Mead (med), n. [OE. mede, AS. meodo; akin to D. mede, G. met, meth, OHG. metu, mitu, Icel. mjöðr, Dan. miöd, Sw. mjöd, Russ. med’, Lith. midus, W. medd, Gr. me•qy wine, Skr. madhu honey, a sweet drink, as adj., sweet. rad.270. Cf. Metheglin.]
1. A fermented drink made of water and honey with malt, yeast, etc.; metheglin; hydromel. Chaucer.
2. A drink composed of sirup of sarsaparilla or other flavoring extract, and water. It is sometimes charged with carbonic acid gas. [U. S.]

Mead, n. [AS. maed. See Meadow.] A meadow.
"A mede All full of freshe flowers, white and reede." Chaucer.
"To fertile vales and dewy meads My weary, wandering steps he leads." Addison.

Meak, n. [Cf. AS. mece sword, OS. maki, Icel. maekir.] A hook with a long handle. [Obs.] Tusser.

Meaking
Meak´ing, n. [See Meak.] (Naut.) The process of picking out the oakum from the seams of a vessel which is to be recalked. Meaking iron (Naut.), the tool with which old oakum is picked out of a vessel’s seams.

Mealies
Meal´ies, n. pl. [From Mealy.] (Bot.) Maize or Indian corn; — the common name in South Africa.

Meal-mouthed
Meal´-mouthed, a. See Mealy-mouthed.

Mealy
Meal´y, a. [ Compar. Mealier superl. Mealiest.]
1. Having the qualities of meal; resembling meal; soft, dry, and friable; easily reduced to a condition resembling meal; as a mealy potato.
2. Overspread with something that resembles meal; as the mealy wings of an insect. Shak. Mealy bug (Zoöl.), a scale insect ( Coccus adonidum, and related species), covered with a white powderlike substance. It is a common pest in hothouses.

Mean (men), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Meant (ment); p. pr. & vb. n. Meaning.] [OE. menen, AS. maenan to recite, tell, intend, wish; akin to OS. menian to have in mind, mean, D. meenen, G. meinen, OHG. meinan, Icel. meina, Sw. mena, Dan. mene, and to E. mind. rad.104. See Mind, and cf. Moan.]
1. To have in the mind, as a purpose, intention, etc.; to intend; to purpose; to design; as what do you mean to do ?
"What mean ye by this service ?" Ex. xii. 26.
"Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Gen. 1. 20.
"I am not a Spaniard To say that it is yours and not to mean it." Longfellow.
2. To signify; to indicate; to import; to denote.
"What mean these seven ewe lambs ?" Gen. xxi. 29.
"Go ye, and learn what that meaneth." Matt. ix. 13.

Mean, v. i. To have a purpose or intention. [Rare, except in the phrase to mean well, or ill.] Shak.

Mean (men), a. [ Compar. Meaner (men"er); superl. Meanest.] [OE. mene, AS. maene wicked; akin to man, a., wicked, n., wickedness, OS. men wickedness, OHG. mein, G. meineid perjury, Icel. mein harm, hurt, and perh. to AS. gemaene common, general, D. gemeen, G. gemein, Goth. gamáins, and L. communis. The AS. gemaene prob. influenced the meaning.]
1. Destitute of distinction or eminence; common; low; vulgar; humble. "Of mean parentage." Sir P. Sidney.
"The mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself." Is. ii. 9.
2. Wanting dignity of mind; low-minded; base; destitute of honor; spiritless; as a mean motive.
"Can you imagine I so mean could prove, To save my life by changing of my love ?" Dryden.
3. Of little value or account; worthy of little or no regard; contemptible; despicable.
"The Roman legions and great Caesar found Our fathers no mean foes." J. Philips.
4. Of poor quality; as mean fare.
5. Penurious; stingy; close-fisted; illiberal; as mean hospitality. Mean is sometimes used in the formation of compounds, the sense of which is obvious without explanation; as meanborn, mean-looking, etc.
Syn. — Base; ignoble; abject; beggarly; wretched; degraded; degenerate; vulgar; vile; servile; menial; spiritless; groveling; slavish; dishonorable; disgraceful; shameful; despicable; contemptible; paltry; sordid. See Base.

Mean, a. [OE. mene, OF. meiien, F. moyen, fr. L. medianus that is in the middle, fr. medius; akin to E. mid. See Mid.]
1. Occupying a middle position; middle; being about midway between extremes.
"Being of middle age and a mean stature." Sir. P. Sidney.
2. Intermediate in excellence of any kind.
"According to the fittest style of lofty, mean, or lowly." Milton.
3. (Math.) Average; having an intermediate value between two extremes, or between the several successive values of a variable quantity during one cycle of variation; as mean distance; mean motion; mean solar day. Mean distance (of a planet from the sun) (Astron.), the average of the distances throughout one revolution of the planet, equivalent to the semi-major axis of the orbit. — Mean error (Math. Phys.), the average error of a number of observations found by taking the mean value of the positive and negative errors without regard to sign. — Mean-square error, or Error of the mean square (Math. Phys.), the error the square of which is the mean of the squares of all the errors; — called also especially by European writers, mean error. — Mean line. (Crystallog.) Same as Bisectrix. — Mean noon, noon as determined by mean time. — Mean proportional (between two numbers) (Math.), the square root of their product. — Mean sun, a fictitious sun supposed to move uniformly in the equator so as to be on the meridian each day at mean noon. — Mean time, time as measured by an equable motion, as of a perfect clock, or as reckoned on the supposition that all the days of the year are of a mean or uniform length, in contradistinction from apparent time, or that actually indicated by the sun, and from sidereal time, or that measured by the stars.

Mean, n.
1. That which is mean, or intermediate, between two extremes of place, time, or number; the middle point or place; middle rate or degree; mediocrity; medium; absence of extremes or excess; moderation; measure.
"But to speak in a mean, the virtue of prosperity is temperance; the virtue of adversity is fortitude." Bacon.
"There is a mean in all things." Dryden.
"The extremes we have mentioned, between which the wellinstracted Christian holds the mean, are correlatives." I. Taylor.
2. (Math.) A quantity having an intermediate value between several others, from which it is derived, and of which it expresses the resultant value; usually, unless otherwise specified, it is the simple average, formed by adding the quantities together and dividing by their number, which is called an arithmetical mean. A geometrical mean is the square root of the product of the quantities.
3. That through which, or by the help of which, an end is attained; something tending to an object desired; intermediate agency or measure; necessary condition or coagent; instrument.
"Their virtuous conversation was a mean to work the conversion of the heathen to Christ." Hooker.
"You may be able, by this mean, to review your own scientific acquirements." Coleridge.
"Philosophical doubt is not an end, but a mean." Sir W. Hamilton. In this sense the word is usually employed in the plural form means, and often with a singular attribute or predicate, as if a singular noun.
"By this means he had them more at vantage." Bacon.
"What other means is left unto us." Shak.
4. pl. Hence: Resources; property, revenue, or the like, considered as the condition of easy livelihood, or an instrumentality at command for effecting any purpose; disposable force or substance.
"Your means are very slender, and your waste is great." Shak.
5. (Mus.) A part, whether alto or tenor, intermediate between the soprano and base; a middle part. [Obs.]
"The mean is drowned with your unruly base." Shak.
6. Meantime; meanwhile. [Obs.] Spenser.
7. A mediator; a go-between. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
"He wooeth her by means and by brokage." Chaucer. By all means, certainly; without fail; as go, by all means. — By any means, in any way; possibly; at all.
"If by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead." Phil. iii. ll. — By no means, or By no manner of means, not at all; certainly not; not in any degree.
"The wine on this side of the lake is by no means so good as that on the other." Addison.

Meander
Me•an´der, n. [L. Maeander, orig., a river in Phrygia, proverbial for its many windings, Gr. : cf. F. meandre.]
1. A winding, crooked, or involved course; as the meanders of the veins and arteries. Sir M. Hale.
"While lingering rivers in meanders glide." Sir R. Blackmore.
2. A tortuous or intricate movement.
3. (Arch.) Fretwork. See Fret.

Meander
Me•an´der, v. t. To wind, turn, or twist; to make flexuous. Dryton.

Meander
Me•an´der, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Meandered p. pr. & vb. n. Meandering.] To wind or turn in a course or passage; to be intricate.
"Five miles meandering with a mazy motion Through wood and dale the sacred river ran." Coleridge.

Meandrina
Me•an•dri´na, n. [NL.: cf. F. meandrine.] (Zoöl.) A genus of corals with meandering grooves and ridges, including the brain corals. { Me•an´drous, Me•an´dry } a. Winding; flexuous.

Meaning
Mean´ing, n.
1. That which is meant or intended; intent; purpose; aim; object; as a mischievous meaning was apparent.
"If there be any good meaning towards you." Shak.
2. That which is signified, whether by act lanquage; signification; sense; import; as the meaning of a hint.
3. Sense; power of thinking. [R.] — Mean´ing•less, a. — Mean´ing•ly, adv.

Meanly
Mean´ly, adv. [Mean middle.] Moderately. [Obs.]
"A man meanly learned himself, but not meanly affectioned to set forward learning in others." Ascham.

Meanly
Mean´ly, adv. [From Mean low.] In a mean manner; unworthily; basely; poorly; ungenerously.
"While the heaven-born child All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies." Milton.
"Would you meanly thus rely On power you know I must obey ?" Prior.
"We can not bear to have others think meanly of them [our kindred]." I. Watts.

Mean-spirited
Mean´-spir•it•ed, a. Of a mean spirit; base; groveling. — Mean´-spir•it•ed•ness, n.

Meant, imp. & p. p. of Mean. { Mean´time•, Mean´while• } n. The intervening time; as in the meantime (or mean time). { Mean´time•, Mean´while• } adv. In the intervening time; during the interval.

Measelry
Mea´sel•ry, n. [OE. meselrie, OF. mesellerie. See lst Measle.] Leprosy. [Obs.] R. of Brunne.

Measurable
Meas´ur•a•ble, a. [F. mesurable, L. mensurabilis. See Measure, and cf. Mensurable.]
1. Capable of being measured; susceptible of mensuration or computation.
2. Moderate; temperate; not excessive.
"Of his diet measurable was he." Chaucer. — Meas´ur•a•ble•ness, n. — Meas´ur•a•bly, adv.
"Yet do it measurably, as it becometh Christians." Latimer.

Measured
Meas´ured, a. Regulated or determined by a standard; hence, equal; uniform; graduated; limited; moderated; as he walked with measured steps; he expressed himself in no measured terms. — Meas´ured•ly, adv.

Measureless
Meas´ure•less, a. Without measure; unlimited; immeasurable. — Meas´ure•less•ness, n.
Syn. — Boundless; limitless; endless; unbounded; unlimited; vast; immense; infinite; immeasurable.

Measurement
Meas´ure•ment, n.
1. The act or result of measuring; mensuration; as measurement is required.
2. The extent, size, capacity, amount. or quantity ascertained by measuring; as its measurement is five acres.

Measurer
Meas´ur•er, n. One who measures; one whose occupation or duty is to measure commondities in market.

Measuring
Meas´ur•ing, a. Used in, or adapted for, ascertaining measurements, or dividing by measure. Measuring faucet, a faucet which permits only a given quantity of liquid to pass each time it is opened, or one by means of which the liquid which passes can be measured. - - Measuring worm (Zoöl.), the larva of any geometrid moth. See Geometrid.

Meatal
Me•a´tal, a. Of or pertaining to a meatus; resembling a meatus. Owen.

Meated
Meat´ed, a.
1. Fed; fattened. [Obs.] Tusser.
2. Having (such) meat; — used chiefly in composition; as thick- meated. { Meath, Meathe }, n. [See Mead.] A sweet liquor; mead. [Obs.] Chaucer. Milton.

Meatless
Meat´less, a. Having no meat; without food.
""Leave these beggars meatless."" Sir T. More.

Meatoscope
Me•at´o•scope, n. [ Meatus + -scope.] (Med.) A speculum for examining a natural passage, as the urethra.

Meatotome
Me•at´o•tome, n. [ Meatus + Gr. to cut.] (Surg.) An instrument for cutting into the urethra so as to enlarge its orifice.

Meatus
Me•a´tus, n. sing. & pl.; E. pl. Meatuses . [L., a going, passage, fr. meare to go.] (Anat.) A natural passage or canal; as the external auditory meatus. See Illust. of Ear.

Meaw, n. The sea mew. [Obs.] Spenser.

Meaw, v. i. See Mew, to cry as a cat.

Mebles
Me´bles, n. pl. See Moebles. [Obs.]

Meccawee
Mec•ca•wee´, a. Of or pertaining to Mecca, in Arabia. — n. A native or inhabitant of Mecca.

Mechanic
Me•chan´ic, n. [F. mecanique mechanics. See Mechanic, a. ]
1. The art of the application of the laws of motion or force to construction. [Obs.]
2. A mechanician; an artisan; an artificer; one who practices any mechanic art; one skilled or employed in shaping and uniting materials, as wood, metal, etc., into any kind of structure, machine, or other object, requiring the use of tools, or instruments.
"An art quite lost with our mechanics." Sir T. Browne.

Mechanic
Me•chan´ic (me•kan"ik), a. [F. mecanique, L. mechanicus, Gr. mhchaniko•s, fr. mhchanh• a machine. See Machine.]
1. Having to do with the application of the laws of motion in the art of constructing or making things; of or pertaining to mechanics; mechanical; as the mechanic arts. "These mechanic philosophers." Ray.
"Mechanic slaves, With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers." Shak.
2. Of or pertaining to a mechanic or artificer, or to the class of artisans; hence, rude; common; vulgar.
"To make a god, a hero, or a king Descend to a mechanic dialect." Roscommon.
"Sometimes he ply’d the strong, mechanic tool." Thomson.
3. Base. [Obs.] Whitlock.

Mechanicalize
Me•chan´ic•al•ize, v. t. To cause to become mechanical.

Mechanically
Me•chan´ic•al•ly, adv. In a mechanical manner.

Mechanicalness
Me•chan´ic•al•ness, n. The state or quality of being mechanical.

Mechanician
Mech•a•ni´cian, n. [Cf. F. mecanicien. See Mechanic.] One skilled in the theory or construction of machines; a machinist. Boyle.

Mechanics
Me•chan´ics, n. [Cf. F. mecanique.] That science, or branch of applied mathematics, which treats of the action of forces on bodies. That part of mechanics which considers the action of forces in producing rest or equilibrium is called statics; that which relates to such action in producing motion is called dynamics. The term mechanics includes the action of forces on all bodies, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous. It is sometimes, however, and formerly was often, used distinctively of solid bodies only: The mechanics of liquid bodies is called also hydrostatics, or hydrodynamics, according as the laws of rest or of motion are considered. The mechanics of gaseous bodies is called also pneumatics. The mechanics of fluids in motion, with special reference to the methods of obtaining from them useful results, constitutes hydraulics. Animal mechanics (Physiol.), that portion of physiology which has for its object the investigation of the laws of equilibrium and motion in the animal body. The most important mechanical principle is that of the lever, the bones forming the arms of the levers, the contractile muscles the power, the joints the fulcra or points of support, while the weight of the body or of the individual limbs constitutes the weight or resistance. — Applied mechanics, the principles of abstract mechanics applied to human art; also the practical application of the laws of matter and motion to the construction of machines and structures of all kinds.

Mechanism
Mech´an•ism, n. [Cf. F. mecanisme, L. mechanisma. See Mechanic.]
1. The arrangement or relation of the parts of a machine; the parts of a machine, taken collectively; the arrangement or relation of the parts of anything as adapted to produce an effect; as the mechanism of a watch; the mechanism of a sewing machine; the mechanism of a seed pod.
2. Mechanical operation or action.
"He acknowledges nothing besides matter and motion; so that all must be performed either by mechanism or accident." Bentley.
3. (Kinematics) An ideal machine; a combination of movable bodies constituting a machine, but considered only with regard to relative movements.

Mechanize
Mech´an•ize, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mechanized p. pr. & vb. n. Mechanizing ] [Cf. F. mechaniser.] To cause to be mechanical. Shelley.

Mechanographic
Mech•an•o•graph•ic (mek• an•o•graf"ik), a.
1. Treating of mechanics. [R.]
2. Written, copied, or recorded by machinery; produced by mechanography; as a mechanographic record of changes of temperature; mechanographic prints.

Mechanographist
Mech•an•og´ra•phist (-og"ra•fist), n. An artist who, by mechanical means, multiplies copies of works of art.

Mechanography
Mech•an•og´ra•phy, n. The art of mechanically multiplying copies of a writing, or any work of art.

Mechanurgy
Mech´an•ur•gy, n. [Gr. mhchanh• machine + the root of work.] That branch of science which treats of moving machines.

Mechitarist
Mech´i•tar•ist, n. [From Mechitar, an Armenian., who founded the congregation in the early part of the eighteenth century.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church devoted to the improvement of Armenians.

Mechlin
Mech´lin, n. A kind of lace made at, or originating in, Mechlin, in Belgium.

Mechoacan
Me•cho´a•can, n. A species of jalap, of very feeble properties, said to be obtained from the root of a species of Convolvulus ( C. Mechoacan); — so called from Michoacan, in Mexico, whence it is obtained.

Meckelian
Meck•e´li•an, a. (Anat.) Pertaining to, or discovered by, J. F. Meckel, a German anatomist. Meckelian cartilage, the cartilaginous rod which forms the axis of the mandible; — called also Meckel’s cartilage.

Meconate
Mec´o•nate, n. [Cf. F. meconate.] (Chem.) A salt of meconic acid.

Meconic
Me•con´ic, a. [Gr. belonging to the poppy, fr. the poppy: cf. F. meconique.] Pertaining to, or obtained from, the poppy or opium; specif. (Chem.), designating an acid related to aconitic acid, found in opium and extracted as a white crystalline substance.

Meconidine
Me•con´i•dine, n. (Chem) An alkaloid found in opium, and extracted as a yellow amorphous substance which is easily decomposed.

Meconidium
Mec•o•nid´i•um, n. [NL., dim. of Gr. a poppy. So called in allusion to the shape of the seed capsules of the poppy.] (Zoöl.) A kind of gonophore produced by hydroids of the genus Gonothyraea. It has tentacles, and otherwise resembles a free medusa, but remains attached by a pedicel.

Meconin
Mec´o•nin, n. [Cf. F. meconine.] (Chem.) A substance regarded as an anhydride of meconinic acid, existing in opium and extracted as a white crystalline substance. Also erroneously called meconina, meconia, etc., as though it were an alkaloid.

Meconinic
Mec•o•nin´ic, a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid which occurs in opium, and which may be obtained by oxidizing narcotine.

Meconium
Me•co´ni•um, n. [L., fr. Gr., fr. poppy.] (Med.) (a) Opium. [Obs.] (b) The contents of the fetal intestine; hence, first excrement.

Medal
Med´al, n. [F. medaille, It. medaglia, fr. L. metallum metal, through (assumed) LL. metalleus made of metal. See Metal, and cf. Mail a piece of money.] A piece of metal in the form of a coin, struck with a device, and intended to preserve the remembrance of a notable event or an illustrious person, or to serve as a reward.

Medal
Med´al, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Medaled, or Medalled; p. pr. & vb. n. Medaling or Medalling.] To honor or reward with a medal. "Medaled by the king." Thackeray.

Medalet
Med´al•et, n. A small medal.

Medalist
Med´al•ist, n. [Cf. F. medailliste, It. medaglista.] [Written also medallist.]
1. A person that is skilled or curious in medals; a collector of medals. Addison.
2. A designer of medals. Macaulay.
3. One who has gained a medal as the reward of merit.

Medallic
Me•dal´lic, a. Of or pertaining to a medal, or to medals. "Our medallic history." Walpole.

Medallion
Me•dal´lion, n. [F. medaillion, It. medaglione, augm. of medaglia. See Medal.]
1. A large medal or memorial coin.
2. A circular or oval (or, sometimes, square) tablet bearing a figure or figures represented in relief.

Meddle
Med´dle, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Meddled p. pr. & vb. n. Meddling ] [OE. medlen to mix, OF. medler, mesler, F. mêler, LL. misculare, a dim. fr. L. miscere to mix. rad.271. See Mix, and cf. Medley, Mellay.]
1. To mix; to mingle. [Obs.]
"More to know Did never meddle with my thoughts." Shak.
2. To interest or engage one’s self; to have to do; — in a good sense. [Obs.] Barrow.
"Study to be quiet, and to meddle with your own business." Tyndale.
3. To interest or engage one’s self unnecessarily or impertinently, to interfere or busy one’s self improperly with another’s affairs; specifically, to handle or distrub another’s property without permission; — often followed by with or in.
"Why shouldst thou meddle to thy hurt?" 2 Kings xiv. 10.
"The civil lawyers … have meddled in a matter that belongs not to them." Locke. To meddle and make, to intrude one’s self into another person’s concerns. [Archaic] Shak.
Syn. — To interpose; interfere; intermeddle.

Meddle
Med´dle, v. t. To mix; to mingle. [Obs.] Chaucer.
""Wine meddled with gall."" Wyclif (Matt. xxvii. 34).

Meddler
Med´dler, n. One who meddles; one who interferes or busies himself with things in which he has no concern; an officious person; a busybody.

Meddlesome
Med´dle•some, a. Given to meddling; apt to interpose in the affairs of others; officiously intrusive. — Med´dle•some•ness, n.

Meddling
Med´dling, a. Meddlesome. Macaulay.

Meddlingly
Med´dling•ly, adv. In a meddling manner.

Mede, n. A native or inhabitant of Media in Asia.

Mede, n. See lst & 2d Mead, and Meed. [Obs.]

Mediacy
Me´di•a•cy, n. The state or quality of being mediate. Sir W. Hamilton.

Mediaeval
Me•di•ae´val, a. [L. medius middle + aevum age. See Middle, and Age.] Of or relating to the Middle Ages; as mediaeval architecture. [Written also medieval.]

Mediaevalist
Me•di•ae´val•ist, n. One who has a taste for, or is versed in, the history of the Middle Ages; one in sympathy with the spirit or forms of the Middle Ages. [Written also medievalist.]

Mediaevally
Me•di•ae´val•ly, adv. In the manner of the Middle Ages; in accordance with mediaevalism.

Mediaevals
Me•di•ae´vals, n. pl. The people who lived in the Middle Ages. Ruskin.

Medial
Me´di•al, a. [L. medialis, fr. medius middle: cf. F. medial. See Middle.] Of or pertaining to a mean or average; mean; as medial alligation.

Medial
Me´di•al, n. (Phonetics) See 2d Media.

Mediant
Me´di•ant, n. [L. medians, p. p. of mediare to halve: cf. It. mediante, F. mediante.] (Mus.) The third above the keynote; — so called because it divides the interval between the tonic and dominant into two thirds.

Mediastinal
Me•di•as•ti´nal, a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to a mediastinum. { Me•di•as´tine, Me•di•as•ti´num } n. [NL. mediastinum, fr. L. medius middle; cf. mediastinus helper, a menial servant, LL. mediastinus equiv. to medius: cf F. mediastin.] (Anat.) A partition; a septum; specifically, the folds of the pleura (and the space included between them) which divide the thorax into a right and left cavity. The space included between these folds of the pleura, called the mediastinal space, contains the heart and gives passage to the esophagus and great blood vessels.

Mediate
Me´di•ate, a. [L. mediatus, p. p. of mediare, v. t., to halve, v. i., to be in the middle. See Mid, and cf. Moiety.]
1. Being between the two extremes; middle; interposed; intervening; intermediate. Prior.
2. Acting by means, or by an intervening cause or instrument; not direct or immediate; acting or suffering through an intervening agent or condition.
3. Gained or effected by a medium or condition. Bacon.
"An act of mediate knowledge is complex." Sir W. Hamilton.

Mediate
Me´di•ate, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Mediated p. pr. & vb. n. Mediating.] [LL. mediatus, p. p. of mediare to mediate. See Mediate, a. ]
1. To be in the middle, or between two; to intervene. [R.]
2. To interpose between parties, as the equal friend of each, esp. for the purpose of effecting a reconciliation or agreement; as to mediate between nations.

Mediate
Me´di•ate, v. t.
1. To effect by mediation or interposition; to bring about as a mediator, instrument, or means; as to mediate a peace.
2. To divide into two equal parts. [R.] Holder.

Mediately
Me´di•ate•ly, adv. In a mediate manner; by a secondary cause or agent; not directly or primarily; by means; — opposed to immediately.
"God worketh all things amongst us mediately." Sir W. Raleigh.
"The king grants a manor to A, and A grants a portion of it to B. In this case. B holds his lands immediately of A, but mediately of the king." Blakstone.

Mediateness
Me´di•ate•ness, n. The state of being mediate.

Mediation
Me•di•a´tion, n. [OE. mediacioun, F. mediation. See Mediate, a. ]
1. The act of mediating; action or relation of anything interposed; action as a necessary condition, means, or instrument; interposition; intervention.
"The soul [acts] by the mediation of these passions." South.
2. Hence, specifically, agency between parties at variance, with a view to reconcile them; entreaty for another; intercession. Bacon.

Mediatization
Me•di•at•i•za´tion, n. [Cf. F. mediatisation.] The act of mediatizing.

Mediatize
Me´di•a•tize, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mediatized p. pr. & vb. n. Mediatizing.] [Cf. F. mediatiser.] To cause to act through an agent or to hold a subordinate position; to annex; — specifically applied to the annexation during the former German empire of a smaller German state to a larger, while allowing it a nominal sovereignty, and its prince his rank.
"The misfortune of being a mediatized prince." Beaconsfield.

Mediatorial
Me•di•a•to´ri•al, a. Of or pertaining to a mediator, or to mediation; mediatory; as a mediatorial office. — Me•di•a•to´ri•al•ly, adv.
"My measures were … healing and mediatorial." Burke.

Mediatorship
Me´di•a•tor•ship, n. The office or character of a mediator.

Mediatory
Me´di•a•to•ry, a. Mediatorial. { Me•di•a´tress, Me•di•a•´trix } n. [L. mediatrix, f. of mediator: cf. F. mediatrice.] A female mediator.

Medic
Med´ic, n. [L. medica, Gr. (sc. ) a kind of clover introduced from Media, from Median.] (Bot.) A leguminous plant of the genus Medicago. The black medic is the Medicago lupulina; the purple medic, or lucern, is M. sativa.

Medic
Med´ic, a. [L. medicus.] Medical. [R.]

Medicable
Med´i•ca•ble, a. [L. medicabilis, from medicare, medicari, to heal, fr. medicus physician. See Medical.] Capable of being medicated; admitting of being cured or healed.

Medically
Med´ic•al•ly, adv. In a medical manner; with reference to healing, or to the principles of the healing art.

Medicament
Med´i•ca•ment, n. [L. medicamentum, fr. medicare, medicari, to heal: cf. F. medicament. See Medicable.] Anything used for healing diseases or wounds; a medicine; a healing application.

Medicaster
Med´i•cas•ter, n. [Cf. F. medicastre. See Medical.] A quack. [R.] Whitlock.

Medicative
Med´i•ca•tive, a. Medicinal; acting like a medicine.

Medicean
Med•i•ce´an, a. Of or relating to the Medici, a noted Italian family; as the Medicean Venus. Medicean planets (Astron.), a name given by Galileo to the satellites of Jupiter.

Medicinable
Me•dic´i•na•ble, a. Medicinal; having the power of healing. [Obs.] Shak.

Medicinal
Me•dic´i•nal, a. [L. medicinalis: cf. F. medicinal. See Medicine.]
1. Having curative or palliative properties; used for the cure or alleviation of bodily disorders; as medicinal tinctures, plants, or springs.
"Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees Their medicinal gum." Shak.
2. Of or pertaining to medicine; medical.

Medicine
Med´i•cine, n. [L. medicina (sc. ars), fr. medicinus medical, fr. medicus: cf. F. medecine. See Medical.]
1. The science which relates to the prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease.
2. Any substance administered in the treatment of disease; a remedial agent; a remedy; physic.
"By medicine, life may be prolonged." Shak.
3. A philter or love potion. [Obs.] Shak.
4. [F. medecin.] A physician. [Obs.] Shak. Medicine bag, a charm; — so called among the North American Indians, or in works relating to them. — Medicine man (among the North American Indians), a person who professes to cure sickness, drive away evil spirits, and regulate the weather by the arts of magic. — Medicine seal, a small gem or paste engraved with reversed characters, to serve as a seal. Such seals were used by Roman physicians to stamp the names of their medicines.

Medicine
Med´i•cine, v. t. To give medicine to; to affect as a medicine does; to remedy; to cure. "Medicine thee to that sweet sleep." Shak.

Medicine
Med´i•cine, n.
1. (a) Among the North American Indians, any object supposed to give control over natural or magical forces, to act as a protective charm, or to cause healing; also magical power itself; the potency which a charm, token, or rite is supposed to exert.
"The North American Indian boy usually took as his medicine the first animal of which he dreamed during the long and solitary fast that he observed at puberty." F. H. Giddings. (b) Hence, a similar object or agency among other savages.
2. Short for Medicine man.
3. Intoxicating liquor; drink. [Slang]

Medicommissure
Med•i•com´mis•sure, n. [L. medius middle + E. commissure.] (Anat.) A large transverse commissure in the third ventricle of the brain; the middle or soft commissure. B. G. Wildex.

Medicornu
Med•i•cor´nu, n. ; pl. Medicornua (#). [NL., fr. L. medius middle + cornu horn.] (Anat.) The middle or inferior horn of each lateral ventricle of the brain. B. G. Wilder.

Medics
Med´ics, n. Science of medicine. [Obs.]

Mediety
Me•di´e•ty, n. [L. medietas.] The middle part; half; moiety. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne. { Me•di•e´val, Me•di•e´val•ism, Me•di•e´val•ist }. Same as Medival, Medivalism, etc.

Mediocre
Me´di•o•cre (me"di•o•ker), a. [F. mediocre, L. mediocris, fr. medius middle. See Mid.] Of a middle quality; of but a moderate or low degree of excellence; indifferent; ordinary. " A very mediocre poet." Pope.

Mediocre
Me´di•o•cre, n.
1. A mediocre person. [R.]
2. A young monk who was excused from performing a portion of a monk’s duties. Shipley.

Mediocrist
Me´di•o•crist, n. A mediocre person. [R.]

Mediocrity
Me•di•oc´ri•ty, n. [F. mediocrite, L. mediocritas.]
1. The quality of being mediocre; a middle state or degree; a moderate degree or rate. "A mediocrity of success." Bacon.
2. Moderation; temperance. [Obs.] Hooker.

Mediostapedial
Me•di•o•sta•pe´di•al, a. [L. medius middle + E. stapedial.] (Anat.) Pertaining to that part of the columella of the ear which, in some animals, connects the stapes with the other parts of the columella. — n. The mediostapedial part of the columella.

Medioxumous
Me•di•ox´u•mous, a. [L. medioxumus middlemost.] Intermediate. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Meditance
Med´i•tance, n. Meditation. [Obs.]

Meditate
Med´i•tate, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Meditated p. pr. & vb. n. Meditating.] [L. meditatus, p. p. of meditari to meditate; cf. Gr. to learn, E. mind.] To keep the mind in a state of contemplation; to dwell on anything in thought; to think seriously; to muse; to cogitate; to reflect. Jer. Taylor.
"In his law doth he meditate day and night." Ps. i. 2.

Meditate
Med´i•tate, v. t.
1. To contemplate; to keep the mind fixed upon; to study. "Blessed is the man that doth meditate good things." Ecclus. xiv. 20.
2. To purpose; to intend; to design; to plan by revolving in the mind; as to meditate a war.
"I meditate to pass the remainder of life in a state of undisturbed repose." Washington.
Syn. — To consider; ponder; weigh; revolve; study. — To Meditate, Contemplate, Intend. We meditate a design when we are looking out or waiting for the means of its accomplishment; we contemplate it when the means are at hand, and our decision is nearly or quite made. To intend is stronger, implying that we have decided to act when an opportunity may offer. A general meditates an attack upon the enemy; he contemplates or intends undertaking it at the earliest convenient season.

Meditatist
Med´i•ta•tist, n. One who is given to meditation.

Meditative
Med´i•ta•tive, a. [L. meditativus: cf. F. meditatif.] Disposed to meditate, or to meditation; as a meditative man; a meditative mood. — Med´i•ta•tive•ly, adv. — Med´i•ta•tive•ness, n.

Mediterranean
Med•i•ter•ra´ne•an, a. [L. mediterraneus; medius middle + terra land. See Mid, and Terrace.]
1. Inclosed, or nearly inclosed, with land; as the Mediterranean Sea, between Europe and Africa.
2. Inland; remote from the ocean. [Obs.]
"Cities, as well mediterranean as maritime." Holland.
3. Of or pertaining to the Mediterranean Sea; as Mediterranean trade; a Mediterranean voyage.

Mediterraneous
Med•i•ter•ra´ne•ous, a. Inland. Sir T. Browne.

Medium
Me´di•um, n. ; pl. L. Media (#), E. Mediums (#). [L. medium the middle, fr. medius middle. See Mid, and cf. Medius.]
1. That which lies in the middle, or between other things; intervening body or quantity. Hence, specifically: (a) Middle place or degree; mean.
"The just medium … lies between pride and abjection." L’Estrange. (b) (Math.) See Mean. (c) (Logic) The mean or middle term of a syllogism; that by which the extremes are brought into connection.
2. A substance through which an effect is transmitted from one thing to another; as air is the common medium of sound. Hence: The condition upon which any event or action occurs; necessary means of motion or action; that through or by which anything is accomplished, conveyed, or carried on; specifically, in animal magnetism, spiritualism, etc., a person through whom the action of another being is said to be manifested and transmitted.
"Whether any other liquors, being made mediums, cause a diversity of sound from water, it may be tried." Bacon.
"I must bring together All these extremes; and must remove all mediums." Denham.
3. An average. [R.]
"A medium of six years of war, and six years of peace." Burke.
4. A trade name for printing and writing paper of certain sizes. See Paper.
5. (Paint.) The liquid vehicle with which dry colors are ground and prepared for application. Circulating medium, a current medium of exchange, whether coin, bank notes, or government notes. — Ethereal medium (Physics), the ether. — Medium of exchange, that which is used for effecting an exchange of commodities — money or current representatives of money.

Medium
Me´di•um, a. Having a middle position or degree; mean; intermediate; medial; as a horse of medium size; a decoction of medium strength.

Medium-sized
Me´di•um-sized, a. Having a medium size; as a medium-sized man.

Medius
Me´di•us, n. ; pl. Medii (#). [NL., fr. L. medius middle. See Medium.] (Anat.) The third or middle finger; the third digit, or that which corresponds to it.

Medly
Med´ly, v. t. See Medle. Johnson.

Medulla
Me•dul´la, n. [L.]
1. Marrow; pith; hence, essence. [Obs.] Milton.
2. (Anat.) The marrow of bones; the deep or inner portion of an organ or part; as the medulla, or medullary substance, of the kidney; specifically, the medula oblongata.
3. (Bot.) A soft tissue, occupying the center of the stem or branch of a plant; pith. Medulla oblongata. [L., oblong medulla] (Anat.), the posterior part of the brain connected with the spinal cord. It includes all the hindbrain except the cerebellum and pons, and from it a large part of the cranial nerves arise. It controls very largely respiration, circulation, swallowing, and other functions, and is the most vital part of the brain; — called also bulb of the spinal cord. See Brain.

Medullated
Me•dul´la•ted, a. (Anat.) Furnished with a medulla or marrow, or with a medullary sheath; as a medullated nerve fiber.

Medullin
Me•dul´lin, n. [Cf. F. medulline.] (Bot. Chem.) A variety of lignin or cellulose found in the medulla, or pith, of certain plants. Cf. Lignin, and Cellulose.

Medusiform
Me•du´si•form, a. [ Medusa + -form.] (Zoöl.) Resembling a medusa in shape or structure.

Medusoid
Me•du´soid, a. [ Medusa + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Like a medusa; having the fundamental structure of a medusa, but without a locomotive disk; — said of the sessile gonophores of hydroids. — n. A sessile gonophore. See Illust. under Gonosome.

Meedful
Meed´ful, a. Worthy of meed, reward, or recompense; meritorious. "Meedful works." Wiclif.

Meedfully
Meed´ful•ly, adv. According to merit; suitably.

Meek (mek), a. [ Compar. Meeker (-er); superl. Meekest.] [OE. mek, meoc; akin to Icel. mjkr mild, soft, Sw. mjuk, Dan. myg, D. muik, Goth. mukamodei gentleness.]
1. Mild of temper; not easily provoked or orritated; patient under injuries; not vain, or haughty, or resentful; forbearing; submissive.
"Now the man Moses was very meek." Num. xii. 3.
2. Evincing mildness of temper, or patience; characterized by mildness or patience; as a meek answer; a meek face. "Her meek prayer." Chaucer.
Syn. — Gentle; mild; soft; yielding; pacific; unassuming; humble. See Gentle. { Meek, Meek´en (-’n) }, v. t. To make meek; to nurture in gentleness and humility. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Meekness
Meek´ness, n. The quality or state of being meek.

Meer (mer), a. Simple; unmixed. See Mere, a. [Obs.]

Meer, n. See Mere, a lake.

Meer, n. A boundary. See Mere.

Meerschaum
Meer´schaum (mer"sham; 277), n. [G., lit., sea foam; meer sea + schaum foam; but it perh. is a corruption of the Tartaric name myrsen. Cf. Mere a lake, and Scum.]
1. (Min.) A fine white claylike mineral, soft, and light enough when in dry masses to float in water. It is a hydrous silicate of magnesia, and is obtained chiefly in Asia Minor. It is manufacturd into tobacco pipes, cigar holders, etc. Also called sepiolite.
2. A tobacco pipe made of this mineral.

Meeten
Meet´en (met"’n), v. t. To render fit. [R.]

Meeter
Meet´er (met"er), n. One who meets.

Meeth (meth), n. Mead. See Meathe. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Meetinghouse
Meet´ing•house, n. A house used as a place of worship; a church; — in England, applied only to a house so used by Dissenters.

Meetly
Meet´ly, adv. Fitly; suitably; properly.

Meetness
Meet´ness, n. Fitness; suitableness; propriety. { Meg- (meg-), Meg´a (meg"a- ), Meg´a•lo- (-lo-) }. [Gr. me•gas, gen. mega•loy, great.] Combining forms signifying: (a) Great, extended, powerful; as megascope, megacosm. (b) (Metric System, Elec., Mech., etc.) A million times, a million of; as megameter, a million meters; megafarad, a million farads; megohm, a million ohms. { Meg•a•ce•phal´ic (meg•a•se•fal"ik), Meg•a•ceph´a•lous (-sef"a•lus) }, a. [ Mega- + Gr. kefalh• head.] (Biol.) Large headed; — applied to animals, and to plants when they have large flower heads.

Megaceros
Me•gac´e•ros (me•gas"e•ros), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me•gas great + ke•ras horn.] (Paleon.) The Irish elk.

Megachile
Meg´a•chile, n. [ Mega- + Gr. lip.] (Zoöl.) A leaf-cutting bee of the genus Megachilus. See Leaf cutter, under Leaf.

Megaderm
Meg´a•derm, n. [ Mega- + Gr. skin.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of Old World blood-sucking bats of the genus Megaderma.

Megadyne
Meg´a•dyne, n. [ Mega- + dyne.] (Physics) One of the larger measures of force, amounting to one million dynes.

Megafarad
Meg´a•far•ad, n. [ Mega- + farad.] (Elec.) One of the larger measures of electrical capacity, amounting to one million farads; a macrofarad.

Megalerg
Meg´a•lerg, n. [ Megalo- + erg.] (Physics) A million ergs; a megerg.

Megalesian
Meg•a•le´sian, a. [L. Megalesius, fr. Gr. Mega•lh the Great, a surname of Cybele, the Magna Mater.] Pertaining to, or in honor of, Cybele; as the Megalesian games at Rome.

Megalethoscope
Meg•a•leth´o•scope, n. [ Mega- + alethoscope.] An optical apparatus in which pictures are viewed through a large lens with stereoptical effects. It is often combined with the stereoscope.

Megalith
Meg´a•lith, n. [ Mega- + - lith; cf. F. megalithe.] A large stone; especially, a large stone used in ancient building. — Meg•a•lith´ic (#), a.

Megalo-
Meg´a•lo- See Meg-.

Megalomania
Meg•a•lo•ma´ni•a, n. [NL., fr. megalo- + mania.] (Pathol.) A form of mental alienation in which the patient has grandiose delusions.

Megalonyx
Meg•a•lon´yx, n. [NL., from Gr. me•gas, mega•lh, great + ’o•nyx claw.] (Paleon.) An extinct quaternary mammal, of great size, allied to the sloth.

Megalophonous
Meg•a•loph´o•nous (meg•a•lof"o•nus), a. [ Megalo- + Gr. fwnh• voice.] Having a loud voice.

Megalopolis
Meg•a•lop´o•lis (-lop"o•lis), n. [NL., fr. Gr. megalo•polis; me•gas, mega•lh, great + po•lis city.] A chief city; a metropolis. [R.]

Megalops
Meg´a•lops (meg"a•lops), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me•gas, - a•loy, large + ’w•ps eye.] (Zoöl.)
1. A larva, in a stage following the zoëa, in the development of most crabs. In this stage the legs and abdominal appendages have appeared, the abdomen is relatively long, and the eyes are large. Also used adjectively.
2. A large fish; the tarpum.

Megalopsychy
Meg•a•lop´sy•chy, n. [ Megalo- + Gr. soul, mind.] Greatness of soul. [Obs. & R.] { Meg´a•lo•saur•, Meg•a•lo•sau´rus } n. [NL. megalosaurus, fr. Gr. me•gas, mega•lh, great + say^ros lizard: cf. F. megalosaure.] (Paleon.) A gigantic carnivorous dinosaur, whose fossil remains have been found in England and elsewhere.

Megameter
Me•gam´e•ter, n. [ Mega- + -meter: cf. F. megamètre.] (Physics)
1. An instrument for determining longitude by observation of the stars.
2. A micrometer. [R.] Knight. { Meg´a•me•ter, Meg´a•me•tre }, n. [ Mega- + meter, metre, n., 2.] In the metric system, one million meters, or one thousand kilometers.

Megampère
Meg•am•père", n. [ Mega- + ampère.] (Elec.) A million ampères.

Megaphone
Meg´a•phone, n. [ Mega- + Gr. fwnh• voice.] A device to magnify sound, or direct it in a given direction in a greater volume, such as a very large funnel used as an ear trumpet or as a speaking trumpet.

Megaphyton
Me•gaph´y•ton, n. [NL., from Gr. me•gas great + fyto•n plant.] (Paleon.) An extinct genus of tree ferns with large, two-ranked leaves, or fronds.

Megapode
Meg´a•pode, n. [ Mega- + Gr. poy•s, podo•s, foot.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of large-footed, gallinaceous birds of the genera Megapodius and Leipoa, inhabiting Australia and other Pacific islands. See Jungle fowl (b) under Jungle, and Leipoa.

Megascope
Meg´a•scope, n. [ Mega- + -scope: cf. F. megascope.] A modification of the magic lantern, used esp. for throwing a magnified image of an opaque object on a screen, solar or artificial light being used. [archaic]

Megaseme
Meg´a•seme, a. [ Mega- + Gr. sing, mark: cf. F. megasème.] (Anat.) Having the orbital index relatively large; having the orbits narrow transversely; — opposed to microseme. { Me´gass´, Me•gasse´ }, n. See Bagasse.

Megasthenic
Meg•as•then´ic, a. (Zoöl.) Having a typically large size; belonging to the megasthenes.

Megastome
Meg´a•stome, n. [Gr. me•gas great + sto•ma mouth.] (Zoöl.) One of a group of univalve shells, having a large aperture or mouth. { Meg´a•there, Meg•a•the´ri•um } n. [NL. megatherium, fr. Gr. me•gas great + thyri•on beast.] (Paleon.) An extinct gigantic quaternary mammal, allied to the ant-eaters and sloths. Its remains are found in South America.

Megatheroid
Meg•a•the´roid, n. [ Megatherium + -oid.] (Paleon.) One of a family of extinct edentates found in America. The family includes the megatherium, the megalonyx, etc.

Megavolt
Meg•a•volt´, n. [ Mega- + volt.] (Elec.) One of the larger measures of electro-motive force, amounting to one million volts.

Megaweber
Meg•a•we´ber, n. [ Mega- + weber.] (Elec.) A million webers.

Megerg
Meg´erg, n. [ Mega- + erg.] (Physics) One of the larger measures of work, amounting to one million ergs; — called also megalerg. { Me•gilp´, Me•gilph´ }, n. (Paint.) A gelatinous compound of linseed oil and mastic varnish, used by artists as a vehicle for colors. [Written also magilp, and magilph.]

Megohm
Meg´ohm´, n. [ Mega- + ohm.] (Elec.) One of the larger measures of electrical resistance, amounting to one million ohms.

Megrim
Me´grim, n. [OE. migrim, migrene, F. migraine, LL. hemigrania, L. hemicrania, hemicranium, Gr. "hmikrani•a; "hmi- half + krani•on skull. See Hemi- and Cranium, and cf. Hemicrania, Migraine.]
1. A kind of sick or nervous headache, usually periodical and confined to one side of the head.
2. A fancy; a whim; a freak; a humor; esp., in the plural, lowness of spirits.
"These are his megrims, firks, and melancholies." Ford.
3. pl. (Far.) A sudden vertigo in a horse, succeeded sometimes by unconsciousness, produced by an excess of blood in the brain; a mild form of apoplexy. Youatt.

Megrim
Me´grim, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoöl.) The British smooth sole, or scaldfish ( Psetta arnoglossa).

Meibomian
Mei•bo´mi•an, a. (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or discovered by, Meibomius. Meibomian glands, the slender sebaceous glands of the eyelids, which discharge, through minute orifices in the edges of the lids, a fatty secretion serving to lubricate the adjacent parts.

Meine, v. t. See Menge. { Mein´e, Mein´y,, } n. [OF. maisniee, maisnie. See Menial.]
1. A family, including servants, etc.; household; retinue; train. [Obs.] Chaucer. Shak.
2. Company; band; army. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Meiosis
Mei•o´sis (mi•o"sis), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mei•wsis, fr. meioy^n to make smaller, from mei•wn. See Meionite.] (Rhet.) Diminution; a species of hyperbole, representing a thing as being less than it really is.

Meistersinger
Meis´ter•sing•er, n. [G.] See Mastersinger.

Melain
Mel´ain, n. [See Melaena.] The dark coloring matter of the liquid of the cuttlefish.

Melamine
Me•lam´ine, n. (Chem.) A strong nitrogenous base, C₃H₆N₆, produced from several cyanogen compounds, and obtained as a white crystalline substance, — formerly supposed to be produced by the decomposition of melam. Called also cyanuramide.

Melampode
Mel´am•pode, n. [Gr. melampo•dion; of uncertain origin.] The black hellebore. [Obs.] Spenser. { Mel•am•py´rin, Mel•am•py´rite } n. [NL. Melampyrum cowwheat; Gr. me•las black + pyro•s wheat.] (Chem.) The saccharine substance dulcite; — so called because found in the leaves of cowwheat ( Melampyrum). See Dulcite.

Melanagogue
Me•lan´a•gogue, n. [Gr. me•las, -anos, black + leading, driving, to lead.] (Med.) A medicine supposed to expel black bile or choler. [Obs.]

Melancholia
Mel•an•cho´li•a, n. [L. See Melancholy.] (Med.) A kind of mental unsoundness characterized by extreme depression of spirits, ill-grounded fears, delusions, and brooding over one particular subject or train of ideas.

Melancholic
Mel´an•chol•ic, a. [L. melancholicus, Gr. : cf. F. melancholique.] Given to melancholy; depressed; melancholy; dejected; unhappy.
"Just as the melancholic eye Sees fleets and armies in the sky." Prior.

Melancholic
Mel´an•chol•ic, n. [Obs.]
1. One affected with a gloomy state of mind. J. Spenser.
2. A gloomy state of mind; melancholy. Clarendon.

Melancholily
Mel´an•chol•i•ly, adv. In a melancholy manner.

Melancholiness
Mel´an•chol•i•ness, n. The state or quality of being melancholy. Hallywell.

Melancholious
Mel•an•cho´li•ous, a. [Cf. OF. melancholieux.] Melancholy. [R.] Milton.

Melancholist
Mel´an•chol•ist, n. One affected with melancholy or dejection. [Obs.] Glanvill.

Melancholize
Mel´an•cho•lize, v. i. To become gloomy or dejected in mind. Barrow.

Melancholize
Mel´an•cho•lize, v. t. To make melancholy.

Melancholy
Mel´an•chol•y, n. [OE. melancolie, F. melancolie, L. melancholia, fr. Gr. ; me•las, -anos, black + gall, bile. See Malice, and 1st Gall.]
1. Depression of spirits; a gloomy state continuing a considerable time; deep dejection; gloominess. Shak.
2. Great and continued depression of spirits, amounting to mental unsoundness; melancholia.
3. Pensive maditation; serious thoughtfulness. [Obs.] "Hail, divinest Melancholy !" Milton.
4. Ill nature. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Melancholy
Mel´an•chol•y, a.
1. Depressed in spirits; dejected; gloomy dismal. Shak.
2. Producing great evil and grief; causing dejection; calamitous; afflictive; as a melancholy event.
3. Somewhat deranged in mind; having the jugment impaired. [Obs.] Bp. Reynolds.
4. Favorable to meditation; somber.
"A pretty, melancholy seat, well wooded and watered." Evelin.
Syn. — Gloomy; sad; dispirited; low-spirited; downhearted; unhappy; hypochondriac; disconsolate; heavy, doleful; dismal; calamitous; afflictive.

Melanconiaceae
Mel•an•co•ni•a´ce•ae, n. pl. [NL.] (Bot.) A family of fungi constituting the order Melanconiales. — Mel•an•co•ni•a´ceous (#), a.

Melanconiales
Mel•an•co•ni•a´les, n. pl. [NL., fr. Melanconium, name of the typical genus, fr. Gr. black + dust, in allusion to the dark spores.] (Bot.) The smallest of the three orders of Fungi Imperfecti, including those with no asci nor pycnidia, but as a rule having the spores in cavities without special walls. They cause many of the plant diseases known as anthracnose.

Melanesian
Mel•a•ne´sian, a. [Gr. me•las, -anos, black + island. Melanesia was so called from the dark complexion of the natives.] Of or pertaining to Melanesia.

Melange
Me•lange´, n. [F. See Mell, Meddle.] A mixture; a medley.

Melanic
Me•lan´ic, a. [Gr. me•las, -anos, black.]
1. Melanotic.
2. (Ethnol.) Of or pertaining to the black-haired races. Prichard.

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

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

Melanism
Mel´a•nism (mel"a•niz’m), n. [Gr. me•las, -anos, black.]
1. An undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages; — the opposite of albinism.
2. (Med.) A disease; black jaundice. See Melaena.

Melanism
Mel´a•nism, n. (Ethnol.) The character of having a high degree of pigmentation, as shown in dark skin, eyes, and hair.

Melanistic
Mel•a•nis´tic, a. Affected with melanism; of the nature of melanism.

Melanite
Mel´a•nite, n. [Gr. me•las, -anos, black: cf. F. melanite.] (Min.) A black variety of garnet.

Melanochroi
Mel•a•noch´ro•i, n. pl. [NL. See Melanochroic.] (Ethnol.) A group of the human race, including the dark whites.

Melanochroite
Mel•a•no•chro´ite, n. [See Melanochroic.] (Min.) A mineral of a red, or brownish or yellowish red color. It is a chromate of lead; — called also phœnicocroite.

Melanoma
Mel•a•no´ma, n. ; L. pl. - nomata(#). [NL.; Gr.,, black + -oma.] (Med.) (a) A tumor containing dark pigment. (b) Development of dark-pigmented tumors.

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

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

Melanosis
Mel•a•no´sis, [NL., fr. Gr. a growing black, fr. me•las, -anos, black.] (Med.) The morbid deposition of black matter, often of a malignant character, causing pigmented tumors.

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

Melanotic
Mel•a•not´ic, a. Melanistic.

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

Melanterite
Me•lan´ter•ite, n. (Min.) A hydrous sulphate of iron of a green color and vitreous luster; iron vitriol.

Melanure
Mel´a•nure, n. [NL. melanurus, fr. Gr. me•las, -anos, black + o’ura• tail.] (Zoöl.) A small fish of the Mediterranean; a gilthead. See Gilthead (a).

Melaphyre
Mel´a•phyre, n. [F., fr. Gr. me•las, -anos, black + por phyre porphyry.] (Min.) Any one of several dark-colored augitic, eruptive rocks allied to basalt.

Melasma
Me•las´ma, n. [NL., fr. Gr. black spot.] (Med.) A dark discoloration of the skin, usually local; as Addison’s melasma, or Addison’s disease. — Me•las´mic (#), a.

Melasses
Me•las´ses, n. See Molasses.

Melastomaceous
Mel•a•sto•ma´ceous, a. (Bot.) Belonging to the order of which Melastoma is the type.

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

Meld, v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Melded; p. pr. & vb. n. Melding.] [G. melden to announce.] (Card Playing) In the game of pinochle, to declare or announce for a score; as to meld a sequence.

Meld, n. (Card Playing) Any combination or score which may be declared, or melded, in pinochle.

Meleagrine
Mel•e•a´grine, a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the genus Meleagris.

Meleagris
Mel•e•a´gris, n. [L., the Guinea fowl.] (Zoöl.) A genus of American gallinaceous birds, including the common and the wild turkeys.

Melena
Me•le´na, n. (Med.) See Melaena.

Melenite
Mel´e•nite, n. [Gr. me•li honey.] An explosive of great destructive power; — so called from its color, which resembles honey.

Meletin
Mel´e•tin, n. (Chem.) See Quercitin.

Meliaceous
Me•li•a´ceous, a. (Bot.) Pertaining to a natural order ( Meliacae) of plants of which the genus Melia is the type. It includes the mahogany and the Spanish cedar. { Mel•i•be´an, Mel•i•b´an }, a. [From L. Meliboeus, one of the interlocutors in Virgil’s first Eclogue.] (Rhet.) Alternately responsive, as verses.

Melic
Mel´ic, [Gr., fr. song.] Of or pertaining to song; lyric; tuneful.

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

Melicerous
Me•lic´er•ous, a. [L. meliceris a kind of tumor, fr. Gr. ; me•li honey + wax.] (Med.) Consisting of or containing matter like honey; — said of certain encysted tumors.

Melicotoon
Mel•i•co•toon´, n. (Bot.) See Melocoton.

Melilite
Mel´i•lite (mel"i•lit), n. [Gr. me•li honey + -lite; cf. F. melilithe.] (Min.) A mineral occurring in small yellow crystals, found in the lavas ( melilite basalt) of Vesuvius, and elsewhere. [Written also mellilite.]

Melilot
Mel´i•lot (-lot), n. [F. melilot, L. melilotus, fr. Gr.,, a kind of clover containing honey; me•li honey + lotus.] (Bot.) Any species of Melilotus, a genus of leguminous herbs having a vanillalike odor; sweet clover; hart’s clover. The blue melilot ( Melilotus caerulea) is used in Switzerland to give color and flavor to sapsago cheese.

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

Melinite
Me´lin•ite, n. [F.] (Chem.) A high explosive similar to lyddite, consisting principally of picric acid, used in the French military service.

Meliorate
Mel´io•rate (mel"yo•rat), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Meliorated (- ra•ted); p. pr. & vb. n. Meliorating.] [L. melioratus, p. p. of meliorare to meliorate, fr. melior better; akin to Gr. ma^llon rather, ma•la very. Cf. Ameliorate.] To make better; to improve; to ameliorate; to soften; to make more tolerable.
"Nature by art we nobly meliorate." Denham.
"The pure and benign light of revelation has had a meliorating influence on mankind." Washington.

Meliorate
Mel´io•rate, v. i. To grow better.

Meliorater
Mel´io•ra•ter, n. Same as Meliorator.

Meliorator
Mel´io•ra•tor, n. One who meliorates.

Meliorism
Mel´io•rism, n. [From L. melior better.] The doctrine that there is a tendency throughout nature toward improvement. J. Sully.

Meliority
Mel•ior´i•ty, n. [LL. melioritas, fr. L. melior. See Meliorate.] The state or quality of being better; melioration. [Obs.] Bacon.

Meliphagous
Me•liph´a•gous, a. [See Meliphagan.] (Zool.) Eating, or feeding upon, honey.

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

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

Melissyl
Me•lis´syl, n. [ Melissic + yl.] (Chem.) See Myricyl.

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

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

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

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

Mellic
Mel´lic, a. (Chem.) See Mellitic. [R.]

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

Mellifluent
Mel•lif´lu•ent, a. [L. mellifluens. See Mellifluous.] Flowing as with honey; smooth; mellifluous.

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

Melligo
Mel•li´go, n. [L.] Honeydew.

Melliloquent
Mel•lil´o•quent, a. [L. mel, mellis honey + loquens speaking, p. pr. of loqui to speak.] Speaking sweetly or harmoniously.

Melliphagan
Mel•liph´a•gan, n. See Meliphagan.

Mellitic
Mel•lit´ic, a. [Cf. F. mellitique. See Mellite.] (Chem.) (a) Containing saccharine matter; marked by saccharine secretions; as mellitic diabetes. (b) Pertaining to, or derived from, the mineral mellite. Mellitic acid (Chem.), a white, crystalline, organic substance, C₆(CO₂H)₆, occurring naturally in combination with aluminium in the mineral mellite, and produced artificially by the oxidation of coal, graphite, etc., and hence called also graphitic acid.

Mellonide
Mel´lon•ide, n. See Mellone.

Mellowly
Mel´low•ly, adv. In a mellow manner.

Mellowness
Mel´low•ness, n. Quality or state of being mellow.

Mellowy
Mel´low•y, a. Soft; unctuous. Drayton.

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

Melne
Mel´ne, n. A mill. [Obs.] Chaucer. { Mel•o•co•ton´, Mel•o•co•toon´ }, n. [Sp. melocoton a kind of peach tree and its fruit, L. malum cotonium, or cotonea, or Cydonia, a quince, or quince tree, lit., apple of Cydonia, Gr. . See Quince.] (Bot.) (a) A quince. (b) A kind of peach having one side deep red, and the flesh yellow. [Written also malacatoon, malacotune.]

Melodics
Me•lod´ics, n. The department of musical science which treats of the pitch of tones, and of the laws of melody.

Melodiograph
Me•lo´di•o•graph, n. [ Melody + -graph.] A contrivance for preserving a record of music, by recording the action of the keys of a musical instrument when played upon.

Melodious
Me•lo´di•ous, a. [Cf. F. melodieux. See Melody.] Containing, or producing, melody; musical; agreeable to the ear by a sweet succession of sounds; as a melodious voice. "A melodious voice." "A melodious undertone." Longfellow. — Me•lo´di•ous•ly, adv. — Me•lo´di•ous•ness, n.

Melodize
Mel´o•dize, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Melodized p. pr. & vb. n. Melodizing ] To make melodious; to form into, or set to, melody.

Melodize
Mel´o•dize, v. i. To make melody; to compose melodies; to harmonize.

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

Melodramatic
Mel•o•dra•mat´ic, a. [Cf. F. melodramatique.] Of or pertaining to melodrama; like or suitable to a melodrama; unnatural in situation or action. — Mel•o•dra•mat´ic•al•ly (#), adv.

Melodramatist
Mel•o•dram´a•tist, n. One who acts in, or writes, melodramas.

Melodrame
Mel´o•drame, n. [F.] Melodrama.

Melody
Mel´o•dy, n. ; pl. Melodies (#). [OE. melodie, F. melodie, L. melodia, fr. Gr. a singing, choral song, fr. musical, melodious; me•los song, tune + song. See Ode.]
1. A sweet or agreeable succession of sounds.
"Lulled with sound of sweetest melody." Shak.
2. (Mus.) A rhythmical succession of single tones, ranging for the most part within a given key, and so related together as to form a musical whole, having the unity of what is technically called a musical thought, at once pleasing to the ear and characteristic in expression. Melody consists in a succession of single tones; harmony is a consonance or agreement of tones, also a succession of consonant musical combinations or chords.
3. The air or tune of a musical piece.
Syn. — See Harmony.

Meloplastic
Mel•o•plas´tic, a. Of or pertaining to meloplasty, or the artificial formation of a new cheek.

Meloplasty
Mel´o•plas•ty (mel"o•plas•ty), n. [Gr. mh^lon an apple, a cheek + - plasty: cf. F. meloplastie.] (Surg.) The process of restoring a cheek which has been destroyed wholly or in part.

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

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

Melpomene
Mel•pom´e•ne, n. [L., fr. Gr., lit., the songstress, fr.,, to sing.]
1. (Class. Myth.) The Muse of tragedy.
2. (Astron.) The eighteenth asteroid.

Melrose
Mel´rose, n. Honey of roses.

Melt (melt), n. (Zoöl.) See 2d Milt.

Melt, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Melted (obs.) p. p. Molten p. pr. & vb. n. Melting.] [AS. meltan; akin to Gr. me•ldein, E. malt, and prob. to E. smelt, v. rad.108. Cf. Smelt, v. , Malt, Milt the spleen.]
1. To reduce from a solid to a liquid state, as by heat; to liquefy; as to melt wax, tallow, or lead; to melt ice or snow.
2. Hence: To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.
"Thou would’st have … melted down thy youth." Shak.
"For pity melts the mind to love." Dryden.
Syn. — To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften.

Melt, v. i.
1. To be changed from a solid to a liquid state under the influence of heat; as butter and wax melt at moderate temperatures.
2. To dissolve; as sugar melts in the mouth.
3. Hence: To be softened; to become tender, mild, or gentle; also to be weakened or subdued, as by fear.
"My soul melteth for heaviness." Ps. cxix. 28.
"Melting with tenderness and kind compassion." Shak.
4. To lose distinct form or outline; to blend.
"The soft, green, rounded hills, with their flowing outlines, overlapping and melting into each other." J. C. Shairp.
5. To disappear by being dispersed or dissipated; as the fog melts away. Shak.

Meltable
Melt´a•ble, a. Capable of being melted.

Melter
Melt´er (-er), n. One who, or that which, melts.

Melting
Melt´ing, n. Liquefaction; the act of causing (something) to melt, or the process of becoming melted. Melting point (Chem.), the degree of temperature at which a solid substance melts or fuses; as the melting point of ice is 0° Centigrade or 32° Fahr., that of urea is 132° Centigrade. — Melting pot, a vessel in which anything is melted; a crucible.

Melting
Melt´ing a. Causing to melt; becoming melted; — used literally or figuratively; as a melting heat; a melting appeal; a melting mood. — Melt´ing•ly, adv.

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

Melungeon
Me•lun´geon, n. [Cf. F. melanger to mix, melange a mixture.] One of a mixed white and Indian people living in parts of Tennessee and the Carolinas. They are descendants of early intermixtures of white settlers with natives. In North Carolina the Croatan Indians, regarded as descended from Raleigh’s lost colony of Croatan, formerly classed with negroes, are now legally recognized as distinct.

Member
Mem´ber, v. t. [See Remember.] To remember; to cause to remember; to mention. [Obs.]

Member
Mem´ber, n. [OE. membre, F. membre, fr. L. membrum; cf. Goth. mimz flesh, Skr. mamsa.]
1. (Anat.) A part of an animal capable of performing a distinct office; an organ; a limb.
"We have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office." Rom. xii. 4.
2. Hence, a part of a whole; an independent constituent of a body; as: (a) A part of a discourse or of a period or sentence; a clause; a part of a verse. (b) (Math.) Either of the two parts of an algebraic equation, connected by the sign of equality. (c) (Engin.) Any essential part, as a post, tie rod, strut, etc., of a framed structure, as a bridge truss. (d) (Arch.) Any part of a building, whether constructional, as a pier, column, lintel, or the like, or decorative, as a molding, or group of moldings. (e) One of the persons composing a society, community, or the like; an individual forming part of an association; as a member of the society of Friends. Compression member, Tension member (Engin.), a member, as a rod, brace, etc., which is subjected to compression or tension, respectively.

Membered
Mem´bered, a.
1. Having limbs; — chiefly used in composition.
2. (Her.) Having legs of a different tincture from that of the body; — said of a bird in heraldic representations.

Membership
Mem´ber•ship, n.
1. The state of being a member.
2. The collective body of members, as of a society.

Membral
Mem´bral, a. (Anat.) Relating to a member.

Membranaceous
Mem•bra•na´ceous, a. [L. membranaceus.]
1. Same as Membranous. Arbuthnot.
2. (Bot.) Thin and rather soft or pliable, as the leaves of the rose, peach tree, and aspen poplar.

Membraniform
Mem•bra´ni•form, a. [ Membrane + -form: cf. F. membraniforme.] Having the form of a membrane or of parchment.

Membranology
Mem•bra•nol´o•gy, n. [ Membrane + -logy.] The science which treats of membranes.

Membranous
Mem´bra•nous, a. [Cf. F. membraneux.]
1. Pertaining to, consisting of, or resembling, membrane; as a membranous covering or lining.
2. (Bot.) Membranaceous. Membranous croup (Med.), true croup. See Croup.

Meminna
Me•min´na, n. (Zoöl.) A small deerlet, or chevrotain, of India.

Memnon
Mem´non, n. [L., from Gr., lit., the Steadfast, Resolute, the son of Tithonus and Aurora, and king of the Ethiopians, killed by Achilles.] (Antiq.) A celebrated Egyptian statue near Thebes, said to have the property of emitting a harplike sound at sunrise. { Mem´oir, or pl. Mem´oirs }, n. [F. memoire, m., memorandum, fr. memoire, f., memory, L. memoria. See Memory.]
1. A memorial account; a history composed from personal experience and memory; an account of transactions or events (usually written in familiar style) as they are remembered by the writer. See History, 2.
2. A memorial of any individual; a biography; often, a biography written without special regard to method and completeness.
3. An account of something deemed noteworthy; an essay; a record of investigations of any subject; the journals and proceedings of a society.

Memorabilia
Mem•o•ra•bil´i•a, n. pl. [L., fr. memorabilis memorable. See Memorable.] Things remarkable and worthy of remembrance or record; also the record of them.

Memorable
Mem´o•ra•ble, a. [L. memorabilis, fr. memorare to bring to remembrance, fr. memor mindful, remembering. See Memory, and cf. Memorabilia.] Worthy to be remembered; very important or remarkable. — Mem´o•ra•ble•ness, n. — Mem´o•ra•bly, adv.
"Surviving fame to gain, Buy tombs, by books, by memorable deeds." Sir J. Davies.

Memoria
Me•mo´ri•a, n. [L.] Memory. Memoria technica, technical memory; a contrivance for aiding the memory.

Memorial
Me•mo´ri•al, a. [F. memorial, L. memorialis, fr. memoria. See Memory.]
1. Serving to preserve remembrance; commemorative; as a memorial building.
"There high in air, memorial of my name, Fix the smooth oar, and bid me live to fame." Pope.
2. Contained in memory; as a memorial possession.
3. Mnemonic; assisting the memory.
"This succession of Aspirate, Soft, and Hard, may be expressed by the memorial word ASH." Skeat. Memorial Day. Same as Decoration Day. [U.S.]

Memorial
Me•mo´ri•al, n. [Cf. F. memorial.]
1. Anything intended to preserve the memory of a person or event; something which serves to keep something else in remembrance; a monument. Macaulay.
"Churches have names; some as memorials of peace, some of wisdom, some in memory of the Trinity itself." Hooker.
2. A memorandum; a record. [Obs. or R.] Hayward.
3. A written representation of facts, addressed to the government, or to some branch of it, or to a society, etc., — often accompanied with a petition.
4. Memory; remembrance. [Obs.]
"Precious is the memorial of the just." Evelyn.
5. (Diplomacy) A species of informal state paper, much used in negotiation.

Memorial Day
Me•mo"ri•al Day. A day, May 30, appointed for commemorating, by decorating their graves with flowers, by patriotic exercises, etc., the dead soldiers and sailors who served the Civil War (1861-65) in the United States; Decoration Day. It is a legal holiday in most of the States. In the Southern States, the Confederate Memorial Day is: May 30 in Virginia; April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in North Carolina and South Carolina; the second Friday in May in Tennessee; June 3 in Louisiana. [U. S.]

Memorial rose. A Japanese evergreen rose ( Rosa wichuraiana) with creeping branches, shining leaves, and single white flowers. It is often planted in cemeteries.

Memorialist
Me•mo´ri•al•ist, n. [Cf. F. memorialiste.] One who writes or signs a memorial.

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

Memorist
Mem´o•rist, n. [See Memorize.] One who, or that which, causes to be remembered. [Obs.]

Mem-sahib
Mem´-sa•hib, n. [Hind. mem- sahib; mem (fr. E. ma’am) + Ar. çahib master. See Sahib.] Lady; mistress; — used by Hindustani-speaking natives in India in addressing European women.

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

Menace
Men´ace (men"as; 48), n. [F., fr. L. minaciae threats, menaces, fr. minax, - acis, projecting, threatening, minae projecting points or pinnacles, threats. Cf. Amenable, Demean, Imminent, Minatory.] The show of an intention to inflict evil; a threat or threatening; indication of a probable evil or catastrophe to come.
"His (the pope’s) commands, his rebukes, his menaces." Milman.
"The dark menace of the distant war." Dryden.

Menace
Men´ace (men"as; 48), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Menaced (ast); p. pr. & vb. n. Menacing ] [OF. menacier, F. menacer. See Menace, n. ]
1. To express or show an intention to inflict, or to hold out a prospect of inflicting, evil or injury upon; to threaten; — usually followed by with before the harm threatened; as to menace a country with war.
"My master … did menace me with death." Shak.
2. To threaten, as an evil to be inflicted.
"By oath he menaced Revenge upon the cardinal." Shak.

Menace
Men´ace, v. i. To act in threatening manner; to wear a threatening aspect.
"Who ever knew the heavens menace so?" Shak.

Menacer
Men´a•cer, n. One who menaces.

Menacingly
Men´a•cing•ly, adv. In a threatening manner.

Menage
Me•nage´, n. See Manage.

Menage
Me•nage´, n. [See Menagerie.] A collection of animals; a menagerie. [Obs.] Addison.

Menaion
Me•na´ion, n. ; pl. Menaia (-yå). [NL., from Gr. monthly.] (Eccl.) A work of twelve volumes, each containing the offices in the Greek Church for a month; also each volume of the same. Shipley. { Men´ald, Men´ild } a. Covered with spots; speckled; variegated. [Obs.]

Mend, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mended; p. pr. & vb. n. Mending.] [Abbrev. fr. amend. See Amend.]
1. To repair, as anything that is torn, broken, defaced, decayed, or the like; to restore from partial decay, injury, or defacement; to patch up; to put in shape or order again; to re-create; as to mend a garment or a machine.
2. To alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken; as to mend one’s manners or pace.
"The best service they could do the state was to mend the lives of the persons who composed it." Sir W. Temple.
3. To help, to advance, to further; to add to.
"Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit." Mortimer.
"You mend the jewel by the wearing it." Shak.
Syn. — To improve; help; better; emend; amend; correct; rectify; reform.

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

Mendable
Mend´a•ble, a. Capable of being mended.

Mendacious
Men•da´cious, a. [L. mendax, -acis, lying, cf. mentiri to lie.]
1. Given to deception or falsehood; lying; as a mendacious person.
2. False; counterfeit; containing falsehood; as a mendacious statement. — Men•da´cious•ly, adv. — Men•da´cious•ness, n.

Mendacity
Men•dac´i•ty, n. ; pl. Mendacities (#). [L. mendacitas.]
1. The quality or state of being mendacious; a habit of lying. Macaulay.
2. A falsehood; a lie. Sir T. Browne.
Syn. — Lying; deceit; untruth; falsehood.

Mendel’s law
Men"del’s law A principle governing the inheritance of many characters in animals and plants, discovered by Gregor J. Mendel (Austrian Augustinian abbot, 1822-84) in breeding experiments with peas. He showed that the height, color, and other characters depend on the presence of determinating factors behaving as units. In any given germ cell each of these is either present or absent. The following example (using letters as symbols of the determining factors and hence also of the individuals possessing them) shows the operation of the law: Tallness being due to a factor T, a tall plant, arising by the union in fertilization of two germ cells both bearing this factor, is TT; a dwarf, being without T, is tt. Crossing these, crossbreeds, Tt, result (called generation F1). In the formation of the germ cells of these crossbreeds a process of segregation occurs such that germ cells, whether male or female, are produced of two kinds, T and t, in equal numbers. The T cells bear the factor "tallness," the t cells are devoid of it. The offspring, generation F2, which arise from the chance union of these germ cells in pairs, according to the law of probability, are therefore on an average in the following proportions: 1 TT : 2 Tt : 1 tt; and thus plants pure in tallness ( TT) and dwarfness ( tt), as well as crossbreeds ( Tt), are formed by the interbreeding of crossbreeds. Frequently, as in this example, owning to what is called the dominance of a factor, the operation of Mendel’s law may be complicated by the fact that when a dominant factor (as T) occurs with its allelomorph (as t), called recessive, in the crossbreed Tt, the individual Tt is itself indistinguishable from the pure form TT. Generation F1, containing only the Tt form, consists entirely of dominants (tall plants) and generation F2 consists of three dominants (2 Tt, 1 TT) to one dwarf ( tt), which, displaying the feature suppressed in F1, is called recessive. Such qualitative and numerical regularity has been proved to exist in regard to very diverse qualities or characters which compose living things, both wild and domesticated, such as colors of flowers, of hair or eyes, patterns, structure, chemical composition, and power of resisting certain diseases. The diversity of forms produced in crossbreeding by horticulturists and fanciers generally results from a process of analytical variation or recombination of the factors composing the parental types. Purity of type consequently acquires a specific meaning. An individual is pure in respect of a given character when it results from the union of two sexual cells both bearing that character, or both without it.

Mendelian
Men•de´li•an, a. [See Mendel’s law.] (Biol.) Pert. to Mendel, or to Mendel’s law. — Men•de´li•an•ism (#), Men•del´ism (#), n.

Mender
Mend´er, n. One who mends or repairs.

Mendiant
Men´di•ant, n. See Mendinant. [Obs.]

Mendicant
Men´di•cant, a. [L. mendicans, -antis, p. pr. of mendicare to beg, fr. mendicus beggar, indigent.] Practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as mendicant friars. Mendicant orders (R. C. Ch.), certain monastic orders which are forbidden to acquire landed property and are required to be supported by alms, esp. the Franciscans, the Dominicans, the Carmelites, and the Augustinians.

Mendicant
Men´di•cant, n. A beggar; esp., one who makes a business of begging; specifically, a begging friar.

Mendicate
Men´di•cate, v. t.& i. [L. mendicatus, p. p. of mendicare to beg.] To beg. [R.] Johnson.

Mendication
Men•di•ca´tion, n. The act or practice of begging; beggary; mendicancy. Sir T. Browne.

Mendicity
Men•dic´i•ty, n. [L. mendicitas: cf. F. mendicite. See Mendicant.] The practice of begging; the life of a beggar; mendicancy. Rom. of R.

Mendment
Mend´ment, n. Amendment. [Obs.]

Mendole
Men´dole (men"dol), n. [Cf. F. mendol, mendole.] (Zoöl.) The cackerel.

Mendregal
Men´dre•gal, n. (Zoöl.) Medregal.

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

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

Menial
Men´ial, a. [OE. meneal, fr. meine, maine, household, OF. maisniee, maisnie, LL. mansionaticum. See Mansion, and cf. Meine, n. , Meiny.]
1. Belonging to a retinue or train of servants; performing servile office; serving.
"Two menial dogs before their master pressed." Dryden.
2. Pertaining to servants, esp. domestic servants; servile; low; mean. " Menial offices." Swift.

Menial
Men´ial, n.
1. A domestic servant or retainer, esp. one of humble rank; one employed in low or servile offices.
2. A person of a servile character or disposition.

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

Menilite
Men´i•lite, n. [F. menilite; — so called because it is found at Menilmontant, near Paris.] (Min.) See Opal.

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

Meningitis
Men•in•gi´tis, n. [NL. See Meninges, and -itis.] (Med.) Inflammation of the membranes of the brain or spinal cord. Cerebro-spinal meningitis. See under Cerebro-spinal.

Meniscoid
Me•nis´coid, a. [ Meniscus + -oid.] Concavo-convex, like a meniscus.

meniscus
me•nis´cus, n. ; pl. L. menisci (-si), E. Meniscuses (#). [NL., from Gr. mhni•skos, dim. of mh•nh the moon.]
1. A crescent.
2. (Opt.) A lens convex on one side and concave on the other.
3. (Anat.) An interarticular synovial cartilage or membrane; esp., one of the intervertebral synovial disks in some parts of the vertebral column of birds. Converging meniscus, Diverging meniscus. See Lens.

Menispermic
Men•i•sper´mic, a. Pertaining to, or obtained from, moonseed ( Menispermum), or other plants of the same family, as the Anamirta Cocculus.

Menispermine
Men•i•sper´mine, n. [Cf. F. menispermine.] (Chem.) An alkaloid distinct from picrotoxin and obtained from the cocculus indicus (the fruit of Anamirta Cocculus, formerly Menispermum Cocculus) as a white, crystalline, tasteless powder; — called also menispermina.

Meniver
Men´i•ver, n. [OF. menuver, menuveir, menuvair, a grayish fur; menu small + vair a kind of fur. See Minute, a. , and Vair.] Same as Miniver. { Men´non•ist, Men´non•ite } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a small denomination of Christians, so called from Menno Simons of Friesland, their founder. They believe that the New Testament is the only rule of faith, that there is no original sin, that infants should not be baptized, and that Christians ought not to take oath, hold office, or render military service. { Men´o•branch, Men•o•bran´chus } n. [NL. menobranchus, fr. Gr. to remain + a gill.] (Zoöl.) A large aquatic American salamander of the genus Necturus, having permanent external gills. { Men•o•lo´gi•um, Me•nol´o•gy } n. ; pl. L. Menologia (#), E. Menologies (#). [NL. menologium, fr. Gr. mh•n month + lo•gos discourse : cf. F. menologe.]
1. A register of months. Bp. Stillingfleet.
2. (Gr. Church) A brief calendar of the lives of the saints for each day in the year, or a simple remembrance of those whose lives are not written.

Menostasis
Me•nos´ta•sis, n. [NL., fr. Gr. mh•n month + ’istan•nai to stop.] (Med.) Stoppage of the menses.

Menostation
Men•os•ta´tion, n. (Med.) Same as Menostasis.

Men-pleaser
Men´-pleas•er, n. One whose motive is to please men or the world, rather than God. Eph. vi. 6.

Mensal
Men´sal, a. [L. mensalis, fr. mensa table.] Belonging to the table; transacted at table; as mensal conversation.

Mensal
Men´sal, a. [L. mensis month.] Occurring once in a month; monthly.

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

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

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

Menstrue
Men´strue, n. [Cf. F. menstrues. See Menstruous.] The menstrual flux; menses. [Obs.]

Mensurable
Men´su•ra•ble, a. [L. mensurabilis, fr. mensurare to measure, fr. mensura measure: cf. F. mensurable. See Measurable, Measure.] Capable of being measured; measurable.

Mensural
Men´su•ral, a. [L. mensuralis.] Of or pertaining to measure.

Mensurate
Men´su•rate, v. t. [L. mensuratus, p. p. of mensurare. See Measure, v. ] To measure. [Obs.]

Ment, p. p. of Menge.

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

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

Mental
Men´tal, a. [F., fr. L. mentalis, fr. mens, mentis, the mind; akin to E. mind. See Mind.] Of or pertaining to the mind; intellectual; as mental faculties; mental operations, conditions, or exercise.
"What a mental power This eye shoots forth!" Shak. Mental alienation, insanity. — Mental arithmetic, the art or practice of solving arithmetical problems by mental processes, unassisted by written figures.

Mentally
Men´tal•ly, adv. In the mind; in thought or meditation; intellectually; in idea.

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

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

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

Menticultural
Men•ti•cul´tur•al, a. Of or pertaining to mental culture; serving to improve or strengthen the mind. [R.]

Mention
Men´tion, n. [OE. mencioun, F. mention, L. mentio, from the root of meminisse to remember. See Mind.] A speaking or notice of anything, — usually in a brief or cursory manner. Used especially in the phrase to make mention of.
"I will make mention of thy righteousness." Ps. lxxi. 16.
"And sleep in dull, cold marble, where no mention Of me more must be heard of." Shak.

Mention
Men´tion (men"shun), v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mentioned (- shund); p. pr. & vb. n. Mentioning.] [Cf. F. mentionner.] To make mention of; to speak briefly of; to name.
"I will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord." Is. lxiii. 7.

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

Mentor
Men´tor, n. [From Mentor, the counselor of Telemachus, Gr. Me•ntwr, prop., counselor. Cf. Monitor.] A wise and faithful counselor or monitor.

Mephitism
Meph´i•tism, n. Same as Mephitis, 1.

Mercable
Mer´ca•ble, a. [L. mercabilis, fr. mercari to trade, traffic, buy. See Merchant.] Capable of being bought or sold. [Obs.]