Mount'ain1, n.
(mount'in, 42), n. [O. Fr. muntaine, montoigne, N. Fr. montagne, Pr. montayna, montagna, Sp. montaña, It. montagna, from Lat. mons, montis, a mountain, montanus, belonging to a mountain.]
Sense 1. A large mass of earth and rock, rising above the common level of the earth or adjacent land; an elevation or protuberance on the earth’s surface; a high hill; a great eminence; a mount.
Sense 2. That which is like a mountain for size; something large.
I should have been a mountain of mummy. Shak.
Mountain ash (Bot.), an ornamental tree, the Pyrus (Sorbus) Americana, producing beautiful bunches of red berries. Its leaves are pinnate, and its flowers white, growing in fragrant clusters. The European species is the P. aucuparia, or rowan-tree. — Mountain blue (Min.), blue malachite, or carbonate of copper. — Mountain cat (Zool.), the catamount. See CATAMOUNT. — Mountain cock (Ornith.), a species of grouse; the capercailzie. See CAPERCAILZIE. — Mountain cork (Min.), a variety of asbestos, resembling cork in its texture. Dana. — Mountain damson (Bot.), a large tree of the genus Quassia (Q. simaruba), growing in the West Indies, which affords a bitter tonic and astringent, sometimes used in medicine. — Mountain ebony, a small tree of the genus Bauhinia (B. porrecta), growing in the West Indies, and so called because its wood is sheathed with black. Baird. — Mountain flax (Min.), a species of asbestos, having very fine fibers; amianthus. See AMIANTHUS. — Mountain green, green malachite, or carbonate of copper. Dana. — Mountain heath (Bot.), a low, shrubby plant, of the genus Menziesia, having evergreen leaves, and small greenish-white or purplish flowers. — Mountain holly, a branching shrub, of the genus Nepomanthes (N. Canadensis), found in the Northern United States. — Mountain laurel, an American shrub of the genus Kalmia (K. latifolia), having bright-green, shining leaves, and showy flowers, usually rose-colored, but often nearly white. Gray. — Mountain leather (Min.), a variety of asbestos, resembling leather in its texture. Dana. — Mountain licorice (Bot.), a plant of the genus Trifolium (T. Alpinum). — Mountain limestone (Geol.), a series of marine limestone strata whose geological position is immediately below the coal-measures, and above the old red sandstone. Buchanan. — Mountain mahogany (Bot.), a species of birch (Betula lenta), the wood of which is rose-colored and fine-grained, and is much used in cabinet-work; black birch. — Mountain milk (Min.), a very soft, spongy variety of carbonate of lime. Brande. — Mountain mint (Bot.), an aromatic plant of the genus Pycnanthemum (P. montanum), having a warm and pleasant flavor. Gray. — Mountain parsley, a European herb of the genus Athamanta. — Mountain pepper, the seeds of Capparis spinosa. Simmonds. — Mountain rice. (a.) An upland variety of rice, grown without irrigation, on the edge of the Himalayan range in Cochin-China, and also in some parts of Europe and the United States. Simmonds. (b.) A plant of several species of the genus Oryzopsis, a kind of grass. Gray. — Mountain rose, a plant of the genus Rosa (R. Alpina); the Alpine rose. — Mountain soap (Min.), a soft, earthy mineral, of a pale, brownish-black color, used in crayon painting. — Mountain sorrel (Bot.), a low, perennial plant, with rounded kidney-form leaves, and small greenish flowers, found in the White Mountains and in high northern latitudes. Gray. — Mountain spinach, a plant of the genus Atriplex. — Mountain tallow (Min.), a mineral found in Sweden and Scotland, which melts at 118° Fahrenheit, and is soluble in alcohol. — Mountain tobacco (Bot.), a composite plant (Arnica montana) of Europe. — The Mountain (Fr. Hist.), a portion of the National Assembly;—so called from their occupying the highest seats.