Chapter L: F. Ward (17)

Moon"rak`er (?), n. (Naut.) Same as Moonsail.

Moon"rise` (?), n. The rising of the moon above the horizon; also, the time of its rising.

Moon"sail` (?), n. (Naut.) A sail sometimes carried in light winds, above a skysail. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Moon"seed` (?), n. (Bot.) A climbing plant of the genus Menispermum; -- so called from the crescentlike form of the seeds.

Moon"set` (?), n. The descent of the moon below the horizon; also, the time when the moon sets.

||Moon"shee (?), n. [Hind. munish, fr. Ar. munish a writer, author, ||secretary, tutor.] A Mohammedan professor or teacher of language. ||[India]

Moon"shine` (?), n. 1. The light of the moon.

2. Hence, show without substance or reality.

3. A month. [R.] Shak.

4. A preparation of eggs for food. [Obs.]

Moon"shine`, a. Moonlight. [R.] Clarendon.

Moon"shin`er (?), n. A person engaged in illicit distilling; -- so called because the work is largely done at night. [Cant, U.S.]

Moon"shin`y (?), a. Moonlight. [Colloq.]

I went to see them in a moonshiny night.

Addison.

Moon"stone` (-stn`), n. (Min.) A nearly pellucid variety of feldspar, showing pearly or opaline reflections from within. It is used as a gem. The best specimens come from Ceylon.

Moon"strick`en (?), a. See Moonstruck.

Moon"struck` (?), a. 1. Mentally affected or deranged by the supposed influence of the moon; lunatic.

2. Produced by the supposed influence of the moon. "Moonstruck madness." Milton.

3. Made sick by the supposed influence of the moon, as a human being; made unsuitable for food, as fishes, by such supposed influence.

Moon"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) The herb lunary or honesty. See Honesty. (b) Any fern of the genus Botrychium, esp. B. Lunaria; -- so named from the crescent-shaped segments of its frond.

Moon"y (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the moon.

Soft and pale as the moony beam.

J. R. Drake.

2. Furnished with a moon; bearing a crescent.

But soon the miscreant moony host Before the victor cross shall
fly.

Fenton.

3. Silly; weakly sentimental. [Colloq.] G. Eliot.

Moor (mr), n. [F. More, Maure, L. Maurus a Moor, a Mauritanian, an inhabitant of Mauritania, Gr. May^ros; cf. may^ros black, dark. Cf. Morris a dance, Morocco.] 1. One of a mixed race inhabiting Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli, chiefly along the coast and in towns.

2. (Hist.) Any individual of the swarthy races of Africa or Asia which have adopted the Mohammedan religion. "In Spanish history the terms Moors, Saracens, and Arabs are synonymous." Internat. Cyc.

Moor, n. [OE. mor, AS. mr moor, morass; akin to D. moer moor, G. moor, and prob. to Goth. marei sea, E. mere. See Mere a lake.] 1. An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath.

In her girlish age she kept sheep on the moor.

Carew.

2. A game preserve consisting of moorland.

Moor buzzard (Zoöl.), the marsh harrier. [Prov. Eng.] -- Moor coal (Geol.), a friable variety of lignite. -- Moor cock (Zoöl.), the male of the moor fowl or red grouse of Europe. -- Moor coot. (Zoöl.) See Gallinule. -- Moor fowl. (Zoöl.) (a) The European ptarmigan, or red grouse (Lagopus Scoticus). (b) The European heath grouse. See under Heath. -- Moor game. (Zoöl.) Same as Moor fowl (above). -- Moor grass (Bot.), a tufted perennial grass (Sesleria cærulea), found in mountain pastures of Europe. -- Moor hawk (Zoöl.), the marsh harrier. -- Moor hen. (Zoöl.) (a) The female of the moor fowl. (b) A gallinule, esp. the European species. See Gallinule. (c) An Australian rail (Tribonyx ventralis). -- Moor monkey (Zoöl.), the black macaque of Borneo (Macacus maurus). -- Moor titling (Zoöl.), the European stonechat (Pratinocola rubicola).

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Moor (mr), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Moored (mrd); p. pr. & vb. n. Mooring.] [Prob. fr. D. marren to tie, fasten, or moor a ship. See Mar.] 1. (Naut.) To fix or secure, as a vessel, in a particular place by casting anchor, or by fastening with cables or chains; as, the vessel was moored in the stream; they moored the boat to the wharf.

2. Fig.: To secure, or fix firmly. Brougham.

Moor, v. i. To cast anchor; to become fast.

On oozy ground his galleys moor.

Dryden.

Moor"age (?), n. A place for mooring.

Moor"ball` (?), n. (Bot.) A fresh-water alga (Cladophora Ægagropila) which forms a globular mass.

Moor"band` (?), n. See Moorpan.

Moor"ess (?), n. A female Moor; a Moorish woman.

Moor"ing, n. 1. The act of confining a ship to a particular place, by means of anchors or fastenings.

2. That which serves to confine a ship to a place, as anchors, cables, bridles, etc.

3. pl. The place or condition of a ship thus confined.

And the tossed bark in moorings swings.

Moore.

Mooring block (Naut.), a heavy block of cast iron sometimes used as an anchor for mooring vessels.

Moor"ish, a. [From 2d Moor.] Having the characteristics of a moor or heath. "Moorish fens." Thomson.

Moor"ish, a. [See 1st Moor, and cf. Morris, Moresque.] Of or pertaining to Morocco or the Moors; in the style of the Moors.

Moorish architecture, the style developed by the Moors in the later Middle Ages, esp. in Spain, in which the arch had the form of a horseshoe, and the ornamentation admitted no representation of animal life. It has many points of resemblance to the Arabian and Persian styles, but should be distinguished from them. See Illust. under Moresque.

Moor"land (?), n. [AS. mrland.] Land consisting of a moor or moors.

Moor"pan` (?), n. [Cf. Hard pan, under Hard.] A clayey layer or pan underlying some moors, etc.

Moor"stone` (?), n. A species of English granite, used as a building stone.

||Moo"ruk (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A species of cassowary ||(Casuarius Bennetti) found in New Britain, and noted for its agility ||in running and leaping. It is smaller and has stouter legs than the ||common cassowary. Its crest is bilobed; the neck and breast are ||black; the back, rufous mixed with black; and the naked skin of the ||neck, blue.

Moor"y (?), a. Of or pertaining to moors; marshy; fenny; boggy; moorish. Mortimer.

As when thick mists arise from moory vales.

Fairfax.

Moor"y, n. A kind of blue cloth made in India. Balfour (Cyc of India).

Moose (ms), n. [A native name; Knisteneaux mouswah; Algonquin monse. Mackenzie.] (Zoöl.) A large cervine mammal (Alces machlis, or A. Americanus), native of the Northern United States and Canada. The adult male is about as large as a horse, and has very large, palmate antlers. It closely resembles the European elk, and by many zoölogists is considered the same species. See Elk.

Moose bird (Zoöl.), the Canada jayor whisky jack. See Whisky jack. -- Moose deer. Same as Moose. -- Moose yard (Zoöl.), a locality where moose, in winter, herd together in a forest to feed and for mutual protection.

Moose"wood` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) The striped maple (Acer Pennsylvanicum). (b) Leatherwood.

Moot (mt), v. See 1st Mot. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Moot (mt), n. (Shipbuilding) A ring for gauging wooden pins.

Moot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mooted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mooting.] [OE. moten, motien, AS. mtan to meet or assemble for conversation, to discuss, dispute, fr. mt, gemt, a meeting, an assembly; akin to Icel. mt, MHG. muoz. Cf. Meet to come together.] 1. To argue for and against; to debate; to discuss; to propose for discussion.

A problem which hardly has been mentioned, much less mooted, in
this country.

Sir W. Hamilton.

2. Specifically: To discuss by way of exercise; to argue for practice; to propound and discuss in a mock court.

First a case is appointed to be mooted by certain young men,
containing some doubtful controversy.

Sir T. Elyot.

Moot (?), v. i. To argue or plead in a supposed case.

There is a difference between mooting and pleading; between fencing
and fighting.

B. Jonson.

Moot, n. [AS. mt, gemt, a meeting; -- usually in comp.] [Written also mote.] 1. A meeting for discussion and deliberation; esp., a meeting of the people of a village or district, in Anglo-Saxon times, for the discussion and settlement of matters of common interest; -- usually in composition; as, folk- moot. J. R. Green.

2. [From Moot, v.] A discussion or debate; especially, a discussion of fictitious causes by way of practice.

The pleading used in courts and chancery called moots.

Sir T. Elyot.

Moot case, a case or question to be mooted; a disputable case; an unsettled question. Dryden. -- Moot court, a mock court, such as is held by students of law for practicing the conduct of law cases. -- Moot point, a point or question to be debated; a doubtful question.

Moot, a. Subject, or open, to argument or discussion; undecided; debatable; mooted.

Moot"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being mooted.

Moot"er (?), n. A disputer of a mooted case.

{ Moot"-hall` (?), Moot"-house` (?), } n. [AS. mth&?;s.] A hall for public meetings; a hall of judgment. [Obs.] "The moot- hall of Herod." Wyclif.

Moot"-hill` (?), n. (O. Eng. Law) A hill of meeting or council; an elevated place in the open air where public assemblies or courts were held by the Saxons; - - called, in Scotland, mute-hill. J. R. Green.

Moot"man (?), n.; pl. Mootmen (&?;). (O. Eng. Law) One who argued moot cases in the inns of court.

Mop (?), n. [See Mope.] A made-up face; a grimace. "What mops and mowes it makes!" Beau. & Fl.

Mop, v. i. To make a wry mouth. [Obs.] Shak.

Mop, n. [CF. W. mop, mopa, Ir. moipal, Gael. moibeal, moibean; or OF. mappe a napkin (see Map, Napkin).] 1. An implement for washing floors, or the like, made of a piece of cloth, or a collection of thrums, or coarse yarn, fastened to a handle.

2. A fair where servants are hired. [Prov. Eng.]

3. The young of any animal; also, a young girl; a moppet. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Mop head. (a) The end of a mop, to which the thrums or rags are fastened. (b) A clamp for holding the thrums or rags of a mop. [U.S.]

Mop, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mopped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mopping.] To rub or wipe with a mop, or as with a mop; as, to mop a floor; to mop one's face with a handkerchief.

Mop"board` (?), n. (Carp.) A narrow board nailed against the wall of a room next to the floor; skirting board; baseboard. See Baseboard.

Mope (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Moped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Moping.] [Cf. D. moppen to pout, Prov. G. muffen to sulk.] To be dull and spiritless. "Moping melancholy." Milton.

A sickly part of one true sense Could not so mope.

Shak.

Mope, v. t. To make spiritless and stupid. [Obs.]

Mope, n. A dull, spiritless person. Burton.

Mope"-eyed` (?), a. Shortsighted; purblind.

Mope"ful (?), a. Mopish. [R.]

Mop"ish (?), a. Dull; spiritless; dejected. -- Mop"ish*ly, adv. -- Mop"ish*ness, n.

Mop"lah (?), n. [Malayalam mpplia.] One of a class of Mohammedans in Malabar.

Mop"pet (?), n. [From 3d Mop.] 1. A rag baby; a puppet made of cloth; hence, also, in fondness, a little girl, or a woman.

2. (Zoöl.) A long-haired pet dog.

{ Mop"sey, Mop"sy } (?), n. 1. A moppet.

2. A slatternly, untidy woman. Halliwell.

Mop"si*cal (?), a. Shortsighted; mope-eyed.

Mop"stick` (?), n. The long handle of a mop.

Mo"pus (m"ps), n. A mope; a drone. [Obs.] Swift.

||Mo*quette" (?), n. [F.] A kind of carpet having a short velvety pile.

||Mor"a (?), n. [It.] A game of guessing the number of fingers extended ||in a quick movement of the hand, -- much played by Italians of the ||lower classes.

Mo"ra (?), n. (Bot.) A leguminous tree of Guiana and Trinidad (Dimorphandra excelsa); also, its timber, used in shipbuilding and making furniture.

||Mo"ra, n. [L.] (Rom. & Civil Law) Delay; esp., culpable delay; ||postponement.

Mo*raine" (?), n. [F. Cf. Prov. G. mur stones broken off, It. mora a heap of stones, hillock, G. mürbe soft, broken up, OHG. muruwi, AS. mearu tender, Gr. &?; to cause to wither, Skr. ml to relax.] (Geol.) An accumulation of earth and stones carried forward and deposited by a glacier. Lyell.

If the moraine is at the extremity of the glacier it is a terminal moraine; if at the side, a lateral moraine; if parallel to the side on the central portion of the glacier, a medial moraine. See Illust. of Glacier. In the last case it is formed by the union of the lateral moraines of the branches of the glacier. A ground moraine is one beneath the mass of ice.

Mo*rain"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to a moranie.

Mor"al (?), a. [F., fr. It. moralis, fr. mos, moris, manner, custom, habit, way of life, conduct.] 1. Relating to duty or obligation; pertaining to those intentions and actions of which right and wrong, virtue and vice, are predicated, or to the rules by which such intentions and actions ought to be directed; relating to the practice, manners, or conduct of men as social beings in relation to each other, as respects right and wrong, so far as they are properly subject to rules.

Keep at the least within the compass of moral actions, which have
in them vice or virtue.

Hooker.

Mankind is broken loose from moral bands.

Dryden.

She had wandered without rule or guidance in a moral wilderness.

Hawthorne.

2. Conformed to accepted rules of right; acting in conformity with such rules; virtuous; just; as, a moral man. Used sometimes in distinction from religious; as, a moral rather than a religious life.

The wiser and more moral part of mankind.

Sir M. Hale.

3. Capable of right and wrong action or of being governed by a sense of right; subject to the law of duty.

A moral agent is a being capable of those actions that have a moral
quality, and which can properly be denominated good or evil in a
moral sense.

J. Edwards.

4. Acting upon or through one's moral nature or sense of right, or suited to act in such a manner; as, a moral arguments; moral considerations. Sometimes opposed to material and physical; as, moral pressure or support.

5. Supported by reason or probability; practically sufficient; -- opposed to legal or demonstrable; as, a moral evidence; a moral certainty.

6. Serving to teach or convey a moral; as, a moral lesson; moral tales.

Moral agent, a being who is capable of acting with reference to right and wrong. -- Moral certainty, a very high degree or probability, although not demonstrable as a certainty; a probability of so high a degree that it can be confidently acted upon in the affairs of life; as, there is a moral certainty of his guilt. -- Moral insanity, insanity, so called, of the moral system; badness alleged to be irresponsible. -- Moral philosophy, the science of duty; the science which treats of the nature and condition of man as a moral being, of the duties which result from his moral relations, and the reasons on which they are founded. -- Moral play, an allegorical play; a morality. [Obs.] -- Moral sense, the power of moral judgment and feeling; the capacity to perceive what is right or wrong in moral conduct, and to approve or disapprove, independently of education or the knowledge of any positive rule or law. -- Moral theology, theology applied to morals; practical theology; casuistry.

Mor"al (?), n. 1. The doctrine or practice of the duties of life; manner of living as regards right and wrong; conduct; behavior; -- usually in the plural.

Corrupt in their morals as vice could make them.

South.

2. The inner meaning or significance of a fable, a narrative, an occurrence, an experience, etc.; the practical lesson which anything is designed or fitted to teach; the doctrine meant to be inculcated by a fiction; a maxim.

Thus may we gather honey from the weed, And make a moral of the
devil himself.

Shak.

To point a moral, or adorn a tale.

Johnson.

We protest against the principle that the world of pure comedy is
one into which no moral enters.

Macaulay.

3. A morality play. See Morality, 5.

Mor"al, v. i. To moralize. [Obs.] Shak.

||Mo`rale" (?), n. [F. See Moral, a.] The moral condition, or the ||condition in other respects, so far as it is affected by, or ||dependent upon, moral considerations, such as zeal, spirit, hope, and ||confidence; mental state, as of a body of men, an army, and the like.

Mor"al*er (?), n. A moralizer. [Obs.] Shak.

Mor"al*ism (?), n. A maxim or saying embodying a moral truth. Farrar.

Mor"al*ist, n. [Cf. F. moraliste.] 1. One who moralizes; one who teaches or animadverts upon the duties of life; a writer of essays intended to correct vice and inculcate moral duties. Addison.

2. One who practices moral duties; a person who lives in conformity with moral rules; one of correct deportment and dealings with his fellow-creatures; -- sometimes used in contradistinction to one whose life is controlled by religious motives.

The love (in the moralist of virtue, but in the Christian) of God
himself.

Hammond.

Mo*ral"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Moralities (#). [L. moralitas: cf. F. moralité.] 1. The relation of conformity or nonconformity to the moral standard or rule; quality of an intention, a character, an action, a principle, or a sentiment, when tried by the standard of right.

The morality of an action is founded in the freedom of that
principle, by virtue of which it is in the agent's power, having
all things ready and requisite to the performance of an action,
either to perform or not perform it.

South.

2. The quality of an action which renders it good; the conformity of an act to the accepted standard of right.

Of moralitee he was the flower.

Chaucer.

I am bold to think that morality is capable of demonstration.

Locke.

3. The doctrines or rules of moral duties, or the duties of men in their social character; ethics.

The end of morality is to procure the affections to obey reason,
and not to invade it.

Bacon.

The system of morality to be gathered out of . . . ancient sages
falls very short of that delivered in the gospel.

Swift.

4. The practice of the moral duties; rectitude of life; conformity to the standard of right; virtue; as, we often admire the politeness of men whose morality we question.

5. A kind of allegorical play, so termed because it consisted of discourses in praise of morality between actors representing such characters as Charity, Faith, Death, Vice, etc. Such plays were occasionally exhibited as late as the reign of Henry VIII. Strutt.

6. Intent; meaning; moral. [Obs.]

Taketh the morality thereof, good men.

Chaucer.

Mor`al*i*za"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. moralisation.] 1. The act of moralizing; moral reflections or discourse.

2. Explanation in a moral sense. T. Warton.

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Mor"al*ize (mr"al*z), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Moralized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Moralizing (?).] [Cf. F. moraliser.] 1. To apply to a moral purpose; to explain in a moral sense; to draw a moral from.

This fable is moralized in a common proverb.

L'Estrange.

Did he not moralize this spectacle?

Shak.

2. To furnish with moral lessons, teachings, or examples; to lend a moral to.

While chastening thoughts of sweetest use, bestowed By Wisdom,
moralize his pensive road.

Wordsworth.

3. To render moral; to correct the morals of.

It had a large share in moralizing the poor white people of the
country.

D. Ramsay.

4. To give a moral quality to; to affect the moral quality of, either for better or worse.

Good and bad stars moralize not our actions.

Sir T. Browne.

Mor"al*ize (?), v. i. To make moral reflections; to regard acts and events as involving a moral.

Mor"al*i`zer (?), n. One who moralizes.

Mor"al*ly, adv. 1. In a moral or ethical sense; according to the rules of morality.

By good, good morally so called, "bonum honestum" ought chiefly to
be understood.

South.

2. According to moral rules; virtuously. "To live morally." Dryden.

3. In moral qualities; in disposition and character; as, one who physically and morally endures hardships.

4. In a manner calculated to serve as the basis of action; according to the usual course of things and human judgment; according to reason and probability.

It is morally impossible for an hypocrite to keep himself long upon
his guard.

L'Estrange.

Mo*rass" (?), n. [OE. marras, mareis (perh. through D. moeras), fr. F. marais, prob. from L. mare sea, in LL., any body of water; but perh. influenced by some German word. See Mere a lake, and cf. Marsh.] A tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh; a fen.

Morass ore. (Min.) See Bog ore, under Bog.

mo*rass"y (?), a. Marshy; fenny. [R.] Pennant.

Mo"rate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of moric acid.

Mo*ra"tion (?), n. [L. moratio.] A delaying tarrying; delay. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Mo*ra"vi*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Moravia, or to the United Brethren. See Moravian, n.

Mo*ra"vi*an, n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a religious sect called the United Brethren (an offshoot of the Hussites in Bohemia), which formed a separate church of Moravia, a northern district of Austria, about the middle of the 15th century. After being nearly extirpated by persecution, the society, under the name of The Renewed Church of the United Brethren, was reëstablished in 1722-35 on the estates of Count Zinzendorf in Saxony. Called also Herrnhuter.

Mo*ra"vi*an*ism (?), n. The religious system of the Moravians.

Mor"ay (?), n. (Zoöl.) A muræna.

Mor"bid (?), a. [L. morbidus, fr. morbus disease; prob. akin to mori to die: cf. F. morbide, It. morbido. See Mortal.] 1. Not sound and healthful; induced by a diseased or abnormal condition; diseased; sickly; as, morbid humors; a morbid constitution; a morbid state of the juices of a plant. "Her sick and morbid heart." Hawthorne.

2. Of or pertaining to disease or diseased parts; as, morbid anatomy.

Syn. -- Diseased; sickly; sick. -- Morbid, Diseased. Morbid is sometimes used interchangeably with diseased, but is commonly applied, in a somewhat technical sense, to cases of a prolonged nature; as, a morbid condition of the nervous system; a morbid sensibility, etc.

||Mor`bi*dez"za (?), n. [It., softness, delicacy. See Morbid.] 1. (Fine ||Arts) Delicacy or softness in the representation of flesh.

2. (Mus.) A term used as a direction in execution, signifying, with extreme delicacy. Ludden.

Mor*bid"i*ty (?), n. 1. The quality or state of being morbid.

2. Morbid quality; disease; sickness. C. Kingsley.

3. Amount of disease; sick rate.

Mor"bid*ly (?), adv. In a morbid manner.

Mor"bid*ness, n. The quality or state of being morbid; morbidity.

{ Mor*bif"ic (?), Mor*bif"ic*al (?), } a. [L. morbus disease + -ficare (in comp.) to make: cf. F. morbifique. See -fy.] Causing disease; generating a sickly state; as, a morbific matter.

Mor*bil"lous (?), a. [LL. morbilli measles, dim. of L. morbus disease: cf. F. morbilleux.] Pertaining to the measles; partaking of the nature of measels, or resembling the eruptions of that disease; measly.

Mor*bose" (?), a. [L. morbosus, fr. morbus disease.] Proceeding from disease; morbid; unhealthy.

Morbose tumors and excrescences of plants.

Ray.

Mor*bos"i*ty (?), n. [L. morbositas.] A diseased state; unhealthiness. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

||Mor`ceau" (?), n. [F.] A bit; a morsel.

Mor*da"cious (?), a. [L. mordax, -acis, fr. mordere, morsum, to bite. See Morsel.] Biting; given to biting; hence, figuratively, sarcastic; severe; scathing. -- Mor*da"cious*ly, adv.

Mor*dac"i*ty (?), n. [L. mordacitas: cf. F. mordacité. See Mordacious.] The quality of being mordacious; biting severity, or sarcastic quality. Bacon.

Mor"dant (?), a. [F., p. pr. of mordere to bite; L. mordere. See Morsel.] 1. Biting; caustic; sarcastic; keen; severe.

2. (Dyeing & Calico Printing) Serving to fix colors.

Mor"dant, n. [F., originally, biting.] 1. Any corroding substance used in etching.

2. (Dyeing & Calico Printing) Any substance, as alum or copperas, which, having a twofold attraction for organic fibers and coloring matter, serves as a bond of union, and thus gives fixity to, or bites in, the dyes.

3. (Gilding) Any sticky matter by which the gold leaf is made to adhere.

Mor"dant (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mordanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Mordanting.] To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant; as, to mordant goods for dyeing.

Mor"dant*ly, adv. In the manner of a mordant.

||Mor*den"te (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) An embellishment resembling a trill.

Mor"di*can*cy (?), n. A biting quality; corrosiveness. [R.] Evelyn.

Mor"di*cant (?), a. [L. mordicans, p. pr. of mordicare to bite, fr. mordere: cf. F. mordicant.] Biting; acrid; as, the mordicant quality of a body. [R.] Boyle.

Mor`di*ca"tion (?), n. [L. mordicatio.] The act of biting or corroding; corrosion. [R.] Bacon.

Mor"di*ca*tive (?), a. [L. mordicativus.] Biting; corrosive. [R.] Holland.

More (mr), n. [AS. mr. See Moor a waste.] A hill. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

More, n. [AS. more, moru; akin to G. möhre carrot, OHG. moraha, morha.] A root. [Obs.] Chaucer.

More, a., compar. [Positive wanting; superl. Most (mst).] [OE. more, mare, and (orig. neut. and adv.) mo, ma, AS. mra, and (as neut. and adv.) m; akin to D. meer, OS. mr, G. mehr, OHG. mro, mr, Icel. meiri, meirr, Dan. meere, meer, Sw. mera, mer, Goth. maiza, a., mais, adv., and perh. to L. major greater, compar. of magnus great, and magis, adv., more. &radic;103. Cf. Most, uch, Major.] 1. Greater; superior; increased; as: (a) Greater in quality, amount, degree, quality, and the like; with the singular.

He gat more money.

Chaucer.

If we procure not to ourselves more woe.

Milton.

More, in this sense, was formerly used in connection with some other qualifying word, -- a, the, this, their, etc., -- which now requires the substitution of greater, further, or the like, for more.

Whilst sisters nine, which dwell on Parnasse height, Do make them
music for their more delight.

Spenser.

The more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

Acts xix. 32.

Wrong not that wrong with a more contempt.

Shak.

(b) Greater in number; exceeding in numbers; -- with the plural.

The people of the children of Israel are more and mighter than we.

Ex. i. 9.

2. Additional; other; as, he wept because there were no more worlds to conquer.

With open arms received one poet more.

Pope.

More, n. 1. A greater quantity, amount, or number; that which exceeds or surpasses in any way what it is compared with.

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some
less.

Ex. xvi. 17.

2. That which is in addition; something other and further; an additional or greater amount.

They that would have more and more can never have enough.

L'Estrange.

O! That pang where more than madness lies.

Byron.

Any more. (a) Anything or something additional or further; as, I do not need any more. (b) Adverbially: Further; beyond a certain time; as, do not think any more about it. -- No more, not anything more; nothing in addition. -- The more and less, the high and low. [Obs.] Shak. "All cried, both less and more." Chaucer.

More, adv. 1. In a greater quantity; in or to a greater extent or degree. (a) With a verb or participle.

Admiring more The riches of Heaven's pavement.

Milton.

(b) With an adjective or adverb (instead of the suffix -er) to form the comparative degree; as, more durable; more active; more sweetly.

Happy here, and more happy hereafter.

Bacon.

Double comparatives were common among writers of the Elizabeth period, and for some time later; as, more brighter; more dearer.

The duke of Milan And his more braver daughter.

Shak.

2. In addition; further; besides; again.

Yet once more, O ye laurels, and once more, Ye myrtles brown, with
ivy never sere, I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude.

Milton.

More and more, with continual increase. "Amon trespassed more and more." 2 Chron. xxxiii. 23. - - The more, to a greater degree; by an added quantity; for a reason already specified. -- The more -- the more, by how much more -- by so much more. "The more he praised it in himself, the more he seems to suspect that in very deed it was not in him." Milton. -- To be no more, to have ceased to be; as, Cassius is no more; Troy is no more.

Those oracles which set the world in flames, Nor ceased to burn
till kingdoms were no more.

Byron.

More, v. t. To make more; to increase. [Obs.] Gower.

Mo*reen" (?), n. [Cf. Mohair.] A thick woolen fabric, watered or with embossed figures; -- used in upholstery, for curtains, etc.

Mor"el (?), n. [See Moril.] (Bot.) An edible fungus (Morchella esculenta), the upper part of which is covered with a reticulated and pitted hymenium. It is used as food, and for flavoring sauces. [Written also moril.]

Mor"el, n. [See Morelle.] (Bot.) 1. Nightshade; -- so called from its blackish purple berries. [Written also morelle.]

2. A kind of cherry. See Morello.

Great morel, the deadly nightshade. -- Petty morel, the black nightshade. See Nightshade.

More"land (?), n. Moorland.

Mo*relle" (?), n. [F., orig. fem. of moreau black, OF. morel, fr. LL. morellus. Cf. Morello, Murrey.] (Bot.) Nightshade. See 2d Morel.

Mo*rel"lo (?), n. [Cf. It. morello blackish, OF. morel. Cf. Morelle.] (Bot.) A kind of nearly black cherry with dark red flesh and juice, -- used chiefly for preserving.

||Mo*ren"do (?), a. & n. [It.] (Mus.) Dying; a gradual decrescendo at ||the end of a strain or cadence.

More"ness (?), n. Greatness. [Obs.] Wyclif.

More*o"ver (?), adv. [More + over.] Beyond what has been said; further; besides; in addition; furthermore; also; likewise.

Moreover, he hath left you all his walks.

Shak.

Syn. -- Besides, Moreover. Of the two words, moreover is the stronger and is properly used in solemn discourse, or when what is added is important to be considered. See Besides.

More"pork` (?), n. [So named from its cry.] (Zoöl.) The Australian crested goatsucker (Ægotheles Novæ-Hollandiæ). Also applied to other allied birds, as Podargus Cuveiri.

Mo*resk" (?), a. & n. Moresque. [Obs.]

Mo*resque" (?), a. [F., fr. It. moresco, or Sp. morisco. See Morris.] Of or pertaining to, or in the manner or style of, the Moors; Moorish. -- n. The Moresque style of architecture or decoration. See Moorish architecture, under Moorish. [Written also mauresque.]

Mor`ga*nat"ic (?), a. [LL. matrimonium ad morganaticam, fr. morganatica a morning gift, a kind of dowry paid on the morning before or after the marriage, fr. OHG. morgan morning, in morgangeba morning gift, G. morgengabe. See Morn.] Pertaining to, in the manner of, or designating, a kind of marriage, called also left-handed marriage, between a man of superior rank and a woman of inferior, in which it is stipulated that neither the latter nor her children shall enjoy the rank or inherit the possessions of her husband. Brande & C. -- Mor`ga*nat"ic*al*ly (#), adv.

Mor"gay (?), n. [W. morgi dogfish, shark; mor sea + ci dog.] (Zoöl.) The European small-spotted dogfish, or houndfish. See the Note under Houndfish.

Mor"glay (?), n. [Cf. Claymore.] A sword. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Morgue (?), n. [F.] A place where the bodies of persons found dead are exposed, that they may be identified, or claimed by their friends; a deadhouse.

||Mo"ri*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; folly.] Idiocy; imbecility; ||fatuity; foolishness.

Mo"ri*an (?), n. (Ethnol.) A Moor. [Obs.]

In vain the Turks and Morians armed be.

Fairfax.

Mor"i*bund (?), a. [L. moribundus, from moriri to die. See Mortal.] In a dying state; dying; at the point of death.

The patient was comatose and moribund.

Copland.

Mor"i*bund (?), n. A dying person. [R.]

Mo"ric (?), a. Pertaining to, or derived from, fustic (see Morin); as, moric acid.

Mor"ice (?), n. See Morisco.

Mo*rig"er*ate (?), a. [L. morigeratus, p. p. of morigerari to comply with. See Morigerous.] Obedient. [Obs.]

Mo*rig`er*a"tion (?), n. [L. morigeratio.] Obsequiousness; obedience. [Obs.] Evelyn.

Mo*rig"er*ous (?), a. [L. morigerus; mos, moris, custom, manner + gerere to bear, conduct.] Obedient; obsequious. [Obs.] Brathwait.

Mor"il (?), n. [F. morille; cf. OHG. morhila, G. morchel, OHG. morha carrot. See More a root.] (Bot.) An edible fungus. Same as 1st Morel.

Mo"rin (?), n. (Chem.) A yellow crystalline substance of acid properties extracted from fustic (Maclura tinctoria, formerly called Morus tinctoria); - - called also moric acid.

Mo*rin"da (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of rubiaceous trees and shrubs, mostly East Indian, many species of which yield valuable red and yellow dyes. The wood is hard and beautiful, and used for gunstocks.

Mo*rin"din (?), n. (Chem.) A yellow dyestuff extracted from the root bark of an East Indian plant (Morinda citrifolia).

Mor"i*nel` (?), n. [Cf. F. morinelle.] (Zoöl.) The dotterel.

Mo*rin"ga (?), n. [Malayam murunggi.] (Bot.) A genus of trees of Southern India and Northern Africa. One species (Moringa pterygosperma) is the horse-radish tree, and its seeds, as well as those of M. aptera, are known in commerce as ben or ben nuts, and yield the oil called oil of ben.

Mo*rin"gic (?), a. (Chem.) Designating an organic acid obtained from oil of ben. See Moringa.

Mo`rin*tan"nic (?), a. [NL. Morus fustic + E. tannic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, a variety of tannic acid extracted from fustic (Maclura, formerly Morus, tinctoria) as a yellow crystalline substance; -- called also maclurin.

Mo"ri*on (?), n. [F. morion, Sp. morrion; cf. Sp. morra the upper part of the head, morro anything that is round.] A kind of open helmet, without visor or beaver, and somewhat resembling a hat.

A battered morion on his brow.

Sir W. Scott.

Mo"ri*on, n. [G.] (Min.) A dark variety of smoky quartz.

Mo"ri*o*plas`ty (?), n. [Gr. &?; piece (dim. of &?; a part + -plasty.] (Surg.) The restoration of lost parts of the body.

<! p. 945 !>

Mo*ris"co (m*rs"k), a. [Sp. See Morris the dance.] Moresque.

Mo*ris"co, n. [Sp. morisco Moorish.] A thing of Moorish origin; as: (a) The Moorish language. (b) A Moorish dance, now called morris dance. Marston. (c) One who dances the Moorish dance. Shak. (d) Moresque decoration or architecture.

Mo"risk (?), n. Same as Morisco.

Mor"kin (?), n. [Akin to Sw. murken putrefied, Icel. morkinn putrid.] A beast that has died of disease or by mischance. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Mor"land (?), n. Moorland. [Obs.]

Mor"ling (?), n. [Cf. F. mort dead, L. mortuus, fr. moriri to die.] Mortling. [Eng.] Ainsworth.

Mor"mal (?), n. [F. mort-mai a deadly evil. Nares.] A bad sore; a gangrene; a cancer. [Obs.] [Written also morrimal and mortmal.] Chaucer.

Mor"mo (?), n. [Gr. mormw` a hideous she-monster, a bugbear.] A bugbear; false terror. [Obs.] Jonhson.

||Mor"mon (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mormw`n monster, bugbear.] (Zoöl.) (a) ||A genus of sea birds, having a large, thick bill; the puffin. (b) The ||mandrill.

Mor"mon (?), n. (Eccl.) One of a sect in the United States, followers of Joseph Smith, who professed to have found an addition to the Bible, engraved on golden plates, called the Book of Mormon, first published in 1830. The Mormons believe in polygamy, and their hierarchy of apostles, etc., has control of civil and religious matters.

The Mormons call their religious organization The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its head claims to receive revelations of God's will, and to have certain supernatural powers.

Mor"mon, a. Of or pertaining to the Mormons; as, the Mormon religion; Mormon practices.

Mor"mon*dom (?), n. The country inhabited by the Mormons; the Mormon people.

Mor"mon*ism (?), n. The doctrine, system, and practices of the Mormons.

Mor"mon*ite (?), n. A Mormon. -- a. Mormon. "Mormonite religion." F. W. Newman.

Morn (môrn), n. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.] The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry.

From morn To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve.

Milton.

Mor"ne (môr"ne), a. Of or pertaining to the morn; morning. [Obs.] "White as morne milk." Chaucer.

||Morne (môrn), n. [F., fr. morne sad, sorrowful. See Mourn.] A ring ||fitted upon the head of a lance to prevent wounding an adversary in ||tilting.

||Mor`né" (môr`n"), a. [F., fr. morne a morne.] (Her.) Without teeth, ||tongue, or claws; -- said of a lion represented heraldically.

Morn"ing (môrn"ng), n. [OE. morning, morwening. See Morn.] 1. The first or early part of the day, variously understood as the earliest hours of light, the time near sunrise; the time from midnight to noon, from rising to noon, etc.

2. The first or early part; as, the morning of life.

3. The goddess Aurora. [Poetic] Shak.

Morn"ing, a. Pertaining to the first part or early part of the day; being in the early part of the day; as, morning dew; morning light; morning service.

She looks as clear As morning roses newly washed with dew.

Shak.

Morning gown, a gown worn in the morning before one is dressed for the day. -- Morning gun, a gun fired at the first stroke of reveille at military posts. -- Morning sickness (Med.), nausea and vomiting, usually occurring in the morning; -- a common sign of pregnancy. -- Morning star. (a) Any one of the planets (Venus, Jupiter, Mars, or Saturn) when it precedes the sun in rising, esp. Venus. Cf. Evening star, Evening. (b) Satan. See Lucifer.

Since he miscalled the morning star, Nor man nor fiend hath fallen
so far.

Byron.

(c) A weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes, either attached to a staff or suspended from one by a chain. -- Morning watch (Naut.), the watch between four A. M. and eight A. M..

Morn"ing-glo`ry (?), n. (Bot.) A climbing plant (Ipomœa purpurea) having handsome, funnel-shaped flowers, usually red, pink, purple, white, or variegated, sometimes pale blue. See Dextrorsal.

Morn"ing*tide` (?), n. Morning time. [Poetic]

Morn"ward (?), adv. Towards the morn. [Poetic]

And mornward now the starry hands move on.

Lowell.

Mo"ro (?), n. [Cf. It. mora mulberry, L. morum.] (Med.) A small abscess or tumor having a resemblance to a mulberry. Dunglison.

Mo*roc"can (?), a. Of or pertaining to Morocco, or its inhabitants.

Mo*roc"co (?), n. [Named from Morocco, the country. Cf. Morris the dance.] A fine kind of leather, prepared commonly from goatskin (though an inferior kind is made of sheepskin), and tanned with sumac and dyed of various colors; -- said to have been first made by the Moors.

Mo*rol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. mwrologi`a foolish talk, mw^ros foolish + lo`gos discourse.] Foolish talk; nonsense; folly. [Obs.]

Mo*rone" (m*rn"), n. Maroon; the color of an unripe black mulberry.

||Mo`ro*sau"rus (?), n. [NL., from Gr. mw^ros stupid + sau^ros lizard.] ||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of large herbivorous dinosaurs, found in ||Jurassic strata in America.

Mo*rose" (m*rs"), a. [L. morosus, prop., excessively addicted to any particular way or habit, fr. mos, moris, manner, habit, way of life: cf. F. morose.] 1. Of a sour temper; sullen and austere; ill-humored; severe. "A morose and affected taciturnity." I. Watts.

2. Lascivious; brooding over evil thoughts. [Obs.]

Syn. -- Sullen; gruff; severe; austere; gloomy; crabbed; crusty; churlish; surly; ill-humored.

Mo*rose"ly (?), adv. Sourly; with sullen austerity.

Mo*rose"ness, n. Sourness of temper; sulenness.

Learn good humor, never to oppose without just reason; abate some
degrees of pride and moroseness.

I. Watts.

Moroseness is not precisely peevishness or fretfulness, though often accompanied with it. It denotes more of silence and severity, or ill-humor, than the irritability or irritation which characterizes peevishness.

||Mo*ro"sis (m*r"ss), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mw`rwsis, fr. mw^ros silly, ||foolish.] (Med.) Idiocy; fatuity; stupidity.

Mo*ros"i*ty (?), n. [L. morositas: cf. F. morosité.] Moroseness. [R.] Jer. Taylor.

Mo"ro*soph (?), n. [Gr. mo^ros foolish + sofo`s wise.] A philosophical or learned fool. [Obs.]

Mo*ro"sous (?), a. Morose. [Obs.] Sheldon.

Mo*rox"ite (?), n. [Cf. Gr. &?;, &?;, a sort of pipe clay.] (Min.) A variety of apatite of a greenish blue color.

Mo*rox"y*late (?), n. (Chem.) A morate.

Mor`ox*yl"ic (?), a. [L. morus a mulberry tree + Gr. &?; wood.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, the mulberry; moric.

Mor"phe*an (?), a. Of or relating to Morpheus, to dreams, or to sleep. Keats.

Mor"pheus (môr"fs or môr"f*s), n. [L., fr. Gr. Morfey`s prop., the fashioner or molder, because of the shapes he calls up before the sleeper, fr. morfh` form, shape.] (Class. Myth.) The god of dreams.

Mor"phew (?), n. [F. morpheé, LL. morphea; cf. It. morfea.] A scurfy eruption. [Obs.] Drayton.

Mor"phew, v. t. To cover with a morphew. [Obs.]

Mor"phi*a (?), n. [NL.] (Chem.) Morphine.

Mor"phine (?), n. [From Morpheus: cf. F. morphine.] (Chem.) A bitter white crystalline alkaloid found in opium, possessing strong narcotic properties, and much used as an anodyne; -- called also morphia, and morphina.

Mor"phin*ism (?), n. (Med.) A morbid condition produced by the excessive or prolonged use of morphine.

||Mor"pho (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, an epithet of Venus.] (Zoöl.) Any ||one of numerous species of large, handsome, tropical American ||butterflies, of the genus Morpho. They are noted for the very ||brilliant metallic luster and bright colors (often blue) of the upper ||surface of the wings. The lower surface is usually brown or gray, ||with eyelike spots.

Mor*phog"e*ny (?), n. [form + root of &?; to be born.] (Biol.) History of the evolution of forms; that part of ontogeny that deals with the germ history of forms; -- distinguished from physiogeny. Haeckel.

{ Mor`pho*log"ic (?), Mor`pho*log"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. morphologique.] (Biol.) Of, pertaining to, or according to, the principles of morphology. -- Mor`pho*log"ic*al*ly, adv.

Mor*phol"o*gist (?), n. (Biol.) One who is versed in the science of morphology.

Mor*phol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; form + -logy: cf. F. morphologie.] (Biol.) That branch of biology which deals with the structure of animals and plants, treating of the forms of organs and describing their varieties, homologies, and metamorphoses. See Tectology, and Promorphology.

Mor"phon (?), n. [Gr. &?;, p. pr. of &?; to form.] (Biol.) A morphological individual, characterized by definiteness of form, in distinction from bion, a physiological individual. See Tectology. Haeckel.

Of morphons there are six orders or categories: 1. Plastids or elementary organisms. 2. Organs, homoplastic or heteroplastic. 3. Antimeres (opposite or symmetrical or homotypic parts). 4. Metameres (successive or homodynamous parts). 5. Personæ (shoots or buds of plants, individuals in the narrowest sense among the higher animals). 6. Corms (stocks or colonies). For orders 2, 3, and 4 the term idorgan has been recently substituted. See Idorgan.

Mor*phon"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?; form + &?; a law.] (Biol.) The laws of organic formation.

Mor"pho*phy`ly (?), n. [Gr. &?; form + &?; a clan.] (Biol.) The tribal history of forms; that part of phylogeny which treats of the tribal history of forms, in distinction from the tribal history of functions. Haeckel.

||Mor*pho"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; form, fr. &?; form.] (Biol.) ||The order or mode of development of an organ or part.

Mor*phot"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; fit for forming.] (Physiol.) Connected with, or becoming an integral part of, a living unit or of the morphological framework; as, morphotic, or tissue, proteids. Foster.

-mor"phous (?). [Gr. &?; form.] A combining form denoting form, shape; as, isomorphous.

Mor"pi*on (?), n. [F., fr. mordre to bite + L. pedis louse.] (Zoöl.) A louse. Hudibras.

Mor"rice (?), n. Same as 1st Morris.

Mor"rice, a. Dancing the morrice; dancing.

In shoals and bands, a morrice train.

Wordsworth.

Mor"ri*cer (?), n. A morris dancer. [Obs.]

Mor"ri*mal (?), n. & a. See Mormal.

Mor"ris (?), n. [Sp. morisco Moorish, fr. Moro a Moor: cf. F. moresque, It. moresca.] 1. A Moorish dance, usually performed by a single dancer, who accompanies the dance with castanets.

2. A dance formerly common in England, often performed in pagenats, processions, and May games. The dancers, grotesquely dressed and ornamented, took the parts of Robin Hood, Maidmarian, and other fictitious characters.

3. An old game played with counters, or men, which are placed at the angles of a figure drawn on a board or on the ground; also, the board or ground on which the game is played.

The nine-men's morris is filled up with mud.

Shak.

The figure consists of three concentric squares, with lines from the angles of the outer one to those of the inner, and from the middle of each side of the outer square to that of the inner. The game is played by two persons with nine or twelve pieces each (hence called nine-men's morris or twelve-men's morris). The pieces are placed alternately, and each player endeavors to prevent his opponent from making a straight row of three. Should either succeed in making a row, he may take up one of his opponent's pieces, and he who takes off all of his opponent's pieces wins the game.

Mor"ris (?), n. [So called from its discoverer.] (Zoöl.) A marine fish having a very slender, flat, transparent body. It is now generally believed to be the young of the conger eel or some allied fish.

Mor"ris-pike` (?), n. A Moorish pike. [Obs.]

Mor"rot (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Marrot.

Mor"row (?), n. [OE. morwe, morwen, AS. morgen. See Morn.] 1. Morning. [Obs.] "White as morrow's milk." Bp. Hall.

We loved he by the morwe a sop in wine.

Chaucer.

2. The next following day; the day subsequent to any day specified or understood. Lev. vii. 16.

Till this stormy night is gone, And the eternal morrow dawn.

Crashaw.

3. The day following the present; to- morrow.

Good morrow, good morning; -- a form of salutation. -- To morrow. See To- morrow in the Vocabulary.

Morse (?), n. [F. morse, Russ. morj'; perh. akin to E. mere lake; cf. Russ. more sea.] (Zoöl.) The walrus. See Walrus.

Morse, n. [L. morsus a biting, a clasp, fr. mordere to bite.] A clasp for fastening garments in front. Fairholt.

Morse" al"pha*bet (?). A telegraphic alphabet in very general use, inventing by Samuel F.B.Morse, the inventor of Morse's telegraph. The letters are represented by dots and dashes impressed or printed on paper, as, .- (A), - . . . (B), -.. (D), . (E), .. (O), . . . (R), -- (T), etc., or by sounds, flashes of light, etc., with greater or less intervals between them.

Mor"sel (?), n. [OF. morsel, F. morceau, LL. morsellus, a dim. fr. L. morsus a biting, bite, fr. mordere to bite; prob. akin to E. smart. See Smart, and cf. Morceau, Mordant, Muse, v., Muzzle, n.] 1. A little bite or bit of food. Chaucer.

Every morsel to a satisfied hunger is only a new labor to a tired
digestion.

South.

2. A small quantity; a little piece; a fragment.

Mor"sing horn` (?). A horn or flask for holding powder, as for priming. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Mor`si*ta"tion (?), n. The act of biting or gnawing. [Obs.]

Mor"sure (?), n. [F., fr. L. mordere, morsum, to bite.] The act of biting. Swift.

Mort (?), n. [Cf. Icel. margt, neut. of margr many.] A great quantity or number. [Prov. Eng.]

There was a mort of merrymaking.

Dickens.

Mort, n. [Etym. uncert.] A woman; a female. [Cant]

Male gypsies all, not a mort among them.

B. Jonson.

Mort, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoöl.) A salmon in its third year. [Prov. Eng.]

Mort, n. [F., death, fr. L. mors, mortis.] 1. Death; esp., the death of game in the chase.

2. A note or series of notes sounded on a horn at the death of game.

The sportsman then sounded a treble mort.

Sir W. Scott.

3. The skin of a sheep or lamb that has died of disease. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Mort cloth, the pall spread over a coffin; black cloth indicative or mourning; funeral hangings. Carlyle. -- Mort stone, a large stone by the wayside on which the bearers rest a coffin. [Eng.] H. Taylor.

Mor"tal (?), a. [F. mortel, L. mortalis, from mors, mortis, death, fr. moriri 8die; akin to E. murder. See Murder, and cf. Filemot, Mere a lake, Mortgage.] 1. Subject to death; destined to die; as, man is mortal.

2. Destructive to life; causing or occasioning death; terminating life; exposing to or deserving death; deadly; as, a mortal wound; a mortal sin.

3. Fatally vulnerable; vital.

Last of all, against himself he turns his sword, but missing the
mortal place, with his poniard finishes the work.

Milton.

4. Of or pertaining to the time of death.

Safe in the hand of one disposing Power, Or in the natal or the
mortal hour.

Pope.

5. Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.

The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright.

Dryden.

6. Human; belonging to man, who is mortal; as, mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power.

The voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful.

Milton.

7. Very painful or tedious; wearisome; as, a sermon lasting two mortal hours. [Colloq.] Sir W. Scott.

Mortal foe, Mortal enemy, an inveterate, desperate, or implacable enemy; a foe bent on one's destruction.

Mor"tal, n. A being subject to death; a human being; man. "Warn poor mortals left behind." Tickell.

Mor*tal"i*ty (?), n. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.] 1. The 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.

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2. Human life; the life of a mortal being.

From this instant There 's nothing serious in mortality.

Shak.

3. Those who are, or that which is, mortal; the human race; humanity; human nature.

Take these tears, mortality's relief.

Pope.

4. Death; destruction. Shak.

5. The whole sum or number of deaths in a given time or a given community; also, the proportion of deaths to population, or to a specific number of the population; death rate; as, a time of great, or low, mortality; the mortality among the settlers was alarming.

Bill of mortality. See under Bill. -- Law of mortality, a mathematical relation between the numbers living at different ages, so that from a given large number of persons alive at one age, it can be computed what number are likely to survive a given number of years. -- Table of mortality, a table exhibiting the average relative number of persons who survive, or who have died, at the end of each year of life, out of a given number supposed to have been born at the same time.

Mor"tal*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mortalized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mortalizing (?).] To make mortal. [R.]

Mor"tal*ly, adv. 1. In a mortal manner; so as to cause death; as, mortally wounded.

2. In the manner of a mortal or of mortal beings.

I was mortally brought forth.

Shak.

3. In an extreme degree; to the point of dying or causing death; desperately; as, mortally jealous.

Adrian mortally envied poets, painters, and artificers, in works
wherein he had a vein to excel.

Bacon.

Mor"tal*ness, n. Quality of being mortal; mortality.

Mor"tar (?), n. [OE. morter, AS. mortre, L. mortarium: cf. F. mortier mortar. Cf. sense 2 (below), also 2d Mortar, Martel, Morter.] 1. A strong vessel, commonly in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or rubbed with a pestle.

2. [F. mortier, fr. L. mortarium mortar (for trituarating).] (Mil.) A short piece of ordnance, used for throwing bombs, carcasses, shells, etc., at high angles of elevation, as 45°, and even higher; -- so named from its resemblance in shape to the utensil above described.

Mortar bed (Mil.), a framework of wood and iron, suitably hollowed out to receive the breech and trunnions of a mortar. -- Mortar boat or vessel (Naut.), a boat strongly built and adapted to carrying a mortar or mortars for bombarding; a bomb ketch. -- Mortar piece, a mortar. [Obs.] Shak.

Mor"tar, n. [OE. mortier, F. mortier, L. mortarium mortar, a large basin or trough in which mortar is made, a mortar (in sense 1, above). See 1st Mortar.] (Arch.) A building material made by mixing lime, cement, or plaster of Paris, with sand, water, and sometimes other materials; -- used in masonry for joining stones, bricks, etc., also for plastering, and in other ways.

Mortar bed, a shallow box or receptacle in which mortar is mixed. -- Mortar board. (a) A small square board with a handle beneath, for holding mortar; a hawk. (b) A cap with a broad, projecting, square top; -- worn by students in some colleges. [Slang]

Mor"tar, v. t. To plaster or make fast with mortar.

Mor"tar (?), n. [F. mortier. See Mortar a vessel.] A chamber lamp or light. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mort"gage (môr"gj; 48), n. [F. mort-gage; mort dead (L. mortuus) + gage pledge. See Mortal, and Gage.] 1. (Law) A conveyance of property, upon condition, as security for the payment of a debt or the preformance of a duty, and to become void upon payment or performance according to the stipulated terms; also, the written instrument by which the conveyance is made.

It was called a mortgage (or dead pledge) because, whatever profit it might yield, it did not thereby redeem itself, but became lost or dead to the mortgager upon breach of the condition. But in equity a right of redemption is an inseparable incident of a mortgage until the mortgager is debarred by his own laches, or by judicial decree. Cowell. Kent.

2. State of being pledged; as, lands given in mortgage.

Chattel mortgage. See under Chattel. -- To foreclose a mortgage. See under Foreclose. -- Mortgage deed (Law), a deed given by way of mortgage.