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An American Dictionary of the English Language

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

  1. Ma-cā'cus, n.p. 797(Zoöl.) A genus of apes, found in Asia, characterized by having short tails and very prominent eyebrows. Baird.
  2. Mac-ăd'am-i-zā'tion, n.p. 797The process or act of covering roads with broken stone.
  3. 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.
  4. Mac-ād'am-rōad, n.p. 797A road or path covered with small, broken stones, so as to form a smooth, hard surface.
  5. Ma-cā'o, n.p. 797See MACAW.
  6. Măc'a-rīze, v. t.p. 797To bless; to wish joy to, on account of some success or happy event; to congratulate. [Rare.]
  7. 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…
  8. 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…
  9. 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…
  10. Măc'a-rōon', n.p. 797A small cake, composed chiefly of almonds and sugar. 2. A finical fellow, or macaroni.
  11. Mā-căs'sar Oilp. 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…
  12. 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…
  13. 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…
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Măc'e'a-boy or Măc'e'o-boy, n.p. 797A kind of snuff.
  17. 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…
  18. 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…
  19. Māce'-āle, n.p. 797Ale spiced with mace. Wiseman.
  20. Māce'-bear'er, n.p. 797A person who carries a mace before men in authority.
  21. Măç'e-dō'ni-an, a.p. 797(Geog.) Belonging, or relating, to Macedonia.
  22. 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…
  23. Māçe'-pro͞of, a.p. 797Free from arrest. Shirley.
  24. Mā'çer, n.p. 797A mace-bearer; an officer of a court. “A macer, or officer in attendance on the supreme court.” W. Scott.
  25. 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…
  26. 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…
  27. Māce'-reed, n.p. 797(Bot.) A plant of the genus Typha (T. latifolia); cat-tail; — called also reed-mace.
  28. 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.
  29. 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…
  30. Măch'i-a-vĕl'ian, a.p. 797Pertaining to Machiavel, or to his supposed principles; politically cunning; using duplicity or bad faith; crafty.
  31. Măch'i-a-vēl'ian, n.p. 797One who adopts the principles of Machiavel; a cunning, crafty, or unprincipled politician.
  32. 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.
  33. Ma-chīc'o-lā'ted, a.p. 797Having machicolations.
  34. Māch'i-co-lā'tion, n.p. 797(Mil. Arch.) A parapet or gallery projecting from the upper part of the wall of a house or fortification, supported by corbels or brackets, and perforated or furnished with apertures in the lower…
  35. Machicoulis, n.p. 797The same as MACHICOLATION, q. v.
  36. Māch'i-nal, a.p. 797Pertaining to machines.
  37. Māch'i-nāte, v. t.p. 797To plan; to contrive; to form, as a plot or a scheme.
  38. Măch'i-nā'tion, n.p. 797The act of machinating, or of planning or contriving a scheme for executing some purpose, particularly an evil purpose. 2. That which is plotted or devised; a hostile or treacherous scheme; an artful…
  39. Māch'i-nā'tor, n.p. 797One who forms a scheme, or who plots with evil designs. He hath become an active and earnest agitator, a murmurer, and a machinator. W. Scott.
  40. Ma-chīne', n.p. 797In general, any body or assemblage of bodies used to transmit and modify force and motion, as a lever, pulley, wedge, screw, &c.; especially, a construction, more or less complex, consisting of a…
  41. Ma-chīne', v. t.p. 798To subject to the action of machinery; to effect by aid of machinery; especially, to print with a printing machine. [Rare.]
  42. Ma·chīne', v. i.p. 798To be employed in tending or managing a machine or machinery; to do work by aid of machinery. [Rare.]
  43. Ma·chīn'er-y, n.p. 798Machines in general, or collectively; as, machinery of war. 2. The working parts of a machine, engine, or instrument arranged and constructed so as to apply and regulate force; as, the machinery of a…
  44. Ma·chīne'-shŏp, n.p. 798A manufactory in which materials, especially metals, are dressed, and machinery is made.
  45. Ma-chīne'-tool, n.p. 798A complex machine for shaping materials; strictly, an adjustable machine with an automatic feed, for shaping metals by cutting;—called also engine-tool. [Eng.]
  46. Ma·chīn'ing, a.p. 798Pertaining to the machinery of a poem. [Obs.] Dryden.
  47. Ma·chīn’ist, n.p. 798A constructor of machines and engines; one versed in the principles of machines.
  48. Macigno (mā-chēn'yo), n.p. 798(Min.) A kind of silicious sandstone found in Italy. There are two varieties, one of a grayish-yellow color, the other of a bluish-gray color. Dana.
  49. Măç'i-len-cy, n.p. 798Leanness. [Obs.] Bailey.
  50. Măç'i-lent, a.p. 798Having little flesh; lean; thin. [Obs.] Bailey.
  51. Măck'er-el, n.p. 798(Ichth.) A marine fish of the genus Scomber (S. vulgaris or scomber), spotted with blue, and largely used for food. It is found in the North Atlantic. Mackerel-gale, either a gale that ripples the…
  52. Măck'er-el, n.p. 798A pander or pimp; also, a bawd. [Obs.] Halliwell.
  53. Măck'in-tōsh, n.p. 798A water-proof outer garment; — so called from the name of the inventor.
  54. Măck'le, n.p. 798Same as MACULE, q. v.
  55. Măck'le, v. t.p. 798To sell to shopkeepers;—said only of weavers' goods. 2. To contrive. Wright.
  56. Māc'le, n.p. 798(Min.) (a.) A variety of chiastolite, the crystals of which present a tessellated appearance when cut transversely. (b.) A similar tessellated appearance in other crystals. Dana.
  57. Mac-lū'rite, n.p. 798(Min.) Same as CHONDRODITE, q. v.
  58. Mā'cro-bī-ōt'ic, a.p. 798Long-lived. Dunglison.
  59. Măc'ro-cĕph'a-lōus, a.p. 798Having a large head. 2. (Bot.) Having the cotyledons of a dicotyledonous embryo confluent, and forming a large mass compared with the rest of the body. Henslow.
  60. Măc'ro-cōsm or Mă'cro-cōsm, n.p. 798The great world; the universe, or the visible system of worlds; — opposed to microcosm, or the little world constituted by man.