Chapter LI: Bella (26)

Defn: To relate inaccurately.

MISRELATION Mis`re*la"tion, n.

Defn: Erroneous relation or narration. Abp. Bramhall.

MISRELIGION Mis`re*li"gion, n.

Defn: False religion. [R.]

MISREMEMBER Mis`re*mem"ber, v. t. & i.

Defn: To mistake in remembering; not to remember correctly. Sir T. More.

MISRENDER Mis*ren"der, v. t.

Defn: To render wrongly; to translate or recite wrongly. Boyle.

MISREPEAT Mis`re*peat", v. t.

Defn: To repeat wrongly; to give a wrong version of. Gov. Winthrop.

MISREPORT Mis`re*port", v. t. & i.

Defn: To report erroneously; to give an incorrect account of. Locke.

MISREPORT Mis`re*port", n.

Defn: An erroneous report; a false or incorrect account given. Denham. South.

MISREPRESENT Mis*rep`re*sent", v. t.

Defn: To represent incorrectly (almost always, unfacorably); to give a false erroneous representation of, either maliciously, ignirantly, or carelessly. Swift.

MISREPRESENT Mis*rep`re*sent", v. i.

Defn: To make an incorrect or untrue representation. Milton.

MISREPRESENTATION Mis*rep`re*sen*ta"tion, n.

Defn: Untrue representation; false or incorrect statement or account; -- usually unfavorable to the thing represented; as, a misrepresentation of a person's motives. Sydney Smith.

Note: In popular use, this word often conveys the idea of intentional untruth.

MISREPRESENTATIVE Mis*rep`re*sent"a*tive, a.

Defn: Tending to convey a wrong impression; misrepresenting.

MISREPRESENTER Mis*rep`re*sent"er, n.

Defn: One who misrepresents.

MISREPUTE Mis`re*pute", v. t.

Defn: To have in wrong estimation; to repute or estimate erroneously.

MISRULE Mis*rule", v. t. & i.

Defn: To rule badly; to misgovern.

MISRULE Mis*rule", n.

1. The act, or the result, of misruling.

2. Disorder; confusion; tumult from insubordination. Enormous riot and misrule surveyed. Pope. Abbot, or Lord, of Misrule. See under Abbot, and Lord.

MISRULY Mis*rul"y, a.

Defn: Unruly. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

MISS Miss, n.; pl. Misses. Etym: [Contr. fr. mistress.]

1. A title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a girl or a woman who has not been married. See Mistress, 5.

Note: There is diversity of usage in the application of this title to two or more persons of the same name. We may write either the Miss Browns or the Misses Brown.

2. A young unmarried woman or a girl; as, she is a miss of sixteen. Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses, Was busy 'mongst the maids and misses. Cawthorn.

3. A kept mistress. See Mistress, 4. [Obs.] Evelyn.

4. (Card Playing)

Defn: In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.

MISS Miss, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Missed; p.pr. & vb.n. Missing.] Etym: [AS. missan; akin to D. & G. missen, OHG. missan, Icel. missa, Sw. mista, Dan. miste. *100. See Mis-, pref.]

1. To fail of hitting, reaching, getting, finding, seeing, hearing, etc.; as, to miss the mark one shoots at; to miss the train by being late; to miss opportunites of getting knowledge; to miss the point or meaning of something said. When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right. Locke.

2. To omit; to fail to have or to do; to get without; to dispense with; -- now seldom applied to persons. She would never miss, one day, A walk so fine, a sight so gay. Prior. We cannot miss him; he does make our fire, Fetch in our wood. Shak.

3. To discover the absence or omission of; to feel the want of; to mourn the loss of; to want. Shak. Neither missed we anything ... Nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him. 1 Sam. xxv. 15, 21. What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss. Milton. To miss stays. (Naut.) See under Stay.

MISS Miss, v. i.

1. To fail to hit; to fly wide; to deviate from the true direction. Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss. Bacon. Flying bullets now, To execute his rage, appear too slow; They miss, or sweep but common souls away. Waller.

2. To fail to obtain, learn, or find; -- with of. Upon the least reflection, we can not miss of them. Atterbury.

3. To go wrong; to err. [Obs.] Amongst the angels, a whole legion Of wicked sprites did fall from happy bliss; What wonder then if one, of women all, did miss Spenser.

4. To be absent, deficient, or wanting. [Obs.] See Missing, a. What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. Shak.

MISS Miss, n.

1. The act of missing; failure to hit, reach, find, obtain, etc.

2. Loss; want; felt absence. [Obs.] There will be no great miss of those which are lost. Locke.

3. Mistake; error; fault. Shak. He did without any great miss in the hardest points of grammar. Ascham.

4. Harm from mistake. [Obs.] Spenser.

MISSA Mis"sa, n.; pl. Missæ. Etym: [LL. See 1st Mass.] (R.C.Ch.)

Defn: The service or sacrifice of the Mass.

MISSAL Mis"sal, n. Etym: [LL. missale, liber missalis, from missa mass: cf. F. missel. See 1st Mass.]

Defn: The book containing the service of the Mass for the entire year; a Mass book.

MISSAL Mis"sal, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Mass, or to a missal or Mass book. Bp. Hall.

MISSAY Mis*say", v. t.

1. To say wrongly.

2. To speak evil of; to slander. [Obs.]

MISSAY Mis*say", v. i.

Defn: To speak ill. [Obs.] Spenser.

MISSEEK Mis*seek", v. t.

Defn: To seek for wrongly. [Obs.]

MISSEEM Mis*seem", v. i.

1. To make a false appearance. [Obs.]

2. To misbecome; to be misbecoming. [Obs.] Spenser.

MISSEL Mis"sel, n.

Defn: Mistletoe. [Obs.] Missel bird, Missel thrush (Zoöl.), a large European thrush (Turdus viscivorus) which feeds on the berries of the mistletoe; -- called also mistletoe thrush and missel.

MISSELDINE Mis"sel*dine, n. Etym: [See Mistletoe.] [Written also misselden.]

Defn: The mistletoe. [Obs.] Baret.

MISSELTOE Mis"sel*toe, n.

Defn: See Mistletoe.

MISSEMBLANCE Mis*sem"blance, n.

Defn: False resemblance or semblance. [Obs.]

MISSEND Mis*send", v. t.

Defn: To send amiss or incorrectly.

MISSERVE Mis*serve", v. t. & i.

Defn: To serve unfaithfully.

MISSET Mis*set", v. t.

Defn: To set pr place wrongly.

MISSHAPE Mis*shape", v. t.

Defn: To shape ill; to give an ill or unnatural from to; to deform. "Figures monstrous and misshaped." Pope.

MISSHAPEN Mis*shap"en, a.

Defn: Having a bad or ugly form. "The mountains are misshapen." Bentley. -- Mis*shap"en*ly, adv. -- Mis*shap"en*ness, n.

MISSHEATHED Mis*sheathed", a.

Defn: Sheathed by mistake; wrongly sheathed; sheathed in a wrong place. Shak.

MISSIFICATE Mis*sif"i*cate, v. i. Etym: [LL. missa Mass + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See fy-.]

Defn: To perform Mass. [Obs.] Milton.

MISSILE Mis"sile, a. Etym: [L. missils, fr. mittere, missum, to cause to go, to send, to throw; cf. Lith. mesti to throw: cf. F. missile. Cf. Admit, Dismiss, Mass the religious service, Message, Mission.]

Defn: Capable of being thrown; adapted for hurling or to be projected from the hand, or from any instrument or rngine, so as to strike an object at a distance. We bend the bow, or wing the missile dart. Pope.

MISSILE Mis"sile, n. Etym: [L. missile.]

Defn: A weapon thrown or projected or intended to be projcted, as a lance, an arrow, or a bullet.

MISSING Miss"ing, a. Etym: [From Miss, v. i.]

Defn: Absent from the place where it was expected to be found; lost; wanting; not present when called or looked for. Neither was there aught missing unto them. 1 Sam. xxv. 7. For a time caught up to God, as once Moses was in the mount, and missing long. Milton.

MISSINGLY Miss"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With a sense of loss. [Obs.] Shak.

MISSION Mis"sion, n. Etym: [L. missio, fr. mittere, missum, to send: cf. F. mission. See Missile.]

1. The act of sending, or the state of being sent; a being sent or delegated by authority, with certain powers for transacting business; comission. Whose glorious deeds, but in these fields of late, Made emulous missions' mongst the gods themselves. Shak.

2. That with which a messenger or agent is charged; an errand; business or duty on which one is sent; a commission. How to begin, how to accomplish best His end of being on earth, and mission high. Milton.

3. Persons sent; any number of persons appointed to perform any service; a delegation; an embassy. In these ships there should be a mission of three of the fellows or brethren of Solomon's house. Bacon.

4. An assotiation or organization of missionaries; a station or residence of missionaries.

5. An organization for worship and work, dependent on one or more churches.

6. A course of extraordinary sermons and services at a particular place and time for the special purpose of quickening the faith and zeal participants, and of converting unbelievers. Addis & Arnold.

7. Dismission; discharge from service. [Obs.] Mission school. (a) A school connected with a mission and conducted by missionaries. (b) A school for the religious instruction of children not having regular church privileges.

Syn. -- Message; errand; commission; deputation.

MISSION Mis"sion, v. t.

Defn: To send on a mission. [Mostly used in the form of the past participle.] Keats.

MISSIONARY Mis"sion*ary, n.; pl. Missionaries. Etym: [Cf. F. missionnaire. See Mission, n.]

Defn: One who is sent on a mission; especially, one sent to propagate religion. Swift. Missionary apostolic, a Roman Catholic missionary sent by commission from the pope.

MISSIONARY Mis"sion*a*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to missions; as, a missionary meeting; a missionary fund.

MISSIONER Mis"sion*er, n.

Defn: A missionary; an envoy; one who conducts a mission. See Mission, n., 6. "Like mighty missioner you come." Dryden.

MISSIS Mis"sis, n.

Defn: A mistress; a wife; -- so used by the illiterate. G. Eliot.

MISSISH Miss"ish, a.

Defn: Like a miss; prim; affected; sentimental. -- Miss"ish*ness, n.

MISSIT Mis*sit", v. t.

Defn: To sit badly or imperfectly upon; to misbecome. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MISSIVE Mis"sive, a. Etym: [See Missive, n.]

1. Specially sent; intended or prepared to be sent; as, a letter missive. Ayliffe.

2. Missile. "The missive weapons fly." Dryden. Letters missive, letters conveying the permission, comand, or advice of a superior authority, as a sovereign. They are addressed and sent to some certain person or persons, and are distinguished from letters patent, which are addressed to the public.

MISSIVE Mis"sive, n. Etym: [F. lettre missive. See Mission, n.]

1. That which is sent; a writing containing a message.

2. One who is sent; a messenger. [Obs.] Shak.

MISSOUND Mis*sound", v. t.

Defn: To sound wrongly; to utter or pronounce incorrectly. E,Hall.

MISSPEAK Mis*speak", v. i.

Defn: To err in speaking.

MISSPEAK Mis*speak", v. t.

Defn: To utter wrongly.

MISSPEECH Mis*speech", n.

Defn: Wrong speech. [Obs.]

MISSPELL Mis*spell", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misspelled, or Misspelt (; p. pr. & vb. n. Misspelling.]

Defn: To spell incorrectly.

MISSPELLING Mis*spell"ing, n.

Defn: A wrong spelling.

MISSPEND Mis*spend", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misspent; p. pr. & vb. n. Misspending.]

Defn: To spend amiss or for wrong purposes; to aquander; to waste; as, to misspend time or money. J. Philips.

MISSPENDER Mis*spend"er, n.

Defn: One who misspends.

MISSPENSE mis*spense", n.

Defn: A spending improperly; a wasting. [Obs.] Barrow.

MISSPENT Mis*spent", imp. & p. p.

Defn: of Misspend.

MISSTATE Mis*state", v. t.

Defn: To state wrongly; as, to misstate a question in debate. Bp. Sanderson.

MISSTATEMENT Mis*state"ment, n.

Defn: An incorrect statement.

MISSTAYED Mis*stayed", a. (Naut.)

Defn: Having missed stays; -- said of a ship.

MISSTEP Mis*step", n.

Defn: A wrong step; an error of conduct.

MISSTEP Mis*step", v. i.

Defn: To take a wrong step; to go astray.

MISSUCCESS Mis`suc*cess", n.

Defn: Failure. [Obs.]

MISSUGGESTION Mis`sug*ges"tion ( or ), n.

Defn: Wrong or evil suggestion. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

MISSUMMATION Mis`sum*ma"tion, n.

Defn: Wrong summation.

MISSWEAR Mis*swear", v. i.

Defn: To swear falsely.

MISSY Mis"sy, n. (Min.)

Defn: See Misy.

MISSY Mis"sy, n.

Defn: An affectionate, or contemptuous, form of miss; a young girl; a miss. -- a.

Defn: Like a miss, or girl.

MIST Mist, n. Etym: [AS. mist; akin to D. & Sw. mist, Icel. mistr, G. mist dung, Goth. maíhstus, AS. migan to make water, Icel. miga, Lith. migla mist, Russ. mgla, L. mingere, meiere, to make water, gr. mih to make water, n., a mist m*gha cloud. *102. Cf. Misle, Mizzle, Mixen.]

1. Visible watery vapor suspended in the atmosphere, at or near the surface of the earth; fog.

2. Coarse, watery vapor, floating or falling in visible particles, approaching the form of rain; as, Scotch mist.

3. Hence, anything which dims or darkens, and obscures or intercepts vision. His passion cast a mist before his sense. Dryden. Mist flower (Bot.), a composite plant (Eupatorium coelestinum), having heart-shaped leaves, and corymbs of lavender-blue flowers. It is found in the Western and Southern United States.

MIST Mist, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misted; p. pr. & vb. n. Misting.]

Defn: To cloud; to cover with mist; to dim. Shak.

MIST Mist, v. i.

Defn: To rain in very fine drops; as, it mists.

MISTAKABLE Mis*tak"a*ble, a.

Defn: Liable to be mistaken; capable of being misconceived. Sir T. Browne.

MISTAKE Mis*take", v. t. [imp. & obs. p. p. Mistook; p. p. Mistaken; p. pr. & vb. n. Mistaking.] Etym: [Pref. mis- + take: cf. Icel. mistaka.]

1. To take or choose wrongly. [Obs. or R.] Shak.

2. To take in a wrong sense; to misunderstand misapprehend, or misconceive; as, to mistake a remark; to mistake one's meaning. Locke. My father's purposes have been mistook. Shak.

3. To substitute in thought or perception; as, to mistake one person for another. A man may mistake the love of virtue for the practice of it. Johnson.

4. To have a wrong idea of in respect of character, qualities, etc.; to misjudge. Mistake me not so much, To think my poverty is treacherous. Shak.

MISTAKE Mis*take", v. i.

Defn: To err in knowledge, perception, opinion, or judgment; to commit an unintentional error. Servants mistake, and sometimes occasion misunderstanding among friends. Swift.

MISTAKE Mis*take", n.

1. An apprehending wrongly; a misconception; a misunderstanding; a fault in opinion or judgment; an unintentional error of conduct. Infallibility is an absolute security of the understanding from all possibility of mistake. Tillotson.

2. (Law)

Defn: Misconception, error, which when non-negligent may be ground for rescinding a contract, or for refusing to perform it. No mistake, surely; without fail; as, it will happen at the appointed time, and no mistake. [Low]

Syn. -- Blunder; error; bull. See Blunder.

MISTAKEN Mis*tak"en, p.a.

1. Being in error; judging wrongly; having a wrong opinion or a misconception; as, a mistaken man; he is mistaken.

2. Erroneous; wrong; as, a mistaken notion.

MISTAKENLY Mis*tak"en*ly, adv.

Defn: By mistake. Goldsmith.

MISTAKENNESS Mis*tak"en*ness, n.

Defn: Erroneousness.

MISTAKER Mis*tak"er, n.

Defn: One who mistakes. Well meaning ignorance of some mistakers. Bp. Hall.

MISTAKING Mis*tak"ing, n.

Defn: An error; a mistake. Shak.

MISTAKINGLY Mis*tak"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: Erroneously.

MISTAUGHT Mis*taught", a. Etym: [See Misteach.]

Defn: Wrongly taught; as, a mistaught youth. L'Estrange.

MISTEACH Mis*teach", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mistaught; p. pr. & vb. n. Misteaching.] Etym: [AS. mist.]

Defn: To teach wrongly; to instruct erroneously.

MISTELL Mis*tell", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mistold; p. pr. & vb. n. Mistelling.]

Defn: To tell erroneously.

MISTEMPER Mis*tem"per, v. t.

Defn: To temper ill; to disorder; as, to mistemper one's head. Warner. This inundation of mistempered humor. Shak.

MISTER Mis"ter, n. Etym: [See Master, and cf. Mistress.]

Defn: A title of courtesy prefixed to the name of a man or youth. It is usually written in the abbreviated form Mr. To call your name, inquire your where, Or whet you think of Mister Some-one's book, Or Mister Other's marriage or decease. Mrs. Browning.

MISTER Mis"ter, v. t.

Defn: To address or mention by the title Mr.; as, he mistered me in a formal way. [Colloq.]

MISTER Mis"ter, n. Etym: [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.] [Written also mester.]

1. A trade, art, or occupation. [Obs.] In youth he learned had a good mester. Chaucer.

2. Manner; kind; sort. [Obs.] Spenser. But telleth me what mester men ye be. Chaucer.

3. Need; necessity. [Obs.] Rom. of R.

MISTER Mis"ter, v. i.

Defn: To be needful or of use. [Obs.] As for my name, it mistereth not to tell. Spenser.

MISTERM Mis*term", v. t.

Defn: To call by a wrong name; to miscall.

MISTERY Mis"ter*y, n.

Defn: See Mystery, a trade.

MISTFUL Mist"ful, a.

Defn: Clouded with, or as with, mist.

MISTHINK Mis*think", v. i. Etym: [See Think.]

Defn: To think wrongly. [Obs.] "Adam misthought of her." Milton.

MISTHINK Mis*think", v. t.

Defn: To have erroneous thoughts or judgment of; to think ill of. [Obs.] Shak.

MISTHOUGHT Mis*thought", n.

Defn: Erroneous thought; mistaken opinion; error. [Obs.] Spenser.

MISTHRIVE Mis*thrive", v. i.

Defn: To thrive poorly; to be not thrifty or prosperous. [Obs.]

MISTHROW Mis*throw", v. t.

Defn: To throw wrongly.

MISTIC; MISTICO Mis"tic, Mis"ti*co, n. Etym: [Sp. místico.]

Defn: A kind of small sailing vessel used in the Mediterranean. It is rigged partly like a xebec, and partly like a felucca.

MISTIDE Mis*tide", v. i. Etym: [AS. mistidan. See Tide.]

Defn: To happen or come to pass unfortunately; also, to suffer evil fortune. [Obs.]

MISTIGRIS; MISTIGRI Mis`ti`gris", Mis`ti`gri", n. Etym: [F. mistigri.]

Defn: A variety of the game of poker in which the joker is used, and called mistigris or mistigri.

MISTIHEAD Mist"i*head, n.

Defn: Mistiness. [Obs.]

MISTILY Mist"i*ly, adv.

Defn: With mist; darkly; obscurely.

MISTIME Mis*time", v. t. Etym: [AS. mistimain to turn out ill.]

Defn: To time wrongly; not to adapt to the time.

MISTINESS Mist"i*ness, n.

Defn: State of being misty.

MISTION Mis"tion, n. Etym: [L. mistio, mixtio. See Mix, and cf. Mixtion.]

Defn: Mixture. [Obs.]

MISTITLE Mis*ti"tle, v. t.

Defn: To call by a wrong title.

MISTLE Mis"tle, v. i. Etym: [Eng. mist. See Misle, and Mizzle.]

Defn: To fall in very fine drops, as rain.

MISTLETOE Mis"tle*toe, n. Etym: [AS. misteltan; mistel mistletoe + tan twig. AS. mistel is akin of D., G., Dan. & Sw. mistel, OHG. mistil, Icel. mistilteinn; and AS. tan to D. teen, OHG. zein, Icel. teinn, Goth. tains. Cf. Missel.] (Bot.)

Defn: A parasitic evergreen plant of Europe (Viscum album), bearing a glutinous fruit. When found upon the oak, where it is rare, it was an object of superstitious regard among the Druids. A bird lime is prepared from its fruit. [Written also misletoe, misseltoe, and mistleto.] Lindley. Loudon.

Note: The mistletoe of the United States is Phoradendron flavescens, having broader leaves than the European kind. In different regions various similar plants are called by this name.

MISTONUSK Mis"to*nusk, n. Etym: [From the Indian name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The American badger.

MISTOOK Mis*took", imp. & obs. p. p.

Defn: of Mistake.

MISTRADITION Mis`tra*di"tion, n.

Defn: A wrong tradition. "Monsters of mistradition." Tennyson.

MISTRAIN Mis*train", v. t.

Defn: To train amiss.

MISTRAL Mis"tral, n. Etym: [F., fr. Provençal.]

Defn: A violent and cold northwest wind experienced in the Mediterranean provinces of France, etc.

MISTRANSLATE Mis`trans*late", v. t.

Defn: To translate erroneously.

MISTRANSLATION Mis`trans*la"tion, n.

Defn: Wrong translation.

MISTRANSPORT Mis`trans*port", v. t.

Defn: To carry away or mislead wrongfully, as by passion. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

MISTREADING Mis*tread"ing, n.

Defn: Misstep; misbehavior. "To punish my mistreadings." Shak.

MISTREAT Mis*treat", v. t.

Defn: To treat amiss; to abuse.

MISTREATMENT Mis*treat"ment, n.

Defn: Wrong treatment.

MISTRESS Mis"tress, n. Etym: [OE. maistress, OF. maistresse, F. maîtresse, LL. magistrissa, for L. magistra, fem. of magister. See Master, Mister, and cf. Miss a young woman.]

1. A woman having power, authority, or ownership; a woman who exercises authority, is chief, etc.; the female head of a family, a school, etc. The late queen's gentlewoman! a knight's daughter! To be her mistress' mistress! Shak.

2. A woman well skilled in anything, or having the mastery over it. A letter desires all young wives to make themselves mistresses of Wingate's Arithmetic. Addison.

3. A woman regarded with love and devotion; she who has command over one's heart; a beloved object; a sweetheart. [Poetic] Clarendon.

4. A woman filling the place, but without the rights, of a wife; a concubine; a loose woman with whom one consorts habitually. Spectator.

5. A title of courtesy formerly prefixed to the name of a woman, married or unmarried, but now superseded by the contracted forms, Mrs., for a married, and Miss, for an unmarried, woman. Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul). Cowper.

6. A married woman; a wife. [Scot.] Several of the neighboring mistresses had assembled to witness the event of this memorable evening. Sir W. Scott.

7. The old name of the jack at bowls. Beau. & Fl. To be one's own mistress, to be exempt from control by another person.

MISTRESS Mis"tress, v. i.

Defn: To wait upon a mistress; to be courting. [Obs.] Donne.

MISTRESSSHIP Mis"tress*ship, n.

1. Female rule or dominion.

2. Ladyship, a style of address; -- with the personal pronoun. [Obs.] Massinger.

MISTRIAL Mis*tri"al, n. (Law)

Defn: A false or erroneous trial; a trial which has no result.

MISTRIST Mis*trist", v. t.

Defn: To mistrust. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MISTROW Mis*trow", v. i.

Defn: To think wrongly. [Obs.]

MISTRUST Mis*trust", n.

Defn: Want of confidence or trust; suspicion; distrust. Milton.

MISTRUST Mis*trust", v. t.

1. To regard with jealousy or suspicion; to suspect; to doubt the integrity of; to distrust. I will never mistrust my wife again. Shak.

2. To forebode as near, or likely to occur; to surmise. By a divine instinct, men's minds mistrust Ensuing dangers. Shak.

MISTRUSTER Mis*trust"er, n.

Defn: One who mistrusts.

MISTRUSTFUL Mis*trust"ful, a.

Defn: Having or causing mistrust, suspicions, or forebodings. Their light blown out in some mistrustful wood. Shak. -- Mis*trust"ful*ly, adv. -- Mis*trust"ful*ness, n.

MISTRUSTINGLY Mis*trust"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With distrust or suspicion.

MISTRUSTLESS Mis*trust"less, a.

Defn: Having no mistrust or suspicion. The swain mistrustless of his smutted face. Goldsmith.

MISTUNE Mis*tune", v. t.

Defn: To tune wrongly.

MISTURA Mis*tu"ra, n. Etym: [L. See Mixture.] (Med.) (a) A mingled compound in which different ingredients are contained in a liquid state; a mixture. See Mixture, n., 4. (b) Sometimes, a liquid medicine containing very active substances, and which can only be administered by drops. Dunglison.

MISTURN Mis*turn", v. t.

Defn: To turn amiss; to pervert.

MISTUTOR Mis*tu"tor, v. t.

Defn: To instruct amiss.

MISTY Mist"y, a. [Compar. Mistier; superl. Mistiest.] Etym: [AS. mistig. See Mist. In some senses misty has been confused with mystic.]

1. Accompained with mist; characterized by the presence of mist; obscured by, or overspread with, mist; as, misty weather; misty mountains; a misty atmosphere.

2. Obscured as if by mist; dim; obscure; clouded; as, misty sight. The more I muse therein [theology], The mistier it seemeth. Piers Plowman.

MISUNDERSTAND Mis*un`der*stand", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Misunderstood; p. pr. & vb. n. Misunderstanding.]

Defn: To misconceive; to mistake; to miscomprehend; to take in a wrong sense.

MISUNDERSTANDER Mis*un`der*stand"er, n.

Defn: One who misunderstands. Sir T. More.

MISUNDERSTANDING Mis*un`der*stand"ing, n.

1. Mistake of the meaning; error; misconception. Bacon.

2. Disagreement; difference of opinion; dissension; quarrel. "Misunderstandings among friends." Swift.

MISURATO Mi`su*ra"to, a. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: Measured; -- a direction to perform a passage in strict or measured time.

MISUSAGE Mis*us"age, n. Etym: [Cf. F. mésusage.]

Defn: Bad treatment; abuse. Spenser.

MISUSE Mis*use", v. t. Etym: [F. mésuser. See Mis-, prefix from French, and Use.]

1. To treat or use improperly; to use to a bad purpose; to misapply; as, to misuse one's talents. South. The sweet poison of misused wine. Milton.

2. To abuse; to treat ill. O, she misused me past the endurance of a block. Shak.

Syn. -- To maltreat; abuse; misemploy; misapply.

MISUSE Mis*use", n.

1. Wrong use; misapplication; erroneous or improper use. Words little suspected for any such misuse. Locke.

2. Violence, or its effects. [Obs.] Shak.

MISUSEMENT Mis*use"ment, n.

Defn: Misuse. [Obs.]

MISUSER Mis*us"er, n.

1. One who misuses. "Wretched misusers of language." Coleridge.

2. (Law)

Defn: Unlawful use of a right; use in excess of, or varying from, one's right. Bouvier.

MISVALUE Mis*val"ue, v. t.

Defn: To value wrongly or too little; to undervalue. But for I am so young, I dread my work Wot be misvalued both of old and young. W. Browne.

MISVOUCH Mis*vouch", v. t.

Defn: To vouch falsely.

MISWANDER Mis*wan"der, v. i.

Defn: To wander in a wrong path; to stray; to go astray. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MISWAY Mis*way", n.

Defn: A wrong way. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MISWEAR Mis*wear", v. t.

Defn: To wear ill. [Obs.] Bacon.

MISWED Mis*wed", v. t.

Defn: To wed improperly.

MISWEEN Mis*ween", v. i.

Defn: To ween amiss; to misjudge; to distrust; to be mistaken. [Obs.] Spenser.

MISWEND Mis*wend", v. i.

Defn: To go wrong; to go astray. [Obs.] "The world is miswent." Gower.

MISWORD Mis*word", v. t.

Defn: To word wrongly; as, to misword a message, or a sentence.

MISWORD Mis*word", n.

Defn: A word wrongly spoken; a cross word. [Obs.] Sylvester. Breton.

MISWORSHIP Mis*wor"ship, n.

Defn: Wrong or false worship; mistaken practices in religion. Bp. Hall. Such hideous jungle of misworships. Carlyle.

MISWORSHIP Mis*wor"ship, v. t.

Defn: To worship wrongly. Bp. Hall.

MISWORSHIPER Mis*wor"ship*er, n.

Defn: One who worships wrongly.

MISWRITE Mis*write", v. t.

Defn: To write incorrectly.

MISWROUGHT Mis*wrought", a.

Defn: Badly wrought. Bacon.

MISY Mi"sy, n. Etym: [Cf. L. misy a mineral, perh. copperas, Gr. (Min.)

Defn: An impure yellow sulphate of iron; yellow copperas or copiapite.

MISYOKE Mis*yoke", v. t.

Defn: To yoke improperly.

MISZEALOUS Mis*zeal"ous, a.

Defn: Mistakenly zealous. [Obs.]

MITE Mite, n. Etym: [AS. mite mite (in sense 1); akin to LG. mite, D. mijt, G. miete, OHG. miza; cf. Goth. maitan to cut.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A minute arachnid, of the order Acarina, of which there are many species; as, the cheese mite, sugar mite, harvest mite, etc. See Acarina.

2. Etym: [D. mijt; prob. the same word.]

Defn: A small coin formerly circulated in England, rated at about a third of a farthing. The name is also applied to a small coin used in Palestine in the time of Christ. Two mites, which make a farthing. Mark xii. 49.

3. A small weight; one twentieth of a grain.

4. Anything very small; a minute object; a very little quantity or particle. For in effect they be not worth a myte. Chaucer.

MITER; MITRE Mi"ter, Mi"tre, n. Etym: [F. mitre, fr. L. mitra headband, turban, Gr.

1. A covering for the head, worn on solemn occasions by church dignitaries. It has been made in many forms, the present form being a lofty cap with two points or peaks. Fairholt.

2. The surface forming the beveled end or edge of a piece where a miter joint is made; also, a joint formed or a junction effected by two beveled ends or edges; a miter joint.

3. (Numis.)

Defn: A sort of base money or coin. Miter box (Carp. & Print.), an apparatus for guiding a handsaw at the proper angle in making a miter joint; esp., a wooden or metal trough with vertical kerfs in its upright sides, for guides. -- Miter dovetail (Carp.), a kind of dovetail for a miter joint in which there is only one joint line visible, and that at the angle. -- Miter gauge (Carp.), a gauge for determining the angle of a miter. -- Miter joint, a joint formed by pieces matched and united upon a line bisecting the angle of junction, as by the beveled ends of two pieces of molding or brass rule, etc. The term is used especially when the pieces form a right angle. See Miter, 2. -- Miter shell (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of marine univalve shells of the genus Mitra. -- Miter square (Carp.), a bevel with an immovable arm at an angle of 45º, for striking lines on stuff to be mitered; also, a square with an arm adjustable to any angle. -- Miter wheels, a pair of bevel gears, of equal diameter, adapted for working together, usually with their axes at right angles.

MITER; MITRE Mi"ter, Mi"tre, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mitered or Mitred; p. pr. & vb. n. Mitering or Mitring.]

1. To place a miter upon; to adorn with a miter. "Mitered locks." Milton.

2. To match together, as two pieces of molding or brass rule on a line bisecting the angle of junction; to bevel the ends or edges of, for the purpose of matching together at an angle.

MITER; MITRE Mi"ter, Mi"tre, v. i.

Defn: To meet and match together, as two pieces of molding, on a line bisecting the angle of junction.

MITERWORT Mi"ter*wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of the genus Mitella, -- slender, perennial herbs with a pod slightly resembling a bishop's miter; bishop's cap. False miterwort, a white-flowered perennial herb of the United States (Tiarella cardifolia).

MITHIC Mith"ic, a.

Defn: See Mythic.

MITHRAS Mi"thras, n. Etym: [L., from Gr.

Defn: The sun god of the Persians.

MITHRIDATE Mith"ri*date, n. (Med.)

Defn: An antidote against poison, or a composition in form of an electuary, supposed to serve either as a remedy or a preservative against poison; an alexipharmic; -- so called from King Mithridates, its reputed inventor. [Love is] a drop of the true elixir; no mithridate so effectual against the infection of vice. Southey.

MITHRIDATIC Mith`ri*dat"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to King Mithridates, or to a mithridate.

MITIGABLE Mit"i*ga*ble, a.

Defn: Admitting of mitigation; that may be mitigated.

MITIGANT Mit"i*gant, a. Etym: [L. mitigans, p.pr. of mitigare. See Mitigate.]

Defn: Tending to mitigate; mitigating; lentitive. Johnson.

MITIGATE Mit"i*gate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mitigated; p. pr. & vb. n. Mitigating.] Etym: [L. mitigatus, p.p. of mitigare to soften, mitigate; mitis mild, soft + the root of agere to do, drive.]

1. To make less severe, intense, harsh, rigorous, painful, etc.; to soften; to meliorate; to alleviate; to diminish; to lessen; as, to mitigate heat or cold; to mitigate grief.

2. To make mild and accessible; to mollify; -- applied to persons. [Obs.] This opinion ... mitigated kings into companions. Burke.

Syn. -- To alleviate; assuage; allay. See Alleviate.

MITIGATION Mit`i*ga"tion, n. Etym: [OE. mitigacioun, F. mitigation, fr. L. mitigatio.]

Defn: The act of mitigating, or the state of being mitigated; abatement or diminution of anything painful, harsh, severe, afflictive, or calamitous; as, the mitigation of pain, grief, rigor, severity, punishment, or penalty.

Syn. -- Alleviation; abatement; relief.

MITIGATIVE Mit"i*ga*tive, a. Etym: [L. mitigativus: cf. F. mitigatif.]

Defn: Tending to mitigate; alleviating.

MITIGATOR Mit"i*ga`tor, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, mitigates.

MITIGATORY Mit"i*ga*to*ry, a.

Defn: Tending to mitigate or alleviate; mitigative.

MITING Mit"ing, n. Etym: [From Mite.]

Defn: A little one; -- used as a term of endearment. [Obs.] Skelton.

MITIS CASTING Mi"tis cast`ing. [Perh. fr. L. mitis mild.]

Defn: A process, invented by P. Ostberg, for producing malleable iron castings by melting wrought iron, to which from 0.05 to 0.1 per cent of aluminium is added to lower the melting point, usually in a petroleum furnace, keeping the molten metal at the bubbling point until it becomes quiet, and then pouring the molten metal into a mold lined with a special mixture consisting essentially of molasses and ground burnt fire clay; also, a casting made by this process; -- called also wrought-iron casting.

MITIS METAL Mitis metal.

Defn: The malleable iron produced by mitis casting; -- called also simply mitis.

MITOME Mi"tome, n. Etym: [Gr. (Biol.)

Defn: The denser part of the protoplasm of a cell.

MITOSIS Mi*to"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Biol.)

Defn: See Karyokinesis.

MITOTIC Mi*tot"ic, a. (Biol.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to mitosis; karyokinetic; as, mitotic cell division; -- opposed to amitotic. --Mi*tot"ic*al*ly (#), adv.

MITRAILLE Mi`traille", n. Etym: [F. See Mitrailleur.]

Defn: Shot or bits of iron used sometimes in loading cannon.

MITRAILLEUR Mi`tra`illeur", n. Etym: [F.] (Mil.)

Defn: One who serves a mitrailleuse.

MITRAILLEUSE Mi`tra`illeuse", n. Etym: [F., fr. mitrailler to fire grapeshot, fr. mitraille old iron, grapeshot, dim. of OF. mite a mite.] (Mil.)

Defn: A breech-loading machine gun consisting of a number of barrels fitted together, so arranged that the barrels can be fired simultaneously, or successively, and rapidly.

MITRAL Mi"tral, a. Etym: [Cf. F. mitral. See Miter.]

Defn: Pertaining to a miter; resembling a miter; as, the mitral valve between the left auricle and left ventricle of the heart.

MITRE Mi"tre, n. & v.

Defn: See Miter.

MITRIFORM Mit"ri*form, a. Etym: [Miter + -form: cf. F. mitriforme.]

Defn: Having the form of a miter, or a peaked cap; as, a mitriform calyptra. Gray.

MITT Mitt, n. Etym: [Abbrev. fr. mitten.]

Defn: A mitten; also, a covering for the wrist and hand and not for the fingers.

MITTEN Mit"ten, n. Etym: [OE. mitaine, meteyn, F. mitaine, perh. of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. miotog, Gael. miotag, Ir. & Gael. mutan a muff, a thick glove. Cf. Mitt.]

1. A covering for the hand, worn to defend it from cold or injury. It differs from a glove in not having a separate sheath for each finger. Chaucer.

2. A cover for the wrist and forearm. To give the mitten to, to dismiss as a lover; to reject the suit of. [Colloq.] -- To handle without mittens, to treat roughly; to handle without gloves. [Colloq.]

MITTENED Mit"tened, a.

Defn: Covered with a mitten or mittens. "Mittened hands." Whittier.

MITTENT Mit"tent, a. Etym: [L. mittens, p.pr. of mittere to send.]

Defn: Sending forth; emitting. [Obs.] Wiseman.

MITTIMUS Mit"ti*mus, n. Etym: [L., we send, fr. mittere to send.] (Law) (a) A precept or warrant granted by a justice for committing to prison a party charged with crime; a warrant of commitment to prison. Burrill. (b) A writ for removing records from one court to another. Brande & C.

MITTLER'S GREEN Mitt"ler's green`. (Chem.)

Defn: A pigment of a green color, the chief constituent of which is oxide of chromium.

MITTY Mit"ty, n.

Defn: The stormy petrel. [Prov. Eng.]

MITU Mi"tu, n. Etym: [Braz. mitu poranga.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South American curassow of the genus Mitua.

MITY Mit"y, a. Etym: [From Mite.]

Defn: Having, or abounding with, mites.

MIX Mix, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mixed (less properly Mixt); p. pr. & vb. n. Mixing.] Etym: [AS. miscan; akin to OHG. misken, G. mischen, Russ. mieshate, W. mysgu, Gael. measg, L. miscere, mixtum, Gr. miçra mixed. The English word has been influenced by L. miscere, mixtum (cf. Mixture), and even the AS. miscan may have been borrowed fr. L. miscere. Cf. Admix, Mash to bruise, Meddle.]

1. To cause a promiscuous interpenetration of the parts of, as of two or more substances with each other, or of one substance with others; to unite or blend into one mass or compound, as by stirring together; to mingle; to blend; as, to mix flour and salt; to mix wines. Fair persuasions mixed with sugared words. Shak.

2. To unite with in company; to join; to associate. Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people. Hos. vii. 8.

3. To form by mingling; to produce by the stirring together of ingredients; to compound of different parts. Hast thou no poison mixed Shak. I have chosen an argument mixed of religious and civil considerations. Bacon.

MIX Mix, v. i.

1. To become united into a compound; to be blended promiscuously together.

2. To associate; to mingle. He had mixed Again in fancied safety with his kind. Byron.

MIXABLE Mix"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being mixed.

MIXED Mixed, a.

Defn: Formed by mixing; united; mingled; blended. See Mix, v. t. & i. Mixed action (Law), a suit combining the properties of a real and a personal action. -- Mixed angle, a mixtilineal angle. -- Mixed fabric, a textile fabric composed of two or more kinds of fiber, as a poplin. -- Mixed marriage, a marriage between persons of different races or religions; specifically, one between a Roman Catholic and a Protestant. -- Mixed number, a whole number and a fraction taken together. -- Mixed train, a railway train containing both passenger and freight cars. -- Mixed voices (Mus.), voices of both males and females united in the same performance.

MIXEDLY Mix"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In a mixed or mingled manner.

MIXEN Mix"en, n. Etym: [AS. mixen, myxen, fr. meohx, meox, dung, filth; akin to E. mist. See Mist.]

Defn: A compost heap; a dunghill. Chaucer. Tennyson.

MIXER Mix"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, mixes.

MIXOGAMOUS Mix*og"a*mous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pairing with several males; -- said of certain fishes of which several males accompany each female during spawning.

MIXOLYDIAN MODE Mix`o*lyd"i*an mode`. Etym: [Gr. Lydian.] (Mus.)

Defn: The seventh ecclesiastical mode, whose scale commences on G.

MIXTILINEAL; MIXTILINEAR Mix`ti*lin"e*al, Mix`ti*lin"e*ar, a. Etym: [L. mixtus mixed (p.p. of miscere to mix) + E. lineal, linear.]

Defn: Containing, or consisting of, lines of different kinds, as straight, curved, and the like; as, a mixtilinear angle, that is, an angle contained by a straight line and a curve. [R.]

MIXTION Mix"tion, n. Etym: [L. mixtio, mistio: cf. F. mixtion. See Mistion, Mix.]

1. Mixture. [Obs.]

2. A kind of cement made of mastic, amber, etc., used as a mordant for gold leaf.

MIXTLY Mixt"ly, adv.

Defn: With mixture; in a mixed manner; mixedly. Bacon.

MIXTURE Mix"ture, n. Etym: [L. mixtura, fr. miscere, mixtum, to mix: cf. F. mixture. See Mix.]

1. The act of mixing, or the state of being mixed; as, made by a mixture of ingredients. Hooker.

2. That which results from mixing different ingredients together; a compound; as, to drink a mixture of molasses and water; -- also, a medley. There is also a mixture of good and evil wisely distributed by God, to serve the ends of his providence. Atterbury.

3. An ingredient entering into a mixed mass; an additional ingredient. Cicero doubts whether it were possible for a community to exist that had not a prevailing mixture of piety in its constitution. Addison.

4. (Med.)

Defn: A kind of liquid medicine made up of many ingredients; esp., as opposed to solution, a liquid preparation in which the solid ingredients are not completely dissolved.

5. (Physics & Chem.)

Defn: A mass of two or more ingredients, the particles of which are separable, independent, and uncompounded with each other, no matter how thoroughly and finely commingled; -- contrasted with a compound; thus, gunpowder is a mechanical mixture of carbon, sulphur, and niter.

6. (Mus.)

Defn: An organ stop, comprising from two to five ranges of pipes, used only in combination with the foundation and compound stops; -- called also furniture stop. It consists of high harmonics, or overtones, of the ground tone.

Syn. -- Union; admixture; intermixture; medley.

MIZMAZE Miz"maze`, n.

Defn: A maze or labyrinth. [Obs.]

MIZZEN Miz"zen, a. Etym: [It. mezzana, fr. mezzano middle, fr. mezzo middle, half: cf. F. misaine foresail. See Mezzo.] (Naut.)

Defn: Hindmost; nearest the stern; as, the mizzen shrouds, sails, etc.

MIZZEN Miz"zen, n. (Naut.)

Defn: The hindmost of the fore and aft sails of a three-masted vessel; also, the spanker.

MIZZENMAST Miz"zen*mast, n. (Naut.)

Defn: The hindmost mast of a three-masted vessel, or of a yawl-rigged vessel.

MIZZLE Miz"zle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mizzled; p. pr. & vb. n. Mizzling.] Etym: [See Misle, and cf. Mistle.]

1. To rain in very fine drops. Spenser.

2. To take one's self off; to go. [Slang] As long as George the Fourth could reign, he reigned, And then he mizzled. Epigram, quoted by Wright.

MIZZLE Miz"zle, n.

Defn: Mist; fine rain.

MIZZY Miz"zy, n. Etym: [Cf. F. moisi moldy, musty, p.p. of moisir to mold, fr. L. mucere to be moldy.]

Defn: A bog or quagmire. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

M'-NAUGHT M'-Naught" (mak*nalt"), v. t. (Steam Engines)

Defn: To increase the power of (a single-cylinder beam engine) by adding a small high-pressure cylinder with a piston acting on the beam between the center and the flywheel end, using high-pressure steam and working as a compound engine, -- a plan introduced by M'Naught, a Scottish engineer, in 1845.

MNEMONIC; MNEMONICAL Mne*mon"ic, Mne*mon"ic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. mind.]

Defn: Assisting in memory.

MNEMONICIAN Mne`mo*ni"cian, n.

Defn: One who instructs in the art of improving or using the memory.

MNEMONICS Mne*mon"ics, n. Etym: [Gr. mnémonique.]

Defn: The art of memory; a system of precepts and rules intended to assist the memory; artificial memory.

MNEMOSYNE Mne*mos"y*ne, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Mnemonic.] (Class Myth.)

Defn: The goddess of memory and the mother of the Muses.

MNEMOTECHNY Mne"mo*tech`ny, n. Etym: [Gr. mnémotechnie.]

Defn: Mnemonics.

MO Mo, a., adv., & n. [Written also moe.] Etym: [AS. ma. See More.]

Defn: More; -- usually, more in number. [Obs.] An hundred thousand mo. Chaucer. Likely to find mo to commend than to imitate it. Fuller.

-MO -mo.

Defn: A suffix added to the names of certain numerals or to the numerals themselves, to indicate the number of leaves made by folding a sheet of paper; as, sixteenmo or 16mo; eighteenmo or 18mo. It is taken from the Latin forms similarly used; as, duodecimo, sextodecimo, etc. A small circle, placed after the number and near its top, is often used for -mo; as, 16°, 18°, etc.

MOA Mo"a, n. Etym: [Native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several very large extinct species of wingless birds belonging to Dinornis, and other related genera, of the suborder Dinornithes, found in New Zealand. They are allied to the apteryx and the ostrich. They were probably exterminated by the natives before New Zealand was discovered by Europeans. Some species were much larger than the ostrich.

MOABITE Mo"ab*ite, n.

Defn: One of the posterity of Moab, the son of Lot. (Gen. xix. 37.) Also used adjectively.

MOABITESS Mo"ab*i`tess, n.

Defn: A female Moabite. Ruth i. 22.

MOABITE STONE Mo"ab*ite stone. (Archæol.)

Defn: A block of black basalt, found at Dibon in Moab by Rev. F. A. Klein, Aug. 19, 1868, which bears an inscription of thirty-four lines, dating from the 9th century b. c., and written in the Moabite alphabet, the oldest Phonician type of the Semitic alphabet. It records the victories of Mesha, king of Moab, esp. those over Israel (2 Kings iii. 4, 5, 27).

MOABITISH Mo"ab*i`tish, a.

Defn: Moabite. Ruth ii. 6.

MOAN Moan, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Moaned; p. pr. & vb. n. Moaning.] Etym: [AS. m to moan, also, to mean; but in the latter sense perh. a different word. Cf. Mean to intend.]

1. To make a low prolonged sound of grief or pain, whether articulate or not; to groan softly and continuously. Unpitied and unheard, where misery moans. Thomson. Let there bechance him pitiful mischances, To make him moan. Shak.

2. To emit a sound like moan; -- said of things inanimate; as, the wind moans.

MOAN Moan, v. t.

1. To bewail audibly; to lament. Ye floods, ye woods, ye echoes, moan My dear Columbo, dead and gone. Prior.

2. To afflict; to distress. [Obs.] Which infinitely moans me. Beau. & Fl.

MOAN Moan, n. Etym: [OE. mone. See Moan, v. i.]

1. A low prolonged sound, articulate or not, indicative of pain or of grief; a low groan. Sullen moans, hollow groans. Pope.

2. A low mournful or murmuring sound; -- of things. Rippling waters made a pleasant moan. Byron.

MOANFUL Moan"ful, a.

Defn: Full of moaning; expressing sorrow. -- Moan"ful*ly, adv.

MOAT Moat, n. Etym: [OF. mote hill, dike, bank, F. motte clod, turf: cf. Sp. & Pg. mota bank or mound of earth, It. motta clod, LL. mota, motta, a hill on which a fort is built, an eminence, a dike, Prov. G. mott bog earth heaped up; or perh. F. motte, and OF. mote, are from a LL. p.p. of L. movere to move (see Move). The name of moat, properly meaning, bank or mound, was transferred to the ditch adjoining: cf. F. dike and ditch.] (Fort.)

Defn: A deep trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place, sometimes filled with water; a ditch.

MOAT Moat, v. t.

Defn: To surround with a moat. Dryden.

MOATE Moate, v. i. Etym: [See Mute to molt.]

Defn: To void the excrement, as a bird; to mute. [Obs.]

MOB Mob, n. Etym: [See Mobcap.]

Defn: A mobcap. Goldsmith.

MOB Mob, v. t.

Defn: To wrap up in, or cover with, a cowl. [R.]

MOB Mob, n. Etym: [L. mobile vulgus, the movable common people. See Mobile, n.]

1. The lower classes of a community; the populace, or the lowest part of it. A cluster of mob were making themselves merry with their betters. Addison.

2. Hence: A throgn; a rabble; esp., an unlawful or riotous assembly; a disorderly crowd. The mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease. Pope. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob. Madison. Confused by brainless mobs. Tennyson. Mob law, law administered by the mob; lynch law. -- Swell mob, well dressed thieves and swindlers, regarded collectively. [Slang] Dickens.

MOB Mob, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mobbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Mobbing.]

Defn: To crowd about, as a mob, and attack or annoy; as, to mob a house or a person.

MOBBISH Mob"bish, a.

Defn: Like a mob; tumultuous; lawless; as, a mobbish act. Bp. Kent.

MOBCAP Mob"cap`, n. Etym: [D. mop-muts; OD. mop a woman's coif + D. muts cap.]

Defn: A plain cap or headdress for women or girls; especially, one tying under the chin by a very broad band, generally of the same material as the cap itself. Thackeray.

MOBILE Mo"bile, a. Etym: [L. mobilis, for movibilis, fr. movere to move: cf. F. mobile. See Move.]

1. Capable of being moved; not fixed in place or condition; movable. "Fixed or else mobile." Skelton.

2. Characterized by an extreme degree of fluidity; moving or flowing with great freedom; as, benzine and mercury are mobile liquids; -- opposed to viscous, viscoidal, or oily.

3. Easily moved in feeling, purpose, or direction; excitable; changeable; fickle. Testament of Love. The quick and mobile curiosity of her disposition. Hawthorne.

4. Changing in appearance and expression under the influence of the mind; as, mobile features.

5. (Physiol.)

Defn: Capable of being moved, aroused, or excited; capable of spontaneous movement.

MOBILE Mo"bile, n. Etym: [L. mobile vulgus. See Mobile, a., and cf. 3d Mob.]

Defn: The mob; the populace. [Obs.] "The unthinking mobile." South.

MOBILITY Mo*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. mobilitas: cf. F. mobilité.]

1. The quality or state of being mobile; as, the mobility of a liquid, of an army, of the populace, of features, of a muscle. Sir T. Browne.

2. The mob; the lower classes. [Humorous] Dryden.

MOBILIZATION Mob`i*li*za"tion, n. Etym: [F. mobilization.]

Defn: The act of mobilizing.

MOBILIZE Mob"i*lize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mobilized; p. pr. & vb. n. Mobilizing.] Etym: [F. mobiliser.]

Defn: To put in a state of readiness for active service in war, as an army corps.

MOBLE Mo"ble, v. t. Etym: [From Mob to wrap up.]

Defn: To wrap the head of in a hood. [Obs.] Shak.

MOBLES Mo"bles, n. pl.

Defn: See Moebles. [Obs.]

MOBOCRACY Mob*oc"ra*cy, n. Etym: [Mob rabble + -cracy, as in democracy.]

Defn: A condition in which the lower classes of a nation control public affairs without respect to law, precedents, or vested rights. It is good name that Dr. Stevens has given to our present situation (for one can not call it a government), a mobocracy. Walpole.

MOBOCRAT Mob"o*crat, n.

Defn: One who favors a form of government in which the unintelligent populace rules without restraint. Bayne.

MOBOCRATIC Mob`o*crat"ic, a.

Defn: Of, or relating to, a mobocracy.

MOCCASIN Moc"ca*sin, n. Etym: [An Indian word. Algonquin makisin.] [Sometimes written moccason.]

1. A shoe made of deerskin, or other soft leather, the sole and upper part being one piece. It is the customary shoe worn by the American Indians.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A poisonous snake of the Southern United States. The water moccasin (Ancistrodon piscivorus) is usually found in or near water. Above, it is olive brown, barred with black; beneath, it is brownish yellow, mottled with darker. The upland moccasin is Ancistrodon atrofuscus. They resemble rattlesnakes, but are without rattles. Moccasin flower (Bot.), a species of lady's slipper (Cypripedium acaule) found in North America. The lower petal is two inches long, and forms a rose-colored moccasin-shaped pouch. It grows in rich woods under coniferous trees.

MOCCASINED Moc"ca*sined, a.

Defn: Covered with, or wearing, a moccasin or moccasins. "Moccasined feet." Harper's Mag.

MOCHA Mo"cha, n.

1. A seaport town of Arabia, on the Red Sea.

2. A variety of coffee brought from Mocha.

3. An Abyssinian weight, equivalent to a Troy grain. Mocha stone (Min.), moss agate.

MOCHE Moche, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A bale of raw silk.

MOCHE Moche, a.

Defn: Much. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MOCHEL Moch"el, a. & adv.

Defn: Much. [Obs.] Chaucer.

MOCHILA Mo*chi"la, n. Etym: [Sp.]

Defn: A large leather flap which covers the saddletree. [Western U.S.]

MOCK Mock, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mocked; p. pr. & vb. n. Mocking.] Etym: [F. moquer, of uncertain origin; cf. OD. mocken to mumble, G. mucken, OSw. mucka.]

1. To imitate; to mimic; esp., to mimic in sport, contempt, or derision; to deride by mimicry. To see the life as lively mocked as ever Still sleep mocked death. Shak. Mocking marriage with a dame of France. Shak.

2. To treat with scorn or contempt; to deride. Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud. 1 Kings xviii. 27. Let not ambition mock their useful toil. Gray.

3. To disappoint the hopes of; to deceive; to tantalize; as, to mock expectation. Thou hast mocked me, and told me lies. Judg. xvi. 13. He will not ... Mock us with his blest sight, then snatch him hence. Milton.

Syn. -- To deride; ridicule; taunt; jeer; tantalize; disappoint. See Deride.

MOCK Mock, v. i.

Defn: To make sport contempt or in jest; to speak in a scornful or jeering manner. When thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed Job xi. 3. She had mocked at his proposal. Froude.

MOCK Mock, n.

1. An act of ridicule or derision; a scornful or contemptuous act or speech; a sneer; a jibe; a jeer. Fools make a mock at sin. Prov. xiv. 9.

2. Imitation; mimicry. [R.] Crashaw.

MOCK Mock, a.

Defn: Imitating reality, but not real; false; counterfeit; assumed; sham. That superior greatness and mock majesty. Spectator. Mock bishop's weed (Bot.), a genus of slender umbelliferous herbs (Discopleura) growing in wet places. -- Mock heroic, burlesquing the heroic; as, a mock heroic poem. -- Mock lead. See Blende (a). -- Mock nightingale (Zoöl.), the European blackcap. -- Mock orange (Bot.), a genus of American and Asiatic shrubs (Philadelphus), with showy white flowers in panicled cymes. P. coronarius, from Asia, has fragrant flowers; the American kinds are nearly scentless. -- Mock sun. See Parhelion. -- Mock turtle soup, a soup made of calf's head, veal, or other meat, and condiments, in imitation of green turtle soup. -- Mock velvet, a fabric made in imitation of velvet. See Mockado.

MOCKABLE Mock"a*ble, a.

Defn: Such as can be mocked. Shak.

MOCKADO Mock"a*do, n.

Defn: A stuff made in imitation of velvet; -- probably the same as mock velvet. [Obs.] Our rich mockado doublet. Ford.

MOCKADOUR Mock"a*dour, n.

Defn: See Mokadour. [Obs.]

MOCKAGE Mock"age, n.

Defn: Mockery. [Obs.] Fuller.

MOCKBIRD Mock"bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European sedge warbler (Acrocephalus phragmitis).

MOCKER Mock"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, mocks; a scorner; a scoffer; a derider.

2. A deceiver; an impostor.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A mocking bird. Mocker nut (Bot.), a kind of hickory (Carya tomentosa) and its fruit, which is far inferior to the true shagbark hickory nut.

MOCKERY Mock"er*y, n.; pl. Mockeries. Etym: [F. moquerie.]

1. The act of mocking, deriding, and exposing to contempt, by mimicry, by insincere imitation, or by a false show of earnestness; a counterfeit appearance. It is, as the air, invulnerable, And our vain blows malicious mockery. Shak. Grace at meals is now generally so performed as to look more like a mockery upon devotion than any solemn application of the mind to God. Law. And bear about the mockery of woe. Pope.

2. Insulting or contemptuous action or speech; contemptuous merriment; derision; ridicule. The laughingstock of fortune's mockeries. Spenser.

3. Subject of laughter, derision, or sport. The cruel handling of the city whereof they made a mockery. 2 Macc. viii. 17.

MOCKING Mock"ing, a.

Defn: Imitating, esp. in derision, or so as to cause derision; mimicking; derisive. Mocking bird (Zoöl.), a North American singing bird (Mimus polyglottos), remarkable for its exact imitations of the notes of other birds. Its back is gray; the tail and wings are blackish, with a white patch on each wing; the outer tail feathers are partly white. The name is also applied to other species of the same genus, found in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. -- Mocking thrush (Zoöl.), any species of the genus Harporhynchus, as the brown thrush (H. rufus). -- Mocking wren (Zoöl.), any American wren of the genus Thryothorus, esp. T. Ludovicianus.

MOCKINGLY Mock"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: By way of derision; in a contemptuous or mocking manner.

MOCKINGSTOCK Mock"ing*stock`, n.

Defn: A butt of sport; an object of derision. [R.]

MOCKISH Mock"ish, a.

Defn: Mock; counterfeit; sham. [Obs.]

MOCKLE Moc"kle, a.

Defn: See Mickle.

MOCO Mo"co, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South American rodent (Cavia rupestris), allied to the Guinea pig, but larger; -- called also rock cavy.

MODAL Mo"dal, a. Etym: [Cf. F. modal. See Mode.]

1. Of or pertaining to a mode or mood; consisting in mode or form only; relating to form; having the form without the essence or reality. Glanvill.

2. (Logic & Metaph.)

Defn: Indicating, or pertaining to, some mode of conceiving existence, or of expressing thought.

MODALIST Mo"dal*ist, n. (Theol.)

Defn: One who regards Father, Son, and Spirit as modes of being, and not as persons, thus denying personal distinction in the Trinity. Eadie.

MODALITY Mo*dal"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. modalité.]

1. The quality or state of being modal.

2. (Logic & Metaph.)