Chapter L: F. Ward (18)

Mort"gage, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mortgaged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mortgaging (?).] 1. (Law) To grant or convey, as property, for the security of a debt, or other engagement, upon a condition that if the debt or engagement shall be discharged according to the contract, the conveyance shall be void, otherwise to become absolute, subject, however, to the right of redemption.

2. Hence: To pledge, either literally or figuratively; to make subject to a claim or obligation.

Mortgaging their lives to covetise.

Spenser.

I myself an mortgaged to thy will.

Shak.

Mort`ga*gee" (?), n. (Law) The person to whom property is mortgaged, or to whom a mortgage is made or given.

{ Mort"gage*or, Mort"ga*gor } (?), n. (Law) One who gives a mortgage.

The letter e is required analogically after the second g in order to soften it; but the spelling mortgagor is in fact the prevailing form. When the word is contradistinguished from mortgagee it is accented on the last syllable (-jôr").

Mort"ga*ger (?), n. (Law) One who gives a mortgage.

Mor"tif"er*ous (?), a. [L. mortifier; mors, mortis, death + ferre to bring: cf. F. mortifère.] Bringing or producing death; deadly; destructive; as, a mortiferous herb. Gov. of Tongue.

Mor`ti*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [F., fr. L. mortificatio a killing. See Mortify.] 1. The act of mortifying, or the condition of being mortified; especially: (a) (Med.) The death of one part of an animal body, while the rest continues to live; loss of vitality in some part of a living animal; gangrene. Dunglison. (b) (Alchem. & Old Chem.) Destruction of active qualities; neutralization. [Obs.] Bacon. (c) Subjection of the passions and appetites, by penance, abstinence, or painful severities inflicted on the body.

The mortification of our lusts has something in it that is
troublesome, yet nothing that is unreasonable.

Tillotson.

(d) Hence: Deprivation or depression of self- approval; abatement of pride; humiliation; chagrin; vexation.

We had the mortification to lose sight of Munich, Augsburg, and
Ratisbon.

Addison.

2. That which mortifies; the cause of humiliation, chagrin, or vexation.

It is one of the vexatious mortifications of a studious man to have
his thoughts discovered by a tedious visit.

L'Estrange.

3. (Scots Law) A gift to some charitable or religious institution; -- nearly synonymous with mortmain.

Syn. -- Chagrin; vexation; shame. See Chagrin.

Mor"ti*fied (?), imp. & p. p. of Mortify.

Mor"ti*fied*ness (?), n. The state of being mortified; humiliation; subjection of the passions. [R.]

Mor"ti*fi`er (?), n. One who, or that which, mortifies.

Mor"ti*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mortified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mortifying (?).] [OE. mortifien, F. mortifier, fr. L. mortificare; L. mors, mortis, death + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Mortal, and - fy.] 1. To destroy the organic texture and vital functions of; to produce gangrene in.

2. To destroy the active powers or essential qualities of; to change by chemical action. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Quicksilver is mortified with turpentine.

Bacon.

He mortified pearls in vinegar.

Hakewill.

3. To deaden by religious or other discipline, as the carnal affections, bodily appetites, or worldly desires; to bring into subjection; to abase; to humble.

With fasting mortified, worn out with tears.

Harte.

Mortify thy learned lust.

Prior.

Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth.

Col. iii. 5.

4. To affect with vexation, chagrin, or humiliation; to humble; to depress.

The news of the fatal battle of Worcester, which exceedingly
mortified our expectations.

Evelyn.

How often is the ambitious man mortified with the very praises he
receives, if they do not rise so high as he thinks they ought!

Addison.

Mor"ti*fy, v. i. 1. To lose vitality and organic structure, as flesh of a living body; to gangrene.

2. To practice penance from religious motives; to deaden desires by religious discipline.

This makes him . . . give alms of all that he hath, watch, fast,
and mortify.

Law.

3. To be subdued; to decay, as appetites, desires, etc.

Mor"ti*fy`ing (?), a. 1. Tending to mortify; affected by, or having symptoms of, mortification; as, a mortifying wound; mortifying flesh.

2. Subduing the appetites, desires, etc.; as, mortifying penances.

3. Tending to humble or abase; humiliating; as, a mortifying repulse.

Mor"ti*fy`ing*ly, adv. In a mortifying manner.

Mor"tise (?), n. [F. mortaise; cf. Sp. mortaja, Ar. murtazz fixed, or W. mortais, Ir. mortis, moirtis, Gael. moirteis.] A cavity cut into a piece of timber, or other material, to receive something (as the end of another piece) made to fit it, and called a tenon.

Mortise and tenon (Carp.), made with a mortise and tenon; joined or united by means of a mortise and tenon; -- used adjectively. -- Mortise joint, a joint made by a mortise and tenon. -- Mortise lock. See under Lock. -- Mortise wheel, a cast-iron wheel, with wooden clogs inserted in mortises on its face or edge; -- also called mortise gear, and core gear.

Mor"tise, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mortised (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mortising.] 1. To cut or make a mortise in.

2. To join or fasten by a tenon and mortise; as, to mortise a beam into a post, or a joist into a girder.

Mort"ling (?), n. [See Morling.] 1. An animal, as a sheep, dead of disease or privation; a morling. [Eng.]

2. Wool plucked from a dead sheep; morling.

Mort"main` (?), n. [F. mort, morte, dead + main hand; F. main-morte. See Mortal, and Manual.] (Law) Possession of lands or tenements in, or conveyance to, dead hands, or hands that cannot alienate.

The term was originally applied to conveyance of land made to ecclesiastical bodies; afterward to conveyance made to any corporate body. Burrill.

Mort"mal (?), n. See Mormal. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Mort"pay` (?), n. [F. mort dead + E. pay.] Dead pay; the crime of taking pay for the service of dead soldiers, or for services not actually rendered by soldiers. [Obs.] Bacon.

{ Mor"tress (?), Mor"trew (?), } n. [See Mortar.] A dish of meats and other ingredients, cooked together; an ollapodrida. Chaucer. Bacon.

Mor"tu*a*ry (?), n.; pl. Mortuaries (#). [LL. mortuarium. See Mortuary, a.] 1. A sort of ecclesiastical heriot, a customary gift claimed by, and due to, the minister of a parish on the death of a parishioner. It seems to have been originally a voluntary bequest or donation, intended to make amends for any failure in the payment of tithes of which the deceased had been guilty.

2. A burial place; a place for the dead.

3. A place for the reception of the dead before burial; a deadhouse; a morgue.

Mor"tu*a*ry (?), a. [L. mortuarius, fr. mortuus dead: cf. F. mortuaire. See Mortal.] Of or pertaining to the dead; as, mortuary monuments.

Mortuary urn, an urn for holding the ashes of the dead.

||Mor"u*la (?), n.; pl. Morulæ (#). [NL., dim. of L. morum a mulberry.] ||(Biol.) The sphere or globular mass of cells (blastomeres), formed by ||the clevage of the ovum or egg in the first stages of its ||development; -- called also mulberry mass, segmentation sphere, and ||blastosphere. See Segmentation.

Mor`u*la"tion (?), n. (Biol.) The process of cleavage, or segmentation, of the ovum, by which a morula is formed.

||Mo"rus (?), n. [L., mulberry tree. See Mulberry.] (Bot.) A genus of ||trees, some species of which produce edible fruit; the mulberry. See ||Mulberry.

Morus alba is the white mulberry, a native of India or China, the leaves of which are extensively used for feeding silkworms, for which it furnishes the chief food. -- Morus multicaulis, the many-stemmed or Chinese mulberry, is only a form of white mulberry, preferred on account of its more abundant leaves. -- Morus nigra, the black mulberry, produces a dark-colored fruit, of an agreeable flavor.

Mor"we (?), n. See Morrow. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mor"wen*ing (?), n. Morning. [Obs.]

Mo*sa"ic (?), n. [F. mosaïque; cf. Pr. mozaic, musec, Sp. & Pg. mosaico, It. mosaico, musaico, LGr. &?;, &?;, L. musivum; all fr. Gr. &?; belonging to the Muses. See Muse the goddess.] 1. (Fine Arts) A surface decoration made by inlaying in patterns small pieces of variously colored glass, stone, or other material; -- called also mosaic work.

2. A picture or design made in mosaic; an article decorated in mosaic.

Mo*sa"ic, a. Of or pertaining to the style of work called mosaic; formed by uniting pieces of different colors; variegated; tessellated; also, composed of various materials or ingredients.

A very beautiful mosaic pavement.

Addison.

Florentine mosaic. See under Florentine. -- Mosaic gold. (a) See Ormolu. (b) Stannic sulphide, SnS2, obtained as a yellow scaly crystalline powder, and used as a pigment in bronzing and gilding wood and metal work. It was called by the alchemists aurum musivum, or aurum mosaicum. Called also bronze powder. -- Mosaic work. See Mosaic, n.

Mo*sa"ic, a. [From Moses.] Of or pertaining to Moses, the leader of the Israelites, or established through his agency; as, the Mosaic law, rites, or institutions.

Mo*sa"ic*al (?), a. Mosaic (in either sense). "A mosaical floor." Sir P. Sidney.

Mo*sa"ic*al*ly, adv. In the manner of a mosaic.

Mo"sa*ism (?), n. Attachment to the system or doctrines of Moses; that which is peculiar to the Mosaic system or doctrines.

{ Mos"a*saur (?), Mos`a*sau"ri*an (?), } n. (Paleon.) One of an extinct order of reptiles, including Mosasaurus and allied genera. See Mosasauria.

||Mos`a*sau"ri*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Mosasaurus.] (Paleon.) An order ||of large, extinct, marine reptiles, found in the Cretaceous rocks, ||especially in America. They were serpentlike in form and in having ||loosely articulated and dilatable jaws, with large recurved teeth, ||but they had paddlelike feet. Some of them were over fifty feet long. ||They are, essentially, fossil sea serpents with paddles. Called also ||Pythonomarpha, and Mosasauria.

||Mos`a*sau"rus (?), n. [NL., fr. L. Mosa the River Meuse (on which ||Meastricht is situated) + Gr. &?; a lizard.] (Paleon.) A genus of ||extinct marine reptiles allied to the lizards, but having the body ||much elongated, and the limbs in the form of paddles. The first known ||species, nearly fifty feet in length, was discovered in Cretaceous ||beds near Maestricht, in the Netherlands. [Written also Mososaurus.]

Mos"cha*tel` (?), n. [Gr. &?; musk: cf. F. moscatelline. See Muscadel, Musk.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Adoxa (A. moschatellina), the flowers of which are pale green, and have a faint musky smell. It is found in woods in all parts of Europe, and is called also hollow root and musk crowfoot. Loudon.

Mos"chine (?), a. Of or pertaining to Moschus, a genus including the musk deer.

Mos"el (?), n. & v. See Muzzle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mo*selle" (?), n. A light wine, usually white, produced in the vicinity of the river Moselle.

Mo"ses (?), n. A large flatboat, used in the West Indies for taking freight from shore to ship.

Mosk (?), n. See Mosque.

Mos"lem (mz"lm), n.; pl. Moslems (-lmz), or collectively Moslem. [Ar. muslim a true believer in the Mohammedan faith, fr. salama to submit to God, to resign one's self to the divine will. Cf. Islam, Mussulman.] A Mussulman; an orthodox Mohammedan. [Written also muslim.] "Heaps of slaughtered Moslem." Macaulay.

They piled the ground with Moslem slain.

Halleck.

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Mos"lem (mz"lm), a. Of or pertaining to the Mohammedans; Mohammedan; as, Moslem lands; the Moslem faith.

Mos"lings (?), n. pl. Thin shreds of leather shaved off in dressing skins. Simmonds.

||Mos`o*sau"rus (?), n. [NL.] (Paleon.) Same as Mosasaurus.

Mosque (msk), n. [F. mosquée, Sp. mezquita, Ar. masjid, from sajada to bend, adore.] A Mohammedan church or place of religious worship. [Written also mosk.]

Mos*qui"to (ms*k*t), n.; pl. Mosquitoes (#). [Sp. mosquito, fr. moscafly, L. musca. Cf. Musket.] (Zoöl.) Any one of various species of gnats of the genus Culex and allied genera. The females have a proboscis containing, within the sheathlike labium, six fine, sharp, needlelike organs with which they puncture the skin of man and animals to suck the blood. These bites, when numerous, cause, in many persons, considerable irritation and swelling, with some pain. The larvæ and pupæ, called wigglers, are aquatic. [Written also musquito.]

Mosquito bar, Mosquito net, a net or curtain for excluding mosquitoes, -- used for beds and windows. -- Mosquito fleet, a fleet of small vessels. -- Mosquito hawk (Zoöl.), a dragon fly; -- so called because it captures and feeds upon mosquitoes. -- Mosquito netting, a loosely-woven gauzelike fabric for making mosquito bars.

Moss (?), n. [OE. mos; akin to AS. meós, D. mos, G. moos, OHG. mos, mios, Icel. mosi, Dan. mos, Sw. mossa, Russ. mokh', L. muscus. Cf. Muscoid.] 1. (Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and simple leaves. The fruit is a small capsule usually opening by an apical lid, and so discharging the spores. There are many species, collectively termed Musci, growing on the earth, on rocks, and trunks of trees, etc., and a few in running water.

The term moss is also popularly applied to many other small cryptogamic plants, particularly lichens, species of which are called tree moss, rock moss, coral moss, etc. Fir moss and club moss are of the genus Lycopodium. See Club moss, under Club, and Lycopodium.

2. A bog; a morass; a place containing peat; as, the mosses of the Scottish border.

Moss is used with participles in the composition of words which need no special explanation; as, moss-capped, moss-clad, moss-covered, moss-grown, etc.

Black moss. See under Black, and Tillandsia. -- Bog moss. See Sphagnum. -- Feather moss, any moss branched in a feathery manner, esp. several species of the genus Hypnum. -- Florida moss, Long moss, or Spanish moss. See Tillandsia. -- Iceland moss, a lichen. See Iceland Moss. -- Irish moss, a seaweed. See Carrageen. -- Moss agate (Min.), a variety of agate, containing brown, black, or green mosslike or dendritic markings, due in part to oxide of manganese. Called also Mocha stone. - - Moss animal (Zoöl.), a bryozoan. -- Moss berry (Bot.), the small cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccus). -- Moss campion (Bot.), a kind of mosslike catchfly (Silene acaulis), with mostly purplish flowers, found on the highest mountains of Europe and America, and within the Arctic circle. -- Moss land, land produced accumulation of aquatic plants, forming peat bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is grained off or retained in its pores. -- Moss pink (Bot.), a plant of the genus Phlox (P. subulata), growing in patches on dry rocky hills in the Middle United States, and often cultivated for its handsome flowers. Gray. -- Moss rose (Bot.), a variety of rose having a mosslike growth on the stalk and calyx. It is said to be derived from the Provence rose. -- Moss rush (Bot.), a rush of the genus Juncus (J. squarrosus). -- Scale moss. See Hepatica.

Moss, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mossed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mossing.] To cover or overgrow with moss.

An oak whose boughs were mossed with age.

Shak.

Moss"back` (?), n. A veteran partisan; one who is so conservative in opinion that he may be likened to a stone or old tree covered with moss. [Political Slang, U.S.]

{ Moss"bank`er (?), Moss"bunk`er (?), } n. (Zoöl.) The menhaded.

Moss"-grown` (?), a. Overgrown with moss.

Moss"i*ness (?), n. The state of being mossy.

Moss"troop`er (?), n. [Moss + trooper.] One of a class of marauders or bandits that formerly infested the border country between England and Scotland; -- so called in allusion to the mossy or boggy character of much of the border country.

Moss"y (?), a. [Compar. Mossier (?); superl. Mossiest.] 1. Overgrown with moss; abounding with or edged with moss; as, mossy trees; mossy streams.

Old trees are more mossy far than young.

Bacon.

2. Resembling moss; as, mossy green.

Most (mst), a., superl. of More. [OE. most, mast, mest, AS. mst; akin to D. meest, OS. mst, G. meist, Icel. mestr, Goth. maists; a superl. corresponding to E. more. &radic;103. See More, a.] 1. Consisting of the greatest number or quantity; greater in number or quantity than all the rest; nearly all. "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness." Prov. xx. 6.

The cities wherein most of his mighty works were done.

Matt. xi. 20.

2. Greatest in degree; as, he has the most need of it. "In the moste pride." Chaucer.

3. Highest in rank; greatest. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Most is used as a noun, the words part, portion, quantity, etc., being omitted, and has the following meanings: 1. The greatest value, number, or part; preponderating portion; highest or chief part. 2. The utmost; greatest possible amount, degree, or result; especially in the phrases to make the most of, at the most, at most.

A quarter of a year or some months at the most.

Bacon.

A covetous man makes the most of what he has.

L'Estrange.

For the most part, in reference to the larger part of a thing, or to the majority of the persons, instances, or things referred to; as, human beings, for the most part, are superstitious; the view, for the most part, was pleasing. -- Most an end, generally. See An end, under End, n. [Obs.] "She sleeps most an end." Massinger.

Most, adv. [AS. mst. See Most, a.] In the greatest or highest degree.

Those nearest to this king, and most his favorites, were courtiers
and prelates.

Milton.

Placed before an adjective or adverb, most is used to form the superlative degree, being equivalent to the termination -est; as, most vile, most wicked; most illustrious; most rapidly. Formerly, and until after the Elizabethan period of our literature, the use of the double superlative was common. See More, adv.

The most unkindest cut of all.

Shak.

The most straitest sect of our religion.

Acts xxvi. 5.

Mos`ta*hi"ba (?), n. See Mustaiba.

Mos"te (?), obs. imp. of Mote. Chaucer.

{ Mos"tic, Mos"tick } (?), n. [See Maul-stick.] A painter's maul-stick.

Most"ly (?), adv. For the greatest part; for the most part; chiefly; in the main.

||Mos"tra (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) See Direct, n.

Most"what` (?), adv. For the most part. [Obs.] "All the rest do mostwhat far amiss." Spenser.

Mot (mt), v. [Sing. pres. ind. Mot, Mote, Moot (mt), pl. Mot, Mote, Moote, pres. subj. Mote; imp. Moste.] [See Must, v.] [Obs.] May; must; might.

He moot as well say one word as another

Chaucer.

The wordes mote be cousin to the deed.

Chaucer.

Men moot [i.e., one only] give silver to the poore freres.

Chaucer.

So mote it be, so be it; amen; -- a phrase in some rituals, as that of the Freemasons.

Mot (mt; m, def. 2), n. [F. See Motto.] 1. A word; hence, a motto; a device. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Tarquin's eye may read the mot afar.

Shak.

2. A pithy or witty saying; a witticism. [A Gallicism]

Here and there turns up a . . . savage mot.

N. Brit. Rev.

3. A note or brief strain on a bugle. Sir W. Scott.

Mot"a*cil (?), n. [Cf. F. motacille.] (Zoöl.) Any singing bird of the genus Motacilla; a wagtail.

Mo*ta"tion (?), n. [L. motare, motatum, to keep moving.] The act of moving; motion. [Obs.]

Mote (?), v. See 1st Mot. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mote, n. [See Moot, a meeting.] [Obs., except in a few combinations or phrases.] 1. A meeting of persons for discussion; as, a wardmote in the city of London.

2. A body of persons who meet for discussion, esp. about the management of affairs; as, a folkmote.

3. A place of meeting for discussion.

Mote bell, the bell rung to summon to a mote. [Obs.]

Mote, n. The flourish sounded on a horn by a huntsman. See Mot, n., 3, and Mort. Chaucer.

Mote, n. [OE. mot, AS. mot.] A small particle, as of floating dust; anything proverbially small; a speck.

The little motes in the sun do ever stir, though there be no wind.

Bacon.

We are motes in the midst of generations.

Landor.

Mot"ed (?), a. Filled with motes, or fine floating dust; as, the air. "Moted sunbeams." Tennyson.

Mo*tet" (?), n. [F., a dim. of mot word; cf. It. mottetto, dim. of motto word, device. See Mot, Motto.] (Mus.) A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.

Moth (mth), n. A mote. [Obs.] Shak.

Moth, n.; pl. Moths (mthz). [OE. mothe, AS. moððe; akin to D. mot, G. motte, Icel. motti, and prob. to E. mad an earthworm. Cf. Mad, n., Mawk.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any nocturnal lepidopterous insect, or any not included among the butterflies; as, the luna moth; Io moth; hawk moth.

2. (Zoöl.) Any lepidopterous insect that feeds upon garments, grain, etc.; as, the clothes moth; grain moth; bee moth. See these terms under Clothes, Grain, etc.

3. (Zoöl.) Any one of various other insects that destroy woolen and fur goods, etc., esp. the larvæ of several species of beetles of the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus. Carpet moths are often the larvæ of Anthrenus. See Carpet beetle, under Carpet, Dermestes, Anthrenus.

4. Anything which gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.

Moth blight (Zoöl.), any plant louse of the genus Aleurodes, and related genera. They are injurious to various plants. -- Moth gnat (Zoöl.), a dipterous insect of the genus Bychoda, having fringed wings. -- Moth hunter (Zoöl.), the goatsucker. -- Moth miller (Zoöl.), a clothes moth. See Miller, 3, (a). -- Moth mullein (Bot.), a common herb of the genus Verbascum (V. Blattaria), having large wheel-shaped yellow or whitish flowers.

Moth"-eat` (?), v. t. To eat or prey upon, as a moth eats a garment. [Rarely used except in the form moth-eaten, p. p. or a.]

Ruin and neglect have so moth-eaten her.

Sir T. Herbert.

Moth"en (?), a. Full of moths. [Obs.] Fulke.

Moth"er (?), n. [OE. moder, AS. mdor; akin to D. moeder, OS. mdar, G. mutter, OHG. muotar, Icel. mðir, Dan. & Sw. moder, OSlav. mati, Russ. mate, Ir. & Gael. mathair, L. mater, Gr. mh`thr, Skr. mt; cf. Skr. m to measure. &radic;268. Cf. Material, Matrix, Metropolis, Father.] 1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child.

2. That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of birth or origin; generatrix.

Alas! poor country! . . . it can not Be called our mother, but our
grave.

Shak.

I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother of a religion,
it is said, that lived two thousand years.

Landor.

3. An old woman or matron. [Familiar]

4. The female superior or head of a religious house, as an abbess, etc.

5. Hysterical passion; hysteria. [Obs.] Shak.

Mother Carey's chicken (Zoöl.), any one of several species of small petrels, as the stormy petrel (Procellaria pelagica), and Leach's petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), both of the Atlantic, and O. furcata of the North Pacific. -- Mother Carey's goose (Zoöl.), the giant fulmar of the Pacific. See Fulmar. -- Mother's mark (Med.), a congenital mark upon the body; a nævus.

Moth"er, a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating.

It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived.

T. Arnold.

Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. -- Mother church, the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. -- Mother country, the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. - - Mother liquor (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. -- Mother queen, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. -- Mother tongue. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. -- Mother water. See Mother liquor (above). -- Mother wit, natural or native wit or intelligence.

Moth"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mothered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mothering.] To adopt as a son or daughter; to perform the duties of a mother to.

The queen, to have put lady Elizabeth besides the crown, would have
mothered another body's child.

Howell.

Moth"er, n. [Akin to D. modder mud, G. moder mold, mud, Dan. mudder mud, and to E. mud. See Mud.] A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation.

The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing microörganisms of the genus Mycoderma, and in the mother of vinegar the microörganisms (Mycoderma aceti) composing the film are the active agents in the Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the fluid. See Acetous fermentation, under Fermentation.

Moth"er, v. i. To become like, or full of, mother, or thick matter, as vinegar.

Moth"ered (?), a. Thick, like mother; viscid.

They oint their naked limbs with mothered oil.

Dryden.

Moth"er*hood (?), n. The state of being a mother; the character or office of a mother.

Moth"er*ing, n. A rural custom in England, of visiting one's parents on Midlent Sunday, -- supposed to have been originally visiting the mother church to make offerings at the high altar.

Moth"er-in-law` (?), n. The mother of one's husband or wife.

Moth"er*land` (?), n. The country of one's ancestors; -- same as fatherland.

Moth"er*less, a. [AS. mdorleás.] Destitute of a mother; having lost a mother; as, motherless children.

Moth"er*li*ness (?), n. The state or quality of being motherly.

Moth"er*ly, a. [AS. mdorlic.] Of or pertaining to a mother; like, or suitable for, a mother; tender; maternal; as, motherly authority, love, or care. Hooker.

Syn. -- Maternal; paternal. -- Motherly, Maternal. Motherly, being Anglo-Saxon, is the most familiar word of the two when both have the same meaning. Besides this, maternal is confined to the feelings of a mother toward her own children, whereas motherly has a secondary sense, denoting a care like that of a mother for her offspring. There is, perhaps, a growing tendency thus to separate the two, confining motherly to the latter signification. "They termed her the great mother, for her motherly care in cherishing her brethren whilst young." Sir W. Raleigh.

Moth"er*ly, adv. In a manner of a mother.

Moth"er-na`ked (?), a. Naked as when born.

Moth"er-of-pearl` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The hard pearly internal layer of several kinds of shells, esp. of pearl oysters, river mussels, and the abalone shells; nacre. See Pearl.

Moth"er-of-thyme` (?), n. (Bot.) An aromatic plant (Thymus Serphyllum); -- called also wild thyme.

Moth"er*wort` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A labiate herb (Leonurus Cardiaca), of a bitter taste, used popularly in medicine; lion's tail. (b) The mugwort. See Mugwort.

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Moth"er*y (m"r*), a. Consisting of, containing, or resembling, mother (in vinegar).

Moth"y (?), a. Infested with moths; moth-eaten. "An old mothy saddle." Shak.

Mo"tif (?), n. [F.] Motive.

Mo*tif"ic (?), a. [L. motus motion (fr. movere to move) + facere to make.] Producing motion. [R.]

Mo"tile (?), a. [See Motive.] 1. (Biol.) Having powers of self-motion, though unconscious; as, the motile spores of certain seaweeds.

2. Producing motion; as, motile powers.

Mo*til"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. motilité.] (Physiol.) Capability of motion; contractility.

Mo"tion (?), n. [F., fr. L. motio, fr. movere, motum, to move. See Move.] 1. The act, process, or state of changing place or position; movement; the passing of a body from one place or position to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed to rest.

Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace attends thee, and each
word, each motion, forms.

Milton.

2. Power of, or capacity for, motion.

Devoid of sense and motion.

Milton.

3. Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of the planets is from west to east.

In our proper motion we ascend.

Milton.

4. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything; action of a machine with respect to the relative movement of its parts.

This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its motion.

Dr. H. More.

5. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.

Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his heart, knowing
that every such motion proceeds from God.

South.

6. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress; esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly; as, a motion to adjourn.

Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion.

Shak.

7. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant. Mozley & W.

8. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts.

The independent motions of different parts sounding together
constitute counterpoint.

Grove.

Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is that when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is that when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is that when parts move in the same direction.

9. A puppet show or puppet. [Obs.]

What motion's this? the model of Nineveh?

Beau. & Fl.

Motion, in mechanics, may be simple or compound. Simple motions are: (a) straight translation, which, if of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. (b) Simple rotation, which may be either continuous or reciprocating, and when reciprocating is called oscillating. (c) Helical, which, if of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. Compound motion consists of combinations of any of the simple motions.

Center of motion, Harmonic motion, etc. See under Center, Harmonic, etc. -- Motion block (Steam Engine), a crosshead. -- Perpetual motion (Mech.), an incessant motion conceived to be attainable by a machine supplying its own motive forces independently of any action from without.

Syn. -- See Movement.

Mo"tion, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Motioned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Motioning.] 1. To make a significant movement or gesture, as with the hand; as, to motion to one to take a seat.

2. To make proposal; to offer plans. [Obs.] Shak.

Mo"tion, v. t. 1. To direct or invite by a motion, as of the hand or head; as, to motion one to a seat.

2. To propose; to move. [Obs.]

I want friends to motion such a matter.

Burton.

Mo"tion*er (?), n. One who makes a motion; a mover. Udall.

Mo"tion*ist, n. A mover. [Obs.]

Mo"tion*less, a. Without motion; being at rest.

Mo"tive (?), n. [F. motif, LL. motivum, from motivus moving, fr. L. movere, motum, to move. See Move.] 1. That which moves; a mover. [Obs.] Shak.

2. That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object.

By motive, I mean the whole of that which moves, excites, or
invites the mind to volition, whether that be one thing singly, or
many things conjunctively.

J. Edwards.

3. (Mus.) The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading. [Written also motivo.]

4. (Fine Arts) That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one.

Syn. -- Incentive; incitement; inducement; reason; spur; stimulus; cause. -- Motive, Inducement, Reason. Motive is the word originally used in speaking of that which determines the choice. We call it an inducement when it is attractive in its nature. We call it a reason when it is more immediately addressed to the intellect in the form of argument.

Mo"tive, a. Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power. "Motive faculty." Bp. Wilkins.

Motive power (Mach.), a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover.

Mo"tive (?), v. t. To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.

Mo"tive*less, a. Destitute of a motive; not incited by a motive. -- Mo"tive*less*ness, n. G. Eliot.

Mo*tiv"i*ty (?), n. [See Motive, n.] 1. The power of moving or producing motion.

2. The quality of being influenced by motives. [R.]

||Mo*ti"vo (?), n. [It. See Motive, n.] See Motive, n., 3, 4.

Mot"ley (?), a. [OE. mottelee, motle; cf. OF. mattelé clotted, curdled, OF, ciel mattonné a mottled sky, mate, maton, curdled milk, Prov. G. matte curd. Cf. Mottle.] 1. Variegated in color; consisting of different colors; dappled; party-colored; as, a motley coat.

2. Wearing motley or party-colored clothing. See Motley, n., 1. "A motley fool." Shak.

3. Composed of different or various parts; heterogeneously made or mixed up; discordantly composite; as, motley style. Byron.

Mot"ley, n. 1. A combination of distinct colors; esp., the party-colored cloth, or clothing, worn by the professional fool. Chaucer. "Motley 's the only wear." Shak.

2. Hence, a jester, a fool. [Obs.] Shak.

Man of motley, a fool. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Mot"ley-mind`ed (?), a. Having a mind of a jester; foolish. Shak.

Mot"mot (?), n. [Cf. Momot.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of long-tailed, passerine birds of the genus Momotus, having a strong serrated beak. In most of the species the two long middle tail feathers are racket-shaped at the tip, when mature. The bird itself is said by some writers to trim them into this shape. They feed on insects, reptiles, and fruit, and are found from Mexico to Brazil. The name is derived from its note. [Written also momot.]

||Mo"to (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) Movement; manner of movement; ||particularly, movement with increased rapidity; -- used especially in ||the phrase con moto, directing to a somewhat quicker movement; as, ||andante con moto, a little more rapidly than andante, etc.

Mo"ton (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Anc. Armor) A small plate covering the armpit in armor of the 14th century and later.

Mo"tor (?), n. [L., fr. movere, motum, to move.] 1. One who, or that which, imparts motion; a source of mechanical power.

2. (Mach.) A prime mover; a machine by means of which a source of power, as steam, moving water, electricity, etc., is made available for doing mechanical work.

{ Mo"tor (?), Mo"to*ry (?), Mo*to"ri*al (?), } a. [L. motorius that has motion. See Motor, n.] Causing or setting up motion; pertaining to organs of motion; -- applied especially in physiology to those nerves or nerve fibers which only convey impressions from a nerve center to muscles, thereby causing motion.

Mo"tor*man (?), n. A man who controls a motor.

Mo`tor*path"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to motorpathy.

Mo*tor"pa*thy (?), n. [L. motor a mover + Gr. &?;, &?;, to suffer.] (Med.) Kinesiatrics.

Motte (?), n. [Cf. F. motte a clod, clump, or hillock.] A clump of trees in a prairie. [Local, U.S.]

Mot"tle (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mottled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mottling (?).] [From Mottled.] To mark with spots of different color, or shades of color, as if stained; to spot; to maculate.

Mot"tle, n. A mottled appearance.

Mot"tled (?), a. [From Motley.] Marked with spots of different colors; variegated; spotted; as, mottled wood. "The mottled meadows." Drayton.

Mot"to (?), n.; pl. Mottoes (#). [It. motto a word, a saying, L. muttum a mutter, a grunt, cf. muttire, mutire, to mutter, mumble; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Mot a word.] 1. (Her.) A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievment.

2. A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.

It was the motto of a bishop eminent for his piety and good works,
. . . "Serve God, and be cheerful."

Addison.

Mot"toed (?), a. Bearing or having a motto; as, a mottoed coat or device.

Mot"ty (?), a. Full of, or consisting of, motes. [Written also mottie.] [Scot.]

The motty dust reek raised by the workmen.

H. Miller.

||Mou`choir" (m`shwär"), n. [F.] A handkerchief.

Mou*ez"zin (?), n. [F.] See Muezzin.

Mouf"lon (?), n. [F. mouflon.] (Zoöl.) A wild sheep (Ovis musimon), inhabiting the mountains of Sardinia, Corsica, etc. Its horns are very large, with a triangular base and rounded angles. It is supposed by some to be the original of the domestic sheep. Called also musimon or musmon. [Written also moufflon.]

Mought (?), obs. imp. of May. Might.

||Mouil*la"tion (?), n. [See Mouillé.] (Phon.) The act of uttering the ||sound of a mouillé letter.

||Mouil`lé" (?), a. [F., lit., wet.] (Phon.) Applied to certain ||consonants having a "liquid" or softened sound; e.g., in French, l or ||ll and gn (like the lli in million and ni in minion); in Italian, gl ||and gn; in Spanish, ll and ñ; in Portuguese, lh and nh.

{ Mould (mld), Mould"er (?), Mould"y (?), etc. } See Mold, Molder, Moldy, etc.

Moule (ml), v. i. [OE. moulen. See Mold.] To contract mold; to grow moldy; to mold. [Obs.]

Let us not moulen thus in idleness.

Chaucer.

{ Mou*line" (?), Mou"li*net (?), } n. [F. moulinet, orig., a little mill, dim. of moulin mill. See Mill.] 1. The drum upon which the rope is wound in a capstan, crane, or the like.

2. A machine formerly used for bending a crossbow by winding it up.

3. In sword and saber exercises, a circular swing of the weapon.

Moult (mlt), v. & n. See Molt.

Moult"en (-'n), a. Having molted. [Obs.] "A moulten raven." Shak.

Moun (moun), v., pl. of Mow, may. [Obs.] Wyclif.

Mounch (mounch), v. t. To munch. [Obs.]

Mound (mound), n. [F. monde the world, L. mundus. See Mundane.] A ball or globe forming part of the regalia of an emperor or other sovereign. It is encircled with bands, enriched with precious stones, and surmounted with a cross; -- called also globe.

Mound, n. [OE. mound, mund, protection, AS. mund protection, hand; akin to OHG. munt, Icel. mund hand, and prob. to L. manus. See Manual.] An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embarkment thrown up for defense; a bulwark; a rampart; also, a natural elevation appearing as if thrown up artificially; a regular and isolated hill, hillock, or knoll.

To thrid the thickets or to leap the mounds.

Dryden.

Mound bird. (Zoöl.) Same as Mound maker (below). -- Mound builders (Ethnol.), the tribe, or tribes, of North American aborigines who built, in former times, extensive mounds of earth, esp. in the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Formerly they were supposed to have preceded the Indians, but later investigations go to show that they were, in general, identical with the tribes that occupied the country when discovered by Europeans. -- Mound maker (Zoöl.), any one of the megapodes. -- Shell mound, a mound of refuse shells, collected by aborigines who subsisted largely on shellfish. See Midden, and Kitchen middens.

Mound, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Mounding.] To fortify or inclose with a mound.

Mount (mount), n. [OE. munt, mont, mount, AS. munt, fr. L. mons, montis; cf. L. minae protections, E. eminent, menace: cf. F. mont. Cf. Mount, v., Mountain, Mont, Monte, Montem.] 1. A mass of earth, or earth and rock, rising considerably above the common surface of the surrounding land; a mountain; a high hill; -- used always instead of mountain, when put before a proper name; as, Mount Washington; otherwise, chiefly in poetry.

2. A bulwark for offense or defense; a mound. [Obs.]

Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem.

Jer. vi. 6.

3. [See Mont de piété.] A bank; a fund.

Mount of piety. See Mont de piété.

Mount, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mounted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mounting.] [OE. mounten, monten, F. monter, fr. L. mons, montis, mountain. See Mount, n. (above).] 1. To rise on high; to go up; to be upraised or uplifted; to tower aloft; to ascend; -- often with up.

Though Babylon should mount up to heaven.

Jer. li. 53.

The fire of trees and houses mounts on high.

Cowley.

2. To get up on anything, as a platform or scaffold; especially, to seat one's self on a horse for riding.

3. To attain in value; to amount.

Bring then these blessings to a strict account, Make fair
deductions, see to what they mount.

Pope.

Mount, v. t. 1. To get upon; to ascend; to climb.

Shall we mount again the rural throne?

Dryden.

2. To place one's self on, as a horse or other animal, or anything that one sits upon; to bestride.

3. To cause to mount; to put on horseback; to furnish with animals for riding; to furnish with horses. "To mount the Trojan troop." Dryden.

4. Hence: To put upon anything that sustains and fits for use, as a gun on a carriage, a map or picture on cloth or paper; to prepare for being worn or otherwise used, as a diamond by setting, or a sword blade by adding the hilt, scabbard, etc.

5. To raise aloft; to lift on high.

What power is it which mounts my love so high?

Shak.

A fort or ship is said to mount cannon, when it has them arranged for use in or about it.

To mount guard (Mil.), to go on guard; to march on guard; to do duty as a guard. -- To mount a play, to prepare and arrange the scenery, furniture, etc., used in the play.

Mount, n. [From Mount, v.] That upon which a person or thing is mounted, as: (a) A horse.

She had so good a seat and hand, she might be trusted with any
mount.

G. Eliot.

(b) The cardboard or cloth on which a drawing, photograph, or the like is mounted; a mounting.

Mount"a*ble (?), a. Such as can be mounted.

Moun"tain (?), n. [OE. mountaine, montaine, F. montagne, LL. montanea, montania, fr. L. mons, montis, a mountain; cf. montanus belonging to a mountain. See 1st Mount.] 1. A large mass of earth and rock, rising above the common level of the earth or adjacent land; earth and rock forming an isolated peak or a ridge; an eminence higher than a hill; a mount.

2. pl. A range, chain, or group of such elevations; as, the White Mountains.

3. A mountainlike mass; something of great bulk.

I should have been a mountain of mummy.

Shak.

The Mountain (La montagne) (French Hist.), a popular name given in 1793 to a party of extreme Jacobins in the National Convention, who occupied the highest rows of seats.

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Moun"tain (moun"tn), a. 1. Of or pertaining to a mountain or mountains; growing or living on a mountain; found on or peculiar to mountains; among mountains; as, a mountain torrent; mountain pines; mountain goats; mountain air; mountain howitzer.

2. Like a mountain; mountainous; vast; very great.

The high, the mountain majesty of worth.

Byron.

Mountain antelope (Zoöl.), the goral. -- Mountain ash (Bot.), an ornamental tree, the Pyrus (Sorbus) Americana, producing beautiful bunches of red berries. Its leaves are pinnate, and its flowers white, growing in fragrant clusters. The European species is the P. aucuparia, or rowan tree. -- Mountain barometer, a portable barometer, adapted for safe transportation, used in measuring the heights of mountains. -- Mountain beaver (Zoöl.), the sewellel. -- Mountain blue (Min.), blue carbonate of copper; azurite. -- Mountain cat (Zoöl.), the catamount. See Catamount. -- Mountain chain, a series of contiguous mountain ranges, generally in parallel or consecutive lines or curves. -- Mountain cock (Zoöl.), capercailzie. See Capercailzie. -- Mountain cork (Min.), a variety of asbestus, resembling cork in its texture. -- Mountain crystal. See under Crystal. -- Mountain damson (Bot.), a large tree of the genus Simaruba (S. amarga) growing in the West Indies, which affords a bitter tonic and astringent, sometimes used in medicine. -- Mountain dew, Scotch whisky, so called because often illicitly distilled among the mountains. [Humorous] -- Mountain ebony (Bot.), a small leguminous tree (Bauhinia variegata) of the East and West Indies; -- so called because of its dark wood. The bark is used medicinally and in tanning. -- Mountain flax (Min.), a variety of asbestus, having very fine fibers; amianthus. See Amianthus. -- Mountain fringe (Bot.), climbing fumitory. See under Fumitory. -- Mountain goat. (Zoöl.) See Mazama. -- Mountain green. (Min.) (a) Green malachite, or carbonate of copper. (b) See Green earth, under Green, a. -- Mountain holly (Bot.), a branching shrub (Nemopanthes Canadensis), having smooth oblong leaves and red berries. It is found in the Northern United States. -- Mountain laurel (Bot.), an American shrub (Kalmia latifolia) with glossy evergreen leaves and showy clusters of rose-colored or white flowers. The foliage is poisonous. Called also American laurel, ivy bush, and calico bush. See Kalmia. -- Mountain leather (Min.), a variety of asbestus, resembling leather in its texture. -- Mountain licorice (Bot.), a plant of the genus Trifolium (T. Alpinum). - - Mountain limestone (Geol.), a series of marine limestone strata below the coal measures, and above the old red standstone of Great Britain. See Chart of Geology. -- Mountain linnet (Zoöl.), the twite. -- Mountain magpie. (Zoöl.) (a) The yaffle, or green woodpecker. (b) The European gray shrike. -- Mountain mahogany (Bot.) See under Mahogany. -- Mountain meal (Min.), a light powdery variety of calcite, occurring as an efflorescence. -- Mountain milk (Min.), a soft spongy variety of carbonate of lime. -- Mountain mint. (Bot.) See Mint. -- Mountain ousel (Zoöl.), the ring ousel; -- called also mountain thrush and mountain colley. See Ousel. -- Mountain pride, or Mountain green (Bot.), a tree of Jamaica (Spathelia simplex), which has an unbranched palmlike stem, and a terminal cluster of large, pinnate leaves. -- Mountain quail (Zoöl.), the plumed partridge (Oreortyx pictus) of California. It has two long, slender, plumelike feathers on the head. The throat and sides are chestnut; the belly is brown with transverse bars of black and white; the neck and breast are dark gray. -- Mountain range, a series of mountains closely related in position and direction. -- Mountain rice. (Bot.) (a) An upland variety of rice, grown without irrigation, in some parts of Asia, Europe, and the United States. (b) An American genus of grasses (Oryzopsis). -- Mountain rose (Bot.), a species of rose with solitary flowers, growing in the mountains of Europe (Rosa alpina). -- Mountain soap (Min.), a soft earthy mineral, of a brownish color, used in crayon painting; saxonite. -- Mountain sorrel (Bot.), a low perennial plant (Oxyria digyna with rounded kidney-form leaves, and small greenish flowers, found in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and in high northern latitudes. Gray. -- Mountain sparrow (Zoöl.), the European tree sparrow. -- Mountain spinach. (Bot.) See Orach. -- Mountain tobacco (Bot.), a composite plant (Arnica montana) of Europe; called also leopard's bane. -- Mountain witch (Zoöl.), a ground pigeon of Jamaica, of the genus Geotrygon.

Moun`tain*eer" (moun`tn*r"), n. [OF. montanier, LL. montanarius. See Mountain.] 1. An inhabitant of a mountain; one who lives among mountains.

2. A rude, fierce person. [Obs.]

No savage fierce, bandit, or mountaineer.

Milton.

Moun`tain*eer", v. i. To live or act as a mountaineer; to climb mountains.

You can't go mountaineering in a flat country.

H. James.

Moun"tain*er (?), n. A mountaineer. [Obs.]

Moun"tain*et (?), n. A small mountain. [R.]

Moun"tain*ous (?), a. [F. montagneux, L. montaniosus.] 1. Full of, or containing, mountains; as, the mountainous country of the Swiss.

2. Inhabiting mountains. [Obs.] Bacon.

3. Large as, or resembling, a mountain; huge; of great bulk; as, a mountainous heap. Prior.

Moun"tain*ous*ness, n. The state or quality of being mountainous.

Mount"ance (?), n. [OF. montance.] Amount; sum; quantity; extent. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mount"ant (?), a. [F. montant, p. pr. of monter. See Mount, and cf. Montant.] Raised; high. [Obs.]

Mount"e*bank (?), n. [It. montimbanco, montambanco; montare to mount + in in, upon + banco bench. See Mount, and 4th Bank.] 1. One who mounts a bench or stage in the market or other public place, boasts of his skill in curing diseases, and vends medicines which he pretends are infallible remedies; a quack doctor.

Such is the weakness and easy credulity of men, that a mountebank .
. . is preferred before an able physician.

Whitlock.

2. Any boastful or false pretender; a charlatan; a quack.

Nothing so impossible in nature but mountebanks will undertake.

Arbuthnot.

Mount"e*bank, v. t. To cheat by boasting and false pretenses; to gull. [R.] Shak.

Mount"e*bank, v. i. To play the mountebank.

Mount"e*bank`er*y (?), n. The practices of a mountebank; quackery; boastful and vain pretenses.

Mount"e*bank`ish, a. Like a mountebank or his quackery. Howell.

Mount"e*bank*ism (?), n. The practices of a mountebank; mountebankery.

Mount"ed, a. 1. Seated or serving on horseback or similarly; as, mounted police; mounted infantry.

2. Placed on a suitable support, or fixed in a setting; as, a mounted gun; a mounted map; a mounted gem.

Mount"e*naunce (?), n. Mountance. [Obs.]

Mount"er (?), n. 1. One who mounts.

2. An animal mounted; a monture. [Obs.]

Mount"ing, n. 1. The act of one that mounts.

2. That by which anything is prepared for use, or set off to advantage; equipment; embellishment; setting; as, the mounting of a sword or diamond.

Mount"ing*ly, adv. In an ascending manner.

Mount"let (?), n. A small or low mountain. [R.]

Mount"y (?), n. [F. montée, fr. monter. See Mount, v.] The rise of a hawk after prey. Sir P. Sidney.

Mourn (mrn), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mourned (mrnd); p. pr. & vb. n. Mourning.] [AS. murnan; akin to OS. mornian, OHG. mornen, Goth. maúrnan.] 1. To express or to feel grief or sorrow; to grieve; to be sorrowful; to lament; to be in a state of grief or sadness.

Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Gen. xxiii. 2.

2. To wear the customary garb of a mourner.

We mourn in black; why mourn we not in blood?

Shak.

Grieve for an hour, perhaps, then mourn a year.

Pope.

Mourn, v. t. 1. To grieve for; to lament; to deplore; to bemoan; to bewail.

As if he mourned his rival's ill success.

Addison.

And looking over the hills, I mourn The darling who shall not
return.

Emerson.

2. To utter in a mournful manner or voice.

The lovelorn nightingale Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth
well.

Milton.

Syn. -- See Deplore.

Mourne (mrn), n. [See 2d Morne.] The armed or feruled end of a staff; in a sheephook, the end of the staff to which the hook is attached. Sir P. Sidney.

Mourn"er (mrn"r), n. 1. One who mourns or is grieved at any misfortune, as the death of a friend.

His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes.

Byron.

2. One who attends a funeral as a hired mourner.

Mourners were provided to attend the funeral.

L'Estrange.

Mourn"ful (?), a. Full of sorrow; expressing, or intended to express, sorrow; mourning; grieving; sad; also, causing sorrow; saddening; grievous; as, a mournful person; mournful looks, tones, loss. -- Mourn"ful*ly, adv. -- Mourn"ful*ness, n.

Syn. -- Sorrowful; lugubrious; sad; doleful; heavy; afflictive; grievous; calamitous.

Mourn"ing, n. [AS. murnung.] 1. The act of sorrowing or expressing grief; lamentation; sorrow.

2. Garb, drapery, or emblems indicative of grief, esp. clothing or a badge of somber black.

The houses to their tops with black were spread, And ev'n the
pavements were with mourning hid.

Dryden.

Deep mourning. See under Deep.

Mourn"ing, a. 1. Grieving; sorrowing; lamenting.

2. Employed to express sorrow or grief; worn or used as appropriate to the condition of one bereaved or sorrowing; as, mourning garments; a mourning ring; a mourning pin, and the like.

Mourning bride (Bot.), a garden flower (Scabiosa atropurpurea) with dark purple or crimson flowers in flattened heads. -- Mourning dove (Zoöl.), a wild dove (Zenaidura macroura) found throughout the United States; -- so named from its plaintive note. Called also Carolina dove. See Illust. under Dove. -- Mourning warbler (Zoöl.), an American ground warbler (Geothlypis Philadelphia). The male has the head, neck, and chest, deep ash- gray, mixed with black on the throat and chest; other lower parts are pure yellow.

Mourn"ing*ly, adv. In a mourning manner.

Mour"ni*val (?), n. See Murnival.

Mouse (mous), n.; pl. Mice (ms). [OE. mous, mus, AS. ms, pl. ms; akin to D. muis, G. maus, OHG. & Icel. ms, Dan. muus, Sw. mus, Russ. muishe, L. mus, Gr. my^s, Skr. msh mouse, mush to steal. &radic;277. Cf. Muscle, Musk.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of small rodents belonging to the genus Mus and various related genera of the family Muridæ. The common house mouse (Mus musculus) is found in nearly all countries. The American white-footed, or deer, mouse (Hesperomys leucopus) sometimes lives in houses. See Dormouse, Meadow mouse, under Meadow, and Harvest mouse, under Harvest.

2. (Naut.) (a) A knob made on a rope with spun yarn or parceling to prevent a running eye from slipping. (b) Same as 2d Mousing, 2.

3. A familiar term of endearment. Shak.

4. A dark-colored swelling caused by a blow. [Slang]

5. A match used in firing guns or blasting.