Maz`a*rine" (?), a. Of or pertaining to Cardinal Mazarin, prime
minister of France, 1643-1661.
Mazarine Bible, the first Bible, and perhaps the first complete book,
printed with movable metal types; -- printed by Gutenberg at Mentz,
1450-55; -- so called because a copy was found in the Mazarine Library,
at Paris, about 1760. -- Mazarine blue, a deep blue color, named in
honor of Cardinal Mazarin.
Maz`a*rine", n. Mazarine blue.
Maz"de*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Ahura-Mazda, or Ormuzd, the
beneficent deity in the Zoroastrian dualistic system; hence,
Zoroastrian.
Maz"de*ism (?), n. The Zoroastrian religion.
Maze (?), n. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg.
masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate,
chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw. masa to bask, be slow, work
slowly and lazily, mas slow, lazy.] 1. A wild fancy; a confused notion.
[Obs.] Chaucer.
2. Confusion of thought; perplexity; uncertainty; state of
bewilderment.
3. A confusing and baffling network, as of paths or passages; an
intricacy; a labyrinth. "Quaint mazes on the wanton green." Shak.
Or down the tempting maze of Shawford brook.
Wordaworth.
The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate, Puzzled with mazes, and
perplexed with error.
Addison.
Syn. -- Labyrinth; intricacy. See Labyrinth.
Maze (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mazed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mazing.] To
perplex greatly; to bewilder; to astonish and confuse; to amaze. South.
Maze, v. i. To be bewildered. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Maz"ed*ness (?), n. The condition of being mazed; confusion;
astonishment. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Maze"ful (?), a. Mazy. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
Maz"er (?), n. [OE. maser, akin to OD. maser an excrescence on a maple
tree, OHG. masar, G. maser spot, Icel. mösurr maple.] A large drinking
bowl; -- originally made of maple. [Obs.]
Their brimful mazers to the feasting bring.
Drayton.
Ma"zi*ly (?), adv. In a mazy manner.
Ma"zi*ness, n. The state or quality of being mazy.
Maz`o*log"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to mazology.
Ma*zol"o*gist (?), n. One versed in mazology or mastology.
Ma*zol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; the breast + -logy.] Same as Mastology.
{ Ma*zour"ka (?), Ma*zur"ka (?), } n. A Polish dance, or the music
which accompanies it, usually in 3-4 or 3-8 measure, with a strong
accent on the second beat.
Ma"zy (?), a. [From Maze.] Perplexed with turns and windings; winding;
intricate; confusing; perplexing; embarrassing; as, mazy error. Milton.
To range amid the mazy thicket.
Spenser.
To run the ring, and trace the mazy round.
Dryden.
Me (?), pron. One. See Men, pron. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Me (m), pers. pron. [AS. m, dat. & acc., mec, acc. only ; akin to D.
mij, G. mich, Icel. & Goth. mik, L. me, Gr. me`, 'eme`, Skr. m, mm.
√187. Cf. 2d Mine.] The person speaking, regarded as an object;
myself; a pronoun of the first person used as the objective and dative
case of the pronoum I; as, he struck me; he gave me the money, or he
gave the money to me; he got me a hat, or he got a hat for me.
In methinks, me is properly in the dative case, and the verb is
impersonal, the construction being, it appears to me. In early use me
was often placed before forms of the verb to be with an adjective; as,
me were lief.
Me rather had my heart might frrl your love Than my unpleased eye
see your courtesy.
Shak.
Meach (?), v. i. To skulk; to cower. See Mich.
Mea"cock (?), n. [Prob. fr. meek + cock.] An uxorious, effeminate, or
spiritless man. [Obs.] Johnson.
Mead (md), n. [OE. mede, AS. meodo; akin to D. mede, G. met, meth, OHG.
metu, mitu, Icel. mjöðr, Dan. miöd, Sw. mjöd, Russ. med', Lith. midus,
W. medd, Gr. me`qy wine, Skr. madhu honey, a sweet drink, as adj.,
sweet. √270. Cf. Metheglin.] 1. A fermented drink made of water
and honey with malt, yeast, etc.; metheglin; hydromel. Chaucer.
2. A drink composed of sirup of sarsaparilla or other flavoring
extract, and water. It is sometimes charged with carbonic acid gas. [U.
S.]
Mead, n. [AS. md. See Meadow.] A meadow.
A mede All full of freshe flowers, white and reede.
Chaucer.
To fertile vales and dewy meads My weary, wandering steps he leads.
Addison.
Mead"ow (?), n. [AS. meady; akin to md, and to G. matte; prob. also to
E. mow. See Mow to cut (grass), and cf. 2d Mead.] 1. A tract of low or
level land producing grass which is mown for hay; any field on which
grass is grown for hay.
2. Low land covered with coarse grass or rank herbage near rives and in
marshy places by the sea; as, the salt meadows near Newark Bay.
Mead"ow, a. Of or pertaining to a meadow; of the nature of a meadow;
produced, growing, or living in, a meadow. "Fat meadow ground." Milton.
For many names of plants compounded with meadow, see the particular
word in the Vocabulary.
Meadow beauty. (Bot.) Same as Deergrass. -- Meadow foxtail (Bot.), a
valuable pasture grass (Alopecurus pratensis) resembling timothy, but
with softer spikes. -- Meadow grass (Bot.), a name given to several
grasses of the genus Poa, common in meadows, and of great value for nay
and for pasture. See Grass. -- Meadow hay, a coarse grass, or true
sedge, growing in uncultivated swamp or river meadow; -- used as fodder
or bedding for cattle, packing for ice, etc. [Local, U. S.] -- Meadow
hen. (Zoöl.) (a) The American bittern. See Stake-driver. (b) The
American coot (Fulica). (c) The clapper rail. -- Meadow lark (Zoöl.),
any species of Sturnella, a genus of American birds allied to the
starlings. The common species (S. magna) has a yellow breast with a
black crescent. -- Meadow mouse (Zoöl.), any mouse of the genus
Arvicola, as the common American species A. riparia; -- called also
field mouse, and field vole. -- Meadow mussel (Zoöl.), an American
ribbed mussel (Modiola plicatula), very abundant in salt marshes. --
Meadow ore (Min.), bog-iron ore , a kind of limonite. -- Meadow
parsnip. (Bot.) See under Parsnip. -- Meadow pink. (Bot.) See under
Pink. -- Meadow pipit (Zoöl.), a small singing bird of the genus
Anthus, as A. pratensis, of Europe. -- Meadow rue (Bot.), a delicate
early plant, of the genus Thalictrum, having compound leaves and
numerous white flowers. There are many species. -- Meadow saffron.
(Bot.) See under Saffron. -- Meadow sage. (Bot.) See under Sage. --
Meadow saxifrage (Bot.), an umbelliferous plant of Europe (Silaus
pratensis), somewhat resembling fennel. -- Meadow snipe (Zoöl.), the
common or jack snipe.
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{ Mead"ow*sweet` (?), Mead"ow*wort` (?), } n. (Bot.) The name of
several plants of the genus Spiræa, especially the white- or
pink-flowered S. salicifolia, a low European and American shrub, and
the herbaceous S. Ulmaria, which has fragrant white flowers in compound
cymes.
Mead"ow*y (?), a. Of or pertaining to meadows; resembling, or
consisting of, meadow.
{ Mea"ger, Mea"gre } (?), a. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to
D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. makro`s long. Cf. Emaciate,
Maigre.]