Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
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.Māk'ing-ūp, n. p. 803The act of bringing spirits to a certain degree of strength called proof. 2. The act of becoming reconciled or friendly.Măl. p. 803A prefix in composition denoting ill, or evil, Fr. mal, Lat. male, adv., from malus, bad, ill. In some words it has the form male, as in malediction, malevolent. ☞ The form male is chiefly used in…Măl'a-bār', a. p. 803(Geog.) Pertaining to the west coast of India, or to its inhabitants.Malabar plum p. 803See JAMBOS.Māl'a-ca-tūne', n. p. 803See MELOCOTON.Ma-lac'ca Cane p. 803A cane obtained from a species of palm of the genus Calamus (C. scipionum), and of a brown mottled or clouded color. It is brought from Sumatra. Griffith.Măl'a-chīte, n. p. 803(Min.) Native carbonate of copper. ☞ Green malachite occurs in green mammillary masses, consisting of concentric layers having a fibrous structure. It admits of a high polish, and is sometimes used…Măl'a-cis'sant, a. p. 803Softening; relaxing; making tender. [Obs.]Māl'a-cis-sā'tion, n. p. 803Act of making soft or supple, or of mollifying. [Obs.] “Malacissation, or suppling of the body.” Bacon.Măl'a-co-dĕn'drōn, n. p. 803(Bot.) A genus of beautiful shrubs or trees found in Asia and America.Măl'a-co-dẽrm, n. p. 803(Entom.) One of a tribe of beetles having serrated antennæ, including those having a soft and flexible body. Brande.Măl'a-co-līte, n. p. 803(Min.) A variety of pyroxene.Măl'a-cŏl'o-ġĭst, n. p. 803One versed in the science of malacology.Măl'a-cŏl'o-ġy, n. p. 803The science which relates to the structure and habits of mollusks.Māl'a-cōp'ter-ŷg'i-an, n. p. 803(Ichth.) One of the order of malacopterygous fishes.Māl'a-cŏp'ter-ŷg'i-oŭs, a. p. 803(Ichth.) Having fins whose rays, except the anterior ray of the pectoral and dorsal fins, are closely jointed, and not spiny;—said of certain kinds of fishes, as the carp, pike, salmon, shad, &c.Māl'a-cōs'te-on, n. p. 803(Med.) A peculiar disease of the bones, in consequence of which they become softened and capable of being bent without breaking.Māl'a-cŏs'to-moŭs, a. p. 803Having soft jaws without teeth, as a fish.Măl'a-cŏs'tra-cān, n. p. 803(Zoöl.) A crustacean belonging to the division Malacostraca in Cuvier's system, which included all crustaceans except the entomostracans. The term is sometimes applied to crustaceans in general. Dana.Māl'a-cŏs'tra-cŏl'o-gy, n. p. 803(Zoöl.) That branch of zoölogical science which relates to the crustaceans;—called also crustaceology.Māl'a-cŏs'tra-cōŭs, a. p. 803(Zool.) Belonging to a section of crustaceous animals called Malacostraca. They have solid teguments, and ten or fourteen feet.Măl'ad-jŭst'ment, n. p. 803An evil or wrong adjustment.Măl’ad-mīn’is-trā’tion, n. p. 803Faulty administration; bad management of business, especially that which is intrusted to one’s direction or control. [Written also maladministration.]Mäl-a-droit', a. p. 803Of a quality opposed to adroitness; clumsy; awkward; unskillful.Māl-a-droit'ly, adv. p. 803In a maladroit manner; awkwardly; unskillfully.Māl-a-droit'ness, n. p. 803The quality of being maladroit; awkwardness; ungracefulness.Māl'a-dy, n. p. 803Any sickness or disease of the human body; any distemper, disorder, or indisposition, proceeding from impaired, defective, or morbid organic functions; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder…Măl'a-gā, n. p. 803A species of wine imported from Malaga, in Spain.Măl'an-ders, n. pl. p. 803A scurfy eruption on the inside of the hock, or at the bend of the knee of the fore leg of a horse. See SALLENDERS. [Written also mal-lenders.]Māl'a-pērt, a. p. 803Inappropriate through pertness or impudence; without respect or decency; saucy; bold; forward. Are you growing malapert? Dryden.Măl'a-pĕrt, n. p. 804A pert, saucy person.Măl'a-pĕrt'ly, adv. p. 804In a malapert manner; saucily; with impudence.Măl'a-pĕrt'ness, n. p. 804The quality of being malapert; sauciness; impudent pertness.Măl-ăp’ro-pōs’, adv. p. 804Unseasonably; unsuitably.