Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Lȳnx, n. p. 796(Zoöl.) An animal of several species of the genus Felis, and much resembling the common cat, but having longer ears and a shorter tail. The common lynx of Europe is the F. Lynx; the Canada lynx is…Lȳnx'-eȳed, a. p. 796Having acute sight.Lȳ'rȧ, n. p. 796(Astron.) A northern constellation, containing a white star of the first magnitude, called Alpha Lyræ, or Vega. 2. (Anat.) A portion of the brain;—so called from the arrangement of the medullary…Lȳ'rate or Lȳ'rā-ted, a. p. 796(Bot.) Lyre-shaped, or spatulate and oblong, with small lobes toward the base; as, a lyrate leaf.Lȳre, n. p. 796(Mus.) A stringed instrument of music; a kind of harp much used by the ancients, as an accompaniment to poetry. ☞ The lyre was the peculiar instrument of Apollo, the tutelary god of music and poetry.…Lȳre'-bîrd, n. p. 796(Ornith.) A bird of the genus Menura (M. superba), remarkable for having the sixteen tail-feathers of the male arranged in the form of a lyre. It is a native of Australia.Ly̆r'ic or Ly̆r'ic-al, a. p. 796Pertaining to a lyre or harp. 2. Fitted to be sung to the lyre; hence, also, appropriate for song;—said especially of poetry which expresses the individual emotions of the poet. “Sweet lyric song.”…Ly̆r'ic, n. p. 796A lyric poem. 2. A composer of lyric poems. [Rare.] Addison. 3. A verse of the kind usually employed in lyric poetry;—used chiefly in the plural.Ly̆r'i-çism, n. p. 796A lyric composition. Gray.Lȳ'rist, n. p. 796A musician who plays on the harp or lyre.Ly̆s'i-mā'chi-ȧ, n. p. 796(Bot.) A genus of low, perennial plants, having yellow flowers; loosestrife.Ly̆s'sȧ, n. p. 796(Med.) Hydrophobia. ☞ The plural has been used to signify the pustules supposed to be developed under the tongue in hydrophobia.Lȳ-tē'ri-an, a. p. 796(Med.) Terminating a disease; indicating the end of a disease. Jones.Lȳthe, n. p. 796(Ichth.) A fish; the whiting of Scotland.Lȳthe, a. p. 796Soft; flexible. [Obs.] Spenser.Ly̆th'on-thrĭp'tic or Ly̆th'on-trĭp'tic, a. p. 796See LITHONTRIPTIC.Ly̆'thrum, n. p. 796(Bot.) A genus of plants; loosestrife. Gray.M p. 797is the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet, and represents a labial articulation. As the closure of the lips by which it is formed is accompanied with a humming sound through the nose, it is…Mā, n. p. 797Mother; an abbreviation of mamma, a child's title for mother.Mā, adv. p. 797(Mus.) But;—used in cautionary phrases; as, “Vivace, ma non troppo presto”—Lively, but not too quick. Moore.Mă'am, n. p. 797Madam; my lady;—a colloquial and usual contraction of madam.Ma-āsh'a, n. p. 797An East Indian coin, of about one tenth of the weight of a rupee.Māb, n. p. 797A childish or negligent person; a slattern. [Prov. Eng.] 2. (Northern Myth.) The queen of the imaginary beings called fairies.Măb, v. i. p. 797To dress negligently; to be slovenish. [Prov. Eng.]Māb'ble, v. t. p. 797To wrap up. [Obs.]Māb'by, n. p. 797A spirituous liquor or drink distilled from potatoes, used in the Barbadoes.Māc p. 797A prefix, in names of Scotch origin, signifying son.Ma-cā'cus, n. p. 797(Zoöl.) A genus of apes, found in Asia, characterized by having short tails and very prominent eyebrows. Baird.Mac-ăd'am-i-zā'tion, n. p. 797The process or act of covering roads with broken stone.Mac-ăd'ăm-īze, v. t. p. 797To cover, as a road, way, or path, with small, broken stones, so as to form a smooth, hard surface.Mac-ād'am-rōad, n. p. 797A road or path covered with small, broken stones, so as to form a smooth, hard surface.Ma-cā'o, n. p. 797See MACAW.Măc'a-rīze, v. t. p. 797To bless; to wish joy to, on account of some success or happy event; to congratulate. [Rare.]Māc'a-rō'nī, n. p. 797[Prov. It. macaroni, It. maccheroni, Sp. maccarrones, from Gr. μακαρία, βρῶμα ἐκ ζωμοῦ καὶ ἀλφίτων, Hesych., properly happiness, bliss, i. e., a very dainty food, from μάκαρ, μακάριος, blessed…Măc'a-rō'nĭ-an or Măc'a-rōn'ĭe, a. p. 797Pertaining to, or like, a macaroni; empty; trifling; vain; affected. 2. Consisting in the addition of Latin terminations to the vernacular roots of some one modern language, combined with the…Măc'a-rōn'ie, n. p. 797A heap of things confusedly mixed together; a jumble. 2. A kind of burlesque composition, in which the vernacular words of any one modern language are intermixed with genuine Latin words, and also…Măc'a-rōon', n. p. 797A small cake, composed chiefly of almonds and sugar. 2. A finical fellow, or macaroni.Mā-căs'sar Oil p. 797A kind of oil used in the toilet for the hair;—so called from Macassar, a district of the Island of Celebes, in the Eastern Archipelago, from which it was originally obtained. The name is very…Ma-caw', n. p. 797(Ornith.) A large bird, allied to the parrots, but having a deep lower mandible, a long tail, and the cheeks bare. It is a very showy bird, and is a native of the warmer parts of America. The green…Ma-caw'-tree, n. p. 797(Bot.) A species of thorny palm-tree, of the genus Nerocomia (N. aculeata sclerocarpa). From the fruit a fragrant, golden-yellow butter, of a sweetish taste, is obtained. It is found in the West…Măc'ea-bē'an, a. p. 797Pertaining to the Jewish princes called Maccabees, who rescued Judea from the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes, and rendered it independent for about a century.Măc'ca-bees, n. pl. p. 797Two apocryphal books of the Old Testament, which give an account of Jewish affairs in the time of the Maccabean princes.Măc'e'a-boy or Măc'e'o-boy, n. p. 797A kind of snuff.Māçe, n. p. 797A heavy staff or club of metal, used as a weapon in the days of chivalry. “A leaden mace.” Shak. “A heavy iron mace.” Knolles. 2. Hence, a staff borne by, or carried before, a magistrate as an ensign…Māçe, n. p. 797A certain spice; the second coat or aril which covers the nutmeg, a thin and membranaceous substance, of an oleaginous nature and yellowish color, being in flakes divided into many ramifications. It…Māce'-āle, n. p. 797Ale spiced with mace. Wiseman.Māce'-bear'er, n. p. 797A person who carries a mace before men in authority.Măç'e-dō'ni-an, a. p. 797(Geog.) Belonging, or relating, to Macedonia.Măç'e-dō'ni-an, n. p. 797(Geog.) A native or an inhabitant of Macedonia. 2. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a certain religious sect, so called from being followers of Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople, in the fourth century, who…Māçe'-pro͞of, a. p. 797Free from arrest. Shirley.Mā'çer, n. p. 797A mace-bearer; an officer of a court. “A macer, or officer in attendance on the supreme court.” W. Scott.Măç'er-āte, v. t. p. 797To make lean; to wear away; to cause to pine or waste away; to mortify; to harass. [Obs. or rare.] Out of excessive zeal they macerate their bodies and impair their health. Fiddes. 2. To steep almost…Măc'er-ā'tion, n. p. 797The act or process of macerating, or making thin or lean by wearing away, or by mortification. [Obs. or rare.] 2. The act, process, or operation of softening and almost dissolving by steeping in a…Māce'-reed, n. p. 797(Bot.) A plant of the genus Typha (T. latifolia); cat-tail; — called also reed-mace.Ma-chāi'ro-dūs, n. p. 797(Palæon.) A genus of extinct mammals allied to the bear, found fossil in strata of the miocene period.Machete, n. p. 797A 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…Măch'i-a-vĕl'ian, a. p. 797Pertaining to Machiavel, or to his supposed principles; politically cunning; using duplicity or bad faith; crafty.Măch'i-a-vēl'ian, n. p. 797One who adopts the principles of Machiavel; a cunning, crafty, or unprincipled politician.Māch'i-a-vēl'i-an-īsm or Māch'i-a-vēl-īsm, n. p. 797The supposed principles of Machiavel, or practice in conformity to them; political cunning and artifice, intended to favor arbitrary power.Ma-chīc'o-lā'ted, a. p. 797Having machicolations.