Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Môr'phine p. 859A vegetable alkaloid extracted from opium, of which it constitutes one of the narcotic principles. Its salts are much used in medicine as an anodyne.Môr'pho-lŏg'ic or Môr'pho-lŏg'ic-al, a. p. 859Pertaining to, or according to the principles of, morphology.Mōr'pho-lŏg'ic-al-ly, adv. p. 859With reference to the facts or principles of morphology.Mor-phŏl'o-ǧist, n. p. 859One who is versed in, or writes upon, morphology.Mor-phŏl'o-gy, n. p. 859The science which describes the ideal forms of the parts or organs in the structure of plants and animals, treating of their varieties, homologies, and metamorphoses.Môr'pi-on, n. p. 860An insect of the louse kind. Hæmatopinus.Mor-pāgḵ'ec, n. p. 860An elegantly decorated pleasure-boat, used upon the Ganges, moved by numerous paddles.Mōr'rhy-ā, n. p. 860(Ichth.) A genus of fishes, including the common cod.Mōr'rīce, n. p. 860A kind of dance; also, a game; the same as MORRIS.Mōr'ri-mal, n. p. 860See MORMAL.Mōr'ri-mal, a. p. 860Grievous; afflictive; dangerous. [Obs.] “Morrimal ulcers.” Holland.Mōr'ris, n. p. 860A dance in imitation of the Moors, as sarabands, chacons, &c., usually performed with castanets or rattles held in the hands, by a single person, in connection with entertainments like puppet-shows…Mōr'ris, n. p. 860(Ichth.) A fish of the genus Leptocephalus, resembling the eel, but having a very slender body, compressed so far as to be thin and flat, like tape.Mōr'ris-dānçe, n. p. 860The same as MORRIS, q. v.Mōr’ris-dān’çer, n. p. 860One who dances a morris-dance. Sir W. Temple.Mōr'ris-pīke, n. p. 860A Moorish pike. [Obs.] Shak.Mōr'rōw, n. p. 860Morning. [Rare.] But by the cause that they shulden rise Early a-morwe for to seen the sight. Chaucer. 2. The next following day; the day subsequent to any day specified. But if the sacrifice of his…Mōrse, n. p. 860(Zoöl.) The sea-horse, or walrus. See WALRUS.Mōrse, n. p. 860A clasp or fastening for garments in front, usually made of the precious metals. Fairholt.Mōr'sel, n. p. 860A bite; a mouthful; a bit of food. Every morsel to a satisfied hunger is only a new labor to a tired digestion. South. 2. Hence, a small quantity of any thing; a little piece; a fragment.Mōr'si-tā'tion, n. p. 860The act of biting or gnawing; morsure. [Obs.]Môr'sūre, n. p. 860The act of biting.Mŏrt, n. p. 860A note or tune sounded at the death of game. The sportsman then sounded a treble mort. W. Scott.Mōrt, n. p. 860A great quantity; a large amount. [Prov. Eng.] There was a mort of merry-making. Dickens. 2. A woman. [Cant.] “Male gypsies all, not a mort among them.” B. Jonson. 3. A salmon in his third year.…Mōr'tal, a. p. 860Subject to death; destined to die; as, man is mortal. 2. Destructive to life; causing or occasioning death; terminating life; exposing to or deserving death; as, a mortal wound or injury; a mortal…Môr'tal, n. p. 860A being subject to death; a human being; man. “Warn poor mortals left behind.” Tickell.Mor-tal'i-ty, n. p. 860The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. When I saw her die, I then did think on your mortality. Carew. 2. Death; destruction. Gladly would I meet…Môr'tal-ize, v. t. p. 860To make mortal. [Rare.]Môr'tal-ly, adv. p. 860In a mortal manner; deadlily; irrecoverably; as, mortally wounded. 2. In the highest possible degree; inveterately; desperately. Adrian mortally envied poets, painters, and artificers, in works…Môr'tal-ness, n. p. 860The state of being mortal; mortality.Môr'tar, n. p. 860A wide-mouthed vessel, in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or bruised with a pestle. 2. (Mil.) A short piece of ordnance, used for throwing bombs, carcasses, shells, &c., at…Môr'tar, n. p. 860A mixture of lime and sand with water, used as a cement for uniting stones and bricks in walls.Mort d'ăn'ses-tor p. 860(Law.) A writ of assize, by which a demandant recovers possession of an estate from which he has been ousted, on the death of his ancestor. Blackstone.Môr'ter, n. p. 860A chamber-lamp or light. [Obs.] Chaucer.Mŏrt'gāge, n. p. 860(Law.) A conveyance of property, upon condition, as security for the payment of a debt or the performance of a duty, and to become void upon payment or performance. ☞ It was called a mortgage (or…Mōrt'gāge, v. t. p. 860(Law.) To grant or convey, as property, for the security of a debt, or other engagement, upon a condition that if the debt or engagement shall be discharged according to the contract, the conveyance…Mōrt'gāge-deed, n. p. 860(Law.) A deed given by way of mortgage.Mōrt-gā-gee', n. p. 860(Law.) The person to whom property is mortgaged, or to whom a mortgage is made or given.Mōrt'gāge-ōr', n. p. 860[From mort-Môrt'ga-ger p. 860gage. Mortgagor is an orthography that should have no countenance. If accented on the last syllable, the spelling should be mortgagoor.] (Law.) The person who conveys property as security for debt…Mōr'ti-er, n. p. 860A cap of state anciently worn by the kings of France. Brande.Mor-tif'er-ous, a. p. 860Bringing or producing death; deadly; fatal; destructive.Mōr'ti-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 860The act of mortifying, or the condition of being mortified; especially, (a.) (Med.) The death of one part of an animal body, while the rest continues to live; loss of vitality in some part of a…Môr'ti-fi-ed-ness, n. p. 860The state of being mortified; humiliation; subjection of the passions.Môr'ti-fi'er, n. p. 860One who, or that which, mortifies.Môr'ti-fy, v. t. p. 860To destroy the organic texture and vital functions of; to change to gangrene. 2. To destroy the active powers or essential qualities of. [Obs.] “Quicksilver . . . mortified with turpentine.” Bacon.…Môr'ti-fy, v. i. p. 860To lose vitality, as flesh; to gangrene. 2. To practice severities and penance from religious motives. This makes him give alms of all that he hath, watch, fast, and mortify. Law. 3. To be subdued…Mōr'ti-fī'ing, a. p. 860Tending to humble or abase; humiliating; as, a mortifying repulse.Mōr'ti-fy'ing-ly, adv. p. 860“Humiliatingly.”Mōr'tise, n. p. 860A cavity cut into a piece of timber, or other material, to receive the end of another piece, made to fit it, called a tenon. Mortise-joint, a joint made by a mortise and tenon.—Mortise-lock, a lock…Mōr'tise, v. t. p. 861To cut or make a mortise in. 2. To join by a tenon and mortise; as, to mortise a beam into a post, or a joist into a girder.Mōr'tis-ing-ma-chine', n. p. 861A power or hand machine for making mortises in wood.Mōrt'ling, n. p. 861Wool taken from a dead sheep. [Written also morling.]Mōrt'māin, n. p. 861(Law.) Possession of lands or tenements in dead hands, or hands that can not alienate. ☞ The term was originally applied to conveyances of land made to ecclesiastical bodies; afterward made to any…Mōrt-né, n. p. 861See MORNE.Mōrt'pāy, n. p. 861Dead pay; payment not made. [Obs.] Bacon.Mōr'tress or Mōr'trew, n. p. 861A dish of meat of various kinds, beaten together. [Obs.]Mōrt'ū-a-ry, n. p. 861A sort of ecclesiastical heriot, a customary gift claimed by, and due to, the minister of a parish on the death of a parishioner. It seems to have been originally a voluntary bequest or donation…Mōrt'ū-a-ry, a. p. 861Belonging to the burial of the dead; as, mortuary monuments.Mō'rus, n. p. 861(Bot.) A genus of plants, some species of which produce edible fruit; the mulberry. ☞ M. alba is the white mulberry, the leaves of which are extensively used for feeding silk-worms, for which it…