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.
Měr'lin, n. p. 831(Ornith.) A species of small hawk, of the genus Falco. 2. A wizard.Mĕr'ling, n. p. 831(Ichth.) A small fish; Merlangus vulgaris (Gadus merlangus of Linnæus); the whiting.Mĕr'lon, n. p. 831(Fort.) That part of a parapet which lies between two embrasures.Mē'ro-cēle, n. p. 831(Med.) Hernia of the thigh. Dunglison.Mĕr'os, n. p. 831(Arch.) The plain surface between the channels of a triglyph. [Written also merus.] Weale.Mĕr'māid, n. p. 831A fabled marine animal, having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph with a fish’s tail.Mĕr'măn, n. pl. p. 831MĚR'-MĚN. The male corresponding to mermaid: a sea man, with the tail of a fish instead of legs.Me-rō'p'i-dān, n. p. 831(Ornith.) One of a family of birds, characterized by being usually of a green color, and by having long, slightly arched beaks, and long, pointed wings; the bee-eater.Mēr'ops, n. p. 831(Ornith.) A genus of birds; the bee-eater. See BEE-EATER.Mer-ôr'gan-i-zā'tion, n. p. 831An organization not fully completed, or made only in part; partial organization. [Rare.]Mĕr'ri-ly, adv. p. 831In a merry manner; with mirth; with gayety and laughter; jovially. See MIRTH and MERRY. Merrily sing, and sport, and play.Mĕr'ri-māke, n. p. 831A meeting for mirth; a festival; mirth. [Written also merry-make.]Mĕr'ri-māke, v. i. p. 831To make merry; to be merry or jovial; to feast. [Written also merry-make.] Gay.Mĕr'ri-ment, n. p. 831Gayety, with laughter or noise; noisy sport; mirth; hilarity; frolic. Methought it was the sound Of riot and ill-managed merriment. Milton. Syn.—See GLADNESS.Mĕr'ri-ness, n. p. 831The quality of being merry; merriment; mirth; gayety, with laughter.Mĕr'ry, a. p. 831Brisk; lively; stirring. There eke my feeble bark a while may stay, Till merry wind and weather call her thence away. Spenser. 2. Noisily gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; hilarious…Mĕr'ry, n. p. 831A kind of wild, red cherry.Mĕr'ry-ăn/drew, n. p. 831One whose business is to make sport for others; a buffoon; a zany; especially, one who attends a mountebank or quack doctor. ☞ This term is said to have originated from one Andrew Borde, a physician…Mĕr'ry-māke, n. & v. i. p. 831See MERRIMAKE.Mēr'ry-māk'ing, a. p. 831Producing mirth. Mirth, music, merry-making melody Speed the light hours no more at Holyrood. Hillhouse.Mĕr'ry-māk'ing or Mĕr'ry-meet'ing, n. p. 831A festival; a meeting for mirth.Mĕr'ry-thought, n. p. 831The forked bone of a fowl's breast, which is broken in sport by two persons, one pulling at each end, the longest part broken being taken as an omen that the one who gets it will be married first; a…Měr'sion, n. p. 831The act of sinking or plunging under water; immersion.Me-rū'li-dān, n. p. 831(Ornith.) A bird of the thrush family.Mē'rus, n. p. 831See MEROS.Mēg'-a-thē'ri-um, n. p. 831(Paleon.) A genus of mammals, allied to the camel, not now in existence, but found fossil.Mĕs'a-rā'ic, a. p. 831Pertaining to the mesentery; mesenteric.Mes-dāmes’, n. p. 831pl. of madame.Me-seems', v. impers. p. 831It seems to me.Me-sĕm'brȳ-ăn'-the-măm, n. p. 831(Bot.) A genus of plants, mostly shrubby, found at the Cape of Good Hope. The leaves are opposite, thick, and fleshy. The flowers usually open about midday, whence the name.Mēs'en-çe-phāl'ic, a. p. 831(Anat.) Occupying a central position in the head or skull. See SKULL.Mēs'en-tēr'ic, a. p. 831Pertaining to the mesentery; as, mesenteric glands or arteries.Mes-en-te-rī'tis, n. p. 831(Med.) Inflammation of the mesentery. Dunglison.Mĕs'en-tēr'y or Mĕs'en-tĕr'y, n. p. 831(Anat.) A membrane in the cavity of the abdomen, which retains the intestines and their appendages in a proper position. Dunglison.Mēs'e-rā'ic, a. p. 831The same as MESARAIC.Mēs'fāith, n. p. 831Erroneous faith; error of belief. [Rare.] Tennyson.Mēsh, n. p. 831The opening or space inclosed by the threads of a net between knot and knot; net-work. A golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men. Shak. 2. [See MASH.] The grains or wash of a brewery.Mĕsh, v. t. p. 831To catch in a mesh; to ensnare. How small a net may take and mesh a heart of gentle kind! Surrey.Mēsh'y, a. p. 831Formed like net-work; reticulated.Mē'sial, a. p. 831Middle. Mesial plane (Anat.), a plane dividing the body longitudinally and symmetrically into two parts, the one on the right side, the other on the left side. Hence, mesial is sometimes used to…Mĕs'lin, n. p. 831The same as MASLIN. See MASLIN.Mēs'mer-ee', n. p. 831A person subjected to mesmeric influence; one who is mesmerized.Mes-mĕr'ic p. 831(a. [Fr. mesmérique. See infra.]Mes-mĕr'ic-al p. 831Pertaining to mesmerism, or being under its influence.Mĕs'mer-ism, n. p. 831The art of inducing an extraordinary or abnormal state of the nervous system, in which the actor claims to control the actions, and communicate directly with the mind, of the recipient.Mĕs'mer-ĭst, n. p. 832One who practices, or believes in, mesmerism.Mĕs'mer-i-zā'tion, n. p. 832The act of mesmerizing.Mĕs'mer-ize, v. t. p. 832To bring into a state of mesmeric sleep.Mĕs'mer-īz'er, n. p. 832One who practices mesmerism.Mesne, a. p. 832(Law.) Middle; intervening; as, a mesne lord, that is, a lord who holds land of a superior, but grants a part of it to another person, in which case he is a tenant to the superior, but lord or…Mĕs'o-blăst, n. p. 832A soft, solid, or gelatinous body occupying the interior of a cell, and usually called the nucleus. Agassiz.Mĕs'o-cărp, n. p. 832(Bot.) The middle layer of a pericarp which consists of three distinct or dissimilar layers. Gray.Mē'so-cō'lon, n. p. 832(Anat.) That part of the mesentery to which the colon is attached.Mĕs'o-gās'tric, n. p. 832(Anat.) The membrane which sustains the stomach.Mĕs'o-lābe, n. p. 832An instrument employed by the ancients for finding two mean proportionals between two given lines, which were required in the problem of the duplication of the cube. Brande.Més'ōle, n. p. 832(Min.) A mineral of a grayish-white, yellowish, or reddish color, and silky or pearly luster, occurring in implanted globules, with a flat, columnar, radiate structure, and consisting chiefly of the…Mēs'o-leī'cos, n. p. 832A precious stone with a streak of white in the middle. [Obs.]Mĕs'o-līte, n. p. 832(Min.) See MESOTYPE.Mĕs'o-lō'bar, a. p. 832(Anat.) Of, or pertaining to, the mesolobe.Mĕs'o-lōbe, n. p. 832(Anat.) A white, medullary band, connecting the two hemispheres of the brain with each other.