3. (Gr. Church) A bishop whose see is a civil metropolis. His rank is
intermediate between that of an archbishop and a patriarch. Hook.
Met`ro*pol"i*tan*ate (?), n. The see of a metropolitan bishop. Milman.
Me*trop"o*lite (?), n. [L. metropolita, Gr. &?;.] A metropolitan.
Barrow.
Met`ro*po*lit"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a metropolis; being a
metropolis; metropolitan; as, the metropolitical chair. Bp. Hall.
||Met`ror*rha"gi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; womb + &?; to break.]
||(Med.) Profuse bleeding from the womb, esp. such as does not occur at
||the menstrual period.
Met"ro*scope (?), n. [Gr. &?; womb + -scope.] A modification of the
stethoscope, for directly auscultating the uterus from the vagina.
||Met`ro*si*de"ros (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; heart of a tree + &?;
||iron.] (Bot.) A myrtaceous genus of trees or shrubs, found in
||Australia and the South Sea Islands, and having very hard wood.
||Metrosideros vera is the true ironwood.
Met"ro*tome (?), n. [See Metrotomy.] (Surg.) An instrument for cutting
or scarifying the uterus or the neck of the uterus.
Me*trot"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?; womb + &?; to cut: cf. F. métrotomie.]
(Surg.) The operation of cutting into the uterus; hysterotomy; the
Cæsarean section.
-me*try (?). [See -meter.] A suffix denoting the art, process, or
science, of measuring; as, acidimetry, chlorometry, chronometry.
Mette (?), obs. imp. of Mete, to dream. Chaucer.
Met"tle (?), n. [E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the
temper of the metal of a sword blade. See Metal.] Substance or quality
of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude,
ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense.
A certain critical hour which shall . . . try what mettle his heart
is made of.
South.
Gentlemen of brave mettle.
Shak.
The winged courser, like a generous horse, Shows most true mettle
when you check his course.
Pope.
To put one one's mettle, to cause or incite one to use one's best
efforts.
Met"tled (?), a. Having mettle; high-spirited; ardent; full of fire.
Addison.
Met"tle*some (?), a. Full of spirit; possessing constitutional ardor;
fiery; as, a mettlesome horse.
-- Met"tle*some*ly, adv. -- Met"tle*some*ness, n.
Meute (?), n. A cage for hawks; a mew. See 4th Mew, 1. Milman.
Meve (?), v. t. & i. To move. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Mew (?), n. [AS. m&?;w, akin to D. meeuw, G. möwe, OHG. m&?;h, Icel.
mr.] (Zoöl.) A gull, esp. the common British species (Larus canus);
called also sea mew, maa, mar, mow, and cobb.
Mew, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mewed; p. pr. & vb. n. Mewing.] [OE. muen, F.
muer, fr. L. mutare to change, fr. movere to move. See Move, and cf.
Mew a cage, Molt.] To shed or cast; to change; to molt; as, the hawk
mewed his feathers.
Nine times the moon had mewed her horns.
Dryden.
Mew, v. i. To cast the feathers; to molt; hence, to change; to put on a
new appearance.
Now everything doth mew, And shifts his rustic winter robe.
Turbervile.
Mew, n. [OE. mue, F. mue change of feathers, scales, skin, the time or
place when the change occurs, fr. muer to molt, mew, L. mutare to
change. See 2d Mew.]
1. A cage for hawks while mewing; a coop for fattening fowls; hence,
any inclosure; a place of confinement or shelter; -- in the latter
sense usually in the plural.
Full many a fat partrich had he in mewe.
Chaucer.
Forthcoming from her darksome mew.
Spenser.
Violets in their secret mews.
Wordsworth.
2. A stable or range of stables for horses; - - compound used in the
plural, and so called from the royal stables in London, built on the
site of the king's mews for hawks.
Mew, v. t. [From Mew a cage.] To shut up; to inclose; to confine, as in
a cage or other inclosure.
More pity that the eagle should be mewed.
Shak.
Close mewed in their sedans, for fear of air.
Dryden.
Mew, v. i. [Of imitative origin; cf. G. miauen.] To cry as a cat.
[Written also meaw, meow.] Shak.
Mew, n. The common cry of a cat. Shak.
Mewl (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mewled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mewling.]
[Cf. F. miauler to mew, E. mew to cry as a cat. Cf. Miaul.] To cry, as
a young child; to squall. [Written also meawl.] Shak.
Mewl"er (?), n. One that mewls.
Mews (?), n. sing. & pl. [Prop. pl. of mew. See Mew a cage.] An alley
where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place. [Eng.]
Mr. Turveydrop's great room . . . was built out into a mews at the
back.
Dickens.
||Mex*al" (?), Mex"i*cal (#), n. [Sp. mexcal.] See Mescal.
Mex"i*can (?), a. Of or pertaining to Mexico or its people. -- n. A
native or inhabitant of Mexico.
Mexican poppy (Bot.), a tropical American herb of the Poppy family
(Argemone Mexicana) with much the look of a thistle, but having large
yellow or white blossoms. -- Mexican tea (Bot.), an aromatic kind of
pigweed from tropical America (Chenopodium ambrosioides).
Mex"i*can*ize (?), v. t. To cause to be like the Mexicans, or their
country, esp. in respect of frequent revolutions of government.
Mex"i*can*ize, v. i. To become like the Mexicans, or their country or
government.
Meyn"e (mn"), n. [Obs.] Same as Meine.
Mez*cal" (?), n. Same as Mescal.
Me*ze"re*on (?), n. [F. mézéréon, Per. mzriyn.] (Bot.) A small European
shrub (Daphne Mezereum), whose acrid bark is used in medicine.
||Mez*qui"ta (?), n. [Sp.] A mosque.
Mez"u*zoth (?), n. [Heb. mzzth, pl. of mzzh doorpost.] A piece of
parchment bearing the Decalogue and attached to the doorpost; -- in use
among orthodox Hebrews.
Mez"za*nine (?), n. [F. mezzanine, It. mezzanino, fr. mezzano middle,
fr. mezzo middle, half. See Mezzo.] (Arch.) (a) Same as Entresol. (b) A
partial story which is not on the same level with the story of the main
part of the edifice, as of a back building, where the floors are on a
level with landings of the staircase of the main house.
||Mez"za vo"ce (?). [It., fr. mezzo, fem. mezza middle, half + voce
||voice, L. vox.] (Mus.) With a medium fullness of sound.
||Mez"zo (?), a. [It., from L. medius middle, half. See Mid, a.] (Mus.)
||Mean; not extreme.
Mez"zo-re*lie"vo (?), n. Mezzo- rilievo.
||Mez"zo-ri*lie"vo (?), n. [It.] (a) A middle degree of relief in
||figures, between high and low relief. (b) Sculpture in this kind of
||relief. See under Alto-rilievo.
Mez"zo-so*pra"no (?), a. (Mus.) Having a medium compass between the
soprano and contralto; -- said of the voice of a female singer. -- n.
(a) A mezzo-soprano voice. (b) A person having such a voice.
Mez"zo*tint (?), n. [Cf. F. mezzo- tinto.] A manner of engraving on
copper or steel by drawing upon a surface previously roughened, and
then removing the roughness in places by scraping, burnishing, etc., so
as to produce the requisite light and shade. Also, an engraving so
produced.
Mez"zo*tint, v. t. To engrave in mezzotint.
Mez"zo*tint`er (?), n. One who engraves in mezzotint.
Mez`zo*tin"to (?), n. [It. mezzo half + tinto tinted, p. p. of tingere
to dye, color, tinge, L. tingere. See Mezzo.] Mezzotint.
Mez`zo*tin"to, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mezzotintoed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Mezzotintoing (?).] To engrave in mezzotint; to represent by mezzotint.
Mhorr (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Mohr.
Mi (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) A syllable applied to the third tone of the
scale of C, i. e., to E, in European solmization, but to the third tone
of any scale in the American system.
Mi*a"mis (?), n. pl.; sing. Miami (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians
that formerly occupied the country between the Wabash and Maumee
rivers.
Mi*ar"gy*rite (?), n. [Gr. &?; less + &?; silver. So called because it
contains less silver than some kindred ore.] (Min.) A mineral of an
iron-black color, and very sectile, consisting principally of sulphur,
antimony, and silver.
Mi"as (?), n. [Malayan.] The orang-outang.
Mi*asc"ite (?), n. [Named from Miask, in the Ural Mountains.] (Min.) A
granitoid rock containing feldspar, biotite, elæolite, and sodalite.
Mi"asm (?), n. [Cf. F. miasme.] Miasma.
Mi*as"ma (?), n.; pl. Miasmata (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; defilement, fr.
&?; to pollute.] Infectious particles or germs floating in the air; air
made noxious by the presence of such particles or germs; noxious
effluvia; malaria.
Mi*as"mal (?), a. Containing miasma; miasmatic.
{ Mi`as*mat"ic (?), Mi`as*mat"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. miasmatique.]
Containing, or relating to, miasma; caused by miasma; as, miasmatic
diseases.
Mi*as"ma*tist (?), n. One who has made a special study of miasma.
Mi`as*mol"o*gy (?), n. [Miasma + -logy.] That department of medical
science which treats of miasma.
Mi*aul" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Miauled (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Miauling.] [Cf. F. miauler, of imitative origin, and E. mew. Cf. Mewl.]
To cry as a cat; to mew; to caterwaul. Sir W. Scott.
Mi*aul", n. The crying of a cat.
Mi"ca (?), n. [L. mica crumb, grain, particle; cf. F. mica.] (Min.) The
name of a group of minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage,
so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less
elastic. They differ widely in composition, and vary in color from pale
brown or yellow to green or black. The transparent forms are used in
lanterns, the doors of stoves, etc., being popularly called isinglass.
Formerly called also cat-silver, and glimmer.
The important species of the mica group are: muscovite, common or
potash mica, pale brown or green, often silvery, including damourite
(also called hydromica); biotite, iron-magnesia mica, dark brown,
green, or black; lepidomelane, iron, mica, black; phlogopite, magnesia
mica, colorless, yellow, brown; lepidolite, lithia mica, rose- red,
lilac.
Mica (usually muscovite, also biotite) is an essential constituent of
granite, gneiss, and mica slate; biotite is common in many eruptive
rocks; phlogopite in crystalline limestone and serpentine.
Mica diorite (Min.), an eruptive rock allied to diorite but containing
mica (biotite) instead of hornblende. -- Mica powder, a kind of
dynamite containing fine scales of mica. -- Mica schist, Mica slate
(Geol.), a schistose rock, consisting of mica and quartz with, usually,
some feldspar.
Mi*ca`ce*o-cal*ca"re*ous (?), a. (Geol.) Partaking of the nature of, or
consisting of, mica and lime; -- applied to a mica schist containing
carbonate of lime.
Mi*ca"ceous (?), a. [Cf. F. micacé.] Pertaining to, or containing,
mica; splitting into laminæ or leaves like mica.
Mice (?), n., pl of Mouse.
||Mi*cel"la (?), n.; pl. Micellæ (#). [NL., dim. of L. mica a morsel,
||grain.] (Biol.) A theoretical aggregation of molecules constituting a
||structural particle of protoplasm, capable of increase or diminution
||without change in chemical nature.
{ Mich, Miche } (?), v. i. [OE. michen; cf. OE. muchier, mucier, to
conceal, F. musser, and OHG. mhhen to waylay. Cf. Micher, Curmudgeon,
Muset.] To lie hid; to skulk; to act, or carry one's self, sneakingly.
[Obs. or Colloq.] [Written also meach and meech.] Spenser.
Mich"ael*mas (?), n. [Michael + mass religious service; OE.
Mighelmesse.] The feast of the archangel Michael, a church festival,
celebrated on the 29th of September. Hence, colloquially, autumn.
Michaelmas daisy. (Bot.) See under Daisy.
Mich"er (?), n. [OE. michare, muchare. See Mich.] One who skulks, or
keeps out of sight; hence, a truant; an idler; a thief, etc. [Obs.]
Shak.
Mich"er*y (?), n. Theft; cheating. [Obs.] Gower.
Mich"ing, a. Hiding; skulking; cowardly. [Colloq.] [Written also
meaching and meeching.]
<! p. 921 !>
Mic"kle (mk"k'l), a. [OE. mikel, muchel, mochel, mukel, AS. micel,
mycel; akin to OS. mikil, OHG. mihil, mihhil, Icel. mikill, mykill,
Goth. mikils, L. magnus, Gr. me`gas, gen. mega`loy; cf. Skr. mahat.
√103. Cf. Much, Muckle, Magnitude.] Much; great. [Written also
muckle and mockle.] [Old Eng. & Scot.] "A man of mickle might."
Spenser.
Mic"macs (?), n. pl.; sing. Micmac (&?;). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians
inhabiting Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. [Written also Mikmaks.]
Mi"co (?), n. [Sp. or Pg. mico.] (Zoöl.) A small South American monkey
(Mico melanurus), allied to the marmoset. The name was originally
applied to an albino variety.
Mi`cra*cous"tic (?), a. Same as Microustic.
||Mi*cras"ter (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. mikro`s small + &?; star.]
||(Paleon.) A genus of sea urchins, similar to Spatangus, abounding in
||the chalk formation; -- from the starlike disposal of the ambulacral
||furrows.
Mi`cren*ceph"a*lous (?), [Micr- + Gr. &?; brain.] Having a small brain.
{ Mi"cro- (?), Mi"cr- }. [Gr. mikro`s small.] A combining form
signifying: (a) Small, little, trivial, slight; as, microcosm,
microscope. (b) (Metric System, Elec., Mech., etc.) A millionth part
of; as, microfarad, microohm, micrometer.
Mi`cro*am`père" (?), n. [Micr- + ampère.] (Elec.) One of the smaller
measures of electrical currents; the millionth part of one ampère.
||Mi`cro*bac*te"ri*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Micro-, and Bacterium.]
||(Biol.) In the classification of Cohn, one of the four tribes of
||Bacteria.
In this classification bacteria are divided into four tribes: 1.
Spherobacteria, or spherical bacteria, as the genus Micrococcus. 2.
Microbacteria, or bacteria in the form of short rods, including the
genus Bacterium. 3. Desmobacteria, or bacteria in straight filaments,
of which the genus Bacillus is a type. 4. Spirobacteria, or bacteria in
spiral filaments, as the genus Vibrio.
{ Mi"crobe (?), ||Mi*cro"bi*on (?), } n. [NL. microbion, fr. Gr. &?;
little + &?; life.] (Biol.) A microscopic organism; -- particularly
applied to bacteria and especially to pathogenic forms; as, the microbe
of fowl cholera.
Mi*cro"bi*an (?), a. (Biol.) Of, pertaining to, or caused by, microbes;
as, the microbian theory; a microbian disease.
Mi*crob"ic (?), a. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to a microbe.
Mi*crob"i*cide (?), n. [Microbe + L. caedere to kill.] (Biol.) Any
agent detrimental to, or destructive of, the life of microbes or
bacterial organisms.
{ Mi`cro*ce*phal"ic (?), Mi`cro*ceph"a*lous (?), } a. [Micro- +
cephalic, cephalous.] (Anat.) Having a small head; having the cranial
cavity small; -- opposed to megacephalic.
Mi`cro-chem"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to micro-chemistry; as, a
micro-chemical test.
Mi`cro-chem"is*try (?), n. [Micro- + chemistry.] The application of
chemical tests to minute objects or portions of matter, magnified by
the use of the microscopy; -- distinguished from macro-chemistry.
Mi`cro*chro*nom"e*ter (?), n. A chronoscope.
Mi"cro*cline (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; to incline.] (Min.) A mineral of
the feldspar group, like orthoclase or common feldspar in composition,
but triclinic in form.
Mi`cro*coc"cal (?), a. Of or pertaining to micrococci; caused by
micrococci. Nature.
||Mi`cro*coc"cus (?), n.; pl. Micrococci (#). [NL. See Micro-, and
||Coccus.] (Biol.) A genus of Spherobacteria, in the form of very small
||globular or oval cells, forming, by transverse division, filaments,
||or chains of cells, or in some cases single organisms shaped like
||dumb-bells (Diplococcus), all without the power of motion. See
||Illust. of Ascoccus.
Physiologically, micrococci are divided into three groups; chromogenic,
characterized by their power of forming pigment; zymogenic, including
those associated with definite chemical processes; and pathogenic,
those connected with disease.
Mi"cro*cosm (?), n. [F. microcosme, L. microcosmus, fr. Gr. mikro`s
small + ko`smos the world.] A little world; a miniature universe. Hence
(so called by Paracelsus), a man, as a supposed epitome of the exterior
universe or great world. Opposed to macrocosm. Shak.
{ Mi`cro*cos"mic (?), Mi`cro*cos"mic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F.
microcosmique.] Of or pertaining to the microcosm.
Microcosmic salt (Chem.), a white crystalline substance obtained by
mixing solutions of sodium phosphate and ammonium phosphate, and also
called hydric-sodic- ammonic-phosphate. It is a powerful flux, and is
used as a substitute for borax as a blowpipe reagent in testing for the
metallic oxides. Originally obtained by the alchemists from human
urine, and called sal microcosmicum.
Mi`cro*cos*mog"ra*phy (?), n. [Microcosm + -graphy.] Description of man
as a microcosm.
Mi`cro*cou`lomb" (?), n. [Micro- + coulomb.] (Elec.) A measure of
electrical quantity; the millionth part of one coulomb.
Mi`cro*cous"tic (?), a. [Micro- + acoustic: cf. F. microcoustique,
micracoustique.] Pertaining, or suited, to the audition of small
sounds; fitted to assist hearing.
Mi`cro*cous"tic, n. An instrument for making faint sounds audible, as
to a partially deaf person.
Mi`cro*crith" (?), n. [Micro- + crith.] (Chem.) The weight of the half
hydrogen molecule, or of the hydrogen atom, taken as the standard in
comparing the atomic weights of the elements; thus, an atom of oxygen
weighs sixteen microcriths. See Crith. J. P. Cooke.
Mi`cro*crys"tal*line (?), a. [Micro- + crystalline.] (Crystallog.)
Crystalline on a fine, or microscopic, scale; consisting of fine
crystals; as, the ground mass of certain porphyrics is
microcrystalline.
Mi"cro*cyte (?), n. [Micro- + Gr. &?; a hollow vessel.] (Physiol.) One
of the elementary granules found in blood. They are much smaller than
an ordinary corpuscle, and are particularly noticeable in disease, as
in anæmia.
Mic"ro*dont (?), a. [Micr- + Gr. 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos, a tooth.] (Anat.)
Having small teeth.
Mi`cro*far"ad (?), n. [Micro- + farad.] (Elec.) The millionth part of a
farad.
Mi"cro*form (?), n. [Micro- + form, n.] (Biol.) A microscopic form of
life; an animal or vegetable organism of microscopic size.
Mi`cro-ge`o*log"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to micro-geology.
Mi`cro-ge*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Micro- + geology.] The part of geology
relating to structure and organisms which require to be studied with a
microscope.
Mi"cro*graph (?), n. [See Micrography.] An instrument for executing
minute writing or engraving.
Mi`cro*graph"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to micrography.
Mi*crog"ra*phy (?), n. [Micro- + -graphy: cf. F. micrographie.] The
description of microscopic objects.
Mi*crohm" (?), n. [Micr- + ohm.] (Elec.) The millionth part of an ohm.
||Mi`cro*lep`i*dop"te*ra (?), n. pl. [NL. See Micro-, and Lepidoptera.]
||(Zoöl.) A tribe of Lepidoptera, including a vast number of minute
||species, as the plume moth, clothes moth, etc.
||Mi`cro*les"tes (?), n. [NL., from Gr. mikro`s small + &?; a robber.]
||(Paleon.) An extinct genus of small Triassic mammals, the oldest yet
||found in European strata.