Moschine Mos"chine adjective Of or pertaining to Moschus , a genus including the musk deer.

Mosel Mos"el noun & v. See Muzzle . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Moselle Mo·selle" noun A light wine, usually white, produced in the vicinity of the river Moselle.

Moses Mo"ses noun A large flatboat, used in the West Indies for taking freight from shore to ship.

Mosey Mo"sey intransitive verb [ Perh. from Vamose .] To go, or move (in a certain manner); -- usually with out , off , along , etc. [ Colloq.] E. N. Wescott.

Mosk Mosk noun See Mosque .

Moslem Mos"lem (mŏz"lĕm) noun ; plural Moslems (-lĕmz), or collectively Moslem . [ Arabic muslim a true believer in the Mohammedan faith, from salama to submit to God, to resign one's self to the divine will. Confer Islam , Mussulman .] A Mussulman; an orthodox Mohammedan. [ Written also muslim .] "Heaps of slaughtered Moslem ." Macaulay.

They piled the ground with Moslem slain.

Halleck.

Moslem Mos"lem (mŏz"lĕm) adjective Of or pertaining to the Mohammedans; Mohammedan; as, Moslem lands; the Moslem faith.

Moslings Mos"lings noun plural Thin shreds of leather shaved off in dressing skins. Simmonds.

Mososaurus Mos`o·sau"rus noun [ New Latin ] (Paleon.) Same as Mosasaurus .

Mosque Mosque (mŏsk) noun [ French mosquée , Spanish mezquita , Arabic masjid , from sajada to bend, adore.] A Mohammedan church or place of religious worship. [ Written also mosk .]

Mosquito Mos·qui"to (mŏs*kē*to) noun ; plural Mosquitoes . [ Spanish mosquito , from mosca fly, Latin musca . Confer Musket .] (Zoology) Any one of various species of gnats of the genus Culex and allied genera. The females have a proboscis containing, within the sheathlike labium, six fine, sharp, needlelike organs with which they puncture the skin of man and animals to suck the blood. These bites, when numerous, cause, in many persons, considerable irritation and swelling, with some pain. The larvæ and pupæ, called wigglers , are aquatic. [ Written also musquito .]

Mosquito bar , Mosquito net , a net or curtain for excluding mosquitoes, -- used for beds and windows. -- Mosquito fleet , a fleet of small vessels. -- Mosquito hawk (Zoology) , a dragon fly; -- so called because it captures and feeds upon mosquitoes. -- Mosquito netting , a loosely-woven gauzelike fabric for making mosquito bars.

Moss Moss noun [ Middle English mos ; akin to Anglo-Saxon meós , Dutch mos , German moos , Old High German mos , mios , Icelandic mosi , Danish mos , Swedish mossa , Russian mokh' , Latin muscus . Confer Muscoid .] 1. (Botany) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and simple leaves. The fruit is a small capsule usually opening by an apical lid, and so discharging the spores. There are many species, collectively termed Musci , growing on the earth, on rocks, and trunks of trees, etc., and a few in running water.

» The term moss is also popularly applied to many other small cryptogamic plants, particularly lichens , species of which are called tree moss , rock moss , coral moss , etc. Fir moss and club moss are of the genus Lycopodium . See Club moss , under Club , and Lycopodium .

2. A bog; a morass; a place containing peat; as, the mosses of the Scottish border.

» Moss is used with participles in the composition of words which need no special explanation; as, moss -capped, moss -clad, moss -covered, moss -grown, etc.

Black moss . See under Black , and Tillandsia . -- Bog moss . See Sphagnum . -- Feather moss , any moss branched in a feathery manner, esp. several species of the genus Hypnum . -- Florida moss , Long moss , or Spanish moss . See Tillandsia . -- Iceland moss , a lichen. See Iceland Moss . -- Irish moss , a seaweed. See Carrageen . -- Moss agate (Min.) , a variety of agate, containing brown, black, or green mosslike or dendritic markings, due in part to oxide of manganese. Called also Mocha stone . - - Moss animal (Zoology) , a bryozoan. -- Moss berry (Botany) , the small cranberry ( Vaccinium Oxycoccus ). -- Moss campion (Botany) , a kind of mosslike catchfly ( Silene acaulis ), with mostly purplish flowers, found on the highest mountains of Europe and America, and within the Arctic circle. -- Moss land , land produced accumulation of aquatic plants, forming peat bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is grained off or retained in its pores. -- Moss pink (Botany) , a plant of the genus Phlox ( P. subulata ), growing in patches on dry rocky hills in the Middle United States, and often cultivated for its handsome flowers. Gray. -- Moss rose (Botany) , a variety of rose having a mosslike growth on the stalk and calyx. It is said to be derived from the Provence rose. -- Moss rush (Botany) , a rush of the genus Juncus ( J. squarrosus ). -- Scale moss . See Hepatica .

Moss Moss transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Mossed ; present participle & verbal noun Mossing .] To cover or overgrow with moss.

An oak whose boughs were mossed with age.

Shak.

Moss-grown Moss"-grown` adjective Overgrown with moss.

Mossback Moss"back` noun A veteran partisan; one who is so conservative in opinion that he may be likened to a stone or old tree covered with moss. [ Political Slang, U.S.]

Mossbanker, Mossbunker Moss"bank`er, Moss"bunk`er noun (Zoology) The menhaded.

Mossiness Moss"i·ness noun The state of being mossy.

Mosstrooper Moss"troop`er noun [ Moss + trooper .] One of a class of marauders or bandits that formerly infested the border country between England and Scotland; -- so called in allusion to the mossy or boggy character of much of the border country.

Mossy Moss"y adjective [ Compar. Mossier ; superl. Mossiest .] 1. Overgrown with moss; abounding with or edged with moss; as, mossy trees; mossy streams.

Old trees are more mossy far than young.

Bacon.

2. Resembling moss; as, mossy green.

Most Most (mōst) adjective , superl. of More . [ Middle English most , mast , mest , Anglo-Saxon mǣst ; akin to Dutch meest , Old Saxon mēst , German meist , Icelandic mestr , Goth. maists ; a superl. corresponding to English more . √103. See More , adjective ] 1. Consisting of the greatest number or quantity; greater in number or quantity than all the rest; nearly all. " Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness." Prov. xx. 6.

The cities wherein most of his mighty works were done.

Matt. xi. 20.

2. Greatest in degree; as, he has the most need of it. "In the moste pride." Chaucer.

3. Highest in rank; greatest. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

» Most is used as a noun, the words part , portion , quantity , etc., being omitted, and has the following meanings: 1. The greatest value, number, or part; preponderating portion; highest or chief part. 2. The utmost; greatest possible amount, degree, or result; especially in the phrases to make the most of , at the most , at most .

A quarter of a year or some months at the most .

Bacon.

A covetous man makes the most of what he has.

L'Estrange.

For the most part , in reference to the larger part of a thing, or to the majority of the persons, instances, or things referred to; as, human beings, for the most part , are superstitious; the view, for the most part , was pleasing. -- Most an end , generally. See An end , under End , noun [ Obsolete] "She sleeps most an end ." Massinger.

Most Most adverb [ Anglo-Saxon mǣst . See Most , adjective ] In the greatest or highest degree.

Those nearest to this king, and most his favorites, were courtiers and prelates.

Milton.

» Placed before an adjective or adverb, most is used to form the superlative degree, being equivalent to the termination -est ; as, most vile, most wicked; most illustrious; most rapidly. Formerly, and until after the Elizabethan period of our literature, the use of the double superlative was common. See More , adverb

The most unkindest cut of all.

Shak.

The most straitest sect of our religion.

Acts xxvi. 5.

Most Most adverb -- Most-favored- nation clause (Diplomacy) , a clause, often inserted in treaties, by which each of the contracting nations binds itself to grant to the other in certain stipulated matters the same terms as are then, or may be thereafter, granted to the nation which receives from it the most favorable terms in respect of those matters.

There was a " most-favored-nation " clause with provisions for the good treatment of strangers entering the Republic.

James Bryce.

Steam navigation was secured by the Japanese as far as Chungking, and under the most-favored-nation clause the right accrued to us.

A. R. Colquhoun.

Mostahiba Mos`ta·hi"ba noun See Mustaiba .

Moste Mos"te obsolete imperfect of Mote . Chaucer.

Mostic, Mostick Mos"tic, Mos"tick noun [ See Maul-stick .] A painter's maul-stick.

Mostly Most"ly adverb For the greatest part; for the most part; chiefly; in the main.

Mostra Mos"tra noun [ Italian ] (Mus.) See Direct , noun

Mostwhat Most"what` adverb For the most part. [ Obsolete] "All the rest do mostwhat far amiss." Spenser.

Mot Mot (mōt) v. [ Sing. present ind. Mot , Mote , Moot (mōt) plural Mot , Mote , Moote , present subjunctive Mote ; imperfect Moste .] [ See Must , v. ] [ Obsolete] May; must; might.

He moot as well say one word as another

Chaucer.

The wordes mote be cousin to the deed.

Chaucer.

Men moot [ i.e., one only] give silver to the poore freres.

Chaucer.

So mote it be , so be it; amen; -- a phrase in some rituals, as that of the Freemasons.

Mot Mot (mŏt; mo, def. 2) noun [ French See Motto .] 1. A word; hence, a motto; a device. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hall.

Tarquin's eye may read the mot afar.

Shak.

2. A pithy or witty saying; a witticism. [ A Gallicism]

Here and there turns up a . . . savage mot .

N. Brit. Rev.

3. A note or brief strain on a bugle. Sir W. Scott.

Motacil Mot"a·cil noun [ Confer French motacille .] (Zoology) Any singing bird of the genus Motacilla ; a wagtail.

Motation Mo·ta"tion noun [ Latin motare , motatum , to keep moving.] The act of moving; motion. [ Obsolete]

Mote Mote v. See 1st Mot . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Mote Mote noun [ See Moot , a meeting.] [ Obsolete, except in a few combinations or phrases.] 1. A meeting of persons for discussion; as, a ward mote in the city of London.

2. A body of persons who meet for discussion, esp. about the management of affairs; as, a folk mote .

3. A place of meeting for discussion.

Mote bell , the bell rung to summon to a mote . [ Obsolete]

Mote Mote noun The flourish sounded on a horn by a huntsman. See Mot , noun , 3, and Mort . Chaucer.

Mote Mote noun [ Middle English mot , Anglo-Saxon mot .] A small particle, as of floating dust; anything proverbially small; a speck.

The little motes in the sun do ever stir, though there be no wind.

Bacon.

We are motes in the midst of generations.

Landor.

Moted Mot"ed adjective Filled with motes, or fine floating dust; as, the air. " Moted sunbeams." Tennyson.

Motet Mo·tet" noun [ French, a dim. of mot word; confer Italian mottetto , dim. of motto word, device. See Mot , Motto .] (Mus.) A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.

Moth Moth (mŏth) noun A mote. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Moth Moth noun ; plural Moths (mŏthz). [ Middle English mothe , Anglo-Saxon moððe ; akin to Dutch mot , German motte , Icelandic motti , and probably to English mad an earthworm. Confer Mad , noun , Mawk .] 1. (Zoology) Any nocturnal lepidopterous insect, or any not included among the butterflies; as, the luna moth ; Io moth ; hawk moth .

2. (Zoology) Any lepidopterous insect that feeds upon garments, grain, etc.; as, the clothes moth ; grain moth ; bee moth . See these terms under Clothes , Grain , etc.

3. (Zoology) Any one of various other insects that destroy woolen and fur goods, etc., esp. the larvæ of several species of beetles of the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus . Carpet moths are often the larvæ of Anthrenus. See Carpet beetle , under Carpet , Dermestes , Anthrenus .

4. Anything which gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.

Moth blight (Zoology) , any plant louse of the genus Aleurodes , and related genera. They are injurious to various plants. -- Moth gnat (Zoology) , a dipterous insect of the genus Bychoda , having fringed wings. -- Moth hunter (Zoology) , the goatsucker. -- Moth miller (Zoology) , a clothes moth. See Miller , 3, (a) . -- Moth mullein (Botany) , a common herb of the genus Verbascum ( V. Blattaria ), having large wheel-shaped yellow or whitish flowers.

Moth-eat Moth"-eat` transitive verb To eat or prey upon, as a moth eats a garment. [ Rarely used except in the form moth-eaten , past participle or adjective ]

Ruin and neglect have so moth-eaten her.

Sir T. Herbert.

Mothen Moth"en adjective Full of moths. [ Obsolete] Fulke.

Mother Moth"er noun [ Middle English moder , Anglo-Saxon mōdor ; akin to Dutch moeder , Old Saxon mōdar , German mutter , Old High German muotar , Icelandic mōðir , Dan. & Swedish moder , OSlav. mati , Russian mate , Ir. & Gael. mathair , Latin mater , Greek mh`thr , Sanskrit mātr ; confer Sanskrit mā to measure. √268. Confer Material , Matrix , Metropolis , Father .] 1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child.

2. That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of birth or origin; generatrix.

Alas! poor country! . . . it can not
Be called our mother , but our grave.

Shak.

I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother of a religion, it is said, that lived two thousand years.

Landor.

3. An old woman or matron. [ Familiar]

4. The female superior or head of a religious house, as an abbess, etc.

5. Hysterical passion; hysteria. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Mother Carey's chicken (Zoology) , any one of several species of small petrels, as the stormy petrel ( Procellaria pelagica ), and Leach's petrel ( Oceanodroma leucorhoa ), both of the Atlantic, and O. furcata of the North Pacific. -- Mother Carey's goose (Zoology) , the giant fulmar of the Pacific. See Fulmar . -- Mother's mark (Medicine) , a congenital mark upon the body; a nævus.

Mother Moth"er adjective Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating.

It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived.

T. Arnold.

Mother cell (Biol.) , a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. -- Mother church , the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. -- Mother country , the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. - - Mother liquor (Chemistry) , the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. -- Mother queen , the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. -- Mother tongue . (a) A language from which another language has had its origin . (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. -- Mother water . See Mother liquor (above). -- Mother wit , natural or native wit or intelligence.

Mother Moth"er transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Mothered ; present participle & verbal noun Mothering .] To adopt as a son or daughter; to perform the duties of a mother to.

The queen, to have put lady Elizabeth besides the crown, would have mothered another body's child.

Howell.

Mother Moth"er noun [ Akin to Dutch modder mud, German moder mold, mud, Danish mudder mud, and to English mud . See Mud .] A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation.

» The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing microörganisms of the genus Mycoderma , and in the mother of vinegar the microörganisms ( Mycoderma aceti ) composing the film are the active agents in the Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the fluid. See Acetous fermentation , under Fermentation .

Mother Moth"er intransitive verb To become like, or full of, mother, or thick matter, as vinegar.

Mother-in-law Moth"er-in-law` noun The mother of one's husband or wife.

Mother-naked Moth"er-na`ked adjective Naked as when born.

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