Mas"tiff (?), n.; pl. Mastiffs (&?;). [Mastives is irregular and
unusual.] [Prob. fr. Prov. E. masty, adj., large, n., a great dog,
prob. fr. mast fruit, and hence, lit., fattened with mast. There is
perh. confusion with OF. mestif mongrel; cf. also F. mâtin mastiff, OF.
mastin.] (Zoöl.) A breed of large dogs noted for strength and courage.
There are various strains, differing in form and color, and
characteristic of different countries.
Mastiff bat (Zoöl.) , any bat of the genus Molossus; so called because
the face somewhat resembles that of a mastiff.
Mas"ti*go*pod (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Mastigopoda.
||Mas`ti*gop"o*da (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ma`stix, -igos, a whip +
||poy`s, podo`s, foot.] (Zoöl.) The Infusoria.
Mas"ti*gure (?), n. [Gr. ma`stix, -igos, a scourge + &?; tail.] (Zoöl.)
Any one of several large spiny-tailed lizards of the genus Uromastix.
They inhabit Southern Asia and North Africa.
Mast"ing (?), n. (Naut.) The act or process of putting a mast or masts
into a vessel; also, the scientific principles which determine the
position of masts, and the mechanical methods of placing them.
Masting house (Naut.), a large building, with suitable mechanism
overhanging the water, used for stepping and unstepping the masts of
vessels.
||Mas*ti"tis (?), n. [Gr. masto`s breast + -itis.] (Med.) Inflammation
||of the breast.
Mast"less (?), a. [See lst Mast.] Bearing no mast; as, a mastless oak
or beech. Dryden.
Mast"less, a. [See 2d Mast.] Having no mast; as, a mastless vessel.
<! p. 901 !>
Mast"lin (mst"ln), n. See Maslin.
Mas"to*don (?), n. [Gr. masto`s the breast + 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, a
tooth. So called from the conical projections upon its molar teeth.]
(Paleon.) An extinct genus of mammals closely allied to the elephant,
but having less complex molar teeth, and often a pair of lower, as well
as upper, tusks, which are incisor teeth. The species were mostly
larger than elephants, and their remains occur in nearly all parts of
the world in deposits ranging from Miocene to late Quaternary time.
||Mas`to*don*sau"rus (?), n. [NL., fr. E. Mastodon + Gr. say^ros a
||lizard.] (Paleon.) A large extinct genus of labyrinthodonts, found in
||the European Triassic rocks.
Mas`to*don"tic (?), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, a mastodon; as,
mastodontic dimensions. Everett.
||Mas`to*dyn"i*a (?), Mas*tod"y*ny (&?;), n. [NL. mastodynia, fr. Gr.
||masto`s the breast + &?; pain.] (Med.) Pain occuring in the mamma or
||female breast, -- a form of neuralgia.
Mas"toid (?), a. [Gr. &?;; masto`s the breast + &?; form: cf. F.
mastoïde.] (Anat.) (a) Resembling the nipple or the breast; -- applied
specifically to a process of the temporal bone behind the ear. (b)
Pertaining to, or in the region of, the mastoid process; mastoidal.
Mas*toid"al (?), a. Same as Mastoid.
Mas*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. masto`s the breast + -logy: cf. F.
mastologie.] The natural history of Mammalia.
Mas"tress (?), n. Mistress. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Mas`tur*ba"tion (?), n. [L. masturbatus, p. p. of masturbari to
practice onanism: cf. F. masturbation.] Onanism; self-pollution.
Mast"y (?), a. [See lst Mast.] Full of mast; abounding in acorns, etc.
Ma*su"la boat` (?). Same as Masoola boat.
Mat (?), n. [Cf. Matte.] A name given by coppersmiths to an alloy of
copper, tin, iron, etc., usually called white metal. [Written also
matt.]
Mat, a. [OF. See 4th Mate.] Cast down; dejected; overthrown; slain.
[Obs.]
When he saw them so piteous and so maat.
Chaucer.
Mat, n. [AS. matt, meatt, fr. L. matta a mat made of rushes.] 1. A
fabric of sedge, rushes, flags, husks, straw, hemp, or similar
material, used for wiping and cleaning shoes at the door, for covering
the floor of a hall or room, and for other purposes.
2. Any similar fabric for various uses, as for covering plant houses,
putting beneath dishes or lamps on a table, securing rigging from
friction, and the like.
3. Anything growing thickly, or closely interwoven, so as to resemble a
mat in form or texture; as, a mat of weeds; a mat of hair.
4. An ornamental border made of paper, pasterboard, metal, etc., put
under the glass which covers a framed picture; as, the mat of a
daguerreotype.
Mat grass. (Bot.) (a) A low, tufted, European grass (Nardus stricta).
(b) Same as Matweed. -- Mat rush (Bot.), a kind of rush (Scirpus
lacustris) used in England for making mats.
Mat, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Matted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Matting.] 1. To
cover or lay with mats. Evelyn.
2. To twist, twine, or felt together; to interweave into, or like, a
mat; to entangle.
And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair.
Dryden.
Mat, v. i. To grow thick together; to become interwoven or felted
together like a mat.
||Ma`ta*chin" (?), n. [Sp.] An old dance with swords and bucklers; a
||sword dance.
Mat"a*co (?), n. (Zoöl.) The three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutis
tricinctus). See Illust. under Loricata.
{ Mat"a*dore, Mat"a*dor} (?), n. [Sp. matador, prop., a killer, fr.
matar to kill, L. mactare to sacrifice, kill.] 1. The killer; the man
appointed to kill the bull in bullfights.
2. (Card Playing) In the game of quadrille or omber, the three
principal trumps, the ace of spades being the first, the ace of clubs
the third, and the second being the deuce of a black trump or the seven
of a red one.
When Lady Tricksey played a four, You took it with a matadore.
Swift.
Mat`a*gasse" (?), n. (Zoöl.) A shrike or butcher bird; -- called also
mattages. [Prov. Eng.]
||Ma`ta*ma"ta (?), n. [Pg.] (Zoöl.) The bearded tortoise (Chelys
||fimbriata) of South American rivers.
Ma*tan"za (?), n. [Sp., slaughter, fr. matar to kill.] A place where
animals are slaughtered for their hides and tallow. [Western U. S.]
Match (mch), n. [OE. macche, F. mèche, F. mèche, fr. L. myxa a lamp
nozzle, Gr. my`xa mucus, nostril, a lamp nozzle. Cf. Mucus.] Anything
used for catching and retaining or communicating fire, made of some
substance which takes fire readily, or remains burning some time; esp.,
a small strip or splint of wood dipped at one end in a substance which
can be easily ignited by friction, as a preparation of phosphorus or
chlorate of potassium.
Match box, a box for holding matches. - - Match tub, a tub with a
perforated cover for holding slow matches for firing cannon, esp. on
board ship. The tub contains a little water in the bottom, for
extinguishing sparks from the lighted matches. -- Quick match, threads
of cotton or cotton wick soaked in a solution of gunpowder mixed with
gum arabic and boiling water and afterwards strewed over with mealed
powder. It burns at the rate of one yard in thirteen seconds, and is
used as priming for heavy mortars, fireworks, etc. -- Slow match,
slightly twisted hempen rope soaked in a solution of limewater and
saltpeter or washed in a lye of water and wood ashes. It burns at the
rate of four or five inches an hour, and is used for firing cannon,
fireworks, etc.
Match, n. [OE. macche, AS. gemæcca; akin to gemaca, and to OS. gimako,
OHG. gimah fitting, suitable, convenient, Icel. mark suitable, maki
mate, Sw. make, Dan. mage; all from the root of E. make, v. See Make
mate, and Make, v., and cf. Mate an associate.]
1. A person or thing equal or similar to another; one able to mate or
cope with another; an equal; a mate.
Government . . . makes an innocent man, though of the lowest rank,
a match for the mightiest of his fellow subjects.
Addison.
2. A bringing together of two parties suited to one another, as for a
union, a trial of skill or force, a contest, or the like; as,
specifically: (a) A contest to try strength or skill, or to determine
superiority; an emulous struggle. "Many a warlike match." Drayton.
A solemn match was made; he lost the prize.
Dryden.
(b) A matrimonial union; a marriage.