Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter M - Page 51
Minority (n.) State of being less or small. [Obs.] -- Sir T. Browne.
Minority (n.) The smaller number; -- opposed to majority; as, the minority must be ruled by the majority.
Minority (n.) Those members of a legislature that belong to the political party which is in the minority in that institution; as, the bill will pass even if the minority are strongly opposed.
Minority (n.) A group of people who differ racially or politically from a larger group of which it is a part.
Minority (n.) Being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts; "when the vote was taken they were in the minority"; "he held a minority position" [ant: bulk, majority].
Minority (n.) Any age prior to the legal age [syn: minority, nonage] [ant: legal age, majority].
Minority, () The state or condition of a minor; infancy. In another sense, it signifies the lesser number of votes of a deliberative assembly; opposed to majority. (q.v.)
Minos (n.) A king and lawgiver of Crete, fabled to be the son of Jupiter and Europa. After death he was made a judge in the Lower Regions.
Minotaur (n.) A fabled monster, half man and half bull, confined in the labyrinth constructed by Daedalus in Crete.
Minow (n.) See Minnow.
Minster (n.) 修道院附屬的教堂，大教堂 A church of a monastery. The name is often retained and applied to the church after the monastery has ceased to exist (as Beverly Minster, Southwell Minster, etc.), and is also improperly used for any large church.
Minster (n.) [ C ] 大教堂 Used in Britain in the name of a large or important church.
// York Minster.
Compare: Monastery
Monastery (n.) [ C ] 修道院；寺院；隱修院 A building in which monks live and worship.
Compare: Convent
Convent (n.) [ C ] 女修道院 A building in which nuns (= members of a female religious order) live.
Idiom:
Enter a convent 當修女 To become a nun.
Compare: Nunnery
Nunnery (n.) [ C ] (Literary) 女修道院 A convent.
Minstrel (n.) [C] （中世紀的）吟遊詩人；（滑稽歌舞表演的）藝人 In the Middle Ages, one of an order of men who subsisted by the arts of poetry and music, and sang verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other instrument; in modern times, a poet; a bard; a singer and harper; a musician.
Minstrelsy (n.) 吟遊詩人的演藝 The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
Minstrelsy (n.) Musical instruments. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Minstrelsy (n.) （總稱）吟遊詩人 A collective body of minstrels, or musicians; also, a collective body of minstrels' songs. -- Chaucer. "The minstrelsy of heaven." -- Milton.
Minstrelsy (n.) A troupe of minstrels.
Minstrelsy (n.) Ballads sung by minstrels.
Minstrelsy (n.) The art of a minstrel.
Mint (n.) 薄荷，造幣廠，巨額 The name of several aromatic labiate plants, mostly of the genus Mentha, yielding odoriferous essential oils by distillation. See Mentha.
Mint (n.) A place where money is coined by public authority.
Mint (n.) Any place regarded as a source of unlimited supply; the supply itself.
Minted (imp. & p. p.) of Mint.
Minting (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Mint.
Mint (v. t.) 鑄造，鑄幣，偽造 To make by stamping, as money; to coin; to make and stamp into money.
Mint (v. t.) To invent; to forge; to fabricate; to fashion.
Mintage (n.) 造幣，鑄幣材料，鑄造貨幣 The coin, or other production, made in a mint.
Mintage (n.) The duty paid to the mint for coining.
Minter (n.) One who mints.
Mintmen (n. pl. ) of Mintman
Mintman (n.) 造幣者 One skilled in coining, or in coins; a coiner.
Mintman (n.) (pl. Mintmen) 造幣者 A male worker in a mint, producing coins.
Mint-master (n.) 造幣廠廠長 The master or superintendent of a mint. Also used figuratively.
Compare: Superintendent
Superintendent (n.) [ C ] 主管，負責人；（大樓的）看管人 A person who is in charge of work done in a particular department, office, etc., or who is responsible for keeping a building or place in good condition.
// In the US, a school superintendent is in charge of the schools in a particular area.
// We asked the superintendent (also US informal super) to fix the broken window in our apartment.
Compare: Superintendent
Superintendent (n.) [ C ] （英國）警司 ； 警察局長 A British police officer of high rank.
Minuend (n.) (Arith.) In the process of subtraction [2], the number from which another number (the subtrahend) is to be subtracted, to find the difference.
Minuend (n.) The number from which the subtrahend is subtracted
Minuet (n.) A slow graceful dance consisting of a coupee, a high step, and a balance.
Minuet (n.) (Mus.) A tune or air to regulate the movements of the dance so called; a movement in suites, sonatas, symphonies, etc., having the dance form, and commonly in 3-4, sometimes 3-8, measure.
Minuet (n.) A stately court dance in the 17th century.
Minuet (n.) A stately piece of music composed for dancing the minuet; often incorporated into a sonata or suite.
Minuet, () Minnesota Internet Users Essential Tool.
Minum (n.) [Obs.] A small kind of printing type; minion.
Minum (n.) [Obs.] (Mus.) A minim.
Minus (a.) (Math.) Less; requiring to be subtracted; negative; as, a minus quantity.
Minus sign (Math.), the sign [-] denoting minus, or less, prefixed to negative quantities, or quantities to be subtracted. See Negative sign, under Negative.
Minus (n.; pl. minuses) A factor counted as a disadvantage; a loss or potential loss in a situation or plan; as, he added up all the pluses and minuses and decided not to do it; as, the lack of money is a big minus in an election campaign.
Minus (a.) On the negative side or lower end of a scale; "minus 5 degrees"; "a grade of B minus" [ant: plus].
Minus (a.) Involving disadvantage or harm; "minus (or negative) factors" [syn: minus, negative].
Minus (n.) An arithmetic operation in which the difference between two numbers is calculated; "the subtraction of three from four leaves one"; "four minus three equals one" [syn: subtraction, minus].
Minus, () Common: dash; ITU-T: hyphen; ITU-T: minus. Rare: INTERCAL: worm; option; dak; bithorpe.
Minuscule (n.) Any very small, minute object.
Minuscule (n.) A small Roman letter which is neither capital nor uncial; a manuscript written in such letters.
Minuscule (a.) Of or relating to a minuscule [2] or of a script written in minuscule [2]; of the size and style of minuscule [2]; written in minuscule [2]; minuscular.
These minuscule letters are cursive forms of the earlier uncials. -- I. Taylor (The Alphabet).
Minuscule (a.) Of or relating to a small cursive script developed from uncial; 7th to 9th centuries [syn: minuscule, minuscular] [ant: majuscule].
Minuscule (a.) Lowercase; "little a"; "small a"; "e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters" [syn: little, minuscule, small].
Minuscule (a.) Very small; "a minuscule kitchen"; "a minuscule amount of rain fell" [syn: minuscule, miniscule].
Minuscule (n.) The characters that were once kept in bottom half of a compositor's type case [syn: small letter, lowercase, lower-case letter, minuscule] [ant: capital, capital letter, majuscule, upper-case letter, uppercase].
Minuscule (n.) A small cursive script developed from uncial between the 7th and 9th centuries and used in medieval manuscripts.
Minuscule (a.) 微小的，極小的 Extremely small.
// All she gave him to eat was two minuscule pieces of toast.
Minutary (a.) Pertaining to, or consisting of, minutes. [Obs.] -- Fuller.
Minute (n.) [C] 分（鐘）（時間單位）；一會兒，片刻 [S1]；分（角度的單位，一度的六十分之一） The sixtieth part of an hour; sixty seconds. (Abbrev. m.; as, 4 h. 30 m.)
Four minutes, that is to say, minutes of an hour. -- Chaucer.
Minute (n.) The sixtieth part of a degree; sixty seconds (Marked thus ('); as, 10[deg] 20').
Minute (n.) A nautical or a geographic mile.
Minute (n.) A coin; a half farthing. [Obs.] -- Wyclif (Mark xii. 42)
Minute (n.) A very small part of anything, or anything very small; a jot; a tittle. [Obs.]
Minutes and circumstances of his passion. -- Jer. Taylor.
Minute (n.) A point of time; a moment.
I go this minute to attend the king. -- Dryden.
Minute (n.) pl. The memorandum; a record; a note to preserve the memory of anything; as, to take minutes of a contract; to take minutes of a conversation or debate. ; to read the minutes of the last meeting.
Minute (n.) (Arch.) A fixed part of a module. See {Module}.
Note: Different writers take as the minute one twelfth, one eighteenth, one thirtieth, or one sixtieth part of the module.
Minute (a.) 微小的；詳細的 Of or pertaining to a minute or minutes; occurring at or marking successive minutes.
{Minute bell}, A bell tolled at intervals of a minute, as to give notice of a death or a funeral.
{Minute book}, A book in which written minutes are entered.
{Minute glass}, A glass measuring a minute or minutes by the running of sand.
{Minute gun}, A discharge of a cannon repeated every minute as a sign of distress or mourning.
{Minute hand}, The long hand of a watch or clock, which makes the circuit of the dial in an hour, and marks the minutes.
Minute (v. t.) 將……記錄下來 [（+down）]； 將……記入會議記錄 To set down a short sketch or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.
The Empress of Russia, with her own hand, minuted an edict for universal tolerance. -- Bancroft.
Minute (a.) Very small; little; tiny; fine; slight; slender; inconsiderable ; as, minute details. "Minute drops." -- Milton.
Minute (a.) Attentive to small things; paying attention to details; critical; particular; precise; as, a minute observer; minute observation.
Syn: Little; diminutive; fine; critical; exact; circumstantial; particular; detailed.
Usage: {Minute}, {Circumstantial}, {Particular}. A circumstantial account embraces all the leading events; a particular account includes each event and movement, though of but little importance; a minute account goes further still, and omits nothing as to person, time, place, adjuncts, etc.
Minute (a.) Infinitely or immeasurably small; "two minute whiplike threads of protoplasm"; "reduced to a microscopic scale" [syn: {infinitesimal}, {minute}].
Minute (a.) Characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination; "a minute inspection of the grounds"; "a narrow scrutiny"; "an exact and minute report" [syn: {minute}, {narrow}].
Minute (n.) A unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour; "he ran a 4 minute mile" [syn: {minute}, {min}].
Minute (n.) An indefinitely short time; "wait just a moment"; "in a mo"; "it only takes a minute"; "in just a bit" [syn: {moment}, {mo}, {minute}, {second}, {bit}].
Minute (n.) A particular point in time; "the moment he arrived the party began" [syn: {moment}, {minute}, {second}, {instant}].
Minute (n.) A unit of angular distance equal to a 60th of a degree [syn: {minute}, {arcminute}, {minute of arc}].
Minute (n.) A short note; "the secretary keeps the minutes of the meeting."
Minute (n.) Distance measured by the time taken to cover it; "we live an hour from the airport"; "its just 10 minutes away" [syn: {hour}, {minute}].
Minute (n.) Measures. In divisions of the circle or angular measures, a minute is equal to sixty seconds, or one sixtieth part of a degree.
Minute (n.) In the computation of time, a minute is equal to sixty seconds, or the sixtieth part of an hour. Vide Measure.
Minute (n.) Practice. A memorandum of what takes place in court; made by authority of the court. From these minutes the record is afterwards made up.
Minute (n.) Toullier says, they are so called because the writing in which they were originally, was small, that the word is derived, from the Latin minuta, (scriptura) in opposition to copies which were delivered to the parties, and which were always written in a larger hand. 8 Toull. n. 413.
Minute (n.) Minutes are not considered as any part of the record. 1 Ohio R. 268. See 23 Pick. R. 184.
Minute-jack (n.) A figure which strikes the hour on the bell of some fanciful clocks; -- called also jack of the clock house.
Minute-jack (n.) A timeserver; an inconstant person.
Minutely (adv.) In a minute manner; with minuteness; exactly; nicely.
Minutely (a.) Happening every minute; continuing; unceasing.
Minutely (adv.) At intervals of a minute; very often and regularly.
Minutemen (n. pl. ) of Minuteman.
Minuteman (n.) A militiaman who was to be ready to march at a moment's notice; -- a term used in the American Revolution.
Minuteman (n.) An American militiaman prior to and during the American Revolution.
Minuteman (n.) A strategic weapon system using a guided missile of intercontinental range; missiles are equipped with nuclear warheads and dispersed in hardened silos.
Minuteness (n.) The quality of being minute.
Minuteness (n.) The property of being very small in size; "hence the minuteness of detail in the painting" [syn: diminutiveness, minuteness, petiteness, tininess, weeness].
Minuteness (n.) Great precision; painstaking attention to details; "he examined the essay with the greatest minuteness."
Minutiae (n. pl. ) of Minutia.
Minutia (n.) A minute particular; a small or minor detail; -- used chiefly in the plural.
Minutia (n.) A small or minor detail; "he had memorized the many minutiae of the legal code."
Compare: Mink
Mink (n.) (Zool.) A carnivorous mammal of the genus Mustela (foremrly Putorius), allied to the weasel. The European mink is Mustela lutreola. The common American mink ({Mustela vison) varies from yellowish brown to black.
Its fur is highly valued. Called also minx, nurik, and vison.
Mink (n.) The fur of the mink[1]. Together with sable, it is one of the most expensive furs not taken from endangerd species.
When the fur is taken from animals grown on a farm, it called ranch mink.
Minx (n.) A pert or a wanton girl. -- Shak.
Minx (n.) A she puppy; a pet dog. [Obs.] -- Udall.
Minx (n.) (Zool.) The mink; -- called also minx otter. [Obs.]
Minx (n.) A seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to exploit men [syn: coquette, flirt, vamp, vamper, minx, tease, prickteaser].
MINX, () Multimedia Information Network eXchange.
Miny (a.) Abounding with mines; like a mine. "Miny caverns." -- Thomson.
Miocene (a.) (Geol.) (n. & a.) 【地】第三紀中新世（的） Of or pertaining to the middle division of the Tertiary. -- n. The Miocene period. See {Chart} of {Geology}.
Miocene (n.) The Miocene period. See {Chart} of {Geology}.
Miocene (n.) From 25 million to 13 million years ago; appearance of grazing mammals [syn: {Miocene}, {Miocene epoch}].
Miohippus (n.) An extinct Miocene mammal of the Horse family, closely related to the genus Anhithecrium, and having three usable hoofs on each foot.
Miquelet (n.) An irregular or partisan soldier; a bandit.
Mir (n.) A Russian village community.
Mir (n.) Same as Emir.
MIRA (Acronym) MILAN Infra-Red Acquisition (thermal sight).
Mira (n.) A remarkable variable star in the constellation Cetus ({[omicron] Ceti}).
Mirabilaries (n. pl. ) of Mirabilary.
Mirabilary (n.) One who, or a work which, narrates wonderful things; one who writes of wonders.
Mirabilis (n.) A genus of plants. See Four-o'clock.
Mirabilite (n.) Native sodium sulphate; Glauber's salt.
Mirable (a.) Wonderful; admirable.
Miracle (v. t.) To make wonderful. [Obs.] -- Shak.
Miracle (n.) [C] 奇蹟；奇蹟般的人（或物）；驚人的事例 [（+of）] A wonder or wonderful thing.
That miracle and queen of genus. -- Shak.
Miracle (n.) Specifically: An event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event, or one transcending the ordinary laws by which the universe is governed.
They considered not the miracle of the loaves. -- Mark vi. 52.
Miracle (n.) A miracle play.
Miracle (n.) A story or legend abounding in miracles. [Obs.]
When said was all this miracle. -- Chaucer.
Miracle monger, An impostor who pretends to work miracles.
Miracle play, One of the old dramatic entertainments founded on legends of saints and martyrs or (see 2d Mystery, 2) on events related in the Bible.
Miracle (n.) Any amazing or wonderful occurrence.
Miracle (n.) A marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent.
Miracle, () An event in the external world brought about by the immediate agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use of means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed to authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and the truth of his message (John 2:18; Matt. 12:38). It is an occurrence at once above nature and above man. It shows the intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a supernatural power.
"The suspension or violation of the laws of nature involved in miracles is nothing more than is constantly taking place around us. One force counteracts another: vital force keeps the chemical laws of matter in abeyance; and muscular force can control the action of physical force. When a man raises a weight from the ground, the law of gravity is neither suspended nor violated, but counteracted by a stronger force. The same is true as to the walking of Christ on the water and the swimming of iron at the command of the prophet. The simple and grand truth that the universe is not under the exclusive control of physical forces, but that everywhere and always there is above, separate from and superior to all else, an infinite personal will, not superseding, but directing and controlling all physical causes, acting with or without them." God ordinarily effects his purpose through the agency of second causes; but he has the power also of effecting his purpose immediately and without the intervention of second causes, i.e., of invading the fixed order, and thus of working miracles. Thus we affirm the possibility of miracles, the possibility of a higher hand intervening to control or reverse nature's ordinary movements.
In the New Testament these four Greek words are principally used to designate miracles: (1.) Semeion, a "sign", i.e., an evidence of a divine commission; an attestation of a divine message (Matt. 12:38, 39; 16:1, 4; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; 23:8; John 2:11, 18, 23; Acts 6:8, etc.); a token of the presence and working of God; the seal of a higher power.
Miracle, () Terata, "wonders;" wonder-causing events; portents; producing astonishment in the beholder (Acts 2:19).
Miracle, () Dunameis, "might works;" works of superhuman power (Acts 2:22; Rom. 15:19; 2 Thess. 2:9); of a new and higher power.
Miracle, () Erga, "works;" the works of Him who is "wonderful in working" (John 5:20, 36).
Miracles are seals of a divine mission. The sacred writers appealed to them as proofs that they were messengers of God. Our Lord also appealed to miracles as a conclusive p oof of his divine mission (John 5:20, 36; 10:25, 38). Thus, being out of the common course of nature and beyond the power of man, they are fitted to convey the impression of the presence and power of God. Where miracles are there certainly God is. The man, therefore, who works a miracle affords thereby clear proof that he comes with the authority of God; they are his credentials that he is God's messenger. The teacher points to these credentials, and they are a proof that he speaks with the authority of God. He boldly says, "God bears me witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles."
The credibility of miracles is established by the evidence of the senses on the part of those who are witnesses of them, and to all others by the testimony of such witnesses. The witnesses were competent, and their testimony is trustworthy. Unbelievers, following Hume, deny that any testimony can prove a miracle, because they say miracles are impossible. We have shown that miracles are possible, and surely they can be borne witness to.
Surely they are credible when we have abundant and trustworthy evidence of their occurrence. They are credible just as any facts of history well authenticated are credible. Miracles, it is said, are contrary to experience. Of course they are contrary to our experience, but that does not prove that they were contrary to the experience of those who witnessed them. We believe a thousand facts, both of history and of science, that are contrary to our experience, but we believe them on the ground of competent testimony. An atheist or a pantheist must, as a matter of course, deny the possibility of miracles; but to one who believes in a personal God, who in his wisdom may see fit to interfere with the ordinary processes of nature, miracles are not impossible, nor are they incredible. (See LIST OF MIRACLES, Appendix.)
Miracle (n.) An act or event out of the order of nature and unaccountable, as beating a normal hand of four kings and an ace with four aces and a king.
Miracle (n.) [ C ] (B2) 奇跡；奇事，令人驚歎的事 An unusual and mysterious event that is thought to have been caused by a god because it does not follow the usual laws of nature.
// Jesus Christ was said to have performed miracles like turning water into wine.
Idiom: Perform/ work miracles/ a miracle
Perform/ work miracles/ a miracle (Informal) 創造奇跡；有奇效 To be extremely effective in improving a situation.
// You've performed a miracle in this kitchen -- I've never seen it so clean!
Miraculize (v. t.) To cause to seem to be a miracle. [R.] -- Shaftesbury.
Miraculous (a.) 神奇的；超自然的；奇蹟般的；驚人的；能創造奇蹟的 Of the nature of a miracle; performed by supernatural power; effected by the direct agency of almighty power, and not by natural causes.
Miraculous (a.) Supernatural; wonderful.
Miraculous (a.) Wonder-working. "The miraculous harp." -- Shak. -- {Mi*rac"u*lous*ly}, adv. -- {Mi*rac"u*lous*ness}, n.
Miraculous (a.) Being or having the character of a miracle [syn: {marvelous}, {marvellous}, {miraculous}].
Miraculous (a.) Peculiarly fortunate or appropriate; as if by divine intervention; "a heaven-sent rain saved the crops"; "a providential recovery" [syn: {heaven-sent}, {providential}, {miraculous}].
Mirador (n.) Same as Belvedere.
Mirage (n.) 海市蜃樓，霧氣，妄想 An optical effect, sometimes seen on the ocean, but more frequently in deserts, due to total reflection of light at the surface common to two strata of air differently heated. The reflected image is seen, commonly in an inverted position, while the real object may or may not be in sight. When the surface is horizontal, and below the eye, the appearance is that of a sheet of water in which the object is seen reflected; when the reflecting surface is above the eye, the image is seen projected against the sky. The fata Morgana and looming are species of mirage.
Mirbane (n.) See Nitrobenzene.
Mire (n.) An ant. [Obs.] See {Pismire}.
Compare: Pismire
Pismire (n.) (Archaic) 螞蟻 An ant.
Mire (n.) 泥沼，泥濘 Deep mud; wet, spongy earth.
Mired (imp. & p. p.) of Mire.
Miring (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Mire.
Mire (v. t.) 使陷於泥濘，使陷入困境 To cause or permit to stick fast in mire; to plunge or fix in mud; as, to mire a horse or wagon.
Mire (v. t.) To soil with mud or foul matter.
Mire (v. i.) 掉進泥坑 To stick in mire.
Mirific (a.) Alt. of Mirifical.
Mirifical (a.) Working wonders; wonderful.
Mirificent (a.) Wonderful. [Obs.]
Miriness (n.) The quality of being miry.
Mirk (a.) Dark; gloomy; murky. -- Spenser. Mrs. Browning.
Mirk (n.) Darkness; gloom; murk. "In mirk and mire." -- Longfellow.
Mirksome (a.) Dark; gloomy; murky. [Archaic] --Spenser. -- Mirk"some*ness, n. [Archaic]
Mirky (a.) Dark; gloomy. See Murky.
Mirky (a.) (Of liquids) Clouded as with sediment; "a cloudy liquid"; "muddy coffee"; "murky waters" [syn: cloudy, muddy, mirky, murky, turbid].
Mirky (a.) Dark or gloomy; "a murky dungeon"; "murky rooms lit by smoke-blackened lamps" [syn: murky, mirky]
Mirror (n.) A looking-glass or a speculum; any glass or polished substance that forms images by the reflection of rays of light.
And in her hand she held a mirror bright, Wherein her face she often view[`e]d fair. -- Spenser.
Mirror (n.) That which gives a true representation, or in which a true image may be seen; hence, a pattern; an exemplar.
She is mirour of all courtesy. -- Chaucer.
O goddess, heavenly bright, Mirror of grace and majesty divine. -- Spenser.