Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
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.Māy'or-ess, n. p. 821The wife of a mayor.Māy'or-ship, n. p. 821The office of a mayor; mayoralty.Māy'-pōle, n. p. 821A pole to dance round in May; a long pole erected.Māy'-queen, n. p. 821A young woman crowned with flowers as queen at the celebration of May-day.Māy'-weed, n. p. 821(Bot.) A composite plant (Maruta cotula), having a strong odor. It is a native of Europe, now common by the road-sides in the United States.Māz'a-gān, n. p. 821(Bot.) A variety of the common bean (Faba vulgaris).Māz’ard, n. p. 821The jaw; also, the head or skull. [Obs.] Shak. Hudibras. 2. [Cf. Fr. merise, a wild cherry.] A kind of small, black cherry. [Written also mazzard.]Māz'ard, v. t. p. 821To knock on the mazard or head. [Obs.] B. Jonson.Măz'a-rīne', n. p. 821A deep blue color. 2. A particular way of dressing fowls. 3. [Prov. Eng., a porringer, Fr. mazerin, small goblet. See MAZER.] A little dish set in a larger one.Māze, n. p. 821A confusing and baffling net-work of paths or passages; an embarrassing place; an intricacy; a labyrinth. “Quaint mazes on the wanton green.” Shak. “Or down the tempting maze of Shawford brook.”…Māze, v. t. p. 821To confound with intricacy; to amaze; to bewilder. They so mazed and stupefied his conscience, that it lay, as it were, in a swoon. South.Māze, v. i. p. 821To be bewildered. [Obs.] Chaucer.Māz'ed-ness, n. p. 821The condition of being mazed; confusion; astonishment. [Obs.] Chaucer.Māz'er, n. p. 821A bowl or goblet of value or fine material, and usually of considerable size. A mighty mazer bowl of wine was set. Spencer. Their brimful mazers to the feasting bring. B. Jonson.