Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Māin'-lānd, n. p. 802The continent; the principal land; — opposed to island. Dryden.Māin'ly, adv. p. 802Chiefly; principally. 2. Greatly; to a great degree; mightily; absolutely; entirely. Bacon.Māin'-mast, n. p. 802(Naut.) The principal mast in a ship or other vessel.Māin'or, n. p. 802(O. Eng. Law.) A thing stolen found in the hands of the thief who stole it. ☞ A thief was said to be “taken with the mainor,” when he was taken with the thing stolen upon him, that is, in his hands.…Māin'per-na-ble, a. p. 802(Law.) Capable of being admitted to give surety by mainpernors; able to be mainprized.Māin'per-nor, n. p. 802(Law.) A surety for a prisoner's appearance in court at a day. ☞ Mainpernors differ from bail in that a man's bail may imprison or surrender him before the stipulated day of appearance; mainpernors…Māin'prize, n. p. 802(Law.) (a.) A writ directed to the sheriff, commanding him to take sureties, called mainpernors, for the prisoner's appearance, and to let him go at large. This writ is now obsolete. Wharton. (b.)…Māin’prīze, v. t. p. 802(Law.) To suffer to go at large, on his finding sureties, or mainpernors, for his appearance at a day; — said of a prisoner.Māin'sāil, n. p. 802(Naut.) The principal sail in a ship. ☞ The mainsail of a ship or brig is extended by a yard attached to the mainmast, and that of a sloop by the boom.Māin'-sheet, n. p. 802(Naut.) The sheet that extends and fastens the mainsail.Māin'spring, n. p. 802The principal or most important spring in a piece of mechanism, especially the moving spring of a watch or clock; hence, the chief or most powerful motive; the efficient cause of action.Māin'-stāy, n. p. 802(Naut.) The stay extending from the foot of the foremast to the maintop. 2. Main support; principal dependence.Mān'swear, v. i. p. 802To swear falsely; to perjure one's self. [Obs.] Blount.Main-tāin',, v. t. p. 802To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to…Main-tāin’,, v. i. p. 802To affirm a position; to assert. In tragedy and satire I maintain that this age and the last have excelled the ancients. Dryden.Main-täin'a-ble, a. p. 802Capable of being maintained, upheld, or kept up; sustainable; defensible; vindicable.Main-tāin'er, n. p. 802One who maintains, supports, preserves, sustains, or vindicates.Main-tāin’or, n. p. 802(Crim. Law.) One who, not being interested, maintains or supports a cause depending between others, by furnishing money, &c., to either party. Bouvier. Wharton.Māin'te-nançe, n. p. 802The act of maintaining, supporting, upholding, defending, or keeping up; sustenance; support; defense; vindication. Whatever is granted to the church for God's honor and the maintenance of his…Cap of maintenance p. 802a cap formerly worn by a duke as a part of the insignia appropriate to his rank; also, a fur cap worn by the lord mayor of London on state occasions. [Eng.]Māin'tŏp, n. p. 802(Naut.) The top of the mainmast of a ship or brig.Māin'yārd, n. p. 802(Naut.) The yard on which the mainsail is extended, supported by the mainmast.Māis'ter, n. p. 802Master. [Obs.] Spenser.Māis'tress, n. p. 802Mistress. [Obs.] Chaucer.Māize, n. p. 802(Bot.) A plant and its fruit, of the genus Zea (Z. mays); Indian corn.Māj'es-tāt'ic or Māj'es-tāt'ic-al p. 802(a. Of majestic appearance; having dignity. [Obs.] Pococke.Ma-jēs'tic, a. p. 802Possessing or exhibiting majesty; of august dignity, stateliness, or imposing grandeur; lofty; princely; noble. In his face Sat meekness, heightened with majestic grace. Milton. 2. Splendid; grand.…Ma-jēs'tie-al, a. p. 802Majestic. [Rare.] If I were ever to fall in love again (which is a great passion, and therefore I hope I have done with it), it would be, I think, with prettiness, rather than with majestical beauty.…Ma-jēs'tie-al-ly, adv. p. 802With majesty; with dignity or grandeur; with a lofty air or appearance.Ma-jēs'tie-al-ness, n. p. 802State or manner of being majestic.Māj'es-ty, n. p. 802Grandeur; exalted dignity, whether proceeding from rank, character, or bearing; imposing loftiness; stateliness; — usually applied to the rank and dignity of sovereigns. The Lord reigneth; he is…Ma-jōl'i-că, n. p. 802A kind of fine pottery or earthen ware with painted figures, first made in Italy in the sixteenth century. The term is said to be derived from Majorca, which was an early seat of this manufacture.…Mā'jor, a. p. 802Greater in number, quantity, or extent; as, the major part of the assembly; the major part of the revenue; the major part of the territory. 2. Of greater dignity; more important. My major vow lies…Mā'jor, n. p. 802(Mil.) An officer next in rank above a captain and below a lieutenant-colonel; the lowest field officer. 2. (Civil Law.) A person of full age. 3. The mayor of a town. See MAYOR. 4. (Logic.) That…Majorat, n. p. 802The right of succession to property according to age;—so termed in some of the countries of continental Europe. 2. (Fr. Law.) Property, landed or funded, so attached to an hereditary title of honor…Ma'jor-ate, n. p. 802The office or rank of a major.Māj'or-ā'tion, n. p. 802Increase; enlargement. [Obs.] Bacon.Ma-jōr'can, n. p. 802(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of Majorca.Ma-jōr'can, a. p. 802(Geog.) Of or pertaining to Majorca, or its inhabitants.Mā'jor-dō'mo, n. p. 802A man who holds the place of master of the house; a steward; also, a chief minister.Mā'jor-gĕn'er-al, n. p. 802See GENERAL.Ma-jōr'i-ty, n. p. 802The quality or condition of being major or greater; superiority; high rank; specifically, (a.) The military rank of a major. (b.) The condition of being of full age, or authorized by law to manage…Māj'oun, n. p. 802See MADJOUN.Ma-jūs'cu-læ, n. pl. p. 802(Diplomatica.) Capital letters, as they are found in Latin manuscripts of the sixth century and earlier.Ma-jūs'cūle, n. p. 802A capital letter used in ancient Latin manuscripts. See MAJUSCULÆ.Māk'a-ble, a. p. 802Capable of being made or done; feasible. [Obs.]Māke, v. t. p. 802To cause to exist; to bring into being; to produce; to frame; to fashion; to create; hence, in various specific uses or applications, (a.) To form of materials; to cause to exist in a certain form…Māke, v. i. p. 803To tend; to proceed; to move; as, he made toward home; the tiger made at the sportsmen. ☞ Formerly, authors used to make away, to make on, to make forth, to make about; but these phrases are…Māke, n. p. 803Structure, texture, constitution of parts; construction; shape; form. Is our perfection of so frail a make As every plot can undermine and shake? Dryden.Māke, n. p. 803A companion; a mate. [Obs.] Spenser. B. Jonson.Māke'-bāte, n. p. 803One who excites contentions and quarrels.Māke'-be-līeve', n. p. 803A mere pretense.Māke'less, a. p. 803Matchless. [Obs.] Chaucer. 2. Without a mate. Shak.Māke'-pēace, n. p. 803A peace-maker; one who reconciles persons at variance. Shak.Māk'er, n. p. 803One who makes, forms, shapes, or molds; a manufacturer; often, especially, the Creator. The universal Maker we may praise. Milton. 2. (Law.) The person who signs or makes a promissory note. Bouvier.…Māke'-shĭft, n. p. 803That with which one makes shift; that which answers a need with the best means at hand; a temporary expedient. “Make-shifts preferred.” Dickens.Māke'-weight, n. p. 803That which is thrown into a scale to make weight; something of little account added to supply a deficiency or fill a gap.Mā'kĭ, n. p. 803(Zool.) The lemur. See LEMUR.Māk'ing, n. p. 803Workmanship; fabrication; construction; as, this is cloth of your own making. 2. Composition, or structure. 3. A poem. [Obs.]Mak'ing-ī'ron, n. p. 803A tool somewhat resembling a chisel with a groove in it, used by calkers of ships to finish the seams after the oakum has been driven in.