•n wing + o’yra• tail.] (Zoöl.) A genus of African siluroid fishes, including the electric catfishes. See Electric cat, under Electric.

Malaria
Ma•la´ri•a, n. [It., contr. fr. malaaria bad air. See Malice, and Air.]
1. Air infected with some noxious substance capable of engendering disease; esp., an unhealthy exhalation from certain soils, as marshy or wet lands, producing fevers; miasma. The morbific agent in malaria is supposed by some to be a vegetable microbe or its spores, and by others to be a very minute animal blood parasite (an infusorian).
2. (Med.) A morbid condition produced by exhalations from decaying vegetable matter in contact with moisture, giving rise to fever and ague and many other symptoms characterized by their tendency to recur at definite and usually uniform intervals. { Ma•la´ri•al, Ma•la´ri•an, Ma•la´ri•ous }, a. Of or pertaining, to or infected by, malaria. Malarial fever (Med.), a fever produced by malaria, and characterized by the occurrence of chills, fever, and sweating in distinct paroxysms, At intervals of definite and often uniform duration, in which these symptoms are wholly absent ( intermittent fever), or only partially so ( remittent fever); fever and ague; chills and fever.

Malashaganay
Ma•la•sha´ga•nay, n. [Indian name.] (Zoöl.) The fresh-water drumfish ( Haploidonotus grunniens).

Malassimilation
Mal•as•sim•i•la´tion, n. [ Mal- + assimilation.] (Physiol.) (a) Imperfect digestion of the several leading constituents of the food. (b) An imperfect elaboration by the tissues of the materials brought to them by the blood.

Malate
Ma´late, n. [L. malum apple: cf. F. malate. See Malic.] (Chem.) A salt of malic acid. { Ma´lax, Ma•lax´ate } v. t. [L. malaxare, malaxatum, cf. Gr., fr. soft: cf. F. malaxer.] To soften by kneading or stirring with some thinner substance. [R.]

Malaxator
Mal´ax•a•tor, n. One who, or that which, malaxates; esp., a machine for grinding, kneading, or stirring into a pasty or doughy mass. [R.]

Malay
Ma•lay´, n. One of a race of a brown or copper complexion in the Malay Peninsula and the western islands of the Indian Archipelago. { Ma•lay´, Ma•lay´an } a. Of or pertaining to the Malays or their country. — n. The Malay language. Malay apple (Bot.), a myrtaceous tree ( Eugenia Malaccensis) common in India; also its applelike fruit.

Malayalam
Ma´la•ya´lam, n. The name given to one the cultivated Dravidian languages, closely related to the Tamil. Yule.

Malbrouck
Mal´brouck, n. [F.] (Zoöl.) A West African arboreal monkey ( Cercopithecus cynosurus).

Malconformation
Mal•con•for•ma´tion, n. [ Mal- + conformation.] Imperfect, disproportionate, or abnormal formation; ill form; disproportion of parts.

Malcontent
Mal´con•tent, a. [F., fr. mal ill + content. See Malice, Content.] discontented; uneasy; dissatisfied; especially, dissatisfied with the government. [Written also malecontent.]
"The famous malcontent earl of Leicester." Milner.

Malcontent
Mal´con•tent, n. [F. malcontent.] One who discontented; especially, a discontented subject of a government; one who expresses his discontent by words or overt acts. Spenser. Berkeley.

Malcontented
Mal•con•tent´ed, a. Malcontent. — Mal•con•tent´ed•ly, adv. — Mal•con•tent´ed•ness, n.

Maldanian
Mal•da´ni•an, n. (Zoöl.) Any species of marine annelids of the genus Maldane, or family Maldanidae. They have a slender, round body, and make tubes in the sand or mud.

Male (mal), a. [L. malus. See Malice.] Evil; wicked; bad. [Obs.] Marston.

Male, n. Same as Mail, a bag. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Male, a. [F. mâle, OF. masle, mascle, fr. L. masculus male, masculine, dim. of mas a male; possibly akin to E. man. Cf. Masculine, Marry, v. t.]
1. Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as male organs.
2. (Bot.) Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; — said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them.
3. Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as male courage.
4. Consisting of males; as a male choir.
5. (Mech.) Adapted for entering another corresponding piece (the female piece) which is hollow and which it fits; as a male gauge, for gauging the size or shape of a hole; a male screw, etc. Male berry (Bot.), a kind of coffee. See Pea berry. — Male fern (Bot.), a fern of the genus Aspidium ( A. Filixmas), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. Aspidium marginale in America, and A. athamanticum in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See Female fern, under Female. — Male rhyme, a rhyme in which only the last syllables agree, as laid, afraid, dismayed. See Female rhyme, under Female. - - Male screw (Mech.), a screw having threads upon its exterior which enter the grooves upon the inside of a corresponding nut or female screw. — Male thread, the thread of a male screw.

Male, n.
1. An animal of the male sex.
2. (Bot.) A plant bearing only staminate flowers.

Male- (mal- or male-). See Mal-.

Maleate
Ma•le´ate, n. A salt of maleic acid.

Malebranchism
Male•branch´ism, n. The philosophical system of Malebranche, an eminent French metaphysician. The fundamental doctrine of his system is that the mind can not have knowledge of anything external to itself except in its relation to God.

Maleconformation
Male•con•for•ma´tion, n. Malconformation.

Malecontent
Male´con•tent, a. Malcontent.

Maledicency
Mal•e•di´cen•cy, n. [L. maledicentia. See Maledicent.] Evil speaking. [Obs.] Atterbury.

Malediction
Mal•e•dic´tion, n. [L. maledictio: cf. F. malediction. See Maledicent.] A proclaiming of evil against some one; a cursing; imprecation; a curse or execration; — opposed to benediction.
"No malediction falls from his tongue." Longfellow.
Syn. — Cursing; curse; execration; imprecation; denunciation; anathema. — Malediction, Curse, Imprecation, Execration. Malediction is the most general term, denoting bitter reproach, or wishes and predictions of evil. Curse implies the desire or threat of evil, declared upon oath or in the most solemn manner. Imprecation is literally the praying down of evil upon a person. Execration is literally a putting under the ban of excommunication, a curse which excludes from the kingdom of God. In ordinary usage, the last three words describe profane swearing, execration being the strongest.

Malefeasance
Male•fea´sance, n. See Malfeasance.

Maleficiate
Mal•e•fi´ci•ate, v. t. [LL. maleficiatus, p. p. of maleficiare to bewitch, fr. L. maleficium. See Malefice.] To bewitch; to harm. [Obs.] Burton.

Maleficience
Mal•e•fi´cience, n. [See Maleficence.] The doing of evil, harm, or mischief.

Male-odor
Male-o´dor, n. See Malodor.

Malet
Mal´et, n. [F. mallette, dim. of malle. See Mail a bag.] A little bag or budget. [Obs.] Shelton.

Malevolous
Ma•lev´o•lous, a. [L. malevolus; fr. male ill + velle to be disposed.] Malevolent. [Obs.] Bp. Warburton.

Malexecution
Mal•ex•e•cu´tion, n. [ Mal- + execution.] Bad execution. D. Webster.

Maleyl
Ma•le´yl, n. [ Maleic + - yl.] (Chem.) A hypothetical radical derived from maleic acid.

Malfeasance
Mal•fea´sance, n. [F. malfaisance, fr. malfaisant injurious, doing ill; mal ill, evil + faisant doing, p. pr. of faire to do. See Malice, Feasible, and cf. Maleficence.] (Law) The doing of an act which a person ought not to do; evil conduct; an illegal deed. [Written also malefeasance.]

Malgracious
Mal•gra´cious, a. [F. malgracieux.] Not graceful; displeasing. [Obs.] Gower.

Malgre
Mal´gre, prep. See Mauger.

Malice
Mal´ice (mal"is), n. [F. malice, fr. L. malitia, from malus bad, ill, evil, prob. orig., dirty, black; cf. Gr. me•las black, Skr. mala dirt. Cf. Mauger.]
1. Enmity of heart; malevolence; ill will; a spirit delighting in harm or misfortune to another; a disposition to injure another; a malignant design of evil. "Nor set down aught in malice." Shak.
"Envy, hatred, and malice are three distinct passions of the mind." Ld. Holt.
2. (Law) Any wicked or mischievous intention of the mind; a depraved inclination to mischief; an intention to vex, annoy, or injure another person, or to do a wrongful act without just cause or cause or excuse; a wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others; willfulness. Malice aforethought or prepense, malice previously and deliberately entertained.
Syn. — Spite; ill will; malevolence; grudge; pique; bitterness; animosity; malignity; maliciousness; rancor; virulence. See Spite. — Malevolence, Malignity, Malignancy. Malice is a stronger word than malevolence, which may imply only a desire that evil may befall another, while malice desires, and perhaps intends, to bring it about. Malignity is intense and deepseated malice. It implies a natural delight in hating and wronging others. One who is malignant must be both malevolent and malicious; but a man may be malicious without being malignant.
"Proud tyrants who maliciously destroy And ride o’er ruins with malignant joy." Somerville.
"in some connections, malignity seems rather more pertinently applied to a radical depravity of nature, and malignancy to indications of this depravity, in temper and conduct in particular instances." Cogan.

Malice
Mal´ice, v. t. To regard with extreme ill will. [Obs.]

Malicho
Mal´i•cho, n. [Sp. malhecho; mal bad + hecho deed, L. factum. See Fact.] Mischief. [Obs.] Shak.