Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter M - Page 1
M () M, the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal consonant, and from the manner of its formation, is called the labio-nasal consonant. See Guide to Pronunciation, 178-180, 242.
Note: The letter M came into English from the Greek, through the Latin, the form of the Greek letter being further derived from the Ph[oe]nician, and ultimately, it is believed, from the Egyptian. Etymologically M is related to n, in lime, linden; emmet, ant; also to b.
M, () Is readily followed by b and p. the position of the lips in the formation of both letters being the same. The relation of b and m is the same as that of d and t to n. and that of g and k to ng.
M () As a numeral, M stands for one thousand, both in English and Latin.
M (a.) Denoting a quantity consisting of 1,000 items or units [syn: thousand, one thousand, 1000, m, k].
M (n.) The basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards) [syn: meter, metre, m].
M (n.) Concentration measured by the number of moles of solute per liter of solution [syn: molarity, molar concentration, M].
M (n.) The cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100 [syn: thousand, one thousand, 1000, M, K, chiliad, G, grand, thou, yard].
M (n.) A unit of information equal to 1000 kilobytes or 10^6 (1,000,000) bytes [syn: megabyte, M, MB].
M (n.) A unit of information equal to 1024 kibibytes or 2^20 (1,048,576) bytes [syn: megabyte, mebibyte, M, MB, MiB].
M (n.) The 13th letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: M, m].
M, (pref.) [SI] See quantifiers.
M, () Alternative name for MUMPS.
M, () A C-like language from Silicon Compiler Systems for multilevel hardware description. It is currently available in the GDT package from Mentor Graphics. [{Jargon File] (1994-10-26)
M, () The abbreviated for of mega-. (1995-01-10)
M. () When persons were convicted of manslaughter in England, they were formerly marked with this letter on the brawn of the thumb.
M. () This letter is sometimes put on the face of treasury notes of the United States, and signifies that the treasury note bears interest at the rate of one mill per centum, and not one per centum interest. 13 Peters, 176.
M (n.) (Print.) A quadrat, the face or top of which is a perfect square; also, the size of such a square in any given size of type, used as the unit of measurement for that type: 500 m's of pica would be a piece of matter whose length and breadth in pica m's multiplied together produce that number. [Written also em.]
M (n.) (Law) A brand or stigma, having the shape of an M, formerly impressed on one convicted of manslaughter and admitted to the benefit of clergy.
M roof (Arch.), A kind of roof formed by the junction of two common roofs with a valley between them, so that the section resembles the letter M.
Ma (n.) A child's word for mother.
Ma (n.) [Hind.] In Oriental countries, a respectful form of address given to a woman; mother. -- Balfour (Cyc. of India).
Ma (conj.) [It.] (Mus.) But; -- used in cautionary phrases; as, "Vivace, ma non troppo presto" (i. e., lively, but not too quick). -- Moore (Encyc. of Music).
Ma (n.) Informal terms for a mother [syn: ma, mama, mamma, mom, momma, mommy, mammy, mum, mummy].
Ma (n.) A master's degree in arts and sciences [syn: Master of Arts, MA, Artium Magister, AM]
Ma (n.) One thousandth of an ampere [syn: milliampere, mA].
Ma (n.) A state in New England; one of the original 13 colonies [syn: Massachusetts, Bay State, Old Colony, MA]
Ma, () The country code for Morocco. (1999-01-27)
Maa (n.) (Zool.) The common European gull ({Larus canus); -- called also mar. See New, a gull.
Mew (n.) (Zool.) A gull, esp. the common British species ({Larus canus); called also sea mew, maa, mar, mow, and cobb.
Maad (obs. p. p. of Make.) Made. -- Chaucer.
Maalin (n.) (Zool.) The sparrow hawk.
Maalin (n.) (Zool.) The kestrel.
Ma'am (n.) Madam; my lady; -- a colloquial contraction of madam often used in direct address, and sometimes as an appellation.
Syn: dame, madam, madame, lady, gentlewoman.
Maara shell () (Zool.) A large, pearly, spiral, marine shell ({Turbo margaritaceus), from the Pacific Islands. It is used as an ornament.
Maasha (n.) An East Indian coin, of about one tenth of the weight of a rupee.
Maat (a.) Dejected; sorrowful; downcast. [Obs.] "So piteous and so maat." -- Chaucer.
Mab (n.) A slattern. [Prov. Eng.]
Mab (n.) [capitalized] The name of a female fairy, esp. the queen of the fairies; and hence, sometimes, any fairy. -- Shak.
Mabble (v. t.) To wrap up. [Obs.]
Mabby (n.) A spirituous liquor or drink distilled from potatoes; -- used in the Barbadoes.
Mabolo (n.) A kind of persimmon tree (Diospyros discolor) from the Philippine Islands, now introduced into the East and West Indies. It bears an edible fruit as large as a quince.
Mac () A prefix, in names of Scotch origin, signifying son.
Macabre (a.) （與死亡或暴力有關而）恐怖的，可怕的，令人毛骨悚然的 Used to describe something that is very strange and unpleasant because it is connected with death or violence.
// Even the police were horrified at the macabre nature of the killings.
// She has a pretty macabre sense of humour.
Macaco (n.) Any one of several species of lemurs, as the ruffed lemur (Lemur macaco), and the ring-tailed lemur (L. catta).
Macacus (n.) A genus of monkeys, found in Asia and the East Indies. They have short tails and prominent eyebrows.
Macadamization (n.) The process or act of macadamizing.
Macadamized (imp. & p. p.) of Macadamize.
Macadamizing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Macadamize.
Macadamize (v. t.) To cover, as a road, or street, with small, broken stones, so as to form a smooth, hard, convex surface.
Maoadam road () A macadamized road.
Macao (n.) A macaw.
Macaque (n.) Any one of several species of short-tailed monkeys of the genus Macacus; as, M. maurus, the moor macaque of the East Indies.
Macaranga gum () A gum of a crimson color, obtained from a tree (Macaranga Indica) that grows in the East Indies. It is used in taking impressions of coins, medallions, etc., and sometimes as a medicine.
Macarize (v. t.) To congratulate.
Macaronis (n. pl. ) of Macaroni.
Macaronies (n. pl. ) of Macaroni.
Macaroni (n.) Long slender tubes made of a paste chiefly of wheat flour, and used as an article of food; Italian or Genoese paste.
Macaroni (n.) A medley; something droll or extravagant.
Macaroni (n.) A sort of droll or fool.
Macaroni (n.) A finical person; a fop; -- applied especially to English fops of about 1775.
Macaroni (n.) The designation of a body of Maryland soldiers in the Revolutionary War, distinguished by a rich uniform.
Macaronian (a.) Alt. of Macaronic.
Macaronic (a.) Pertaining to, or like, macaroni (originally a dish of mixed food); hence, mixed; confused; jumbled.
Macaronic (a.) Of or pertaining to the burlesque composition called macaronic; as, macaronic poetry.
Macaronic (n.) A heap of thing confusedly mixed together; a jumble.
Macaronic (n.) A kind of burlesque composition, in which the vernacular words of one or more modern languages are intermixed with genuine Latin words, and with hybrid formed by adding Latin terminations to other roots.
Macaroon (n.) A small cake, composed chiefly of the white of eggs, almonds, and sugar.
Macaroon (n.) A finical fellow, or macaroni.
Macartney (n.) A fire-backed pheasant. See Fireback.
Macassar oil () A kind of oil formerly used in dressing the hair; -- so called because originally obtained from Macassar, a district of the Island of Celebes. Also, an imitation of the same, of perfumed castor oil and olive oil.
Macauco (n.) Any one of several species of small lemurs, as Lemur murinus, which resembles a rat in size.
Macavahu (n.) A small Brazilian monkey (Callithrix torquatus), -- called also collared teetee.
Macaw (n.) Any parrot of the genus Sittace, or Macrocercus. About eighteen species are known, all of them American. They are large and have a very long tail, a strong hooked bill, and a naked space around the eyes. The voice is harsh, and the colors are brilliant and strongly contrasted.
Maccabean (a.) Of or pertaining to Judas Maccabeus or to the Maccabees; as, the Maccabean princes; Maccabean times.
Maccabees (n. pl.) The name given later times to the Asmonaeans, a family of Jewish patriots, who headed a religious revolt in the reign of Antiochus IV., 168-161 B. C., which led to a period of freedom for Israel.
Maccabees (n. pl.) The name of two ancient historical books, which give accounts of Jewish affairs in or about the time of the Maccabean princes, and which are received as canonical books in the Roman Catholic Church, but are included in the Apocrypha by Protestants. Also applied to three books, two of which are found in some MSS. of the Septuagint.
Maccaboy (n.) Alt. of Maccoboy.
Maccoboy (n.) A kind of snuff.
Macco (n.) A gambling game in vogue in the eighteenth century.
Mace (n.) A money of account in China equal to one tenth of a tael; also, a weight of 57.98 grains.
Mace (n.) A kind of spice; the aril which partly covers nutmegs. See Nutmeg.
Mace (n.) A heavy staff or club of metal; a spiked club; -- used as weapon in war before the general use of firearms, especially in the Middle Ages, for breaking metal armor.
Mace (n.) A staff borne by, or carried before, a magistrate as an ensign of his authority.
Mace (n.) An officer who carries a mace as an emblem of authority.
Mace (n.) A knobbed mallet used by curriers in dressing leather to make it supple.
Mace (n.) A rod for playing billiards, having one end suited to resting on the table and pushed with one hand.
Republic of Macedonia (n.) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Macedonia officially the Republic of Macedonia 馬其頓共和國 is a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but, as a result of an ongoing dispute with Greece over the use of the name "Macedonia", was admitted under the provisional description the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia [10] [11] (sometimes abbreviated as FYROM and FYR Macedonia), a term that is also used by international organizations such as the European Union,[12] the Council of Europe [13] and NATO [14]
A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia has borders with Kosovo[a] to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. [15] It constitutes approximately the northwestern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises the neighbouring parts of northern Greece and smaller portions of southwestern Bulgaria and southeastern Albania. The country's geography is defined primarily by mountains, valleys, and rivers. The capital and largest city, Skopje, is home to roughly a quarter of the nation's 2.06 million inhabitants. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25 percent, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, and others.
Macedonia's history dates back to antiquity, beginning with the kingdom of Paeonia, a Thracian polity. In the late sixth century BCE the area was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire, then annexed by the Kingdom of Macedonia in the fourth century BCE. The Romans conquered the region in the second century BCE and made it part of the much larger province of Macedonia. Macedonia remained part of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, and was often raided and settled by Slavic peoples beginning in the sixth century CE. Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian and Byzantine empires, it gradually came under Ottoman dominion from the 14th century. Between the late 19th and early 20th century, a distinct Macedonian identity emerged, although following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, the modern territory of Macedonia came under Serbian rule. In the aftermath of the First World War (1914–1918) it became incorporated into the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which after the Second World War was re-established as a republic (1945) and which became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963. Macedonia remained a constituent socialist republic within Yugoslavia until its peaceful secession in 1991.
Macedonia is a member of the UN and of the Council of Europe. Since 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership. Although one of the poorest countries in Europe, Macedonia has made significant progress in developing an open, market based economy.
Macedonian (a.) Belonging, or relating, to Macedonia.
Macedonian (n.) A native or inhabitant of Macedonia.
Macedonian (n.) One of a certain religious sect, followers of Macedonius, Bishop of Constantinople, in the fourth century, who held that the Holy Ghost was a creature, like the angels, and a servant of the Father and the Son.
Macedonianism (n.) The doctrines of Macedonius.
Macer (n.) A mace bearer; an officer of a court.
Macerated (imp. & p. p.) of Macerate.
Macerating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Macerate.
Macerate (v. t.) To make lean; to cause to waste away.
Macerate (v. t.) To subdue the appetites of by poor and scanty diet; to mortify.
Macerate (v. t.) To soften by steeping in a liquid, with or without heat; to wear away or separate the parts of by steeping; as, to macerate animal or vegetable fiber.
Macerater (n.) One who, or that which, macerates; an apparatus for converting paper or fibrous matter into pulp.
Maceration (n.) The act or process of macerating.
MacGuffin (n.) An object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance.
MacGyver (v. t.) To MacGyver something is to make, form, or repair it with materials that are conveniently on hand.
Machaerodus (n.) Alt. of Machairodus.
Machairodus (n.) A genus of extinct mammals allied to the cats, and having in the upper jaw canine teeth of remarkable size and strength; -- hence called saber-toothed tigers.
Machete (n.) A large heavy knife resembling a broadsword, often two or three feet in length, -- used by the inhabitants of Spanish America as a hatchet to cut their way through thickets, and for various other purposes.
Machiavelian (a.) Of or pertaining to Machiavel, or to his supposed principles; politically cunning; characterized by duplicity or bad faith; crafty.
Machiavelian (n.) One who adopts the principles of Machiavel; a cunning and unprincipled politician.
Machiavelism (n.) Alt. of Machiavelianism
Machiavelianism (n.) The supposed principles of Machiavel, or practice in conformity to them; political artifice, intended to favor arbitrary power.
Machicolated (a.) Having machicolations.
Machicolation (n.) An opening between the corbels which support a projecting parapet, or in the floor of a gallery or the roof of a portal, shooting or dropping missiles upen assailants attacking the base of the walls. Also, the construction of such defenses, in general, when of this character. See Illusts. of Battlement and Castle.
Machicolation (n.) The act of discharging missiles or pouring burning or melted substances upon assailants through such apertures.
Machicoulis (n.) Same as Machicolation.
Machinal (a.) Of or pertaining to machines.
Machinated (imp. & p. p.) of Machinate.
Machinating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Machinate.
Machinate (v. i.) To plan; to contrive; esp., to form a scheme with the purpose of doing harm; to contrive artfully; to plot. "How long will you machinate!" -- Sandys.
Machinate (v. t.) To contrive, as a plot; to plot; as, to machinate evil.
Machinate (v.) Arrange by systematic planning and united effort; "machinate a plot"; "organize a strike"; "devise a plan to take over the director's office" [syn: organize, organise, prepare, devise, get up, machinate].
Machinate (v.) Engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together; "They conspired to overthrow the government" [syn: conspire, cabal, complot, conjure, machinate].
Machination (n.) The act of machinating. -- Shak.
Machination (n.) That which is devised; a device; a hostile or treacherous scheme; an artful design or plot.
Devilish machinations come to naught. -- Milton.
His ingenious machinations had failed. -- Macaulay.
Machination (n.) A crafty and involved plot to achieve your (usually sinister) ends [syn: intrigue, machination].
Machination, () The act by which some plot or conspiracy is set on foot.
Machination (n.) The method employed by one's opponents in baffling one's open and honorable efforts to do the right thing.
So plain the advantages of machination It constitutes a moral obligation, And honest wolves who think upon't with loathing Feel bound to don the sheep's deceptive clothing. So prospers still the diplomatic art, And Satan bows, with hand upon his heart.
Machinator (n.) [L.] One who machinates, or forms a scheme with evil designs; a plotter or artful schemer. -- Glanvill. Sir W. Scott.
Machinator (n.) A member of a conspiracy [syn: conspirator, coconspirator, plotter, machinator].
Machine (n.) 機器，機械裝置，機構,設計，機械般工作的人 In general, any combination of bodies so connected that their relative motions are constrained, and by means of which force and motion may be transmitted and modified, as a screw and its nut, or a lever arranged to turn about a fulcrum or a pulley about its pivot, etc.; especially, a construction, more or less complex, consisting of a combination of moving parts, or simple mechanical elements, as wheels, levers, cams, etc., with their supports and connecting framework, calculated to constitute a prime mover, or to receive force and motion from a prime mover or from another machine, and transmit, modify, and apply them to the production of some desired mechanical effect or work, as weaving by a loom, or the excitation of electricity by an electrical machine.
Machine (n.) Any mechanical contrivance, as the wooden horse with which the Greeks entered Troy; a coach; a bicycle.
Machine (n.) A person who acts mechanically or at will of another.
Machine (n.) A combination of persons acting together for a common purpose, with the agencies which they use; as, the social machine.
Machine (n.) A political organization arranged and controlled by one or more leaders for selfish, private or partisan ends.