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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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
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…Mōr'vant, n. p. 861A kind of sheep.Mo-sā'ic, n. p. 861Inlaid work, in which the effect of painting is produced by the use or continuation of pieces of colored stone or other hard substance, natural or artificial; used for floors, walls, ornamental…Mo-sā'ic, a. p. 861Of, or pertaining to the style of work called mosaic; formed by uniting pieces of different colors; variegated; tessellated; also, composed of various materials or ingredients. Mosaic gold. (a.) A…Mo-sā'ic or Mo-sā'ic-al, a. p. 861Pertaining to Moses, the leader of the Israelites; as, the Mosaic law, rites, or institutions.Mo-sā'ic-al-ly, adv. p. 861After the manner of mosaic work.Mo-sā'ism, n. p. 861Attachment to the doctrines of Moses; that which pertains to the doctrines of Moses.Mōs'o-sau'rus, n. p. 861(Palæon.) An extinct water lizard, allied to the monitor, and larger than the crocodile. Several species have been found fossil in the cretaceous formations of Europe and America. The first was…Mŏs'che-tel, n. p. 861(Bot.) A plant of the genus Adoxa (A. moschatellina), the flowers of which are pale green, and have a faint musky smell. It is found in woods in all parts of Europe, and is called also hollow-root…Mos-chī'nd, n. p. 861(Zoöl.) A tribe of ruminant animals, including the musk-deer.Mōs'eleus, n. p. 861(Zoöl.) A genus of animals; the musk-deer.Mo-sĕlle', n. p. 861A French white wine, being one of the most acid of the light wines. Simmonds.Mŏs'lem, n. p. 861A Mussulman; an orthodox Mohammedan. [Written also muslim.]Mŏs'lem, a. p. 861Pertaining to the Mohammedans; Mohammedan. They piled the ground with Moslem slain. Halleck.Mŏs'lings, n. pl. p. 861Thin shreds of leather shaved off in dressing skins. Simmonds.Mōs'o-sau'rus, n. p. 861See MOSASAURUS.Mōsque, n. p. 861A Mohammedan church or place of religious worship. [Written also mosk.]Mos-qui’to, n. p. 861(Entom.) A small insect, of several different species, of the genus Culex, having a sharp pointed proboscis, by means of which it punctures the skins of animals and sucks their blood, the minute…Mŏss, n. p. 861(Bot.) An aerogenous cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with leaves, and a distinct root. It is of small size, and found nearly all over the world, growing chiefly in moist places. The stem…Mŏss, n. p. 861A bog; a place where peat is found; as, Chat-moss.Mŏss, v. t. p. 861To cover with moss. An oak whose boughs were mossed with age. Shak.Mŏss'-ăg'ate, n. p. 861(Min.) A variety of agate, having internally a moss-like appearance; — called also mocha-stone. Dana.Mŏss'-bŭnk'er, n. p. 861(Ichth.) A fish (Alosa menhaden) related to the shad. De Kay.Mŏss'i-ness, n. p. 861The state of being overgrown with moss.Mŏss'-lănd, n. p. 861Land produced by the accumulation of aquatic plants, forming peat-bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is drained off or retained in its pores.Mŏss'-pĭnk, n. p. 861(Bot.) A plant of the genus Phlox (P. subulata), found on dry, rocky hills in the Middle United States, and often cultivated for its handsome flowers. Gray.Mŏss'-rōse, n. p. 861(Bot.) A variety of rose having a moss-like pubescence or growth on the calyx or envelope of the flower. London.Mŏss'-rŭsh, n. p. 861(Bot.) A plant of the genus Juncus (J. squarrosus).Mŏss'-trōop'er, n. p. 861One of a class of marauders or bandits that formerly infested the border country between England and Scotland. The name is derived from the character of the country over which they “trooped,” it…Mŏss'y, a. p. 861Overgrown with moss; abounding with moss. Old trees are more mossy than young. Bacon. 2. Bordered with moss; as, mossy brooks; mossy fountains. Pope. Cowley.Mōst, a. p. 861superl. of more. [Scot. mast, maist, A-S. mæst, Goth. maists, O. Sax., O. D., & Icel. mest, Dan. & D. meest, Sw. mast, O. & N. H. Ger. meist.] 1. Consisting of the greatest number or quantity…Mōst, adv. p. 861In the greatest or highest degree. Those nearest the king, and most his favorites, were courtiers and prelates. Milton. ☞ Placed before an adjective or adverb, most is used to form the superlative…Mōs'tic or Mōs'tick, n. p. 861A mahl-stick, or painter's staff or stick on which he rests his hand in painting.Mōs'ti-hī'bā, n. p. 861See MUSTAIBA.Mōst'ly, adv. p. 861For the greatest part; chiefly; in the main.Mōs'tra, n. p. 861(Mus.) A mark placed upon the staff at the end of a line to show what note the next line begins with; a direct. See DIRECT.Mōst'what, adv. p. 861For the most part. [Obs.] All the rest do mostwhat far amiss. Spencer.Mōt, n. p. 861A word; hence, a motto. [Obs.] Bp. Hall. 2. (Pron. mò.) A pithy or witty saying; a witticism. [A Gallicism.] Here and there turns up a . . . savage mot. North Brit. Rev. 3. A note or brief strain on…Mōt'a-çil, n. p. 861(Ornith.) A bird of the genus Motacilla.Mōt'a-çil'la, n. p. 861(Ornith.) A genus of passerine, dentirostral birds, including the wagtail. Baird.Mo-tā'tion, n. p. 861The act of moving; motion. [Obs.]Mōte p. 861A word used in composition, and signifying meeting, as in burgh-mote, folk-mote, and the like.Mōte, n. p. 861A small particle; any thing proverbially small; a spot; a speck. The little motes in the sun do ever stir, though there is no wind. Bacon. We are motes in the midst of generations. Lawlor. Mōte, for…Mo-tēl'la, n. p. 861(Ichth.) A genus of fishes, including the whistle-fish.Mo-tēt′, n. p. 861(Mus.) A musical composition adapted to sacred words in church style; an anthem.Mŏth, n. p. 861(Entom.) A lepidopterous insect, having antennæ that taper regularly to a point, chiefly of nocturnal habits. The clothes' moth is of several species of the genus Tinea. This breeds in yarn and…