Chapter L: F. Ward (20)

Law of multiple proportion (Chem.), the generalization that when the same elements unite in more than one proportion, forming two or more different compounds, the higher proportions of the elements in such compounds are simple multiples of the lowest proportion, or the proportions are connected by some simple common factor; thus, iron and oxygen unite in the proportions FeO, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, in which compounds, considering the oxygen, 3 and 4 are simple multiplies of 1. Called also the Law of Dalton, from its discoverer. -- Multiple algebra, a branch of advanced mathematics that treats of operations upon units compounded of two or more unlike units. -- Multiple conjugation (Biol.), a coalescence of many cells (as where an indefinite number of amœboid cells flow together into a single mass) from which conjugation proper and even fertilization may have been evolved. -- Multiple fruits. (Bot.) See Collective fruit, under Collective. -- Multiple star (Astron.), several stars in close proximity, which appear to form a single system.

Mul"ti*ple, n. (Math.) A quantity containing another quantity a number of times without a remainder.

A common multiple of two or more numbers contains each of them a number of times exactly; thus, 24 is a common multiple of 3 and 4. The least common multiple is the least number that will do this; thus, 12 is the least common multiple of 3 and 4.

Mul"ti*plex (?), a. [L. multiplex, -plicis. See Multiply.] Manifold; multiple.

Mul"ti*pli`a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. multipliable.] Capable of being multiplied. -- Mul"ti*pli`a*ble*ness, n.

Mul"ti*pli*ca*ble (?), a. [L. multiplicabilis.] Capable of being multiplied; multipliable.

Mul"ti*pli*cand` (?), n. [L. multiplicandus to be multiplied: cf. F. multiplicande.] (Math.) The number which is to be multiplied by another number called the multiplier. See Note under Multiplication.

Mul"ti*pli*cate (?), a. [L. multiplicatus, p. p. of multiplicare. See Multiply.] Consisting of many, or of more than one; multiple; multifold.

Multiplicate flower (Bot.), a flower that is double, or has an unusual number of petals in consequence of the abnormal multiplication of the parts of the floral whorls.

Mul`ti*pli*ca"tion (?), n. [L. multiplicatio: cf. F. multiplication. See Multiply.] 1. The act or process of multiplying, or of increasing in number; the state of being multiplied; as, the multiplication of the human species by natural generation.

The increase and multiplication of the world.

Thackeray.

2. (Math.) The process of repeating, or adding to itself, any given number or quantity a certain number of times; commonly, the process of ascertaining by a briefer computation the result of such repeated additions; also, the rule by which the operation is performed; -- the reverse of division.

The word multiplication is sometimes used in mathematics, particularly in multiple algebra, to denote any distributive operation expressed by one symbol upon any quantity or any thing expressed by another symbol. Corresponding extensions of meaning are given to the words multiply, multiplier, multiplicand, and product. Thus, since φ(x + y) = φx + φy (see under Distributive), where φ(x + y), φx, and φy indicate the results of any distributive operation represented by the symbol φ upon x + y, x, and y, severally, then because of many very useful analogies φ(x + y) is called the product of φ and x + y, and the operation indicated by φ is called multiplication. Cf. Facient, n., 2.

3. (Bot.) An increase above the normal number of parts, especially of petals; augmentation.

4. The art of increasing gold or silver by magic, -- attributed formerly to the alchemists. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Multiplication table, a table giving the product of a set of numbers multiplied in some regular way; commonly, a table giving the products of the first ten or twelve numbers multiplied successively by 1, 2, 3, etc., up to 10 or 12.

Mul"ti*pli*ca*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. multiplicatif.] Tending to multiply; having the power to multiply, or incease numbers.

Mul"ti*pli*ca*tive*ly, adv. So as to multiply.

Mul"ti*pli*ca`tor (?), n. [L.: cf. F. multiplicateur. Cf. Multiplier.] The number by which another number is multiplied; a multiplier.

Mul`ti*pli"cious (?), a. [See Multiplex.] Manifold. [Obs.]

Mul`ti*plic"ity (?), n. [Cf. F. multiplicité.] The quality of being multiple, manifold, or various; a state of being many; a multitude; as, a multiplicity of thoughts or objects. "A multiplicity of goods." South.

Mul"ti*pli`er (?), n. [Cf. F. multiplier. Cf. Multiplicator.] 1. One who, or that which, multiplies or increases number.

2. (Math.) The number by which another number is multiplied. See the Note under Multiplication.

3. (Physics) An instrument for multiplying or increasing by repetition or accumulation the intensity of a force or action, as heat or electricity. It is particularly used to render such a force or action appreciable or measurable when feeble. See Thermomultiplier.

Mul"ti*ply (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Multiplied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Multiplying (?).] [F. multiplier, L. multiplicare, fr. multiplex manifold. See Multitude, Complex.] 1. To increase in number; to make more numerous; to add quantity to.

Impunity will multiply motives to disobedience.

Ames.

2. (Math.) To add (any given number or quantity) to itself a certain number of times; to find the product of by multiplication; thus 7 multiplied by 8 produces the number 56; to multiply two numbers. See the Note under Multiplication.

3. To increase (the amount of gold or silver) by the arts of alchemy. [Obs.]

Multiplying gear (Mach.), gear for increasing speed. -- Multiplying lens. (Opt.) See under Lens.

Mul"ti*ply, v. i. 1. To become greater in number; to become numerous.

When men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters
were born unto them.

Gen. vi. 1.

2. To increase in extent and influence; to spread.

The word of God grew and multiplied.

Acts xii. 24.

3. To increase amount of gold or silver by the arts of alchemy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Mul`ti*po"lar (?), a. [Multi- + polar.] (Biol.) Having many poles; -- applied especially to those ganglionic nerve cells which have several radiating processes.

Mul*tip"o*tent (?), a. [L. multipotens; multus much + potens powerful. See Potent.] Having manifold power, or power to do many things. "Jove multipotent." Shak.

Mul`ti*pres"ence (?), n. The state or power of being multipresent.

The multipresence of Christ's body.

Bp. Hall.

Mul`ti*pres"ent (?), a. [Multi- + present, a.] Being, or having the power to be, present in two or more places at once.

Mul`ti*ra"di*ate (?), a. [Multi- + radiate.] Having many rays.

Mul`ti*ram"i*fied (?), a. [Multi- + p. p. of ramify.] Divided into many branches.

Mul`ti*ra*mose" (?), a. [Multi- + ramose.] Having many branches.

Mul*tis"cious (?), a. [L. multiscius; multus much + scius knowing, fr. scire to know.] Having much or varied knowledge. [Obs.]

Mul"ti*sect (?), a. [Multi- + L. sectus, p. p. of secare to cut.] (Zoöl.) Divided into many similar segments; -- said of an insect or myriapod.

Mul`ti*sep"tate (?), a. [Multi- + septate.] (Bot.) Divided into many chambers by partitions, as the pith of the pokeweed.

Mul`ti*se"ri*al (?), a. [Multi- + serial.] (Bot.) Arranged in many rows, or series, as the scales of a pine cone, or the leaves of the houseleek.

Mul`ti*sil"i*quous (?), a. [Multi- + siliquious.] (Bot.) Having many pods or seed vessels.

Mul*tis"o*nous (?), a. [L. multisonus; multus much, many + sonus sound.] Having many sounds, or sounding much.

Mul`ti*spi"ral (?), a. [Multi- + spiral.] (Zoöl.) Having numerous spiral coils round a center or nucleus; -- said of the opercula of certain shells.

Mul`ti*stri"ate (?), a. [Multi- + striate.] Having many streaks.

Mul`ti*sul"cate (?), a. [Multi- + sulcate.] Having many furrows.

Mul"ti*syl`la*ble (?), n. [Multi- + syllable.] A word of many syllables; a polysyllable. [R.] -- Mul`ti*syl*lab"ic (#), a.

Mul`ti*tit"u*lar (?), a. [Multi- + titular.] Having many titles.

Mul`ti*tu"bu*lar (?), a. [Multi- + tubular.] Having many tubes; as, a multitubular boiler.

Mul"ti*tude (?), n. [F. multitude, L. multitudo, multitudinis, fr. multus much, many; of unknown origin.] 1. A great number of persons collected together; a numerous collection of persons; a crowd; an assembly.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on
them.

Matt. ix. 36.

2. A great number of persons or things, regarded collectively; as, the book will be read by a multitude of people; the multitude of stars; a multitude of cares.

It is a fault in a multitude of preachers, that they utterly
neglect method in their harangues.

I. Watts.

A multitude of flowers As countless as the stars on high.

Longfellow.

3. The state of being many; numerousness.

They came as grasshoppers for multitude.

Judg. vi. 5.

The multitude, the populace; the mass of men.

Syn. -- Throng; crowd; assembly; assemblage; commonalty; swarm; populace; vulgar. See Throng.

Mul`ti*tu"di*na*ry (?), a. Multitudinous.

Mul`ti*tu"di*nous (?), a. 1. Consisting of a multitude; manifold in number or condition; as, multitudinous waves. "The multitudinous seas." Shak.

A renewed jingling of multitudinous chains.

G. Kennan.

2. Of or pertaining to a multitude. "The multitudinous tongue." Shak.

-- Mul`ti*tu"di*nous*ly, adv. -- Mul`ti*tu"di*nous*ness, n.

{ Mul*tiv"a*gant (?), Mul*tiv"a*gous (?), } a. [L. multivagus; multus much + vagus wandering; cf. vagans, p. pr. of vagari. See Vagary.] Wandering much. [Obs.]

Mul*tiv"a*lence (?), n. (Chem.) Quality, state, or degree, of a multivalent element, atom, or radical.

Mul*tiv"a*lent (?), a. [Multi- + L. valens, p. pr. See Valence.] (Chem.) (a) Having a valence greater than one, as silicon. (b) Having more than one degree of valence, as sulphur.

Mul"ti*valve (?), n. [Cf. F. multivalve.] (Zoöl.) Any mollusk which has a shell composed of more than two pieces.

{ Mul"ti*valve (?), Mul`ti*val"vu*lar (?), } a. [Multi- + valve, valvular: cf. F. multivalve.] 1. Having many valves.

2. (Zoöl.) Many-valved; having more than two valves; -- said of certain shells, as the chitons.

Mul*tiv"er*sant (?), a. [Multi- + L. versans, p. pr. See Versant.] Turning into many shapes; assuming many forms; protean.

Mul*tiv"i*ous (?), a. & adv. [L. multivius; multus many + via way.] Having many ways or roads; by many ways. [Obs.]

Mul*tiv"o*cal (?), a. [Multi- + vocal.] Signifying many different things; of manifold meaning; equivocal. "An ambiguous multivocal word." Coleridge.

-- n. A multivocal word. [R.] Fitzed. Hall.

Mul*toc"u*lar (?), a. [Multi- + L. oculus eye.] Having many eyes, or more than two.

Mul"tum (?), n. An extract of quassia licorice, fraudulently used by brewers in order to economize malt and hops. Craig.

Hard multum, a preparation made from Cocculus Indicus, etc., used to impart an intoxicating quality to beer.

Mul*tun"gu*late (?), a. [Multi- + ungulate.] Having many hoofs.

Mul"ture (?), n. [OF. multure, moulture, F. mouture, fr. L. molitura a grinding, molere to grind. See Mill the machine.] 1. (Scots Law) The toll for grinding grain. Erskine.

2. A grist or grinding; the grain ground.

Mum (?), a. [Of imitative origin. Cf. Mumble.] Silent; not speaking. Thackeray.

The citizens are mum, and speak not a word.

Shak.

Mum, interj. Be silent! Hush!

Mum, then, and no more.

Shak.

Mum, n. Silence. [R.] Hudibras.

Mum, n. [G. mummere, fr. Christian Mumme, who first brewed it in 1492.] A sort of strong beer, originally made in Brunswick, Germany. Addison.

The clamorous crowd is hushed with mugs of mum.

Pope.

Mum"ble (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mumbled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mumbling (?).] [OE. momelen; cf. D. mompelen, mommelen, G. mummelen, Sw. mumla, Dan. mumle. Cf. Mum, a., Mumm, Mump, v.] 1. To speak with the lips partly closed, so as to render the sounds inarticulate and imperfect; to utter words in a grumbling indistinct manner, indicating discontent or displeasure; to mutter.

Peace, you mumbling fool.

Shak.

A wrinkled hag, with age grown double, Picking dry sticks, and
mumbling to herself.

Otway.

2. To chew something gently with closed lips.

<! p. 954 !>

Mum"ble (mm"b'l), v. t. 1. To utter with a low, inarticulate voice. Bp. Hall.

2. To chew or bite gently, as one without teeth.

Gums unarmed, to mumble meat in vain.

Dryden.

3. To suppress, or utter imperfectly.

Mum"ble*news` (?), n. A talebearer. [Obs.]

Mum"bler (?), n. One who mumbles.

Mum"bling (?), a. Low; indistinct; inarticulate. -- Mum"bling*ly, adv.

Mum"bo Jum`bo (?). An object of superstitious homage and fear. Carlyle.

The miserable Mumbo Jumbo they paraded.

Dickens.

Mum"-chance` (?), n. 1. A game of hazard played with cards in silence. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Decker.

2. A silent, stupid person. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Mum"-chance`, a. Silent and idle. [Colloq.]

Boys can't sit mum-chance always.

J. H. Ewing.

Mumm (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mummed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mumming.] [D. mimmen to mask, mom a mask; akin to G. mumme disguise; prob. of imitative origin, and akin to E. mum, mumble, in allusion to the indistinctness of speech occasioned by talking from behind a mask. Cf. Mumble, Mummery.] To sport or make diversion in a mask or disguise; to mask.

With mumming and with masking all around.

Spenser.

Mumm"er (?), n. [Cf. OF. mommeur. See Mumm, and cf. Momier.] One who mumms, or makes diversion in disguise; a masker; a buffon.

Jugglers and dancers, antics, mummers.

Milton.

Mum"mer*y (?), n.; pl. Mummeries (#). [F. momerie, of Dutch or German origin. See Mumm.] 1. Masking; frolic in disguise; buffoonery.

The mummery of foreign strollers.

Fenton.

2. Farcical show; hypocritical disguise and parade or ceremonies. Bacon.

Mum"mi*chog (?), n. [Amer. Indian name.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small American cyprinodont fishes of the genus Fundulus, and of allied genera; the killifishes; -- called also minnow. [Written also mummychog, mummachog.]

Mum`mi*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [See Mummify.] The act of making a mummy.

Mum"mi*fied (?), a. Converted into a mummy or a mummylike substance; having the appearance of a mummy; withered.

Mum"mi*form (?), a. [Mummy + -form.] Having some resemblance to a mummy; -- in zoölogy, said of the pupæ of certain insects.

Mum"mi*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mummified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mummifying (?).] [Mummy + -fy: cf. F. momifier.] To embalm and dry as a mummy; to make into, or like, a mummy. Hall (1646).

Mum"my (mm"m), n.; pl. Mummies (#). [F. momie; cf. Sp. & Pg. momia, It. mummia; all fr. Per. mmiy, fr. mm wax.] 1. A dead body embalmed and dried after the manner of the ancient Egyptians; also, a body preserved, by any means, in a dry state, from the process of putrefaction. Bacon.

2. Dried flesh of a mummy. [Obs.] Sir. J. Hill.

3. A gummy liquor that exudes from embalmed flesh when heated; -- formerly supposed to have magical and medicinal properties. [Obs.] Shak. Sir T. Herbert.

4. A brown color obtained from bitumen. See Mummy brown (below).

5. (Gardening) A sort of wax used in grafting, etc.

6. One whose affections and energies are withered.

Mummy brown, a brown color, nearly intermediate in tint between burnt umber and raw umber. A pigment of this color is prepared from bitumen, etc., obtained from Egyptian tombs. -- Mummy wheat (Bot.), wheat found in the ancient mummy cases of Egypt. No botanist now believes that genuine mummy wheat has been made to germinate in modern times. -- To beat to a mummy, to beat to a senseless mass; to beat soundly.

Mum"my, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mummied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mummying.] To embalm; to mummify.

Mum"my*chog (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Mummichog.

Mump (?), v. i. [Akin to mumble; cf. D. mompen to cheat; perh. orig., to whine like a beggar, D. mompelen to mumble. See Mumble, Mum, and cf. Mumps.] 1. To move the lips with the mouth closed; to mumble, as in sulkiness.

He mumps, and lovers, and hangs the lip.

Taylor, 1630.

2. To talk imperfectly, brokenly, or feebly; to chatter unintelligibly.

3. To cheat; to deceive; to play the beggar.

And then when mumping with a sore leg, . . . canting and whining.

Burke.

4. To be sullen or sulky. [Prov. Eng.]

Mump, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mumped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mumping.] 1. To utter imperfectly, brokenly, or feebly.

Old men who mump their passion.

Goldsmith.

2. To work over with the mouth; to mumble; as, to mump food.

3. To deprive of (something) by cheating; to impose upon.

Mump"er (?), n. A beggar; a begging impostor.

Deceived by the tales of a Lincoln's Inn mumper.

Macaulay.

Mump"ish, a. Sullen, sulky. -- Mump"ish*ly, adv. -- Mump"ish*ness, n.

Mumps (?), n. [Prov. E. mump to be sulky. Cf. Mump, Mumble, and Mum.] 1. pl. Sullenness; silent displeasure; the sulks. Skinner.

2. [Prob. so called from the patient's appearance.] (Med.) A specific infectious febrile disorder characterized by a nonsuppurative inflammation of the parotid glands; epidemic or infectious parotitis.

Mun (?), n. [See Mouth.] The mouth. [Obs.]

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns, Butter them and sugar
them and put them in your muns.

Old Rhyme. Halliwell.

Munch (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Munched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Munching.] [Prob. akin to mumble: cf. also F. manger to eat (cf. Mange), and mâcher to cher (cf. Masticate). See Mumble.] To chew with a grinding, crunching sound, as a beast chews provender; to chew deliberately or in large mouthfuls. [Formerly written also maunch and mounch.]

I could munch your good dry oats.

Shak.

Mun*chau"sen*ism (?), n. [So called in allusion to Baron Munchausen's extravagant tales of travel.] An extravagant fiction embodying an account of some marvelous exploit or adventure.

Munch"er (?), n. One who munches.

Mund (?), n. See Mun.

Mun"dane (?), a. [L. mundanus, fr. mundus the world, an implement, toilet adornments, or dress; cf. mundus, a., clean, neat, Skr. ma to adorn, dress, maa adornment. Cf. Monde, Mound in heraldry.] Of or pertaining to the world; worldly; earthly; terrestrial; as, the mundane sphere. -- Mun"dane*ly, adv.

The defilement of mundane passions.

I. Taylor.

Mun*dan"i*ty (?), n. Worldliness. [Obs.]

Mun*da"tion (?), n. [L. mundatio, fr. mundare to make clean.] The act of cleansing. [Obs.]

Mun"da*to*ry (?), a. [L. mundatorius.] Cleansing; having power to cleanse. [Obs.]

Mun"dic (?), n. Iron pyrites, or arsenical pyrites; -- so called by the Cornish miners.

Mun*dif"i*cant (?), a. [L. mundificans, p. pr. of mundificare to make clean, fr. mundus clean + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See - fy.] Serving to cleanse and heal. -- n. A mundificant ointment or plaster.

Mun`di*fi*ca"tion (?), n. The act or operation of cleansing.

Mun*dif"i*ca*tive (?), a. Cleansing. -- n. A detergent medicine or preparation.

Mun"di*fy (?), v. t. [Cf. F. mondifier, L. mundificare. See Mundificant.] To cleanse. [Obs.]

Mun"dil (?), n. A turban ornamented with an imitation of gold or silver embroidery.

Mun*div"a*gant (?), a. [L. mundus the world + vagans wandering, p. pr. of vagari. See Vagary.] Wandering over the world. [R.]

Mun*dun"gus (?), n. [Cf. Sp. mondongo paunch, tripe, black pudding.] A stinking tobacco.

Mu"ner*a*ry (?), a. [L. munerarius, from munus a gift.] Having the nature of a gift. [Obs.]

Mu"ner*ate (?), v. t. [L. muneratus, p. p. of munerare to give, bestow, fr. munus a gift.] To remunerate.

Mu`ner*a"tion (?), n. [L. muneratio.] Remuneration. [Obs.]

Mung (mng), n. [Hind. mng.] (Bot.) Green gram, a kind of pulse (Phaseolus Mungo), grown for food in British India. Balfour (Cyc. of India).

Mun"ga (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Bonnet monkey, under Bonnet.

Mung"corn` (?), n. Same as Mangcorn.

Mun"go (?), n. A fibrous material obtained by deviling rags or the remnants of woolen goods.

Mungo properly signifies the disintegrated rags of woolen cloth, as distinguished from those of worsted, which form shoddy. The distinction is very commonly disregarded. Beck (Draper's Dict. ).

{ Mun"goose, Mun"goos } (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Mongoose.

Mun"grel (?), n. & a. See Mongrel.

Mu*nic"i*pal (?), a. [L. municipalis, fr. municipium a town, particularly in Italy, which possessed the right of Roman citizenship, but was governed by its own laws, a free town, fr. municeps an inhabitant of a free town, a free citizen; munia official duties, functions + capere to take: cf. F. municipal. Cf. Immunity, and Capacoius.] 1. Of or pertaining to a city or a corporation having the right of administering local government; as, municipal rights; municipal officers.

2. Of or pertaining to a state, kingdom, or nation.

Municipal law is properly defined to be a rule of civil conduct
prescribed by the supreme power in a state.

Blackstone.

Mu*nic"i*pal*ism (?), n. Municipal condition.

Mu*nic`i*pal"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Municipalities (#). [Cf. F. municipalité.] A municipal district; a borough, city, or incorporated town or village.

Mu*nic"i*pal*ly (?), adv. In a municipal relation or condition.

Mu*nif"ic (?), a. [See Munificent.] Munificent; liberal. [Obs. or R.]

Mu*nif"i*cate (?), v. t. [L. munificatus, p. p. of munificare to present with a thing, fr. munificus. See Munificent.] To enrich. [Obs.]

Mu*nif"i*cence (?), n. [Cf. L. munire to fortify.] Means of defense; fortification. [Obs.] Spenser.

Mu*nif"i*cence, n. [L. munificentia: cf. F. munificence.] The quality or state of being munificent; a giving or bestowing with extraordinary liberality; generous bounty; lavish generosity.

The virtues of liberality and munificence.

Addison.

Syn. -- Benevolence; beneficence; liberality; generosity; bounty; bounteousness. See Benevolence.

Mu*nif"i*cent (?), a. [L. munificus; munus service, gift + -ficare (in comp.) to make. Cf. Immunity, -fy.] Very liberal in giving or bestowing; lavish; as, a munificent benefactor. -- Mu*nif"i*cent*ly, adv.

Syn. -- Bounteous; bountiful; liberal; generous.

Mu"ni*fy (?), v. t. & i. [See Munificate.] To prepare for defense; to fortify. [Obs.]

Mu"ni*ment (?), n. [L. munimentum, fr. munire to fortify. See Munition.] 1. The act of supporting or defending. [Obs.]

2. That which supports or defends; stronghold; place or means of defense; munition; assistance. "Other muniments and petty helps." Shak.

3. (Law) A record; the evidences or writings whereby a man is enabled to defend the title to his estate; title deeds and papers. Blount.

Muniment house or room, that room in a cathedral, castle, or other public building, which is used for keeping the records, charters, seals, deeds, and the like. Gwilt.

Mu*nite" (?), v. t. [L. munitus, p. p. of munire to wall, fortify.] To fortify; to strengthen. [Obs.]

Mu*ni"tion (?), n. [F., munition of war, L. munitio a fortifying, fortification, fr. munire to fortify, defend with a wall; cf. moenia walls, murus (for moirus) a wall, and Skr. mi to fix, make firm. Cf. Ammunition.] 1. Fortification; stronghold. [Obs.]

His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks.

Is. xxxiii. 16.

2. Whatever materials are used in war for defense or for annoying an enemy; ammunition; also, stores and provisions; military stores of all kinds.

The bodies of men, munition, and money, may justly be called the
sinews of war.

Sir W. Raleigh.

Mu"ni*ty (?), n. [See Immunity.] Freedom; security; immunity. [Obs.] W. Montagu.

Mun*jeet" (?), n. [Hind. majh a drug used for dyeing red.] See Indian madder, under Madder.

Mun"jis*tin (?), n. (Chem.) An orange-red coloring substance resembling alizarin, found in the root of an East Indian species of madder (Rubia munjista).

Mun"nion (?), n. See Mullion.

{ Mun"tin (?), Mun"ting (?), } n. [CF. Montant.] (Arch.) Same as Mullion; -- especially used in joiner's work.

Munt"jac (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small Asiatic deer of the genus Cervulus, esp. C. muntjac, which occurs both in India and on the East Indian Islands. [Written also muntjak.]

Muntz" met`al (?). See under Metal.

||Mu*ræ"na (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Zoöl.) A genus of large eels of ||the family Murænidæ. They differ from the common eel in lacking ||pectoral fins and in having the dorsal and anal fins continuous. The ||murry (Muræna Helenæ) of Southern Europe was the muræna of the ||Romans. It is highly valued as a food fish.

{ Mu*ræ"noid, Mu*re"noid } (?), a. [NL. Muræna, the generic name + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to the genus Muræna, or family Murænidæ.

Mu"rage (?), n. [F., fr. murer to wall, fr. mur wall, L. murus. See Mure a wall.] A tax or toll paid for building or repairing the walls of a fortified town.

Mu"ral (?), a. [F., fr. L. muralis, fr. murus wall. See Mure a wall.] 1. Of or pertaining to a wall; being on, or in, a wall; growing on, or against, a wall; as, a mural quadrant. "Mural breach." Milton. "Mural fruit." Evelyn.

2. Resembling a wall; perpendicular or steep; as, a mural precipice.

Mural circle (Astron.), a graduated circle, in the plane of the meridian, attached permanently to a perpendicular wall; -- used for measuring arcs of the meridian. See Circle, n., 3. -- Mural crown (Rom. Antiq.), a golden crown, or circle of gold indented so as to resemble a battlement, bestowed on him who first mounted the wall of a besieged place, and there lodged a standard.

Mur"der (mûr"dr), n. [OE. morder, morther, AS. morðor, fr. morð murder; akin to D. moord, OS. morð, G., Dan., & Sw. mord, Icel. morð, Goth. maúrþr, OSlav. mrti to die, Lith. mirti, W. marw dead, L. mors, mortis, death, mori, moriri, to die, Gr. broto`s (for mroto`s) mortal, 'a`mbrotos immortal, Skr. m to die, mta death. &radic;105. Cf. Amaranth, Ambrosia, Mortal.] The offense of killing a human being with malice prepense or aforethought, express or implied; intentional and unlawful homicide. "Mordre will out." Chaucer.

The killing of their children had, in the account of God, the guilt
of murder, as the offering them to idols had the guilt of idolatry.

Locke.

Slaughter grows murder when it goes too far.

Dryden.

Murder in the second degree, in most jurisdictions, is a malicious homicide committed without a specific intention to take life. Wharton.

Mur"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Murdered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Murdering.] [OE. mortheren, murtheren, AS. myrðrian; akin to OHG. murdiren, Goth. maúrþrjan. See Murder, n.] 1. To kill with premediated malice; to kill (a human being) willfully, deliberately, and unlawfully. See Murder, n.

2. To destroy; to put an end to.

[Canst thou] murder thy breath in middle of a word?

Shak.

3. To mutilate, spoil, or deform, as if with malice or cruelty; to mangle; as, to murder the king's English.

Syn. -- To kill; assassinate; slay. See Kill.

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Mur"der*er (mûr"dr*r), n. 1. One guilty of murder; a person who, in possession of his reason, unlawfully kills a human being with premeditated malice.

2. A small cannon, formerly used for clearing a ship's decks of boarders; -- called also murdering piece. [Obs.]

Mur"der*ess, n. A woman who commits murder.

Mur"der*ment (?), n. Murder. [Obs.] Farfax.

Mur"der*ous (?), a. Of or pertaining to murder; characterized by, or causing, murder or bloodshed; having the purpose or quality of murder; bloody; sanguinary; as, the murderous king; murderous rapine; murderous intent; a murderous assault. "Murderous coward." Shak. -- Mur"der*ous*ly, adv.

Syn. -- Bloody; sanguinary; bloodguilty; bloodthirsty; fell; savage; cruel.

Mur"dress (?), n. A battlement in ancient fortifications with interstices for firing through.

Mure (?), n. [L. murus; or F. mur, fr. L. murus. Cf. Munition.] A wall. [Obs.] Shak.

Mure, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mured (?).] [F. murer, L. murare. See Mure, n.] To inclose in walls; to wall; to immure; to shut up. Spenser.

The five kings are mured in a cave.

John. x. (Heading).

Mu"ren*ger (?), n. One who had charge of the wall of a town, or its repairs.

||Mu"rex (?), n.; pl. Murices (#). [L., the purple fish.] (Zoöl.) A ||genus of marine gastropods, having rough, and frequently spinose, ||shells, which are often highly colored inside; the rock shells. They ||abound in tropical seas.

Mu*rex"an (?), n. [From Murexide.] (Chem.) A complex nitrogenous substance obtained from murexide, alloxantin, and other ureids, as a white, or yellowish, crystalline which turns red on exposure to the air; -- called also uramil, dialuramide, and formerly purpuric acid.

Mu*rex"ide (?), n. [L. murex the purple fish, purple.] (Chem.) A crystalline nitrogenous substance having a splendid dichroism, being green by reflected light and garnet-red by transmitted light. It was formerly used in dyeing calico, and was obtained in a large quantities from guano. Formerly called also ammonium purpurate.

Mu*rex"o*ïn (?), n. (Chem.) A complex nitrogenous compound obtained as a scarlet crystalline substance, and regarded as related to murexide.

Mu"ri*ate (?), n. [See Muriatic.] (Chem.) A salt of muriatic hydrochloric acid; a chloride; as, muriate of ammonia.

This term, as also the word muriatic, was formerly applied to the chlorides before their true composition was understood, and while they were erroneously supposed to be compounds of an acid with an oxide. Muriate and muriatic are still occasionally used as commercial terms, but are obsolete in scientific language.

Mu"ri*a`ted (?), a. 1. Put in brine. Evelyn.

2. (Chem.) Combined or impregnated with muriatic or hydrochloric acid.

3. (Photog.) Prepared with chloride of silver through the agency of common salt.

Mu`ri*at"ic (?), a. [L. muriaticus pickled, from muria brine: cf. F. muriatique.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, sea salt, or from chlorine, one of the constituents of sea salt; hydrochloric.

Muriatic acid, hydrochloric acid, HCl; -- formerly called also marine acid, and spirit of salt. See hydrochloric, and the Note under Muriate.

Mu`ri*a*tif"er*ous (?), a. [Muriatic + -ferous.] (Old Chem.) Producing muriatic substances or salt. [Obs.]

{ Mu"ri*cate (?), Mu"ri*ca`ted (?), } a. [L. muricatus, fr. murex a pointed rock or stone.] Formed with sharp points; full of sharp points or of pickles; covered, or roughened, as a surface, with sharp points or excrescences.

Mu"ri*coid (?), a. [Murex + - oid.] (Zoöl.) Like, or pertaining to, the genus Murex, or family Muricidæ.

Mu*ric"u*late (?), a. Minutely muricate.

Mu"ride (?), n. [L. muria brine.] (Old Chem.) Bromine; -- formerly so called from its being obtained from sea water.

Mu"ri*form (?), a. [L. murus a wall + -form.] (Bot.) Resembling courses of bricks or stones in squareness and regular arrangement; as, a muriform variety of cellular tissue.

Mu"rine (?), a. [L. murinus, from mus, muris, mouse: cf. F. murin.] (Zoöl.) Pertaining to a family of rodents (Muridæ), of which the mouse is the type.

Mu"rine, n. (Zoöl.) One of a tribe of rodents, of which the mouse is the type.

Mu"rin*ger (?), n. See Murenger. Jacob.

Murk (?), a. [See Murky.] Dark; murky.

He can not see through the mantle murk.

J. R. Drake.

Murk, n. Darkness; mirk. [Archaic] Shak.

Murk, n. The refuse of fruit, after the juice has been expressed; marc.

Murk"i*ly (?), adv. Darkly; gloomily.

Murk"i*ness, n. The state of being murky.

Murk"y (?), a. [Compar. Murkier (?); superl. Murkiest.] [OE. mirke, merke, AS. myrce, mirce; akin to Icel. myrkr, Dan. & Sw. mörk.] Dark; obscure; gloomy. "The murkiest den." Shak.

A murky deep lowering o'er our heads.

Addison.

Mur"lins (?), n. (Bot.) A seaweed. See Baddrelocks.

Mur"mur (?), n. [F. murmure: cf. L. murmur. CF. Murmur, v. i.] 1. A low, confused, and indistinct sound, like that of running water.

2. A complaint half suppressed, or uttered in a low, muttering voice. Chaucer.

Some discontents there are, some idle murmurs.

Dryden.

Mur"mur, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Murmured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Murmuring.] [F. murmurer, L. murmurare, murmurari, fr. murmur murmur; cf. Gr.&?; to roar and boil, said of water, Skr. marmara a rustling sound; prob. of imitative origin.] 1. To make a low continued noise, like the hum of bees, a stream of water, distant waves, or the wind in a forest.

They murmured as doth a swarm of bees.

Chaucer.

2. To utter complaints in a low, half- articulated voice; to feel or express dissatisfaction or discontent; to grumble; -- often with at or against. "His disciples murmured at it." John vi. 61.

And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against
Aaron.

Num. xiv. 2.

Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured.

1 Cor. x. 10.

Mur"mur, v. t. To utter or give forth in low or indistinct words or sounds; as, to murmur tales. Shak.

The people murmured such things concerning him.

John vii. 32.

Mur`mur*a"tion (?), n. [L. murmuratio.] The act of murmuring; a murmur. [Obs.] Skelton.

Mur"mur*er (?), n. One who murmurs.

Mur"mur*ing, a. & n. Uttering murmurs; making low sounds; complaining. -- Mur"mur*ing*ly, adv.

Mur"mur*ous (?), a. [Cf. L. murmuriosus, OF. murmuros.] Attended with murmurs; exciting murmurs or complaint; murmuring. [Archaic or Poetic]

The lime, a summer home of murmurous wings.

Tennyson.

Mur"ni*val (?), n. [Perh. fr. F. mornifle a game at cards.] In the game of gleek, four cards of the same value, as four aces or four kings; hence, four of anything. [Obs.] [Written also mournival.]

Mur"phy (?), n. A potato. [Humorous] Thackeray.

Murr (?), n. [Prob. abbrev. from murrain.] A catarrh. [Obs.] Gascoigne.

Mur"rain (?), n. [OE. moreine, OF. morine, fr. OF. morir, murir, 8die, L. mori, moriri.] (Far.) An infectious and fatal disease among cattle. Bacon.

A murrain on you, may you be afflicted with a pestilent disease. Shak.

Mur"rain, a. Having, or afflicted with, murrain.

Mur"ray*in (?), n. (Chem.) A glucoside found in the flowers of a plant (Murraya exotica) of South Asia, and extracted as a white amorphous slightly bitter substance.

Murre (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of sea birds of the genus Uria, or Catarractes; a guillemot.

The murres are allied to the auks, and are abundant on the northern coasts of Europe and America. They often breed in large communities on the projecting ledges of precipituous cliffs, laying one or two large eggs on the bare rocks.

Murre"let (?), n. [Murre + - let.] (Zoöl.) One of several species of sea birds of the genera Synthliboramphus and Brachyramphus, inhabiting the North Pacific. They are closely related to the murres.

Mur"rey (?), n. [OF. morée a dark red color, mor blackish brown, fr. L. morum mulberry, blackberry, or fr. Maurus a Moor. Cf. Mulberry, Moor, Morelle.] A dark red color. -- a. Of a dark red color. Bacon.

Mur"rhine (?), a. [L. murrhinus, fr. murrha: cf. F. murrhin.] Made of the stone or material called by the Romans murrha; -- applied to certain costly vases of great beauty and delicacy used by the luxurious in Rome as wine cups; as, murrhine vases, cups, vessels.

Murrhine glass, glassware made in imitation of murrhine vases and cups.

Mur"ri*on (?), a. [See Murrain.] Infected with or killed by murrain. [Obs.] Shak.

Mur"ri*on, n. A morion. See Morion.

Mur"ry (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Muræna.

Murth (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] Plenty; abundance. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Mur"ther (?), n. & v. Murder, n. & v. [Obs. or Prov.] "The treason of the murthering." Chaucer.

Mur"ther*er (?), n. A murderer. [Obs. or Prov.]

Mur"za (?), n. One of the hereditary nobility among the Tatars, esp. one of the second class.

This word must not be confounded with the Persian Mirza, though perhaps of the same origin.

||Mus (?), n.; pl. Mures (#). [L., a mouse.] (Zoöl.) A genus of small ||rodents, including the common mouse and rat.

||Mu"sa (?), n.; pl. Musæ (#). [NL., fr. Ar. mauz, mauza, banana.] ||(Bot.) A genus of perennial, herbaceous, endogenous plants of great ||size, including the banana (Musa sapientum), the plantain (M. ||paradisiaca of Linnæus, but probably not a distinct species), the ||Abyssinian (M. Ensete), the Philippine Island (M. textilis, which ||yields Manila hemp), and about eighteen other species. See Illust. of ||Banana and Plantain.

Mu*sa"ceous (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of the genus Musa.

Mus"al (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Muses, or to Poetry. [R.]

Mu*sang" (?), n. (Zoöl.) A small animal of Java (Paradoxirus fasciatus), allied to the civets. It swallows, but does not digest, large quantities of ripe coffee berries, thus serving to disseminate the coffee plant; hence it is called also coffee rat.

Mu"sar (?), n. An itinerant player on the musette, an instrument formerly common in Europe.

Mu"sard (?), n. [F., fr. muser to loiter, trifle. See Muse, v. i.] A dreamer; an absent-minded person. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

||Mus"ca (?), n.; pl. Muscæ (#). [L., a fly.] 1. (Zoöl.) A genus of ||dipterous insects, including the common house fly, and numerous ||allied species.

Formerly, a large part of the Diptera were included under the genus Musca.

2. (Astron.) A small constellation situated between the Southern Cross and the Pole.

||Muscæ volitantes (&?;). [L., flying flies.] (Med.) Specks or ||filaments apparently seen moving or gliding about in the field of ||vision. Their appearance is often a symptom of disease of the eye, or ||of disorder of the nervous system.

Mus"ca*del` (?), n. [It. moscadello, moscatello, LL. muscatellum or muscadellum (sc. vinum), fr. muscatellus nutmeglike, dim. of muscatus smelling like musk, muscatum and muscata (sc. nux) nutmeg: cf. F. muscadelle, fr. Italian. See Musk and cf. Moschatel, Muscardin, Muscat, Nutmeg.] See Muscatel, n.

Quaffed off the muscadel.

Shak.

Mus"ca*dine (?), n. [See Muscadel.] 1. (Bot.) A name given to several very different kinds of grapes, but in America used chiefly for the scuppernong, or southern fox grape, which is said to be the parent stock of the Catawba. See Grapevine.

2. (Bot.) A fragrant and delicious pear.

3. (Zoöl.) See Muscardin.

Northern muscadine (Bot.), a derivative of the northern fox grape, and scarcely an improvement upon it. -- Royal muscadine (Bot.), a European grape of great value. Its berries are large, round, and of a pale amber color. Called also golden chasselas.

||Mus*ca"les (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. muscus moss.] (Bot.) An old name ||for mosses in the widest sense, including the true mosses and also ||hepaticæ and sphagna.

Mus"cal*longe (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Muskellunge.

Mus"car*din (?), n. [F., fr. muscadin a musk-scented lozenge, fr. muscade nutmeg, fr. L. muscus musk. See Muscadel.] (Zoöl.) The common European dormouse; -- so named from its odor. [Written also muscadine.]

Mus`car*dine" (?), n. [F.] A disease which is very destructive to silkworms, and which sometimes extends to other insects. It is attended by the development of a fungus (provisionally called Botrytis bassiana). Also, the fungus itself.

Mus*car"i*form (?), a. [L. muscarium fly brush + -form.] Having the form of a brush.

Mus*ca"rin (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) A solid crystalline substance, C5H13NO2, found in the toadstool (Agaricus muscarius), and in putrid fish. It is a typical ptomaine, and a violent poison.

Mus"cat (?), n. [F. See Muscadel.] (Bot.) A name given to several varieties of Old World grapes, differing in color, size, etc., but all having a somewhat musky flavor. The muscat of Alexandria is a large oval grape of a pale amber color. [Written also muskat.]

Mus"ca*tel` (?), a. Of, pertaining to, or designating, or derived from, a muscat grapes or similar grapes; as, muscatel grapes; muscatel wine, etc.

Mus"ca*tel`, n. 1. A common name for several varieties of rich sweet wine, made in Italy, Spain, and France.

2. pl. Finest raisins, dried on the vine; "sun raisins."

[Variously written moscatel, muscadel, etc.]

||Musch"el*kalk` (?), n. [G., from muschel shell + kalk limestone.] ||(Geol.) A kind of shell limestone, whose strata form the middle one ||of the three divisions of the Triassic formation in Germany. See ||Chart, under Geology.

||Mus"ci (?), n. pl. [L. muscus moss.] (Bot.) An order or subclass of ||cryptogamous plants; the mosses. See Moss, and Cryptogamia.

Mus*cic"a*pine (?), a. [L. musca a fly + capere to catch.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Muscicapidæ, a family of birds that includes the true flycatchers.

Mus"cid (?), n. Any fly of the genus Musca, or family Muscidæ.

Mus"ci*form (?), a. [Musca + -form.] (Zoöl.) Having the form or structure of flies of the genus Musca, or family Muscidæ.

Mus"ci*form, a. [Muscus + - form.] (Bot.) Having the appearance or form of a moss.

Mus"cle (?), n. [F., fr. L. musculus a muscle, a little mouse, dim. of mus a mouse. See Mouse, and cf. sense 3 (below).] 1. (Anat.) (a) An organ which, by its contraction, produces motion. See Illust. of Muscles of the Human Body, in Appendix. (b) The contractile tissue of which muscles are largely made up.

Muscles are of two kinds, striated and nonstriated. The striated muscles, which, in most of the higher animals, constitute the principal part of the flesh, exclusive of the fat, are mostly under the control of the will, or voluntary, and are made up of great numbers of elongated fibres bound together into bundles and inclosed in a sheath of connective tissue, the perimysium. Each fiber is inclosed in a delicate membrane (the sarcolemma), is made up of alternate segments of lighter and darker material which give it a transversely striated appearance, and contains, scattered through its substance, protoplasmic nuclei, the so-called muscle corpuscles.

The nonstriated muscles are involuntary. They constitute a large part of the walls of the alimentary canal, blood vessels, uterus, and bladder, and are found also in the iris, skin, etc. They are made up of greatly elongated cells, usually grouped in bundles or sheets.

2. Muscular strength or development; as, to show one's muscle by lifting a heavy weight. [Colloq.]

3. [AS. muscle, L. musculus a muscle, mussel. See above.] (Zoöl.) See Mussel.

Muscle curve (Physiol.), contraction curve of a muscle; a myogram; the curve inscribed, upon a prepared surface, by means of a myograph when acted upon by a contracting muscle. The character of the curve represents the extent of the contraction.

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Mus"cled (?), a. Furnished with muscles; having muscles; as, things well muscled.

Mus"cling (?), n. (Fine Arts) Exhibition or representation of the muscles. [R.]

A good piece, the painters say, must have good muscling, as well as
coloring and drapery.

Shaftesbury.

Mus*co"gees (?), n. pl. See Muskogees.

Mus"coid (?), a. [Muscus + - oid: cf. F. muscoide.] (Bot.) Mosslike; resembling moss.

Mus"coid, n. (Bot.) A term formerly applied to any mosslike flowerless plant, with a distinct stem, and often with leaves, but without any vascular system.

Mus*col"o*gy (?), n. [Muscus + -logy.] Bryology.

Mus*cos"i*ty (?), n. [L. muscosus mossy, fr. muscus moss.] Mossiness. Jonhson.

Mus`co*va"do (?), a. [Corrupted fr. Sp. mascabado; cf. Pg. mascavado, F. moscouade, n., formerly also mascovade, It. mascavato.] Pertaining to, or of the nature of, unrefined or raw sugar, obtained from the juice of the sugar cane by evaporating and draining off the molasses. Muscovado sugar contains impurities which render it dark colored and moist.

Mus`co*va"do, n. Unrefined or raw sugar.

Mus"co*vite (?), n. [See Muscovy glass.] 1. A native or inhabitant of Muscovy or ancient Russia; hence, a Russian.

2. (Min.) Common potash mica. See Mica.

Mus"co*vy duck` (?). [A corruption of musk duck.] (Zoöl.) A duck (Cairina moschata), larger than the common duck, often raised in poultry yards. Called also musk duck. It is native of tropical America, from Mexico to Southern Brazil.

Mus"co*vy glass` (?). [From Muscovy, the old name of Russia: cf. F. verre de Moscovie.] Mica; muscovite. See Mica.

Mus"cu*lar (?), a. [Cf. F. musculaire. See Muscle.] 1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber.

Great muscular strength, accompanied by much awkwardness.

Macaulay.

2. Performed by, or dependent on, a muscle or the muscles. "The muscular motion." Arbuthnot.

3. Well furnished with muscles; having well- developed muscles; brawny; hence, strong; powerful; vigorous; as, a muscular body or arm.

Muscular Christian, one who believes in a part of religious duty to maintain a healthful and vigorous physical state. T. Hughes. -- Muscular Christianity. (a) The practice and opinion of those Christians who believe that it is a part of religious duty to maintain a vigorous condition of the body, and who therefore approve of athletic sports and exercises as conductive to good health, good morals, and right feelings in religious matters. T. Hughes. (b) An active, robust, and cheerful Christian life, as opposed to a meditative and gloomy one. C. Kingsley. -- Muscular excitability (Physiol.), that property in virtue of which a muscle shortens, when it is stimulated; irritability. -- Muscular sense (Physiol.), muscular sensibility; the sense by which we obtain knowledge of the condition of our muscles and to what extent they are contracted, also of the position of the various parts of our bodies and the resistance offering by external objects.

Mus`cu*lar"i*ty (?), n. The state or quality of being muscular. Grew.

Mus"cu*lar*ize (?), v. t. To make muscular. Lowell.

Mus"cu*lar*ly, adv. In a muscular manner.

Mus`cu*la"tion (?), n. (Anat.) The muscular system of an animal, or of any of its parts.

Mus"cu*la*ture (?), n. [Cf. F. musculature.] (Anat.) Musculation.

Mus"cule (?), n. [L. musculus: cf. F. muscule.] (Mil.) A long movable shed used by besiegers in ancient times in attacking the walls of a fortified town.

Mus"cu*lin (?), n. [L. musculus a muscle.] (Physiol. Chem.) See Syntonin.

Mus`cu*lo*cu*ta"ne*ous (?), a. [L. musculus + E. cutaneous.] (Anat.) Pertaining both to muscles and skin; as, the musculocutaneous nerve.

Mus`cu*lo*phren"ic (?), a. [L. musculus muscle + E. phrenic.] (Anat.) Pertaining to the muscles and the diaphragm; as, the musculophrenic artery.

Mus`cu*los"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being musculous; muscularity. [Obs.]

Mus`cu*lo*spi"ral (?), a. [L. musculus muscle + E. spiral.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the muscles, and taking a spiral course; -- applied esp. to a large nerve of the arm.

Mus"cu*lous (?), a. [L. musculosus: cf. F. musculeux.] Muscular. [Obs.] Jonhson.

Muse (?), n. [From F. musse. See Muset.] A gap or hole in a hedge, hence, wall, or the like, through which a wild animal is accustomed to pass; a muset.

Find a hare without a muse.

Old Prov.

Muse, n. [F. Muse, L. Musa, Gr. &?;. Cf. Mosaic, n., Music.] 1. (Class. Myth.) One of the nine goddesses who presided over song and the different kinds of poetry, and also the arts and sciences; -- often used in the plural.

Granville commands; your aid, O Muses, bring: What Muse for
Granville can refuse to sing?

Pope.

The names of the Muses were Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polymnia or Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania.

2. A particular power and practice of poetry. Shak.

3. A poet; a bard. [R.] Milton.

Muse, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mused (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Musing.] [F. muser to loiter or trifle, orig., to stand with open mouth, fr. LL. musus, morsus, muzzle, snout, fr. L. morsus a biting, bite, fr. mordere to bite. See Morsel, and cf. Amuse, Muzzle, n.] 1. To think closely; to study in silence; to meditate. "Thereon mused he." Chaucer.

He mused upon some dangerous plot.

Sir P. Sidney.

2. To be absent in mind; to be so occupied in study or contemplation as not to observe passing scenes or things present; to be in a brown study. Daniel.

3. To wonder. [Obs.] Spenser. B. Jonson.

Syn. -- To consider; meditate; ruminate. See Ponder.

Muse, v. t. 1. To think on; to meditate on.

Come, then, expressive Silence, muse his praise.

Thomson.

2. To wonder at. [Obs.] Shak.

Muse, n. 1. Contemplation which abstracts the mind from passing scenes; absorbing thought; hence, absence of mind; a brown study. Milton.

2. Wonder, or admiration. [Obs.] Spenser.

Muse"ful (?), a. Meditative; thoughtfully silent. "Museful mopings." Dryden. - - Muse"ful*ly, adv.

Muse"less, a. Unregardful of the Muses; disregarding the power of poetry; unpoetical. Milton.

Mus"er (?), n. One who muses.

Mu"set (?), n. [OF. mussette, dim. of musse, muce, a hiding place, fr. F. musser, OF. mucier, muchier, to conceal, hide. Cf. Micher.] A small hole or gap through which a wild animal passes; a muse. Shak.

Mu*sette" (?), n. [F., dim. of OF. muse.] 1. A small bagpipe formerly in use, having a soft and sweet tone.

2. An air adapted to this instrument; also, a kind of rustic dance.

Mu*se"um (?), n. [L., a temple of the Muses, hence, a place of study, fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; a Muse.] A repository or a collection of natural, scientific, or literary curiosities, or of works of art.

Museum beetle, Museum pest. (Zoöl.) See Anthrenus.

Mush (?), n. [Cf. Gael. mus, muss, pap, porridge, any thick preparation of fruit, OHG. muos; akin to AS. & OS. ms food, and prob, to E. meat. See Meat.] Meal (esp. Indian meal) boiled in water; hasty pudding; supawn. [U.S.]

Mush, v. t. [Cf. F. moucheter to cut with small cuts.] To notch, cut, or indent, as cloth, with a stamp.

Mush"room (?), n. [OE. muscheron, OF. mouscheron, F. mousseron; perhaps fr. mousse moss, of German origin. See Moss.] 1. (Bot.) (a) An edible fungus (Agaricus campestris), having a white stalk which bears a convex or oven flattish expanded portion called the pileus. This is whitish and silky or somewhat scaly above, and bears on the under side radiating gills which are at first flesh-colored, but gradually become brown. The plant grows in rich pastures and is proverbial for rapidity of growth and shortness of duration. It has a pleasant smell, and is largely used as food. It is also cultivated from spawn. (b) Any large fungus, especially one of the genus Agaricus; a toadstool. Several species are edible; but many are very poisonous.

2. One who rises suddenly from a low condition in life; an upstart. Bacon.

Mush"room, a. 1. Of or pertaining to mushrooms; as, mushroom catchup.

2. Resembling mushrooms in rapidity of growth and shortness of duration; short-lived; ephemerial; as, mushroom cities.

Mushroom anchor, an anchor shaped like a mushroom, capable of grasping the ground in whatever way it falls. -- Mushroom coral (Zoöl.), any coral of the genus Fungia. See Fungia. -- Mushroom spawn (Bot.), the mycelium, or primary filamentous growth, of the mushroom; also, cakes of earth and manure containing this growth, which are used for propagation of the mushroom.

Mush"room-head`ed (?), a. (Bot.) Having a cylindrical body with a convex head of larger diameter; having a head like that of a mushroom.

Mush"y (?), a. Soft like mush; figuratively, good-naturedly weak and effusive; weakly sentimental.

She 's not mushy, but her heart is tender.

G. Eliot.

Mu"sic (?), n. [F. musique, fr. L. musica, Gr. &?; (sc. &?;), any art over which the Muses presided, especially music, lyric poetry set and sung to music, fr. &?; belonging to Muses or fine arts, fr. &?; Muse.] 1. The science and the art of tones, or musical sounds, i. e., sounds of higher or lower pitch, begotten of uniform and synchronous vibrations, as of a string at various degrees of tension; the science of harmonical tones which treats of the principles of harmony, or the properties, dependences, and relations of tones to each other; the art of combining tones in a manner to please the ear.

Not all sounds are tones. Sounds may be unmusical and yet please the ear. Music deals with tones, and with no other sounds. See Tone.

2. (a) Melody; a rhythmical and otherwise agreeable succession of tones. (b) Harmony; an accordant combination of simultaneous tones.

3. The written and printed notation of a musical composition; the score.

4. Love of music; capacity of enjoying music.

The man that hath no music in himself Nor is not moved with concord
of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.

Shak.

5. (Zoöl.) A more or less musical sound made by many of the lower animals. See Stridulation.

Magic music, a game in which a person is guided in finding a hidden article, or in doing a specific art required, by music which is made more loud or rapid as he approaches success, and slower as he recedes. Tennyson. -- Music box. See Musical box, under Musical. -- Music hall, a place for public musical entertainments. -- Music loft, a gallery for musicians, as in a dancing room or a church. - - Music of the spheres, the harmony supposed to be produced by the accordant movement of the celestial spheres. -- Music paper, paper ruled with the musical staff, for the use of composers and copyists. -- Music pen, a pen for ruling at one time the five lines of the musical staff. -- Music shell (Zoöl.), a handsomely colored marine gastropod shell (Voluta musica) found in the East Indies; -- so called because the color markings often resemble printed music. Sometimes applied to other shells similarly marked. -- To face the music, to meet any disagreeable necessity without flinching. [Colloq. or Slang]

Mu"sic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. musical.] Of or pertaining to music; having the qualities of music; or the power of producing music; devoted to music; melodious; harmonious; as, musical proportion; a musical voice; musical instruments; a musical sentence; musical persons.

Musical, or Music, box, a box or case containing apparatus moved by clockwork so as to play certain tunes automatically. -- Musical fish (Zoöl.), any fish which utters sounds under water, as the drumfish, grunt, gizzard shad, etc. -- Musical glasses, glass goblets or bowls so tuned and arranged that when struck, or rubbed, they produce musical notes. Cf. Harmonica, 1.

Mu"sic*al, n. 1. Music. [Obs.]

To fetch home May with their musical.

Spenser.

2. A social entertainment of which music is the leading feature; a musical party. [Colloq.]

||Mu`si`cale" (?), n. [F. Cf. Soirée musicale.] A social musical party. ||[Colloq.]

Mu"sic*al*ly (?), adv. In a musical manner.

Mu"sic*al*ness, n. The quality of being musical.

Mu*si"cian (?), n. [F. musicien.] One skilled in the art or science of music; esp., a skilled singer, or performer on a musical instrument.

Mu`si*co*ma"ni*a (?), n. [Music + mania: cf. F. musicomanie.] (Med.) A kind of monomania in which the passion for music becomes so strong as to derange the intellectual faculties. Dunglison.

Mus"i*mon (?), n. [See Musmon.] (Zoöl.) See Mouflon.

Mus"ing*ly (?), adv. In a musing manner.

Mu"sit (?), n. See Muset.

Musk (?), n. [F. musc, L. muscus, Per. musk, fr. Skr. mushka testicle, orig., a little mouse. See Mouse, and cd. Abelmosk, Muscadel, Muscovy duck, Nutmeg.] 1. A substance of a reddish brown color, and when fresh of the consistence of honey, obtained from a bag being behind the navel of the male musk deer. It has a slightly bitter taste, but is specially remarkable for its powerful and enduring odor. It is used in medicine as a stimulant antispasmodic. The term is also applied to secretions of various other animals, having a similar odor.