Minotaur
'minotaur, Son Of Pasipha6, Wife Of Minos, By A Bull. He Lived On Man's Flesh, For Which Reason Minos Put Him In The Labyrinth Of Dtdalus, Feeding Him With Criminals, And Afterwards With The Youths And Maidens Sent From Athens. Theseus, By Help Of Ariadne, Killed Him, Thereby Delivering The ...
Minstrel
Minstrel, From The French Menestral, And That, In All Probability, From Minittrellua, A Diminutive Of The Latin Minister, As A Term Applied To A Class Of Persons Who Were To Administer By Their Skill To The Amusement Of Their Patrons. " The Minstrels," Says Percy (` Reliques Of Ancient Poetry ...
Mint
Mint, The Place Where Money Is Coined, From The Anglolsaxon Mynet (money Or Coin), And That In All Probability Adopted From The Latin Moneta. Of The Manner In Which The Britons Conducted The Coinage Of Their Rude Substitutes For Money, Few Or No Notices Can Now Be Recovered. The Passage ...
Miracles
Miracles. A Man May Acquire His Knowledge Of Any Event In Either Of Two Ways ; By His Own Observation, Or By Information From Others. The Knowledge Of An Event Which A Man Obtains From His Own Observation Is Generally, To Him, The Highest Degree Of Evidence And The Surest ...
Misdemeanor
Misdemeanor Is A Term Applied In The Law Of England To Crimes And Offences, Whether Of Commission Or Of Omission, Less Than Felony. [felony.] At Common Law, Persons Convicted Upon An Indictment [iydict Ment] For A Misdemeanor Are Punishable By Such Fine, Or By Such Term Of Imprisonment Short Of ...
Misprision
Misprision (from Mesprendre,',whieh Means Sometimes To Deal Improperly With, Sometimes To Treat With Contempt), Is A Term Used In English Law In Different Senses. I. In The Sense Of Criminal Nonfeasance, Or Neglect To Perform Important Public Duties, The Term Is Applied To Concealment Of Treason Or Felony. Misprision Of ...
Miss Ferrier
Ferrier, Miss, Was Born At Edinburgh, About 1782, The Daughter Of A Writer To The Signet, And Who Was One Of Sir \v. Scott's Colleague. As Clerk Of The Court Of Session. This Association Almost Necessarily Produced An Intimacy With The Scott Family, And She Had Early Access To The ...
Missions
Missions. The 15th Verse Of The 16th Chapter Of The Gospel By Mark Is The Great Scriptural Authority For Missions. In The 6th Century (590-604) Popov Gregory The Great Sent Missionaries To Britain, To Con Vert The People To The Christian Faith. Similar Means Were Adopted In Other Countries, Until, ...
Mist
Mist. The Vapour Of Water, When Mixed With Air Of The Same Or A Higher Temperature, Is Invisible; But When The Temperature Of The Air Is Reduced Below That Of The Vapour, The Vapour Becomes And Forma A Mist. 1vatcr, In The State Of Vapour, Is Continually Rising Into The ...
Mitre
Mitre (from Mitre, I.drpa, A Head-band Or Diadem), The Crown Or Pontifical Ornament Worn On The Head By Archbishops And Bishops, And In Some Instances By Abbots, Upon Solemn Occasions. The Original Meaning Of Mitra, As It Appears From Homer, Is A " Band" Or " Belt," Worn By Warriors ...
Mmus Gellius
Ge'llius, Mmus (or, According To Immo Writers, Agellius), The Author Of The 'nodes Attime; Was Born At Rome In The Early Part Of The 2nd Century, And Died At The Beginning Of The Reign Of The Emperor Marcus Aurelius. We Have Few Particulars Of His Life : We Know That ...
Moabites
Moabites, A People Descended From Moab, The Son Of Lot By His Elder Daughter (gen. Xis. 37). And Consequently Related To The Ammo Nites, With Whom We Find Them Closely Connected In Their Subseouent History. [ammormres.] The Earliest Accounts Represent Them As Dwell Ing In The Country On The East ...
Mode
Mode, In Ancient Music, Is The Order Of The Sounds Forming What May, In Modern Language, Be Called The Different Scales. The Ancients Differed Exceedingly Among Themselves In Their Defini Tions And On The Divisions And Names Of Their Modes Or Keys. Obscure On Every Musical Subject, They Are Nearly ...
Modelling
Modelling In Clay La So Completely A Practical Art, And Depends Rue Much On The Experience And Formative Skill Of The Modeller, That, Beyond A Few Remarks On The Necessary Consistency Of The Clay, Nothing More Can Be Given Here Than An Account Of The Nature And Uses Of The ...
Modulation
Modulation, In Music, Is A Changing Of The Key, Or Mode, During The Progress Of A Composition. The Word Is Derived From The Latin Verb Modulor, To Compose Or Sing In Measure, Melody Of. Some Sort Being Inferred. Though It Is Not Quite Clear What The Ancients Meant By The ...
Moha3imed Shems Eddin
Moha3imed-shems-eddin, A Celebrated Persian Poet, Was Born At Shims, At The Beginning Of The 14th Century Of The Christian Sera. From His Earliest Years He Received A Lettered Educa Tion ; End Paid Great Attention To The Study Of Religion And Mussulman Jurisprudence. He Afterwards Cultivated Poetry, And Became So ...
Mohammed Kasha Ferisiita
Ferisiita, Mohammed Kasha, A Celebrated Persian Historian, Was Born At Aetrabad, On The Border Of The Caspian Sea, In 1570. Ilia Father, When Name Was Gholani All Ifindoo Shah, And Who Appears To Have Been A Learned Man, Left His Native Country When Feriehta Was Very Young And Travelled Into ...
Molasses
Molasses, Is The Uncrystallised Syrup Produced In The Manufac Ture Of Sugar. It Is Suffered To Drain From The Casks Into A Cistern, In What Is Called The Curing-house, Before The Sugar Is Sent Away From The Plantation. To Facilitate The Draining, The Casks Are Ranged Upright On A Frame-work ...
Molecular
Molecular Attraction—molecular Theory. In Chemistry It Is Conceived That Bodies Are Made Up Of Indivisible Atoms, Each Having A Definite Uniform Weight And A General Character. The Service That This Theory Has Rendered To Science May Be Seen By Con Sulting Atomic Theory. The Ultimate Particles Of Matter Are Termed ...
Molybdenum
Molybdenum (mo). A Rare Metal, Occurring Native Chiefly As The Bisulphide, A Mineral That, In Appearance And Properties, So Much Resembles Graphite As To Have Been Mistaken For That Substance Until The Year 1778, When Its Peculiarity Was First Pointed Out. A Descrip Tion Of The Two Or Three Ores ...
Moment
Moment. The Moment Of A Force With Respect To A Point Or Line About Which It Tends To Produce Rotation, Is " The Product Of The Force And The Perpendicular Drawn From The Point Or Line Upon The Direction Of The Force. If R Be The Force, And P The ...
Monachism
Monachism (from The Greek Jadves, Alone ; Whence Nonictw, To Live Alone ; And Aovasc4, A Solitary, Or•a Monk). In This Its Proper And Original Signification Of A Solitary, A Monk May Be Considered As Only Another Name For Anachoret, Or Anchoret (in Greek, Itsarapsirbs), That Is, A Person Who ...
Monarchy
Monarchy, From The Greek Parapxfa, A Word Compounded Of Isevsfr, " Alone," And The Element Ilpx,w, " Govern," And Aignifying The "government Of A Single Person." The Word Monarchy Is Properly Applied To The Government Of A Political Community In Which One Person Exercises The Sovereign Power. [somme: Err.; In ...
Money
Money Is The Medium Of Exchange By Which The Value Of Commo Dities Is Estimated, And Is At Once The Representative And Equivalent Of Such Value. Barter Is Naturally The First Form In Which Any Commerce Is Carried A Man Having Produced Or Obtained More Of Any Article Than He ...
Monogram
Monogram, A Cipher Or Character Formed By An Interlacing Of Letters, Intended As An Abbreviation Of A Name. Monograms Are Of Very Ancient (late. They Are Not Uncommon Upon Greek Coins, Especially Those Of Macedonia And Sicily. They Likewise Occur Upon The Coins Of The Selencidss, And Are Found Upon ...
Monopoly
Monopoly, From The Greek Manopllia (µororrwrfa), Which Occurs In Aristotle's' L'olitick ' (i. 11), Where It Is Used Simply In The Sense Of A Man Buying Up The Whole Of A Commodity So As To Be The Solo Holder Of It, And To Have The Power Of Selling It At ...
Monsoon
Monsoon (in French Mousson), Is A Term Applied To The Periodical Winds Of The Indian Ocean, And, According To 3larsden, Is A Corruption Of The Word Mosseem, Which, Both In Arabic And Malay, Signifies A Year. These Winds Have From The Earliest Times Attracted The Attention Of The Navigator, Lia, ...
Mont De Piete Monte
Mont De Pie'te' (monte Di Pieta', In Italian), Is The Title Of Certain Pawnbroking Establishments Which Originated In Italy In The 15th Century, The Object Of Which Was To Lend Money To Necessitous People At A Moderate Interest. The Jews, Who Were The Great Money Lenders In That Age, Exacted ...
Montem Custom
Montem Custom, The Ancient Custom Of A Procession Of The Scholars Of Eton School In Buckinghamshire Ad Men Tem, Which Has Been Discontinued Since 1844. It Used To Be Made Every Third Year, On Whit-tuesday, To A Tumulus Near The Bath Road, Which Has Acquired The Name Of Salt Hill, ...
Montevideo
Montevideo Is The Political Capital, The Commercial Metropolis, And Much The Largest And Most Populous City Of The Republic. Between It And Cape Santa 3leria Stands The Town Of Maldonado, With A Fine Harbour, Good Fortifications, And About 2000 Inhabitants : It Exports Hides And Copper. Colonia Del Santo Sacramento ...
Moo Div
Moo. Div. Von. Ii. His Three Children. Northumberland Now Applied Himself To Induce Edward To Make A New Settlement Excluding Mary And Elizabeth, Who Had Both Been Declared Illegitimate By Parliament, And To Nominate Lady Jane Grey (in Whose Favour Her Mother The Duchess Of Suffolk, Still Alive, Agreed To ...
Moor
Moor, A Name Given To Extensive Wastes Which Are Covered With Heath, And The Soil Of Which Consists Of Poor Light Earth, Mixed Gene Rally With A Considerable Portion Of Peat. The Want Of Fertility In Moors Arises Chiefly From A Deficiency Or Superabundance Of Moisture, The Subsoil Being Either ...
Morris Dance
Morris Dance. Douce,in A Dissertation On The Ancient English Morris Dance At The End Of The Second Volume Of His ' Illustrations Of Slinkspeare; Affirms That Both English And Foreign Glossaries Uniformly Ascribe The Origin Of This Dance To The Moors; Although The Genuine Moorish Or Morisco Dance Was, No ...
Mortar
Mortar. The Cementing Or Binding Materials Used In Building Operations, Which Have A Lime Base, In One Or Other Of Its Forms, Are Known Technically By The Name Of Montana; And They Are Either Com Posed Of The Ordinary Varieties Of Limes And Sand ; Or Of Phuiter, Or Of ...
Mortars
Mortars Are Pieces Of Ordnance Which, Compared With Guns, Are Very Short, And Which Are Employed To Throw Shells Or Carcasses At Con Siderable Elevations (generally At 45°, But Sometimes As Much As 70°), In Order That The Missile May Range To A Great Distance, And, By Falling Nearly Vertically ...
Mortgage
Mortgage. A General Notion Of N Mortgage May Be Collected From The Following Passage In Littleton (§ 332), Who Treats Of Mort Gages As Then In Use, Under The General Head Of Estates Upon Condition. " If A Feoffment Be Fluids, Upon Such Condition, That If The Feolter Pay To ...
Mortmain
Mortmain. By The 9 'hen. Iii. C. 36 (magna Charta), It Was Declared That It Should Not Be Lawful For The Future For Any Person To Give His Land To A Religious House, So As To Take It Back Again And Hold It Of The House ; And Any Such ...
Mortuary
Mortuary, From The Latin Mortuarium, By Our Saxon Ancestors Called Raul-rcear, Soul-shot, Or Money Paid At Death. The Mortuary Was Really A Gift Left By A Man To His Parish Church, As A Recompense For His Personal Tithes And Offerings Not Duly Paid. Dugdale, In His History Of Warwickshire,' P. ...
Mosaic
Mosaic, A Description Of Inlaid Work Bjr Which A Design Is Produced On A Surface By Joining Together Small Pieces Of Differently Coloured Substance.. Mosaic Work Is Of Great Antiquity. By Most Authorities It Is Believed To Have Had Its Origin In Asia. The Pavement Of Red, And Blue, And ...
Mosque
Mosque (from The Amble Jlaschiad Or Medsched, And Inter Mediately The Spanish And Portuguese Ale:rialto And Mculncta), A Mohammedan Place Of Worship, The Distinctive Marks Of Which Are Generally Cupolas And Minarets. [saracenic Anellitecture.] Inter Nally The Mopes Exhibit Nothing Remarkable As To Plan Or Acconimo Elation, Forming Merely A ...
Motion
Motion Is Change Of Place; There Has Been Motion When A Body, At One Time, Occupies A Part Of Space Different From That In Which It Was At A Preceding Time. The Only Additional Necessary Conception Is Continuity Of Change: Every Point Which Has Moved From One Point Of Space ...
Motion Of The Earth
Motion Of The Earth. The Theory Of Gravitation Has Placed This Question On A Footing Entirely Different From That On Which It Was Argued, Whether By Ptolemaists Or Copernicans. Both Of The Latter Parties Supposed The Existence Of A Fixed Central Body Somewhere, Which The First Of Them Would Have ...
Motion Of The Solar
Solar System, Motion Of The, In Space. One Of The Most Interesting Results Of Modern Astronomical Research Consists In The Discovery Of The Fact, That Many Stars Of The Class Styled Fired Stars, Are In Reality Subject To A Minute Movement, In Virtue Of Which Their Positions In The Celestial ...
Mouldings
Mouldings (in Architecture), Any Assemblage Of Narrow Surfaces Projecting From The Face Of A Wall Or Other Surface And Also Advancing One Beyond The Other. They Are Bounded By Straight Lines, Either Horizontal Or Vertical, According To Their Situation, But The Surfaces Themselves Are Plane Or Curved, And If The ...
Moving Powers
Moving Powers. Tho Means Employed To Give Motion To Machinery, Independently Of The Cases In Which The Force Of Gravity Is Applied Directly, As In Turning The Cylinder Of Is Clock, Are The Strength Of Men And Animals, The Pressure Of The Atmosphere, Tho Expansive Force Of Steam, And The ...
Moxa
Moxa, A Word Of Uncertain Origin, Signifying Any Substance Whose Gradual Combustion On Or Near The Skin Is Used For The Relief Or Cure Of Disease. This Method Was Early Practised In The East, Particularly By The Chinese And Japanese, From Whom It Was Copied By The Portuguese; But Having ...
Mrs Caroline Chisholm
*chisholm, Mrs. Caroline, Was Born About The Year 1810, In The Parish Of Wootton, Northemptonahire, Where Her Father, William Jones, Was A Small Proprietor Of Land. He Died While His Daughter Was Young, But She Was Carefully Brought Up By Her Mother, And In Her Twentieth Year Was Married To ...
Mrs Elizabeth C Gaskell
'gaskell, Mrs. Elizabeth C., Authoress, Wife Of The Rev. William Gaskell, Unitarian Minister, Resident At Maachoster. This Lady Differs From Most Authoresses In Many Respects. She Did Not Commence Literary Pursuits, Or Rather, Did Not Cultivate Literature Actively, Until Comparatively Late In Life. Her Works Are Not Com Posed Of ...
Mrs Elizabeth Fry
Fry, Mrs. Elizabeth, Was The Third Daughter Of John Gurney, Esq., Of Earlham Hall, Near Norwich, An Opulent Merchant And Hanker, And A Member Of The Society Of Friends. Elizabeth Gurney Was Barn May 21, 1780, At Bremerton, Four Miles From Norwich, Where Her Parents Had Then A Summer Residence; ...
Mrs Elizabeth Inciibald
Inciibald, Mrs. Elizabeth, Whose Maiden Name Was Simp Son, Was The Daughter Of A Suffolk Farmer Residing Near Bury St. Edmund/. She Was Born In 1753. Prone To Romantic Notions, And Losing Her Father In Youth, She Ran Away At The Age Of Sixteen To Seek Her Fortune, And Endeavoured ...