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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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Maul'-stick, n. p. 820The stick used by painters to keep the hand steady in working. [Written also mahl-stick.]Mäunch, n. p. 820A loose sleeve. [Obs.] Herbert. 2. (Her.) A sleeve.Maunch, v. t. p. 820To munch. [Obs.] See MUNCH.Măund, n. p. 820A hand-basket. [Scot.] 2. [From Hind. & Per. man.] An East Indian weight, varying in different localities from 24 to about 82 pounds avoirdupois. The Madras maund is 24 or 25 pounds; the Bombay…Māund or Māund’er, v. i. p. 820To mutter; to murmur; to grumble; to beg. Edinburgh Rev. He was ever maundering by the way how that he met a party of scarlet devils. W. Scott. 2. To wander in talking; to talk incoherently or idly.Mäund’er or Maund’er, v. t. p. 820To utter in a grumbling manner; to mutter. [Obs.]Mäund'er or Maund'er, n. p. 820A beggar. [Obs.]Mäund'er-er or Maund'er-er, n. p. 820A grumbler.Mäund'er-ing, n. p. 820Complaint. [Obs.] 2. Incoherent or idle talk.Maun'dril, n. p. 820(Coal Mining.) A pick with two shanks.Maun'dy-Thûrs'day, n. p. 820(Eccl.) The Thursday in Passion-week, or next before Good Friday.Mau-résque', a. & n. p. 820See MORESQUE.Mau-so-lē'an, a. p. 820Pertaining to a mausoleum; monumental.Mau'so-lē'um, n. p. 820A magnificent tomb, or stately sepulchral monument.Mau'ther, n. p. 820A young girl; a maid; a wench. [Obs.]Mauve, n. p. 820A delicate and beautiful purple or lilac coloring matter obtained from aniline, a product of coal-tar, used for dyeing silks, &c., and producing a great variety of brilliant and permanent shades…Mā'vis, n. p. 820(Ornith.) The throstle or song-thrush; Turdus musicus of Linnaeus.Maw, n. p. 820A stomach of one of the lower animals, or, in contempt, of a man; the receptacle into which food is taken by swallowing; in birds, the craw. 2. Appetite; inclination; disposition. [Obs. and rare.]…Mawk, n. p. 820A maggot; a slattern. [Obs.]Mawk'ing-ly, adv. p. 820Slatternly; sluttishly. [Obs.]Mawk'ish, a. p. 820Apt to cause satiety or loathing; nauseous; disgusting. So sweetly mawkish, and so smoothly dull. Pope.Mawk'ish-ly, adv. p. 820In a mawkish way.Mawk'ish-ness, n. p. 820Aptness to cause loathing.Mawks, n. p. 820A great, awkward, ill-dressed girl. [Vulgar.]Mawk'y, a. p. 820Maggoty. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.Măw'met, n. p. 820A puppet; also, an idol; a maumet. [Obs.] Wycliffe. Beau. & Fl.Maw'met-ry, n. p. 820The religion of Mohammed; hence, idolatry. [Obs.] Chaucer.Maw'mish, a. p. 820Foolish; silly; idle; nauseous. [Obs.] L'Estrange.Maw'worm, n. p. 820(Med.) An intestinal worm (Anguis [or Ascaris] vermicularis); the thread-worm.Max-il'la, n. p. 820(Anat.) Either of the bones of the jaw in which the teeth are inserted; a jaw-bone; jaw. 2. (pl.) (Entom.) The lower jaws of an insect. 3. (Zool.) (a.) The upper jaw in vertebrate animals. (b.) The…Māx'il-lar or Māx'il-la-ry, a. p. 820(Anat.) Pertaining to the jaw; as, the maxillary bones or glands; properly, restricted to the upper jaw, the lower being the mandibular.Max-il'li-fōrm, a. p. 820In the form of a cheek-bone.Max-ïl'li-pēd, n. p. 820(Zoöl.) (a.) Jaw-foot;—a term applied to the short, foot-like appendages that cover the mouth in a crab, lobster, or allied animal. (b.) The posterior pair of jaws in articulates.Măx'im, n. p. 820An established principle or proposition; a condensed proposition of important practical truth; an axiom of practical wisdom; an adage; a proverb; an aphorism. It is a maxim of state, that countries…Măx'i-mĭl'ian, n. p. 821A gold coin of Bavaria, of the value of about 13s. 6d. sterling, or about three dollars and a quarter. Simmonds.Măx'i-mi-zā'tion, n. p. 821The act or process of increasing to the highest degree.Măx'i-mīze, v. t. p. 821To increase to the highest degree. Bentham.Măx'i-mŭm, n. p. 821(Math. & Physics.) The greatest quantity or value attainable in a given case; or, the greatest value attained by a quantity which first increases and then begins to decrease; — opposed to minimum.…Māy, v. p. 821An auxiliary verb qualifying the meaning of another verb, by expressing (a.) Ability, competency, or possibility. [Rare.] How may a man, said he, with idle speech, Be won to spoil the castle of his…Māy, n. p. 821A young woman. [Obs.] The fairest may she was that ever went. Spenser. 2. The early part of life. His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood. Shak. 3. The flowers of the hawthorn; — so called because…Māy, n. p. 821The fifth month of the year.Māy, v. i. p. 821To gather flowers on May morning.Māy, n. p. 821Power to do any thing; might. [Obs.] Chaucer.Māy'-āp'ple, n. p. 821(Bot.) The fruit of an American plant (Podophyllum peltatum), the mandrake. The leaves and root are employed in medicine, and are dangerously drastic.Māy'-bee'tle, n. p. 821(Entom.) The May-bug.Māy'-blōom, n. p. 821The hawthorn.Māy'-bŭg, n. p. 821(Entom.) A kind of beetle; a dor-fly, or cockchafer. See COCKCHAFER and DOR.Māy'-bush, n. p. 821(Bot.) A plant of the genus Cratægus.Māy'-dāy, n. p. 821The first day of May.Māy'-dew, n. p. 821The dew of May, which is said to whiten linen, and to afford, by repeated distillations, a red and odoriferous spirit. It has been supposed that from the preparation of this dew the Rosicrucians took…Māy'-dūke, n. p. 821A variety of the common cherry.Māy'-flow'er, n. p. 821(Bot.) A plant; a flower that appears in May; in England, the hawthorn; in New Eng., the trailing arbutus (Epigæa repens.) Gray.Māy'-fly, n. p. 821(Entom.) A neuropterous insect that appears in May. The name is applied to various insects of the genus Ephemera. Dana.May'-gāme, n. p. 821A play such as is used on the first of May; a diversion; hence, in derision, an insignificant thing. Why should not I, a May-game, scorn the weight Of my sunk fortunes? Ford.Māy'hem, n. p. 821(Law.) The maiming of a person by depriving him of the use of any of his members which are necessary for defense or protection.Māy'-lā'dy, n. p. 821The queen or lady of May, in old May-games.Māy'-līl'y, n. p. 821(Bot.) The lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis).Māy'-mōrn, n. p. 821Freshness; vigor. Shak.Māy'or, n. p. 821The chief magistrate of a city or borough; the chief officer of a municipal corporation. In some American cities there is a city court, of which the mayor is chief judge.Māy'or-al-ty, n. p. 821The office of a mayor.