||Ma"ha (?), n. (Zoöl.) A kind of baboon; the wanderoo.
{ ||Ma*ha*ba"ra*ta (?), ||Ma*ha*bha"ra*tam (?), } n. [Skr. mahbhrata.]
A celebrated epic poem of the Hindus. It is of great length, and is
chiefly devoted to the history of a civil war between two dynasties of
ancient India.
||Ma*ha"led (?), n.[Ar. mahled.] (Bot.) A cherry tree (Prunus Mahaleb)
||of Southern Europe. The wood is prized by cabinetmakers, the twigs
||are used for pipe stems, the flowers and leaves yield a perfume, and
||from the fruit a violet dye and a fermented liquor (like
||kirschwasser) are prepared.
||Ma*ha*ra"jah (?), n. [Skr. mahrja; mahat great + rja king.] A
||sovereign prince in India; -- a title given also to other persons of
||high rank.
||Ma`ha*rif" (?), n. (Zoöl.) An African antelope (Hippotragus Bakeri).
||Its face is striped with black and white.
||Ma*har"mah (?), n. A muslin wrapper for the head and the lower part
||of the face, worn by Turkish and Armenian women when they go abroad.
Mah"di (?), n. [Ar., guide, leader.] Among Mohammedans, the last imam
or leader of the faithful. The Sunni, the largest sect of the
Mohammedans, believe that he is yet to appear.
The title has been taken by several persons in countries where
Mohammedanism prevails, -- notably by Mohammad Ahmed, who overran the
Egyptian Sudan, and in 1885 captured Khartum, his soldiers killing
General Gordon, an Englishman, who was then the Egyptian governor of
the region.
Mahl"-stick` (?), n. See Maul- stick.
Ma"hoe (?), n. (Bot.) A name given to several malvaceous trees (species
of Hibiscus, Ochroma, etc.), and to their strong fibrous inner bark,
which is used for strings and cordage.
Ma*hog"a*ny (?), n. [From the South American name.] 1. (Bot.) A large
tree of the genus Swietenia (S. Mahogoni), found in tropical America.
Several other trees, with wood more or less like mahogany, are called
by this name; as, African mahogany (Khaya Senegalensis), Australian
mahogany (Eucalyptus marginatus), Bastard mahogany (Batonia apetala of
the West Indies), Indian mahogany (Cedrela Toona of Bengal, and trees
of the genera Soymida and Chukrassia), Madeira mahogany (Persea
Indica), Mountain mahogany, the black or cherry birch (Betula lenta),
also the several species of Cercocarpus of California and the Rocky
Mountains.
2. The wood of the Swietenia Mahogoni. It is of a reddish brown color,
beautifully veined, very hard, and susceptible of a fine polish. It is
used in the manufacture of furniture.