Chapter L: F. Ward (9)

-- First meridian, the meridian from which longitudes are reckoned. The meridian of Greenwich is the one commonly employed in calculations of longitude by geographers, and in actual practice, although in various countries other and different meridians, chiefly those which pass through the capitals of the countries, are occasionally used; as, in France, the meridian of Paris; in the United States, the meridian of Washington, etc. -- Guide meridian (Public Land Survey), a line, marked by monuments, running North and South through a section of country between other more carefully established meridians called principal meridians, used for reference in surveying. [U.S.] -- Magnetic meridian, a great circle, passing through the zenith and coinciding in direction with the magnetic needle, or a line on the earth's surface having the same direction. -- Meridian circle (Astron.), an instrument consisting of a telescope attached to a large graduated circle and so mounted that the telescope revolves like the transit instrument in a meridian plane. By it the right ascension and the declination of a star may be measured in a single observation. -- Meridian instrument (Astron.), any astronomical instrument having a telescope that rotates in a meridian plane. -- Meridian of a globe, or Brass meridian, a graduated circular ring of brass, in which the artificial globe is suspended and revolves.

Me*rid"i*o*nal (?), a. [F. méridional, L. meridionalis, fr. meridies midday. See Meridian.]

1. Of or pertaining to the meridian.

2. Having a southern aspect; southern; southerly.

Offices that require heat . . . should be meridional.

Sir H. Wotton.

Meridional distance, the distance or departure from the meridian; the easting or westing. -- Meridional parts, parts of the meridian in Mercator's projection, corresponding to each minute of latitude from the equator up to 70 or 80 degrees; tabulated numbers representing these parts used in projecting charts, and in solving cases in Mercator's sailing.

Me*rid`i*o*nal"i*ty (?), n. 1. The state of being in the meridian.

2. Position in the south; aspect toward the south.

Me*rid"i*o*nal*ly (?), adv. In the direction of the meridian.

Mer"ils (?), n. [F. mérelle, marelle, marelles, LL. marella, marrella. Cf. Morris the game.] A boy's play, called also fivepenny morris. See Morris.

||Me`ringue" (F. m`rN"g'; E. m*rng"), n. [F.] A delicate pastry made of ||powdered sugar and the whites of eggs whipped up, -- with jam or ||cream added.

Me*ri"no (?), a. [Sp. merino moving from pasture to pasture, fr. merino a royal judge and superintendent or inspector of sheep walks, LL. merinus, fr. majorinus, i. e., major vill&?;, fr. L. major greater. See Major. Merino sheep are driven at certain seasons from one part of Spain to another, in large flocks, for pasturage.] 1. Of or pertaining to a variety of sheep with very fine wool, originally bred in Spain.

2. Made of the wool of the merino sheep.

Me*ri"no, n.; pl. Merinos (#). [Sp.] 1. (Zoöl.) A breed of sheep originally from Spain, noted for the fineness of its wool.

2. A fine fabric of merino wool.

Mer`is*mat"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; division, fr. &?; part.] (Biol.) Dividing into cells or segments; characterized by separation into two or more parts or sections by the formation of internal partitions; as, merismatic growth, where one cell divides into many.

Mer"i*stem (?), n. [Gr. &?; divisible.] (Bot.) A tissue of growing cells, or cells capable of further division.

Mer"it (?), n. [F. mérite, L. meritum, fr. merere, mereri, to deserve, merit; prob. originally, to get a share; akin to Gr. &?; part, &?; fate, doom, &?; to receive as one's portion. Cf. Market, Merchant, Mercer, Mercy.] 1. The quality or state of deserving well or ill; desert.

Here may men see how sin hath his merit.

Chaucer.

Be it known, that we, the greatest, are misthought For things that
others do; and when we fall, We answer other's merits in our name.

Shak.

2. Esp. in a good sense: The quality or state of deserving well; worth; excellence.

Reputation is . . . oft got without merit, and lost without
deserving.

Shak.

To him the wit of Greece and Rome was known, And every author's
merit, but his own.

Pope.

3. Reward deserved; any mark or token of excellence or approbation; as, his teacher gave him ten merits.

Those laurel groves, the merits of thy youth.

Prior.

Mer"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Merited; p. pr. & vb. n. Meriting.] [F. mériter, L. meritare, v. intens. fr. merere. See Merit, n.] 1. To earn by service or performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve; sometimes, to deserve in a bad sense; as, to merit punishment. "This kindness merits thanks." Shak.

2. To reward. [R. & Obs.] Chapman.

Mer"it, v. i. To acquire desert; to gain value; to receive benefit; to profit. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Mer"it*a*ble (?), a. Deserving of reward. [R.]

Mer"it*ed*ly, adv. By merit; deservedly.

{ Mer"i*thal (?), ||Mer`i*thal"lus (?), } n. [NL. merithallus, fr. Gr. &?;, or &?;, a part + &?; a young shoot.] (Bot.) Same as Internode.

Mer"it*mon`ger (?), n. One who depends on merit for salvation. [Obs.] Milner.

Mer`i*to"ri*ous (?), a. [L. meritorius that brings in money.] Possessing merit; deserving of reward or honor; worthy of recompense; valuable.

And meritorious shall that hand be called, Canonized, and worshiped
as a saint.

Shak.

-- Mer`i*to"ri*ous*ly, adv. -- Mer`i*to"ri*ous*ness, n.

Mer"i*to*ry (?), a. Meritorious. [Obs.]

Mer"i*tot (?), n. A play of children, in swinging on ropes, or the like, till they are dizzy.

Merk (?), n. [See Marc.] An old Scotch silver coin; a mark or marc. [Scot.]

Merk, n. A mark; a sign. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Merke (?), a. Murky. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Mer"kin (?), n. Originally, a wig; afterwards, a mop for cleaning cannon.

{ Merl (?), Merle, } n. [F. merle, L. merula, merulus. Cf. Ousel.] (Zoöl.) The European blackbird. See Blackbird. Drayton.

Mer"lin (?), n. [OE. merlion, F. émerillon ; cf. OHG. smirl, G. schmerl ; prob. fr. L. merula blackbird. Cf. Merle.] (Zoöl.) A small European falcon (Falco lithofalco, or F. æsalon).

Mer"ling (?), n. (Zoöl.) The European whiting.

Mer"lon (?), n. [F., perh. fr. L. moerus, for murus a wall, through (assumed) dim. moerulus.] (Fort.) One of the solid parts of a battlemented parapet; a battlement. See Illust. of Battlement.

Mer"luce (?), n. [F. merluche, merlus.] (Zoöl.) The European hake; -- called also herring hake and sea pike.

Mer"maid (?), n. [AS. mere lake, sea. See Mere lake, and maid.] A fabled marine creature, typically represented as having the upper part like that of a woman, and the lower like a fish; a sea nymph, sea woman, or woman fish.

Chaucer uses this word as equivalent to the siren of the ancients.

Mermaid fish (Zoöl.) the angel fish (Squatina). -- Mermaid's glove (Zoöl.), a British branched sponge somewhat resembling a glove. -- Mermaid's head (Zoöl.), a European spatangoid sea urchin (Echinocardium cordatum) having some resemblance to a skull. -- Mermaid weed (Bot.), an aquatic herb with dentate or pectinate leaves (Proserpinaca palustris and P. pectinacea).

Mer"man (?), n.; pl. Mermen (&?;). The male corresponding to mermaid; a sea man, or man fish.

Mer"o*blast (?), n. [Gr. &?; part + -blast.] (Biol.) An ovum, as that of a mammal, only partially composed of germinal matter, that is, consisting of both a germinal portion and an albuminous or nutritive one; -- opposed to holoblast.

Mer`o*blas"tic (?), a. (Biol.) Consisting only in part of germinal matter; characterized by partial segmentation only; as, meroblastic ova, in which a portion of the yolk only undergoes fission; meroblastic segmentation; -- opposed to holoblastic.

Me"ro*cele (?), n. [Gr. &?; thigh + &?; tumor.] (Med.) Hernia in the thigh; femoral hernia .

Mer`o*is"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?; part + &?; an egg.] (Zoöl.) Applied to the ovaries of insects when they secrete vitelligenous cells, as well as ova.

Me*rop"i*dan (?), n. [L. merops a bee-eating bird, Gr. me`rops.] (Zoöl.) One of a family of birds (Meropidæ), including the bee-eaters.

Me*rop"o*dite (?), n. [Gr. &?; thigh + poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Zoöl.) The fourth joint of a typical appendage of Crustacea.

Mer*or`gan*i*za"tion (?), n. [Gr. &?; part + E. organization.] Organization in part. [R.]

||Me"ros (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; part.] (Arch.) The plain surface ||between the channels of a triglyph. [Written also merus.] Weale.

||Me"ros, n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; the thigh.] (Anat.) The proximal segment ||of the hind limb; the thigh.

Mer"o*some (?), n. [Gr. &?; part + - some body.] (Zoöl.) One of the serial segments, or metameres, of which the bodies of vertebrate and articulate animals are composed.

||Mer`o*stom"a*ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; thigh + &?;, -&?;, ||mouth.] (Zoöl.) A class of Arthropoda, allied to the Crustacea. It ||includes the trilobites, Eurypteroidea, and Limuloidea. All are ||extinct except the horseshoe crabs of the last group. See Limulus.

||Mé`rou" (?), n. [F.] (Zoöl.) See Jack, 8 (c).

Mer`o*vin"gi*an (?), a. [From Merovaeus, the Latin name of a king of the Franks.] Of or pertaining to the first Frankish dynasty in Gaul or France. -- n. One of the kings of this dynasty.

Mer"ri*ly (?), adv. [From Merry.] In a merry manner; with mirth; with gayety and laughter; jovially. See Mirth, and Merry.

Merrily sing, and sport, and play.

Granville.

Mer"ri*make` (?), n. See Merrymake, n.

Mer"ri*make`, v. i. See Merrymake, v. Gay.

Mer"ri*ment (?), n. Gayety, with laughter; mirth; frolic. "Follies and light merriment." Spenser.

Methought it was the sound Of riot and ill-managed merriment.

Milton.

Mer"ri*ness, n. The quality or state of being merry; merriment; mirth; gayety, with laughter.

Mer"ry (?), a. [Compar. Merrier (?); superl. Merriest.] [OE. merie, mirie, murie, merry, pleasant, AS. merge, myrige, pleasant; cf. murge, adv.; prob. akin to OHG. murg, short, Goth. gamaúrgjan to shorten; cf. L. murcus a coward, who cuts off his thumb to escape military service; the Anglo-Saxon and English meanings coming from the idea of making the time seem short. Cf. Mirth.] 1. Laughingly gay; overflowing with good humor and good spirits; jovial; inclined to laughter or play ; sportive.

They drank, and were merry with him.

Gen. xliii. 34.

I am never merry when I hear sweet music.

Shak.

<! p. 915 !>

2. Cheerful; joyous; not sad; happy.

Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

Jas. v. 13.

3. Causing laughter, mirth, gladness, or delight; as, a merry jest. "Merry wind and weather." Spenser.

Merry dancers. See under Dancer. -- Merry men, followers; retainers. [Obs.]

His merie men commanded he To make him bothe game and glee.

Chaucer.

-- To make merry, to be jovial; to indulge in hilarity; to feast with mirth. Judg. ix. 27.

Syn. -- Cheerful; blithe; lively; sprightly; vivacious; gleeful; joyous; mirthful; jocund; sportive; hilarious.

Mer"ry (mr"r), n. (Bot.) A kind of wild red cherry.

Mer"ry-an"drew (-n"dr), n. One 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, an English physician of the 16th century, who gained patients by facetious speeches to the multitude.

Mer"ry-go`-round" (?), n. Any revolving contrivance for affording amusement; esp., a ring of flying hobbyhorses.

Mer"ry*make` (?), n. Mirth; frolic; a meeting for mirth; a festival. [Written also merrimake.]

Mer"ry*make`, v. i. To make merry; to be jolly; to feast. [Written also merrimake.]

Mer"ry*mak`er (?), n. One who makes merriment or indulges in conviviality; a jovial comrade.

Mer"ry*mak`ing (?), a. Making or producing mirth; convivial; jolly.

Mer"ry*mak`ing, n. The act of making merry; conviviality; merriment; jollity. Wordsworth.

Mer"ry*meet`ing (?), n. A meeting for mirth.

Mer"ry*thought` (?), n. The forked bone of a fowl's breast; -- called also wishbone. See Furculum.

It is a sportive custom for two persons to break this bone by pulling the ends apart to see who will get the longer piece, the securing of which is regarded as a lucky omen, signifying that the person holding it will obtain the gratification of some secret wish.

Mer"sion (?), n. [L. mersio. See Merge.] Immersion. [R.] Barrow.

Me*ru"li*dan (?), n. [L. merula, merulus, blackbird. See Merle.] (Zoöl.) A bird of the Thrush family.

||Me"rus (?), n. [NL.] (Arch.) See Meros.

Mer"vaille` (?), n. Marvel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mes- (?). See Meso-.

||Me"sa (?), &?;. [Sp.] A high tableland; a plateau on a hill. ||[Southwestern U.S.] Bartlett.

Mes*ac"o*nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of mesaconic acid.

Mes`a*con"ic (?), a. [Mes- + -aconic, as in citraconic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, one of several isomeric acids obtained from citric acid.

Mes"ad (?), adv. Same as Mesiad.

Mes"al (?), a. Same as Mesial.

||Mé`sal`li`ance" (?), n. [F.] A marriage with a person of inferior ||social position; a misalliance.

Mes"al*ly (ms"al*l), adv. Same as Mesially.

Mes`a*mœ"boid (ms`*m"boid), n. [Mes- + amœboid.] (Biol.) One of a class of independent, isolated cells found in the mesoderm, while the germ layers are undergoing differentiation.

Mes`a*ra"ic (?), a. [Gr. mesa`raion mesentery; me`sos middle + 'araia` flank.] (Anat.) Mesenteric.

Mes`a*ti*ce*phal"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; midmost + E. cephalic.] (Anat.) Having the ratio of the length to the breadth of the cranium a medium one; neither brachycephalic nor dolichocephalic.

Mes`a*ti*ceph"a*lous (?), a. (Anat.) Mesaticephalic.

||Mes*cal" (?), n. [Sp.] A distilled liquor prepared in Mexico from a ||species of agave. See Agave.

||Mes`dames" (F. ?, E. ?), n., pl. of Madame and Madam.

Me*seems" (?), v. impers. [imp. Meseemed (?).] It seems to me. [Poetic]

Me"sel (?), n. [See Measle.] A leper. [Obs.]

Me"sel*ry (?), n. Leprosy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||Me*sem`bry*an"the*mum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. meshmbri`a midday + ||'a`nqos flower.] (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous or suffruticose plants, ||chiefly natives of South Africa. The leaves are opposite, thick, and ||f&?;eshy. The flowers usually open about midday, whence the name.

Mes`en*ce*phal"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesencephalon or midbrain.

||Mes`en*ceph"a*lon (?), n. [NL. See Meso- and Encephalon.] (Anat.) The ||middle segment of the brain; the midbrain. Sometimes abbreviated to ||mesen. See Brain.

||Mes*en"chy*ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + -enchyma, as in ||E. parenchyma.] (Biol.) The part of the mesoblast which gives rise to ||the connective tissues and blood.

Mes`en*ter"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. mésentérique.] (Anat.) Pertaining to a mesentery; mesaraic.

||Mes*en"te*ron (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Enteron.] (Anat.) All that ||part of the alimentary canal which is developed from the primitive ||enteron and is lined with hypoblast. It is distinguished from the ||stomodæum, a part at the anterior end of the canal, including the ||cavity of the mouth, and the proctodæum, a part at the posterior end, ||which are formed by invagination and are lined with epiblast.

Mes"en*ter*y (?; 277), n. [Gr. mesente`rion, me`sos + 'e`nteron intestine: cf. F. mésentère.]

1. (Anat.) The membranes, or one of the membranes (consisting of a fold of the peritoneum and inclosed tissues), which connect the intestines and their appendages with the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity. The mesentery proper is connected with the jejunum and ilium, the other mesenteries being called mesocæcum, mesocolon, mesorectum, etc.

2. (Zoöl.) One of the vertical muscular radiating partitions which divide the body cavity of Anthozoa into chambers.

Mes`e*ra"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Mesaraic.

Mes*eth"moid (?), a. [Mes- + ethmoid.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the middle of the ethmoid region or ethmoid bone. -- n. (Anat.) The median vertical plate, or median element, of the ethmoid bone.

Mesh (msh), n. [AS. masc, max, mæscre; akin to D. maas, masche, OHG. masca, Icel. möskvi; cf. Lith. mazgas a knot, megsti to weave nets, to knot.] 1. The opening or space inclosed by the threads of a net between knot and knot, or the threads inclosing such a space; network; a net.

A golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men.

Shak.

2. (Gearing) The engagement of the teeth of wheels, or of a wheel and rack.

Mesh stick, a stick on which the mesh is formed in netting.

Mesh, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Meshed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Meshing.] To catch in a mesh. Surrey.

Mesh, v. i. (Gearing) To engage with each other, as the teeth of wheels.

Meshed (?), a. Mashed; brewed. [Obs.] Shak.

Mesh"y (?), a. Formed with meshes; netted.

Mes"i*ad (?), adv. [Gr. me`sos middle + L. ad to.] (Anat.) Toward, or on the side toward, the mesial plane; mesially; -- opposed to laterad.

Me"sial (?; 277), a. [Gr. me`sos middle.] (Anat.) Middle; median; in, or in the region of, the mesial plane; internal; -- opposed to lateral.

Mesial plane. (Anat.) See Meson.

Me"sial*ly, adv. (Anat.) In, near, or toward, the mesial plane; mesiad.

Mes"i*tyl (?), n. (Chem.) A hypothetical radical formerly supposed to exist in mesityl oxide.

Mesityl oxide (Chem.), a volatile liquid having the odor of peppermint, obtained by certain dehydrating agents from acetone; -- formerly called also dumasin.

Me*sit"y*le*nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of mesitylenic acid.

Me*sit"y*lene (?), n. (Chem.) A colorless, fragrant liquid, C6H3(CH3)3, of the benzene series of hydrocarbons, obtained by distilling acetone with sulphuric acid. -- Me*sit`y*len"ic (#), a.

Me*sit"y*lol (?), n. [Mesitylene + -ol.] (Chem.) A crystalline substance obtained from mesitylene.

Mes"lin (? or ?), n. See Maslin.

Mes`mer*ee" (?), n. A person subjected to mesmeric influence; one who is mesmerized. [R.]

{ Mes*mer"ic (?), Mes*mer"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. mesmérique.] Of, pertaining to, or induced by, mesmerism; as, mesmeric sleep.

Mes"mer*ism (?), n. [From Mesmer, who first brought it into notice at Vienna, about 1775: cf. F. mesmérisme.] The 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. See Animal magnetism, under Magnetism.

Mes"mer*ist, n. One who practices, or believes in, mesmerism.

Mes`mer*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of mesmerizing; the state of being mesmerized.

Mes"mer*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mesmerized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mesmerizing (?).] To bring into a state of mesmeric sleep.

Mes"mer*i`zer (?), n. One who mesmerizes.

Mesne (?), a. [Cf. Mean intermediate.] (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 superior to the second grantee, and hence is called the mesne lord.

Mesne process, intermediate process; process intervening between the beginning and end of a suit, sometimes understood to be the whole process preceding the execution. Blackstone. Burrill. -- Mesne profits, profits of premises during the time the owner has been wrongfully kept out of the possession of his estate. Burrill.

{ Mes"o- (?), Mes- (?) }. [Gr. me`sos in the middle.] A combining form denoting in the middle, intermediate; specif. (Chem.), denoting a type of hydrocarbons which are regarded as methenyl derivatives. Also used adjectively.

||Mes`o*a"ri*um (?), n. [NL., from Gr. me`sos middle + 'w,a`rion, dim. ||of 'w,o`n an egg.] (Anat.) The fold of peritoneum which suspends the ||ovary from the dorsal wall of the body cavity.

Mes"o*blast (?), n. [Meso- + -blast.] (Biol.) (a) The mesoderm. (b) The cell nucleus; mesoplast.

Mes`o*blas"tic (?), a. (Biol.) Relating to the mesoblast; as, the mesoblastic layer.

Mes`o*bran"chi*al (?), a. [Meso- + branchial.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to a region of the carapace of a crab covering the middle branchial region.

||Mes`o*bron"chi*um (?), n.; pl. Mesobronchia (#). [NL. See Meso-, and ||Bronchia.] (Anat.) The main bronchus of each lung.

||Mes`o*cæ"cum (?), n. (Anat.) [NL. See Meso-, and Cæcum.] The fold of ||peritoneum attached to the cæcum. -- Mes`o*cæ"cal (#), a.

Mes"o*carp (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.) The middle layer of a pericarp which consists of three distinct or dissimilar layers. Gray.

Mes`o*ce*phal"ic (?), a. [Meso- + cephalic.] (Anat.) (a) Of or pertaining to, or in the region of, the middle of the head; as, the mesocephalic flexure. (b) Having the cranial cavity of medium capacity; neither megacephalic nor microcephalic. (c) Having the ratio of the length to the breadth of the cranium a medium one; mesaticephalic.

||Mes`o*ceph"a*lon (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Cephalon.] (Anat.) The ||pons Varolii.

Mes`o*ceph"a*lous (?), a. (Anat.) Mesocephalic.

{ Mes`o*cœ"le (?), ||Mes`o*cœ"li*a (?), } n. [NL. mesocoelia. See Meso-, and Cœlia.] (Anat.) The cavity of the mesencephalon; the iter.

Mes`o*co"lon (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; me`sos middle + &?; the colon : cf. F. mésocôlon.] (Anat.) The fold of peritoneum, or mesentery, attached to the colon. -- Mes`o*col"ic (#), a.

Mes`o*cor"a*coid (?), n. [Meso- + coracoid.] (Anat.) A process from the middle of the coracoid in some animals.

{ Mes`o*cu*ne"i*form (?), Mes`o*cu"ni*form (?), } n. [Meso- + cuneiform, cuniform.] (Anat.) One of the bones of the tarsus. See 2d Cuneiform.

Mes"o*derm (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. de`rma skin.] (Biol.) (a) The layer of the blastoderm, between the ectoderm and endoderm; mesoblast. See Illust. of Blastoderm and Ectoderm. (b) The middle body layer in some invertebrates. (c) The middle layer of tissue in some vegetable structures.

Mes`o*der"mal (?), a. (Biol.) Pertaining to, or derived from, the mesoderm; as, mesodermal tissues.

Mes`o*der"mic (?), a. Same as Mesodermal.

Mes"o*dont (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, a tooth.] (Anat.) Having teeth of moderate size.

||Mes`o*gas"ter (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; belly.] ||(Anat.) The fold of peritoneum connecting the stomach with the dorsal ||wall of the abdominal cavity; the mesogastrium.

Mes`o*gas"tric (?), a. [Meso- + gastric.]

1. (Anat.) (a) Of or pertaining to the middle region of the abdomen, or of the stomach. (b) Of or pertaining to the mesogaster.

2. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the middle gastric lobe of the carapace of a crab.

||Mes`o*gas"tri*um (?), n. [NL. See Mesogaster.] (Anat.) (a) The ||umbilical region. (b) The mesogaster.

||Mes`o*glœ"a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a glutinous ||substance.] (Zoöl.) A thin gelatinous tissue separating the ectoderm ||and endoderm in certain cœlenterates. -- Mes`o*glœ"al (#), a.

Me*sog"na*thous (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. gna`qos jaw.] (Anat.) Having the jaws slightly projecting; between prognathous and orthognathous. See Gnathic index, under Gnathic.

||Mes`o*he"par (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Hepar.] (Anat.) A fold of ||the peritoneum connecting the liver with the dorsal wall of the ||abdominal cavity.

||Mes`o*hip"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a horse.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct mammal of the Horse family, but not larger than ||a sheep, and having three toes on each foot.

Mes"o*labe (?), n. [L. mesolabium, Gr. &?;; me`sos middle + &?; to take.] An instrument of the ancients for finding two mean proportionals between two given lines, required in solving the problem of the duplication of the cube. Brande & C.

Mes"ole (?), n. [Gr. me`sos middle.] (Min.) Same as Thomsonite.

Mes"o*lite (?; 277), n. [Meso- + -lite.] (Min.) A zeolitic mineral, grayish white or yellowish, occuring in delicate groups of crystals, also fibrous massive. It is a hydrous silicate of alumina, lime, and soda.

Mes`o*log"a*rithm (?), n. [Meso- + logarithm : cf. F. mésologarithme.] (Math.) A logarithm of the cosine or cotangent. [Obs.] Kepler. Hutton.

||Mes`o*me"tri*um (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Metrium.] (Anat.) The ||fold of the peritoneum supporting the oviduct.

Mes`o*my*o"di*an (?), n. (Zoöl.) A bird having a mesomyodous larynx.

Mes`o*my"o*dous (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?;, &?;, a muscle.] (Zoöl.) Having the intrinsic muscles of the larynx attached to the middle of the semirings.

||Mes"on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`son middle, neut. of me`sos, a., ||middle.] (Anat.) The mesial plane dividing the body of an animal into ||similar right and left halves. The line in which it meets the dorsal ||surface has been called the dorsimeson, and the corresponding ventral ||edge the ventrimeson. B. G. Wilder.

Mes`o*na"sal (?), a. [Meso- + nasal.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the middle portion of the nasal region.

Mes`o*neph"ric (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesonephros; as, the mesonephric, or Wolffian, duct.

||Mes`o*neph"ros (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + nefro`s kidney.] ||(Anat.) The middle one of the three pairs of embryonic renal organs ||developed in most vertebrates; the Wolffian body.

||Mes`o*no"tum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + nw^ton the back.] ||(Zoöl.) The dorsal portion of the mesothorax of insects.

||Mes`o*phlœ"um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + floio`s bark.] ||(Bot.) The middle bark of a tree; the green layer of bark, usually ||soon covered by the outer or corky layer, and obliterated.

||Me*soph"ry*on (?), n. [NL., from Gr. meso`fryon.] (Anat.) See ||Glabella.

||Mes`o*phyl"lum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + fy`llon leaf.] ||(Bot.) The parenchyma of a leaf between the skin of the two surfaces. ||Gray.

Mes"o*plast (?), n. [Meso- + -plast.] (Biol.) The nucleus of a cell; mesoblast. Agassiz.

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Mes`o*po"di*al (ms`*p"d*al), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesopodialia or to the parts of the limbs to which they belong.

||Mes`o*po`di*a"le (?), n.; pl. Mesopodialia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos ||middle + &?;, dim. of poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Anat.) One of the bones ||of either the carpus or tarsus.

||Mes`o*po"di*um (?), n. [NL. See Mesopodiale.] (Zoöl.) The middle ||portion of the foot in the Gastropoda and Pteropoda.

||Me*sop`te*ryg"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a fin.] ||(Anat.) The middle one of the three principal basal cartilages in the ||fins of fishes. -- ||Me*sop`ter*yg"i*al (#), a.

||Me*sor"chi*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a testicle.] ||(Anat.) The fold of peritoneum which attaches the testis to the ||dorsal wall of the body cavity or scrotal sac.

||Mes`o*rec"tum (?), n. [Meso- + rectum.] (Anat.) The fold of ||peritoneum, or mesentery, attached to the rectum. -- Mes`o*rec"tal ||(#), a.

Mes"o*rhine (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?;, &?;, the nose.] (Anat.) Having the nose of medium width; between leptorhine and platyrhine.

||Mes`o*sau"ri*a (?), n. Same as Mosasauria.

||Mes`o*scap"u*la (?), n. [Meso- + scapula.] (Anat.) A process from the ||middle of the scapula in some animals; the spine of the scapula.

Mes`o*scap"u*lar (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesoscapula.

||Mes`o*scu"tum (?), n. [Meso- + scutum.] (Zoöl.) The scutum or dorsal ||plate of the middle thoracic segment of an insect. See Illust. of ||Butterfly.

Mes"o*seme (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?; sign, mark; cf. F. mésosème.] (Anat.) Having a medium orbital index; having orbits neither broad nor narrow; between megaseme and microseme.

Mes`o*sid"er*ite (?), n. [Meso- + siderite.] (Min.) See the Note under Meteorite.

Mes"o*sperm (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. &?; seed: cf. F. mésosperme.] (Bot.) A membrane of a seed. See Secundine.

Mes"o*state (?), n. [Meso- + Gr. &?; to make to stand.] (Physiol.) A product of metabolic action.

Every mesostate is either an anastate or katastate, according as it is formed by an anabolic or katabolic process. See Metabolism.

Mes`o*ster"nal (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mesosternum.

||Mes`o*ster"num (?), n. [Meso- + sternum.]

1. (Anat.) The middle portion, or body, of the sternum.

2. (Zoöl.) The ventral piece of the middle segment of the thorax in insects.

Mes`o*tar*tar"ic (?), a. [Meso- + tartaric.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid called also inactive tartaric acid.

||Mes`o*the"ca (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; box.] (Zoöl.) ||The middle layer of the gonophore in the Hydrozoa.

||Mes`o*the"li*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + E. epithelium.] ||(Biol.) Epithelial mesoderm; a layer of cuboidal epithelium cells, ||formed from a portion of the mesoderm during the differetiation of ||the germ layers. It constitutes the boundary of the cœlum.

Mes`o*tho*rac"ic (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the mesothorax.

Mes`o*tho"rax (?), n. [Meso- + thorax: cf. F. mésothorax.] (Zoöl.) The middle segment of the thorax in insects. See Illust. of Coleoptera.

Mes"o*tro`chal (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?; anything round, a hoop.] (Zoöl.) Having the middle of the body surrounded by bands of cilia; -- said of the larvæ of certain marine annelids.

Mes"o*type (?), n. [Meso- + - type: cf. F. mésotype.] (Min.) An old term covering natrolite or soda mesolite, scolecite or lime mesotype, and mesolite or lime-soda mesotype.

||Mes`o*va"ri*um (?), n. [NL. See Meso-, and Ovary.] (Anat.) The fold ||of peritoneum connecting the ovary with the wall of the abdominal ||cavity.

Mes*ox"a*late (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of mesoxalic acid.

Mes`ox*al"ic (?), a. [Mes- + oxalic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid, CH2O2(CO2H)2, obtained from amido malonic acid.

||Mes`o*zo"a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Mesozoic.] (Zoöl.) A group of very ||lowly organized, wormlike parasites, including the Dicyemata. They ||are found in cephalopods. See Dicyemata.

Mes`o*zo"ic (?), a. [Meso- + Gr. &?; life, fr. &?; to live.] (Geol.) Belonging, or relating, to the secondary or reptilian age, or the era between the Paleozoic and Cenozoic. See Chart of Geology.

Mes`o*zo"ic, n. The Mesozoic age or formation.

Mes*prise" (?), n. [OF. mespris, F. mépris. See Misprize.] 1. Contempt; scorn. [Obs.]

2. [Perh. for F. méprise mistake. Cf. Misprision.] Misadventure; ill-success. [Obs.] Spenser.

{ Mes*qui"te (ms*k"t), Mes*quit" (ms*kt") }, n. [Sp. mezquite; said to be a Mexican Indian word.] (Bot.) A name for two trees of the southwestern part of North America, the honey mesquite, and screw-pod mesquite.

Honey mesquite. See Algaroba (b). -- Screw-pod mesquite, a smaller tree (Prosopis pubescens), having spiral pods used as fodder and sometimes as food by the Indians. -- Mesquite grass, a rich native grass in Western Texas (Bouteloua oligostachya, and other species); -- so called from its growing in company with the mesquite tree; -- called also muskit grass, grama grass.

Mess (?), n. Mass; church service. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mess (?), n. [OE. mes, OF. mets, LL. missum, p. p. of mittere to put, place (e. g., on the table), L. mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Mass religious service.] 1. A quantity of food set on a table at one time; provision of food for a person or party for one meal; as, a mess of pottage; also, the food given to a beast at one time.

At their savory dinner set Of herbs and other country messes.

Milton.

2. A number of persons who eat together, and for whom food is prepared in common; especially, persons in the military or naval service who eat at the same table; as, the wardroom mess. Shak.

3. A set of four; -- from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner. [Obs.] Latimer.

4. The milk given by a cow at one milking. [U.S.]

5. [Perh. corrupt. fr. OE. mesh for mash: cf. muss.] A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; hence, a situation resulting from blundering or from misunderstanding; as, he made a mess of it. [Colloq.]

Mess (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Messed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Messing.] To take meals with a mess; to belong to a mess; to eat (with others); as, I mess with the wardroom officers. Marryat.

Mess, v. t. To supply with a mess.

Mes"sage (?; 48), n. [F., fr. LL. missaticum, fr. L. mittere, missum, to send. See Mission, and cf. Messenger.] 1. Any notice, word, or communication, written or verbal, sent from one person to another.

Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee.

Judg. iii. 20.

2. Hence, specifically, an official communication, not made in person, but delivered by a messenger; as, the President's message.

Message shell. See Shell.

Mes"sage, v. t. To bear as a message. [Obs.]

Mes"sage, n. [OE., fr. OF. message, fr. LL. missaticus. See 1st Message.] A messenger. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mes"sa*ger (?), n. [OE.] A messenger. [Obs.]

Mes"sen*ger (?), n. [OE. messager, OF. messagier, F. messager. See Message.] 1. One who bears a message; the bearer of a verbal or written communication, notice, or invitation, from one person to another, or to a public body; specifically, an office servant who bears messages.

2. One who, or that which, foreshows, or foretells.

Yon gray lines That fret the clouds are messengers of day.

Shak.

3. (Naut.) A hawser passed round the capstan, and having its two ends lashed together to form an endless rope or chain; -- formerly used for heaving in the cable.

4. (Law) A person appointed to perform certain ministerial duties under bankrupt and insolvent laws, such as to take charge of the estate of the bankrupt or insolvent. Bouvier. Tomlins.

Syn. -- Carrier; intelligencer; courier; harbinger; forerunner; precursor; herald.

Messenger bird, the secretary bird, from its swiftness.

Mes"set (?), n. A dog. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Mes*si"ad (?), n. A German epic poem on the Messiah, by Klopstock.

Mes*si"ah (?), n. [Heb. mshakh anointed, fr. mshakh to anoint. Cf. Messias.] The expected king and deliverer of the Hebrews; the Savior; Christ.

And told them the Messiah now was born.

Milton.

Mes*si"ah*ship, n. The state or office of the Messiah.

Mes`si*an"ic (?), a. Of or relating to the Messiah; as, the Messianic office or character.

Mes*si"as (?), n. [LL., fr. Gr. &?;. See Messiah.] The Messiah.

I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ.

John iv. 25.

||Mes`si`dor" (F. ?; E. ?), n. [F., fr. L. messis harvest.] The tenth ||month of the French republican calendar dating from September 22, ||1792. It began June 19, and ended July 18. See VendÉmiaire.

Mes"sieurs (?; F. ?; 277), n. pl. [F.; pl. of monsieur.] Sirs; gentlemen; -- abbreviated to Messrs., which is used as the plural of Mr.

Mes`si*nese" (? or ?), a. Of or pertaining to Messina, or its inhabitans.

Mess"mate` (?), n. An associate in a mess.

Mes"suage (?; 48), n. [Cf. OF. mesuage, masnage, LL. messuagium, mansionaticum, fr. L. mansio, -onis, a staying, remaining, dwelling, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, remain, E. mansion, manse.] (Law) A dwelling house, with the adjacent buildings and curtilage, and the adjoining lands appropriated to the use of the household. Cowell. Bouvier.

They wedded her to sixty thousand pounds, To lands in Kent, and
messuages in York.

Tennyson.

Mest (?), a. Most. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mes*tee" (?), n. [See Mestizo.] The offspring of a white person and a quadroon; -- so called in the West Indies. [Written also mustee.]

Mes"ter (?), n. [Obs.] See Mister, a trade.

Mes*ti"no (?), n.; pl. Mestinos (&?;). See Mestizo.

Mes*ti"zo (?), n.; pl. Mestizos (#). [Sp. mestizo; akin to OF. mestis, F. métis; all fr. (assumed) LL. mixtitius, fr. L. mixtus mixed, p. p. of miscere to mix. See Mix, and cf. Mestee, MÉtif, MÉtis, Mustee.] The offspring of an Indian or a negro and a European or person of European stock. [Spanish America]

Mestizo wool, wool imported from South America, and produced by mixed breeds of sheep.

Mest"ling (?), n. A kind of brass. See Maslin. [Obs.]

||Me*sym"ni*cum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. me`sos middle + &?; a festive ||song. See Hymn.] (Anc. Poetry) A repetition at the end of a stanza.

Met (?), imp. & p. p. of Meet.

Met, obs. imp. & p. p. of Mete, to measure. Chapman.

Met, obs. p. p. of Mete, to dream. Chaucer.

{ Met"a- (?), Met- (?) }. [Gr. meta` between, with, after; akin to AS. mid with, G. mit, Goth. miþ, E. mid, in midwife.] 1. A prefix meaning between, with, after, behind, over, about, reversely; as, metachronism, the error of placing after the correct time; metaphor, lit., a carrying over; metathesis, a placing reversely.

2. (Chem.) A prefix denoting: (a) Other; duplicate, corresponding to; resembling; hence, metameric; as, meta-arabinic, metaldehyde. (b) (Organic Chem.) That two replacing radicals, in the benzene nucleus, occupy the relative positions of 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 3 and 5, 4 and 6, 5 and 1, or 6 and 2; as, metacresol, etc. See Ortho-, and Para-. (c) (Inorganic Chem.) Having less than the highest number of hydroxyl groups; - - said of acids; as, metaphosphoric acid. Also used adjectively.

Me*tab"a*sis (?), n.; pl. Metabases (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to pass over; &?; beyond, over + &?; to go.] 1. (Rhet.) A transition from one subject to another.

2. (Med.) Same as Metabola.

{ ||Me*tab"o*la (?), ||Me*tab"o*le (?), } n. [NL., from Gr. &?; change; &?; beyond + &?; to throw.] (Med.) A change or mutation; a change of disease, symptoms, or treatment.

{ ||Me*tab"o*la (?), ||Met`a*bo"li*a (?), } n. pl. [NL. See 1st Metabola.] (Zoöl.) A comprehensive group of insects, including those that undegro a metamorphosis.

Met`a*bo"li*an (?), n. [See Metabola.] (Zoöl.) An insect which undergoes a metamorphosis.

Met`a*bol"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;. See Metabola.] 1. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to metamorphosis; pertaining to, or involving, change.

2. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to metabolism; as, metabolic activity; metabolic force.

||Met`a*bol"i*sis (?), n. [NL.] Metabolism. [R.]

Me*tab"o*lism (?), n. (Physiol.) The act or process, by which living tissues or cells take up and convert into their own proper substance the nutritive material brought to them by the blood, or by which they transform their cell protoplasm into simpler substances, which are fitted either for excretion or for some special purpose, as in the manufacture of the digestive ferments. Hence, metabolism may be either constructive (anabolism), or destructive (katabolism).

Me*tab"o*lite (?), n. (Physiol Chem.) A product of metabolism; a substance produced by metabolic action, as urea.

Me*tab"o*lize (?), v. t. & i. (Physiol.) To change by a metabolic process. See Metabolism.

Met`a*bran"chi*al (?), a. [Meta- + branchial.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the lobe of the carapace of crabs covering the posterior branchiæ.

Met`a*car"pal (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the metacarpus. -- n. A metacarpal bone.

Met`a*car"pus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; beyond, between + &?; the wrist.] (Anat.) That part of the skeleton of the hand or forefoot between the carpus and phalanges. In man it consists of five bones. See Illust. of Artiodactyla.

{ Met`a*cen"ter (?) or -tre }, n. [Pref. meta- + center.] (Hydrostatics) The point of intersection of a vertical line through the center of gravity of the fluid displaced by a floating body which is tipped through a small angle from its position of equilibrium, and the inclined line which was vertical through the center of gravity of the body when in equilibrium.

When the metacenter is above the center of gravity, the position of the body is stable; when below it, unstable.

Me*tac"e*tone (?), n. [Pref. met- + acetone.] (Chem.) A colorless liquid of an agreeable odor, C6H10O, obtained by distilling a mixture of sugar and lime; -- so called because formerly regarded as a polymeric modification of acetone.

Met`a*chlo"ral (?), n. [Pref. meta- + chloral.] (Chem.) A white, amorphous, insoluble substance regarded as a polymeric variety of chloral.

Me*tach"ro*nism (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, after the time, happening afterward; &?; beyond + &?; time: cf. F. métachronisme.] An error committed in chronology by placing an event after its real time.

||Met`a*chro"sis (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; beyond + &?; a coloring.] ||(Biol.) The power of changing color at will by the expansion of ||special pigment cells, under nerve influence, as seen in many ||reptiles, fishes, etc. Cope.

Met`a*cin"na*bar*ite (?), n. [Pref. meta- + cinnabar.] (Min.) Sulphide of mercury in isometric form and black in color.

Met"a*cism (?), n. [L. metacismus, Gr. &?; fondness for the letter &?;.] A defect in pronouncing the letter m, or a too frequent use of it.

Met`a*cro"le*in (?), n. [Pref. met- + acrolein.] (Chem.) A polymeric modification of acrolein obtained by heating it with caustic potash. It is a crystalline substance having an aromatic odor.

||Met`a*cro"mi*on (?), n. [NL.] (Anat.) A process projecting backward ||and downward from the acromion of the scapula of some mammals.

Met`a*dis*coid"al (?), a. [Meta- + discoidal.] (Anat.) Discoidal by derivation; -- applied especially to the placenta of man and apes, because it is supposed to have been derived from a diffused placenta.

Met`a*gas"tric (?), a. [Pref. meta- + gastric.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the two posterior gastric lobes of the carapace of crabs.

Met"age (?; 48), n. [From Mete, v.] 1. Measurement, especially of coal. De Foe.

2. Charge for, or price of, measuring. Simmonds.

Met`a*gen"e*sis (?), n. [Pref. meta- + genesis.] 1. (Biol.) The change of form which one animal species undergoes in a series of successively produced individuals, extending from the one developed from the ovum to the final perfected individual. Hence, metagenesis involves the production of sexual individuals by nonsexual means, either directly or through intervening sexless generations. Opposed to monogenesis. See Alternate generation, under Generation.

2. (Biol.) Alternation of sexual and asexual or gemmiparous generations; -- in distinction from heterogamy.

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Met`a*ge*net"ic (mt`*j*nt"k), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to metagenesis.

Met`a*gen"ic (-jn"k), a. (Biol.) Metagenetic.

Me*tag"na*thous (?), a. [Pref. meta- + Gr. gna`qos the jaw.] (Zoöl.) Cross-billed; -- said of certain birds, as the crossbill.

Met`a*gram"ma*tism (?), n. Anagrammatism.

Met`a*graph"ic (?), a. By or pertaining to metagraphy.

Me*tag"ra*phy (?), n. [Pref. meta- + -graphy.] The art or act of rendering the letters of the alphabet of one language into the possible equivalents of another; transliteration. Stormonth.

Met"al (? or ?; 277), n. [F. métal, L. metallum metal, mine, Gr. &?; mine; cf. Gr. &?; to search after. Cf. Mettle, Medal.] 1. (Chem.) An elementary substance, as sodium, calcium, or copper, whose oxide or hydroxide has basic rather than acid properties, as contrasted with the nonmetals, or metalloids. No sharp line can be drawn between the metals and nonmetals, and certain elements partake of both acid and basic qualities, as chromium, manganese, bismuth, etc.

Popularly, the name is applied to certain hard, fusible metals, as gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, zinc, nickel, etc., and also to the mixed metals, or metallic alloys, as brass, bronze, steel, bell metal, etc.

2. Ore from which a metal is derived; -- so called by miners. Raymond.

3. A mine from which ores are taken. [Obs.]

Slaves . . . and persons condemned to metals.

Jer. Taylor.

4. The substance of which anything is made; material; hence, constitutional disposition; character; temper.

Not till God make men of some other metal than earth.

Shak.

5. Courage; spirit; mettle. See Mettle. Shak.

The allusion is to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. Skeat.

6. The broken stone used in macadamizing roads and ballasting railroads.

7. The effective power or caliber of guns carried by a vessel of war.

8. Glass in a state of fusion. Knight.

9. pl. The rails of a railroad. [Eng.]

Base metal (Chem.), any one of the metals, as iron, lead, etc., which are readily tarnished or oxidized, in contrast with the noble metals. In general, a metal of small value, as compared with gold or silver. -- Fusible metal (Metal.), a very fusible alloy, usually consisting of bismuth with lead, tin, or cadmium. -- Heavy metals (Chem.), the metallic elements not included in the groups of the alkalies, alkaline earths, or the earths; specifically, the heavy metals, as gold, mercury, platinum, lead, silver, etc. -- Light metals (Chem.), the metallic elements of the alkali and alkaline earth groups, as sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, etc.; also, sometimes, the metals of the earths, as aluminium. -- Muntz metal, an alloy for sheathing and other purposes, consisting of about sixty per cent of copper, and forty of zinc. Sometimes a little lead is added. It is named from the inventor. -- Prince's metal (Old Chem.), an alloy resembling brass, consisting of three parts of copper to one of zinc; -- also called Prince Rupert's metal.

Met"al, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metaled (? or ?) or Metalled; p. pr. & vb. n. Metaling or Metalling.] To cover with metal; as, to metal a ship's bottom; to metal a road.

Met`al*am*mo"ni*um (?), n. [Metal + ammonium.] (Chem.) A hypothetical radical derived from ammonium by the substitution of metallic atoms in place of hydrogen.

Met`al*bu"min (?), n. [Pref. met- + albumin.] (Physiol. Chem.) A form of albumin found in ascitic and certain serous fluids. It is sometimes regarded as a mixture of albumin and mucin.

Me*tal"de*hyde (?), n. [Pref. met- + aldehyde.] (Chem.) A white crystalline substance isomeric with, and obtained from, acetic aldehyde by polymerization, and reconvertible into the same.

||Met`a*lep"sis (?), n.; pl. Metalepses (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?; ||participation, alteration, fr. &?; to partake, to take in exchange; ||&?; beyond + &?; to take.] (Rhet.) The continuation of a trope in one ||word through a succession of significations, or the union of two or ||more tropes of a different kind in one word.

Met"a*lep`sy (?), n. (Chem.) Exchange; replacement; substitution; metathesis. [R.]

Met`a*lep"tic (?), a. [Gr. &?;] 1. Of or pertaining to a metalepsis.

2. Transverse; as, the metaleptic motion of a muscle.

3. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, concerned in, or occurring by, metalepsy.

Met`a*lep"tic*al (?), a. Metaleptic. -- Met`a*lep"tic*al*ly, adv.

Me*tal"lic (?), a. [L. metallicus, fr. metallum: cf. F. métallique. See Metal.] 1. Of or pertaining to a metal; of the nature of metal; resembling metal; as, a metallic appearance; a metallic alloy.

2. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or characterized by, the essential and implied properties of a metal, as contrasted with a nonmetal or metalloid; basic; antacid; positive.

Metallic iron, iron in the state of the metal, as distinquished from its ores, as magnetic iron. -- Metallic paper, paper covered with a thin solution of lime, whiting, and size. When written upon with a pewter or brass pencil, the lines can hardly be effaced. -- Metallic tinking (Med.), a sound heard in the chest, when a cavity communicating with the air passages contains both air and liquid.

Me*tal"lic*al (?), a. See Metallic. [Obs.]

Me*tal"lic*ly (?), adv. In a metallic manner; by metallic means.

Me*tal`li*fac"ture (?; 135), n. [L. metallum metal + facere, factum, to make.] The production and working or manufacture of metals. [R.] R. Park.

Met`al*lif"er*ous (?), a. [L. metallifer; metallum metal + ferre to bear: cf. F. métallifère.] Producing metals; yielding metals.

Me*tal"li*form (?), a. [L. metallum metal + -form: cf. F. métalliforme.] Having the form or structure of a metal.

Met"al*line (?), a. [Cf. F. métallin.] (Chem.) (a) Pertaining to, or resembling, a metal; metallic; as, metalline properties. (b) Impregnated with metallic salts; chalybeate; as, metalline water. [R.]

Met"al*line (? or ?), n. (Chem.) A substance of variable composition, but resembling a soft, dark-colored metal, used in the bearings of machines for obviating friction, and as a substitute for lubricants.

Met"al*list (?), n. A worker in metals, or one skilled in metals.

Met`al*li*za"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. métallisation.] The act or process of metallizing. [R.]

Met"al*lize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metallized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Metallizing (?).] [Cf. F. métalliser.] To impart metallic properties to; to impregnate with a metal. [R.]

Me*tal"lo*chrome (?), n. [See Metallochromy.] A coloring produced by the deposition of some metallic compound; specifically, the prismatic tints produced by depositing a film of peroxide of lead on polished steel by electricity.

Me*tal"lo*chro`my (?), n. [L. metallum metal + Gr. &?; color.] The art or process of coloring metals.

Me*tal"lo*graph (?), n. [L. metallum metal + -graph.] A print made by metallography.

Me*tal`lo*graph"ic (?), a. Pertaining to, or by means of, metallography.

Met`al*log"ra*phist (?), n. One who writes on the subject of metals.

Met`al*log"ra*phy (?), n. [L. metallum metal + -graphy: cf. F. métallographie.] 1. The science or art of metals and metal working; also, a treatise on metals.

2. A method of transferring impressions of the grain of wood to metallic surfaces by chemical action. Knight.

3. A substitute for lithography, in which metallic plates are used instead of stone. Knight.

Met"al*loid (?), n. [L. metallum metal + -oid: cf. F. métalloïde.] (a) Formerly, the metallic base of a fixed alkali, or alkaline earth; -- applied by Sir H. Davy to sodium, potassium, and some other metallic substances whose metallic character was supposed to be not well defined. (b) Now, one of several elementary substances which in the free state are unlike metals, and whose compounds possess or produce acid, rather than basic, properties; a nonmetal; as, boron, carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, chlorine, bromine, etc., are metalloids.

Met"al*loid, a. 1. Having the appearance of a metal.

2. (Chem.) Having the properties of a nonmetal; nonmetallic; acid; negative.

Met`al*loid"al (?), a. Metalloid.

Met`al*lor*gan"ic (?), a. Metalorganic.

Me*tal`lo*ther"a*py (?), n. [L. metallum metal + E. therapy.] (Med.) Treatment of disease by applying metallic plates to the surface of the body.

{ Met`al*lur"gic (?), Met`al*lur"gic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. métallurgique.] Of or pertaining to metallurgy.

Met"al*lur`gist (?), n. [Cf. F. métallurgiste.] One who works in metals, or prepares them for use; one who is skilled in metallurgy.

Met"al*lur`gy (?), n. [F. métallurgie, fr. L. metallum metal, Gr. &?; a mine + the root of &?; work. See Metal, and Work.] The art of working metals, comprehending the whole process of separating them from other matters in the ore, smelting, refining, and parting them; sometimes, in a narrower sense, only the process of extracting metals from their ores.

Met"al*man (?), n.; pl. Metalmen (&?;). A worker in metals.

Met`a*log"ic*al (?), a. Beyond the scope or province of logic.

Met`al*or*gan"ic (?), a. [Metal, L. metallum + E. organic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or denoting, any one of a series of compounds of certain metallic elements with organic radicals; as, zinc methyl, sodium ethyl, etc. [Written also metallorganic.]

Met"a*mer (?), n. [See Metamere.] (Chem.) Any one of several metameric forms of the same substance, or of different substances having the same composition; as, xylene has three metamers, viz., orthoxylene, metaxylene, and paraxylene.

Met"a*mere (?), n. [Pref. meta- + -mere.] (Biol.) One of successive or homodynamous parts in animals and plants; one of a series of similar parts that follow one another in a vertebrate or articulate animal, as in an earthworm; a segment; a somite. See Illust. of Loeven's larva.

Met`a*mer"ic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + Gr. &?; part.] 1. (Chem.) Having the same elements united in the same proportion by weight, and with the same molecular weight, but possessing a different structure and different properties; as, methyl ether and ethyl alcohol are metameric compounds. See Isomeric.

The existence of metameric compounds is due to the different arrangement of the same constituents in the molecule.

2. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to a metamere or its formation; as, metameric segmentation.

Met`a*mer"ic*al*ly, adv. In a metameric manner.

Me*tam"er*ism (?), n. 1. (Biol.) The symmetry of a metameric structure; serial symmetry; the state of being made up of metameres.

2. (Chem.) The state or quality of being metameric; also, the relation or condition of metameric compounds.

Met`a*mor"phic (?), a. [See Metamorphosis.] 1. Subject to change; changeable; variable.

2. Causing a change of structure.

3. (Geol.) Pertaining to, produced by, or exhibiting, certain changes which minerals or rocks may have undergone since their original deposition; -- especially applied to the recrystallization which sedimentary rocks have undergone through the influence of heat and pressure, after which they are called metamorphic rocks.

Met`a*mor"phism (?), n. (Geol.) The state or quality of being metamorphic; the process by which the material of rock masses has been more or less recrystallized by heat, pressure, etc., as in the change of sedimentary limestone to marble. Murchison.

Met`a*mor"phist (?), n. (Eccl.) One who believes that the body of Christ was merged into the Deity when he ascended.

Met`a*mor"phize (?), v. t. To metamorphose.

Met`a*mor"phose (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Metamorphosed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Metamorphosing.] [Cf. F. métamorphoser.] To change into a different form; to transform; to transmute.

And earth was metamorphosed into man.

Dryden.

Met`a*mor"phose (?), n. [Cf. F. métamorphose. See Metamorphosis.] Same as Metamorphosis.

Met`a*mor"pho*ser (?), n. One who metamorphoses. [R.] Gascoigne.

Met`a*mor"pho*sic (?), a. Changing the form; transforming. [R.] Pownall.

Met`a*mor"pho*sis (?), n.; pl. Metamorphoses (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to be transformed; meta` beyond, over + morfh` form.]

1. Change of form, or structure; transformation.

2. (Biol.) A change in the form or function of a living organism, by a natural process of growth or development; as, the metamorphosis of the yolk into the embryo, of a tadpole into a frog, or of a bud into a blossom. Especially, that form of sexual reproduction in which an embryo undergoes a series of marked changes of external form, as the chrysalis stage, pupa stage, etc., in insects. In these intermediate stages sexual reproduction is usually impossible, but they ultimately pass into final and sexually developed forms, from the union of which organisms are produced which pass through the same cycle of changes. See Transformation.

3. (Physiol.) The change of material of one kind into another through the agency of the living organism; metabolism.

Vegetable metamorphosis (Bot.), the doctrine that flowers are homologous with leaf buds, and that the floral organs are transformed leaves.

||Met`a*nau"pli*us (?), n. [NL. See Meta-, and Nauplius.] (Zoöl.) A ||larval crustacean in a stage following the nauplius, and having about ||seven pairs of appendages.

Met`a*ne*phrit"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the metanephros.

||Met`a*neph"ros (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; behind + &?; kidney.] ||(Anat.) The most posterior of the three pairs of embryonic renal ||organs developed in many vertebrates.

||Met`a*no"tum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; behind + &?; back.] (Zoöl.) ||The dorsal portion of the metaphorax of insects.

Met`an*ti*mo"nate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of metantimonic acid.

Met`an*ti*mon"ic (?), a. [Pref. met- + antimonic.] (Chem.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid (formerly called antimonic acid) analogous to metaphosphoric acid, and obtained as a white amorphous insoluble substance, (HSbO3). (b) Formerly, designating an acid, which is now properly called pyroantimonic acid, and analogous to pyrophosphoric acid.

Met`a*pec"tic (?), a. [Pref. meta- + pectic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a supposed acid obtained from pectin.

Met`a*pec"tin (?), n. (Chem.) A substance obtained from, and resembling, pectin, and occurring in overripe fruits.

Met`a*pep"tone (?), n. [Pref. meta- + peptone.] (Physiol. Chem.) An intermediate product formed in the gastric digestion of albuminous matter.

Met"a*phor (mt"*fr), n. [F. métaphore, L. metaphora, fr. Gr. metafora`, fr. metafe`rein to carry over, transfer; meta` beyond, over + fe`rein to bring, bear.] (Rhet.) The transference of the relation between one set of objects to another set for the purpose of brief explanation; a compressed simile; e. g., the ship plows the sea. Abbott & Seeley. "All the world's a stage." Shak.