Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter M - Page 6
Mahumetan (n.) Alt. of Mahumetanism.
Mahumetanism (n.) See Mohammedan, Mohammedanism.
Mahwa tree () (Bot.) An East Indian sapotaceous tree ({Bassia latifolia, and also Bassia butyracea), whose timber is used for wagon wheels, and the flowers for food and in preparing an intoxicating drink. It is one of the butter trees. The oil, known as mahwa and yallah, is obtained from the kernels of the fruit.
Maia (n.) A genus of spider crabs, including the common European species ({Maia squinado).
Maia (n.) A beautiful American bombycid moth ({Eucronia maia).
Maia (n.) Type genus of the Majidae; nearly cosmopolitan in distribution [syn: Maja, genus Maja, Maia, genus Maia].
Maian (n.) (Zool.) Any spider crab of the genus Maia, or family Maiadae.
Maid (n.) An unmarried woman; usually, a young unmarried woman; esp., a girl; a virgin; a maiden.
Would I had died a maid, And never seen thee, never borne thee son. -- Shak.
Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me. -- Jer. ii. 32.
Maid (n.) A man who has not had sexual intercourse. [Obs.]
Christ was a maid and shapen as a man. -- Chaucer.
Maid (n.) A female servant.
Spinning amongst her maids. -- Shak.
Note: Maid is used either adjectively or in composition, signifying female, as in maid child, maidservant.
Maid (n.) (Zool.) The female of a ray or skate, esp. of the gray skate ({Raia batis), and of the thornback ({Raia clavata). [Prov. Eng.]
Fair maid. (Zool.) See under Fair, a.
Maid of honor, A female attendant of a queen or royal princess; -- usually of noble family, and having to perform only nominal or honorary duties.
Old maid. See under Old.
Maid (n.) A female domestic [syn: maid, maidservant, housemaid, amah].
Maid (n.) An unmarried girl (especially a virgin) [syn: maid, maiden].
Maiden (n.) An unmarried woman; a girl or woman who has not experienced sexual intercourse; a virgin; a maid.
She
employed the residue of her life to repairing of highways, building of bridges,
and endowing of maidens. -- Carew.
A maiden of our century, yet most meek. -- Tennyson.
Maiden (n.) A female servant. [Obs.]
Maiden (n.) An instrument resembling the guillotine, formerly used in Scotland for beheading criminals. -- Wharton.
Maiden (n.) A machine for washing linen.
Maiden (a.) Of or pertaining to a maiden, or to maidens; suitable to, or characteristic of, a virgin; as, maiden innocence. "Amid the maiden throng." -- Addison.
Have you no modesty, no maiden shame ? -- Shak.
Maiden (a.) Never having been married; not having had sexual intercourse; virgin; -- said usually of the woman, but sometimes of the man; as, a maiden aunt. "A surprising old maiden lady." -- Thackeray.
Maiden (a.) Fresh; innocent; unpolluted; pure; hitherto unused. "Maiden flowers." -- Shak.
Full bravely hast thou fleshed Thy maiden sword. -- Shak.
Maiden (a.) Used of a fortress, signifying that it has never been captured, or violated. -- T. Warton. Macaulay.
Maiden assize (Eng. Law), An assize which there is no criminal prosecution; an assize which is unpolluted with blood. It was usual, at such an assize, for the sheriff to present the judge with a pair of white gloves. -- Smart.
Maiden name, The surname of a woman before her marriage.
Maiden pink. (Bot.) See under Pink.
Maiden plum (Bot.), A West Indian tree ({Comocladia integrifolia) with purplish drupes.
The sap of the tree is glutinous, and gives a persistent black stain.
Maiden speech, The first speech made by a person, esp. by a new member in a public body.
Maiden tower, The tower most capable of resisting an enemy.
Maiden voyage, The first regular service voyage of a ship.
Maiden (v. t.) To act coyly like a maiden; -- with it as an indefinite object.
For had I maiden'd it, as many use.
Loath for to grant, but loather to refuse. -- Bp. Hall.
Maiden grass, The smaller quaking grass.
Maiden tree. See Ginkgo.
Maiden (a.) Serving to set in motion; "the magazine's inaugural issue"; "the initiative phase in the negotiations"; "an initiatory step toward a treaty"; "his first (or maiden) speech in Congress"; "the liner's maiden voyage" [syn: inaugural, initiative, initiatory, first, maiden].
Maiden (n.) An unmarried girl (especially a virgin) [syn: maid, maiden].
Maiden (n.) (Cricket) An over in which no runs are scored [syn: maiden over, maiden].
Maidenhair (n.) (Bot.) Any of various small to large terrestrial ferns of the genus Adiantum having very slender graceful stalks and delicate palmately branched fronds, especially ({Adiantum pedatum).It is common in the United States, and is sometimes used in medicine. The name is also applied to other species of the same genus, as to the Venus-hair.
Maidenhair (n.) Any of various small to large terrestrial ferns of the genus Adiantum having delicate palmately branched fronds [syn: maidenhair, maidenhair fern].
Maidenhead (n.) The state of being a maiden; maidenhood; virginity. -- Shak.
Maidenhead (n.) The state of being unused or uncontaminated; freshness; purity. [Obs.]
The maidenhead of their credit. -- Sir H. Wotton.
Maidenhead (n.) The hymen, or virginal membrane.
Maidenhead (n.) A fold of tissue that partly covers the entrance to the vagina of a virgin [syn: hymen, maidenhead, virginal membrane].
Maidenhood (n.) The state of being a maid or a virgin; virginity. -- Shak.
Maidenhood (n.) Newness; freshness; uncontaminated state.
The maidenhood Of thy fight. -- Shak.
Maidenhood (n.) The childhood of a girl [syn: girlhood, maidenhood, maidhood].
Maidenlike (a.) Like a maiden; modest; coy.
Maidenliness (n.) The quality of being maidenly; the behavior that becomes a maid; modesty; gentleness.
Maidenly (a.) Like a maid; suiting a maid; maiden-like; gentle, modest, reserved.
Must you be blushing ? . . . What a maidenly man-at-arms are you become ! -- Shak.
Maidenly (adv.) In a maidenlike manner. "Maidenly demure." -- Skelton.
Maidenly (a.) Befitting or characteristic of a maiden; "a maidenly blush" [syn: {maidenlike}, {maidenly}].
Maidenship (n.) Maidenhood. [Obs.] -- Fuller.
Maid.hood (n.) = Maidenhood.
Maidhood (n.) Maidenhood. -- Shak.
Maidhood (n.) The childhood of a girl [syn: {girlhood}, {maidenhood}, {maidhood}].
Maidmarian (n.) The lady of the May games; one of the characters in a morris dance; a May queen. Afterward, a grotesque character personated in sports and buffoonery by a man in woman's clothes.
Maidmarian (n.) A kind of dance. -- Sir W. Temple.
Maidpale (a.) Pale, like a sick girl. -- Shak.
Maidservant (n.) A female servant.
Maidservant (n.) A female domestic [syn: maid, maidservant, housemaid, amah].
Maid's hair () (Bot.) The yellow bedstraw ({Galium verum). Maieutic
Maieutic (a.) Alt. of Maieutical.
Maieutical (a.) Serving to assist childbirth. -- Cudworth.
Maieutical (a.) Fig. : Aiding, or tending to, the definition and interpretation of thoughts or language. --Payne.
Maieutics (n.) The art of giving birth (i. e., clearness and conviction) to ideas, which are conceived as struggling for birth. -- Payne.
Maiger (n.) (Zool.) The meagre.
Maiger (n.) Large European marine food fish [syn: maigre, maiger, Sciaena aquila].
Maigre (a.) Belonging to a fast day or fast; as, a maigre day. --Walpole.
Maigre food (R. C. Ch.), Food allowed to be eaten on fast days.
Compare: Meagre
Meagre (n.) (Zool.) A large European sciaenoid fish ({Sciaena umbra or Sciaena aquila), having white bloodless flesh. It is valued as a food fish. [Written also maigre.]
Maigre (n.) Large European marine food fish [syn: maigre, maiger, Sciaena aquila].
Maihem (n.) See Maim, and Mayhem.
Compare: Maim
Maim (n.) The privation of the use of a limb or member of the body, by which one is rendered less able to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
Maim (n.) The privation of any necessary part; a crippling; mutilation; injury; deprivation of something essential. See Mayhem.
Surely there is more cause to fear lest the want there of be a maim than the use of it a blemish. -- Hooker.
A noble author esteems it to be a maim in history that the acts of Parliament should not be recited. -- Hayward.
Maikel (n.) (Zool.) A South American carnivore of the genus Conepatus, allied to the skunk, but larger, and having a longer snout. The tail is not bushy.
Maikong (n.) (Zool.) A South American wild dog ({Canis cancrivorus); the crab-eating dog.
Mail (v. t.) To arm with mail.
Mail (v. t.) To pinion. [Obs.]
Mail (n.) A bag; a wallet. [Obs.] -- Chaucer.
Mail (n.) The bag or bags with the letters, papers, or other matter contained therein, conveyed under public authority from one post office to another; the whole system of appliances used by government in the conveyance and delivery of mail matter.
There is a mail come in to-day, with letters dated Hague. -- Tatler.
Mail (n.) That which comes in the mail; letters, etc., received through the post office.
Mail (n.) A trunk, box, or bag, in which clothing, etc., may be carried. [Obs.] -- Sir W. Scott.
Mail catcher, An iron rod, or other contrivance, attached to a railroad car for catching a mail bag while the train is in motion.
Mail guard, An officer whose duty it is to guard the public mails. [Eng.]
Mail train, A railroad train carrying the mail.
Mail (n.) A spot. [Obs.]
Mail (n.) A small piece of money; especially, an English silver half-penny of the time of Henry V. [Obs.] [Written also maile, and maille.]
Mail (n.) Rent; tribute. [Obs., except in certain compounds and phrases, as blackmail, mails and duties, etc.]
Mail and duties (Scots Law), The rents of an estate, in whatever form paid.
Mail (n.) A flexible fabric made of metal rings interlinked. It was used especially for defensive armor. -- Chaucer.
Chain mail, Coat of mail. See under Chain, and Coat.
Mail (n.) Hence generally, armor, or any defensive covering.
Mail (n.) (Naut.) A contrivance of interlinked rings, for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.
Mail (n.) (Zool.) Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc.
We . . . strip the lobster of his scarlet mail. -- Gay.
Mail (v. t.) [imp. & p. p. Mailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Mailing.] To deliver into the custody of the postoffice officials, or place in a government letter box, for transmission by mail; to post; as, to mail a letter. [U. S.]
Note: In the United States to mail and to post are both in common use; as, to mail or post a letter. In England post is the commoner usage.
Mail (n.) The bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service.
Mail (n.) The system whereby messages are transmitted via the post office; "the mail handles billions of items every day"; "he works for the United States mail service"; "in England they call mail `the post'" [syn: mail, mail service, postal service, post].
Mail (n.) A conveyance that transports the letters and packages that are conveyed by the postal system.
Mail (n.) Any particular collection of letters or packages that is delivered; "your mail is on the table"; "is there any post for me?"; "she was opening her post" [syn: mail, post]
Mail (n.) (Middle Ages) Flexible armor made of interlinked metal rings [syn: chain mail, ring mail, mail, chain armor, chain armour, ring armor, ring armour].
Mail (v.) Send via the postal service; "I'll mail you the check tomorrow" [syn: mail, get off].
Mail (v.) Cause to be directed or transmitted to another place; "send me your latest results"; "I'll mail you the paper when it's written" [syn: mail, post, send].
Mail, () Electronic mail.
Mail, () The Berkeley Unix program for composing and reading electronic mail. It normally uses sendmail to handle delivery.
Unix manual page: mail(1)
(1997-12-03)
MAIL. () This word, derived from the French malle, a trunk, signifies the bag, valise, or other contrivance used in conveying through the post office, letters, packets, newspapers, pamphlets, and the like, from place to place, under the authority of the United States. The things thus carried are also called the mail.
MAIL. () The laws of the United States have provided for the punishment of robberies or willful injuries to the mail; the act of March 3, 1825, 3 Story's Laws U. S. 1985, provides:
MAIL. () That if any person shall rob any carrier of the mail of the United States, or other person entrusted, therewith, of such mail, or of part thereof, such offender or offenders shall, on conviction, be imprisoned not less than five years, nor exceeding ten years; and, if convicted a second time of a like offence, he or they shall suffer death; or if, in effecting such robbery of the mail, the first time, the offender shall wound the person having the custody thereof, or put his life in jeopardy, by the use of dangerous weapons, such offender or offenders shall suffer death. And if any person shall attempt to rob the mail of the United States, by assaulting the person having custody thereof, shooting at him, or his horse or mule, or, threatening him with dangerous weapons, and the robbery is not effected, every such offender, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment, not less than two years, nor exceeding ten years. And, if any person shall steal the mail, or shall steal or take from, or out of, any mail, or from, or out of, any post office, any letter or packet; or, if any person shall take the mail, or any letter or packet therefrom, or from any post office, whether with or without the consent of the person having custody thereof, and shall open, embezzle, or destroy any such; mail, letter, or packet, the same containing any articles of value, or evidence of any debt, due, demand, right, or claim, or any release, receipt, acquittance, or discharge, or any other articles, paper, or thing, mentioned and described in the twenty-first section of this act; or, if any person shall, by fraud or deception, obtain from any person having custody thereof, any mail, letter, or packet, containing any article of value, or evidence thereof, or either of the writings referred to, or next above mentioned, such offender, or offenders, on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned not less than two, nor exceeding ten years. And if any person shall take any letter, or packet, not containing any article of value, or. evidence thereof, out of a post office, or shall open any letter or packet, which shall have been in a post office, or in custody of a mail carrier, before it shall have been delivered to the person to whom it is directed, with a design to obstruct the correspondence, to pry into another's business or secrets; or shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy, any such mall, letter, or packet, such offender, upon conviction, shall pay, for every such offence, a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, and be imprisoned not exceeding twelve months.
MAIL. () That, if any person shall rip, cut, tear, burn, or otherwise injure, any valise, portmanteau, or other bag used, or designed to be used, by any person acting under the authority of the postmaster general, or any person in whom his powers are vested in a conveyance of any mail, letter packet, or newspaper, or pamphlet, or shall draw or break any staple, or loosen any part of any lock, chain, or strap, attached to, or belonging to any such valise, portmanteau, or bag, with an intent to rob, or steal any mail, letter, packet, newspaper, or pamphlet, or to render either of the same insecure, every such offender, upon conviction, shall, for every such offence, pay a sum, not less than one hundred dollars, nor exceeding five hundred-dollars, or be imprisoned not less than one year, nor exceeding three years, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction is had.
MAIL. () That every person who, from and after the passage of this act, shall procure, and advise, or assist, in the doing or perpetration of any of the acts or crimes by this act forbidden, shall be subject to the same penalties and punishments as the persons are subject to, who shall actually do or perpetrate any of the said acts or crimes, according, to the provision of this act.
MAIL. () That every person who shall be imprisoned by a judgment of court, under and by virtue of the twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third, or, twenty-fourth sections of this act, shall be kept at hard labor during the period of such imprisonment.
Mailable (a.) Admissible lawfully into the mail. Opposed to non-mailable.
Dangerous items such as explosives, weapons, or corrosive chemicals are often classified by the postal authorities as non-mailable. [U.S.] mailbag
Mailclad (a.) Protected by a coat of mail; clad in armor. -- Sir W. Scott.
Mailed (a.) (Zool.) Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
Mailed (a.) Spotted; speckled.
Mailed (a.) Wearing protective mail [syn: mail-clad, mailed].
Mailing (n.) A farm. [Scot.] -- Sir W. Scott.
Mailing (n.) The act or process of sending materials through the mail.
Mailing (n.) A quantity of mail, such as letters, magazines, advertising brochures, etc., sent at one time by one person or organization; as, the ads with coupons will go out in our next mailing.
Mailing (n.) Mail sent by a sender at one time; "the candidate sent out three large mailings."
Mailing (n.) The transmission of a letter; "the postmark indicates the time of mailing" [syn: mailing, posting].
Mail-shell (n.) (Zool.) A chiton.
Maim (n.) The privation of the use of a limb or member of the body, by which one is rendered less able to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
Maim (n.) The privation of any necessary part; a crippling; mutilation; injury; deprivation of something essential. See Mayhem.
Surely there is more cause to fear lest the want there of be a maim than the use of it a blemish. -- Hooker.
A noble author esteems it to be a maim in history that the acts of Parliament should not be recited. -- Hayward.
Maimed (imp. & p. p.) of Maim.
Maiming (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Maim.
Maim (v. t.) To deprive of the use of a limb, so as to render a person on fighting less able either to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.
By the ancient law of England he that maimed any man whereby he lost any part of his body, was sentenced to lose the like part. -- Blackstone.
Maim (v. t.) To mutilate; to cripple; to injure; to disable; to impair.
My late maimed limbs lack wonted might. -- Spenser.
You maimed the jurisdiction of all bishops. -- Shak.
Syn: To mutilate; mangle; cripple.
Maim (v.) Injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration or mutilation; "people were maimed by the explosion."
MAIM, () pleadings. This is a technical word necessary to be introduced into all indictments for mayhem; the words "feloniously did maim," must of necessity be inserted, because no other word, or any circumlocution, will answer the same purpose. 4 Inst. 118; Hawk. B. 2, c. 23, s. 17, 18, 77; Hawk. B. 2, c. 25, s, 55; 1 Chit. Cr. Law, *244.
Maimedly (adv.) In a maimed manner.
Maimedness (n.) State of being maimed. -- Bolton.
Main (n.) A hand or match at dice. -- Prior. -- Thackeray.
Main (n.) A stake played for at dice. [Obs.] -- Shak.
Main (n.) The largest throw in a match at dice; a throw at dice within given limits, as in the game of hazard.
Main (n.) A match at cockfighting. "My lord would ride twenty miles . . . to see a main fought." -- Thackeray.
Main (n.) A main-hamper. [Obs.] -- Ainsworth.
Main (n.) Strength; force; might; violent effort.
Main (n.) The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing.
Main (n.) The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc. ; the high sea; the ocean.
Main (n.) The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland.
Main (n.) Principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as, a fire main.
Main (a.) Very or extremely strong. [Obs.]
That current with main fury ran. -- Daniel.
Main (a.) Vast; huge. [Obs.] "The main abyss." -- Milton.
Main (a.) Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. [Obs.] "It's a man untruth." -- Sir W. Scott.
Main (a.) Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.; as, the main reason to go; the main proponent.
Our main interest is to be happy as we can. -- Tillotson.
Main (a.) Important; necessary. [Obs.]
That which thou aright Believest so main to our success, I bring. -- Milton.
By main force, By mere force or sheer force; by violent effort; as, to subdue insurrection by main force.
That Maine which by main force Warwick did win. -- Shak.
By main strength, By sheer strength; as, to lift a heavy weight by main strength.
Main beam (Steam Engine), Working beam.
Main boom (Naut.), The boom which extends the foot of the mainsail in a fore and aft vessel.
Main brace. (a) (Mech.) The brace which resists the chief strain. Cf. Counter brace.
Main brace. (b) (Naut.) The brace attached to the main yard.
Main center (Steam Engine), A shaft upon which a working beam or side lever swings.
Main chance. See under Chance.
Main couple (Arch.), The principal truss in a roof.
Main deck (Naut.), The deck next below the spar deck; the principal deck.
Main keel (Naut.), The principal or true keel of a vessel, as distinguished from the false keel.
Syn: Principal; chief; leading; cardinal; capital.
Main (a.) Very; extremely; as, main heavy. "I'm main dry." -- Foote. [Obs. or Low]
Main (a.) Most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch" [syn: chief(a), main(a), primary(a), principal(a), master(a)].
Main (a.) (Of a clause) Capable of standing syntactically alone as a complete sentence; "the main (or independent) clause in a complex sentence has at least a subject and a verb" [syn: independent, main(a)] [ant: dependent, subordinate]
Main (a.) Of force; of the greatest possible intensity; "by main strength."
Main (n.) Any very large body of (salt) water [syn: main, briny].
Main (n.) A principal pipe in a system that distributes water or gas or electricity or that collects sewage.
Main, () The name of the subroutine called by the run-time system (RTS) when it executes a C program. The RTS passes the program's command-line arguments to main as a count and an array of pointers to strings. If the main subroutine returns then the program exits.
Java has inheritted the name "main" from C but in Java it's more complicated of course. The main routine must have a signature of exactly public static void main(String [])
And it must be inside a public class with the same name as the source file where it is defined.
(2008-11-12)
Maine (n.) One of the New England States.
Maine law, () Any law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages, esp. one resembling that enacted in the State of Maine. At present, the state of Maine sells such beverages in its own stores.
Maine (n.) A state in New England [syn: Maine, Pine Tree State, ME].
MAINE. () One of the new states of the United State's of America. This state was admitted into the Union by the Act of Congress of March 3, 1820, 3 Story's L. U. S. 1761, from and after the fifteenth day of March, 1820, and is thereby declared to be one of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever.
MAINE. () The constitution of this state was adopted October 29th, 1819. The powers of the government are vested in three distinct departments, the legislative, executive and judicial.
MAINE. () The legislative power is vested in two distinct branches, a house of representatives and senate, each to have a negative on the other, and both to be styled The legislature of Maine. 1. The house of representatives is to consist of not less than one hundred, nor more than two hundred members; to be apportioned among the counties according to law; to be elected by the qualified electors for one year from the next day preceding the annual meeting of the legislature. 2. The senate consists of not less than twenty, nor more than thirty-one members, elected at the same time, and for the same term, as the representatives, by the qualified electors of the districts into which the state shall, from time to time, be divided. Art. 4, part 2, s. 1. The veto power is given to the governor, by art. 4, part 3, s. 2.
MAINE. () The supreme executive power of the state is vested in a governor, who is elected by the qualified electors, and holds his office one year from the first Wednesday of January in each year. On the first Wednesday of January annually, seven persons, citizens of the United States, and resident within the state, are to be elected by joint ballot of the senators and representatives in convention, who are called the council. This council is to advise the governor in the executive part of government, art. 5, part 2, s. 1 and 2.
MAINE. () The judicial power of the State is distributed by the 6th article of the constitution as follows:
MAINE. () The judicial power of this state shall be vested in a supreme judicial court, and such other courts as the legislature shall, from time to time, establish.
MAINE. () The justices of the supreme judicial court shall, at stated times, receive a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office, but they shall receive no other fee or reward.
MAINE. () They shall be obliged to give their opinion upon important questions of law, and upon solemn occasions, when required by the governor, council, senate, or house of representatives.
MAINE. () All judicial officers; except justices of the peace, shall hold their offices during good behaviour, but not beyond the age of seventy years.
MAINE. () Justices of the peace and notaries public shall hold their offices during seven years, if they so long behave themselves well, at the expiration of which term, they may be re-appointed, or others appointed, as the public interest may require.
MAINE. () The justices of the supreme judicial court shall bold no office under the United States, nor any state, nor any other office under this state, except that of justice of the peace.
For a history of the province of Maine, see 1 Story on the Const. Sec. 82.
Main-gauche (n.) (Ancient Armor) The dagger held in the left hand, while the rapier is held in the right; -- used to parry thrusts of the adversary's rapier.
Main-hamper (n.) A hamper to be carried in the hand; a hand basket used in carrying grapes to the press.
Mainland (n.) 大陸，本土 [the S] The continent; the principal land; -- opposed to island, or peninsula. -- Dryden.
After the two wayfarers had crossed from the peninsula to the mainland. -- Hawthorne.
Mainland (n.) The main land mass of a country or continent; as distinguished from an island or peninsula.
Mainly (adv.) Very strongly; mightily; to a great degree.
Mainly (adv.) Principally; chiefly.
Mainly (adv.) For the most part; "he is mainly interested in butterflies" [syn: chiefly, principally, primarily, mainly, in the main].
Mainmast (n.) (Naut.) The principal mast in a ship or other vessel.
Compare: Mast
Mast (n.) (Naut.) A pole, or long, strong, round piece of timber, or spar, set upright in a boat or vessel, to sustain the sails, yards, rigging, etc. A mast may also consist of several pieces of timber united by iron bands, or of a hollow pillar of iron or steel.
The tallest pine Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast Of some great ammiral. -- Milton.
Note: The most common general names of masts are foremast, mainmast, and mizzenmast, each of which may be made of separate spars.
Mast (n.) (Mach.) The vertical post of a derrick or crane.
Mast (n.) (Aeronautics) A spar or strut to which tie wires or guys are attached for stiffening purposes.
Afore the mast, Before the mast. See under Afore, and Before.
Mast coat. See under Coat.
Mast hoop, One of a number of hoops attached to the fore edge of a boom sail, which slip on the mast as the sail is raised or lowered; also, one of the iron hoops used in making a made mast. See Made.
Mainmast (n.) The chief mast of a sailing vessel with two or more masts.
Mainor (n.) (O. Eng. Law) A thing stolen found on the person of the thief.
Note: A thief was said to be "taken with the mainor," when he was taken with the thing stolen upon him, that is, in his hands. -- Wharton. -- Bouvier.
Mainpernable (a.) (Law) Capable of being admitted to give surety by mainpernors; able to be mainprised.
hands. -- Wharton. -- Bouvier.
Mainpernable. () Capable of being bailed; one for whom bail may be taken; bailable.