MILLAR'S SIGHT. General Millar's simple dispart--a sliding pillar
bearing a scale graduated to tangents of degrees for setting the gun by.
MILLED LEAD. Sheet lead.
MILLER, TO DROWN THE. To put an overdose of water to grog.
MILLER'S THUMB. A fresh-water fish, the _Cottus cataphractus_.
MILT. The soft roe, or spermatic part, of the male fish.
MINE. A passage made under ground, with a chamber at the end, under the
place intended to be blown up; it is entered by the shaft, which leads
through the gallery to the chamber.
MINERAL OIL. _See_ PETROLEUM.
MINIE RIFLE. This has acquired a great name, though not yet in general
use.
MINION. An old four-pounder gun about 7 feet long. Its point-blank range
was 120 paces, with a random one of 1500. Bourne, in 1578, mentions the
minion as requiring shot 3 inches in diameter.
MINISTER. A minister, though termed plenipotentiary, has no power to
grant protection to vessels or cargoes otherwise subject to the
operations and laws of hostilities.
MINNIS. An old British word for a rock or piece of rising ground.
MINNOW. A small fresh-water fish--the _Leuciscus phoxinus_. The term was
used in contempt by Shakspeare and the elders.
MINOR AXIS. In a planetary orbit, signifies the line perpendicular to
the major axis, and passing through the centre of the ellipse.
MINOR PLANETS. _See_ ASTEROIDS.
MINUTE MILE. The sixtieth part of a degree of longitude or latitude; in
the latter case it is the sixtieth part of a degree of a great circle,
in the former it decreases in length as the latitude increases.
MINUTE AND HALF-MINUTE GLASSES. _See_ GLASS.
MINUTE-GUNS. Fired at intervals of a minute each during the progress of
important funerals.
MINUTES. Short notices taken in writing of any important proceedings.
MIRA. A remarkable variable star in Cetus.
MIRACH. One of the bright stars in Andromeda.
MIRAGE, OR LOOM. A word, which has crept into use since the French
expedition to Egypt, to express the extraordinary refraction which light
undergoes when strata of air, of different densities, extend above each
other. The mirage, reflecting objects at a great height, inverts and
doubles the image.
MIRE-BUMPER AND MIRE-DRUM. North-country names of the bittern.
MIRKLES. The radicle leaves of the _Fucus esculentus_, a sea-weed eaten
on our northern coasts.
MIRROR. The speculum of a quadrant, or any silvered or polished
reflecting surface.
MISCHIEF. _See_ MASTER OF MISRULE.
MISREPRESENTATION TO THE UNDERWRITERS, of any fact or circumstance
material to the risk of insuring, whether by the insured or his agent,
and whether fraudulent or innocent, renders the contract null and void.
(_See_ REPRESENTATION.)
MISSILES. Projectiles of every kind propelled by force.
MISSING. If a vessel is not heard of within six months after her
departure (or after the last intelligence of her) from any port in
Europe, and within twelve months from other parts of the world, she is
deemed to be lost. Presumptive proof will suffice if none of her crew
appear.
MISSING STAYS. To fail in going about from one tack to another; when,
after a ship gets her head to the wind, she comes to a stand, and begins
to fall off on the same tack.
MIST [Anglo-Saxon]. A thin vapour, between a _fog_ and _haze_, and is
generally wet.
MISTICO. Equivalent to our _hermaphrodite_, being a small Mediterranean
vessel, between a xebec and a felucca. (_See_ XEBEC.)
MISTRAL. A cold N.W. wind experienced on the Mediterranean shores of
France. [Corrupted from _maestrale_.]
MITTS. A protection for the hand, covering the thumb in one space and
the fingers in another, so that men wearing them can still handle ropes.
MIXED MATHEMATICS. Pure mathematics when applied to practical subjects,
as astronomy, optics, hydrography, gunnery, engineering, and the like.
MIZAR. The star {z} in Ursa Major; the middle one in the tail.
MIZEN. The spanker or driver is often so named.
MIZEN-MAST. The aftermost mast of a ship (_see_ SHROUDS, STAY, YARD,
&c.), observing only that the epithet of fore, main, or mizen, is added
to each term, to distinguish them from each other. (_See_ BONAVENTURE.)
MIZEN MAST-HEAD. Rear-admirals carry their flag at their mizen.
MIZEN STAYSAIL. A fore-and-aft sail of various shapes set on the mizen
stay.
MOAT. Synonymous with _ditch_ (which see).
MOBILIZATION. The organizing a body of men for active service. Also, a
term in naval tactics, applied to the movement of fleets.
MOCCASIN. A slipper made of green hide, and worn in cases of necessity;
a term derived from the North American Indians.
MODERATE BREEZE. When all the flying kites may be pleasantly carried.
MODERATE GALE. In which a ship carries double reefs in her top-sails.