Murrion Mur"ri·on adjective [ See
Murrain .]
Infected with or killed by murrain. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Murrion Mur"ri·on noun A morion. See Morion .
Murry Mur"ry noun (Zoology) See Muræna .
Murth Murth noun [ Etymol. uncertain.]
Plenty; abundance. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.]
Murther Mur"ther noun & v. Murder, noun & v. [ Obsolete or Prov.] "The treason of the
murthering ."
Chaucer.
Murtherer Mur"ther·er noun A murderer. [ Obsolete or Prov.]
Murza Mur"za noun One of the hereditary nobility among the Tatars, esp. one of the second class. » This word must not be confounded with the Persian
Mirza , though perhaps of the same origin.
Muræna Mu·ræ"na noun [ Latin , from Greek ....]
(Zoology) A genus of large eels of the family Murænidæ . They differ from the common eel in lacking pectoral fins and in having the dorsal and anal fins continuous. The murry ( Muræna Helenæ ) of Southern Europe was the muræna of the Romans. It is highly valued as a food fish.
Murænoid, Murenoid Mu·ræ"noid, Mu·re"noid adjective [ New Latin
Muræna , the generic name +
-oid .]
(Zoology) Like or pertaining to the genus Muræna, or family Murænidæ .
Mus Mus noun ;
plural Mures . [ Latin , a mouse.]
(Zoology) A genus of small rodents, including the common mouse and rat.
Musa Mu"sa noun ;
plural Musæ . [ New Latin , from Arabic
mauz ,
mauza , banana.]
(Botany) A genus of perennial, herbaceous, endogenous plants of great size, including the banana ( Musa sapientum ), the plantain ( M. paradisiaca of Linnæus, but probably not a distinct species), the Abyssinian ( M. Ensete ), the Philippine Island ( M. textilis , which yields Manila hemp), and about eighteen other species. See Illust. of Banana and Plantain .
Musaceous Mu·sa"ceous adjective Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of the genus Musa.
Musal Mus"al adjective Of or pertaining to the Muses, or to Poetry. [ R.]
Musang Mu·sang" noun (Zoology) A small animal of Java ( Paradoxirus fasciatus ), allied to the civets. It swallows, but does not digest, large quantities of ripe coffee berries, thus serving to disseminate the coffee plant; hence it is called also coffee rat .
Musar Mu"sar noun An itinerant player on the musette, an instrument formerly common in Europe.
Musard Mu"sard noun [ French, from
muser to loiter, trifle. See
Muse ,
intransitive verb ]
A dreamer; an absent-minded person. [ Obsolete]
Rom. of R.
Musca Mus"ca noun ;
plural Muscæ . [ Latin , a fly.]
1. (Zoology) A genus of dipterous insects, including the common house fly, and numerous allied species. » Formerly, a large part of the Diptera were included under the genus
Musca .
2. (Astron.) A small constellation situated between the Southern Cross and the Pole. Muscadel Mus"ca·del` noun [ Italian
moscadello ,
moscatello , Late Latin
muscatellum or
muscadellum (sc.
vinum ), from
muscatellus nutmeglike, dim. of
muscatus smelling like musk,
muscatum and
muscata (sc.
nux ) nutmeg: confer French
muscadelle , from Italian. See
Musk and confer
Moschatel ,
Muscardin ,
Muscat ,
Nutmeg .]
See Muscatel , noun Quaffed off the muscadel .
Shak.
Muscadine Mus"ca·dine noun [ See
Muscadel .]
1. (Botany) A name given to several very different kinds of grapes, but in America used chiefly for the scuppernong, or southern fox grape, which is said to be the parent stock of the Catawba. See Grapevine . 2. (Botany) A fragrant and delicious pear. 3. (Zoology) See Muscardin . Northern muscadine (Botany) ,
a derivative of the northern fox grape, and scarcely an improvement upon it. --
Royal muscadine (Botany) ,
a European grape of great value. Its berries are large, round, and of a pale amber color. Called also golden chasselas .
Muscales Mus·ca"les noun plural [ New Latin , from Latin
muscus moss.]
(Botany) An old name for mosses in the widest sense, including the true mosses and also hepaticæ and sphagna.
Muscallonge Mus"cal·longe noun (Zoology) See Muskellunge .
Muscardin Mus"car·din noun [ French, from
muscadin a musk-scented lozenge, from
muscade nutmeg, from Latin
muscus musk. See
Muscadel .]
(Zoology) The common European dormouse; -- so named from its odor. [ Written also
muscadine .]
Muscardine Mus`car·dine" noun [ French]
A disease which is very destructive to silkworms, and which sometimes extends to other insects. It is attended by the development of a fungus (provisionally called Botrytis bassiana ). Also, the fungus itself.
Muscariform Mus·car"i·form adjective [ Latin
muscarium fly brush +
-form .]
Having the form of a brush.
Muscarin Mus·ca"rin noun (Physiol. Chem.) A solid crystalline substance, C 5 H 13 NO 2 , found in the toadstool ( Agaricus muscarius ), and in putrid fish. It is a typical ptomaine, and a violent poison.
Muscat Mus"cat noun [ French See
Muscadel .]
(Botany) A name given to several varieties of Old World grapes, differing in color, size, etc., but all having a somewhat musky flavor. The muscat of Alexandria is a large oval grape of a pale amber color. [ Written also
muskat .]
Muscatel Mus"ca·tel` adjective Of, pertaining to, or designating, or derived from, a muscat grapes or similar grapes; as, muscatel grapes; muscatel wine, etc.
Muscatel Mus"ca·tel` noun 1. A common name for several varieties of rich sweet wine, made in Italy, Spain, and France. 2. plural Finest raisins, dried on the vine; "sun raisins." [ Variously written
moscatel ,
muscadel , etc.]
Muschelkalk Musch"el·kalk` noun [ G., from
muschel shell +
kalk limestone.]
(Geol.) A kind of shell limestone, whose strata form the middle one of the three divisions of the Triassic formation in Germany. See Chart , under Geology .
Musci Mus"ci noun plural [ Latin
muscus moss.]
(Botany) An order or subclass of cryptogamous plants; the mosses. See Moss , and Cryptogamia .
Muscicapine Mus·cic"a·pine adjective [ Latin
musca a fly +
capere to catch.]
(Zoology) Of or pertaining to the Muscicapidæ , a family of birds that includes the true flycatchers.
Muscid Mus"cid noun Any fly of the genus Musca, or family Muscidæ .
Musciform Mus"ci·form adjective [
Musca +
-form .]
(Zoology) Having the form or structure of flies of the genus Musca, or family Muscidæ .
Musciform Mus"ci·form adjective [
Muscus +
- form .]
(Botany) Having the appearance or form of a moss.
Muscle Mus"cle noun [ French, from Latin
musculus a muscle, a little mouse, dim. of
mus a mouse. See
Mouse , and confer sense 3 (below).]
1. (Anat.) (a) An organ which, by its contraction, produces motion. See
Illust. of Muscles of the Human Body, in Appendix.
(b) The contractile tissue of which muscles are largely made up. » Muscles are of two kinds,
striated and
nonstriated . The striated muscles, which, in most of the higher animals, constitute the principal part of the flesh, exclusive of the fat, are mostly under the control of the will, or
voluntary , and are made up of great numbers of elongated fibres bound together into bundles and inclosed in a sheath of connective tissue, the
perimysium . Each fiber is inclosed in a delicate membrane (the
sarcolemma ), is made up of alternate segments of lighter and darker material which give it a transversely striated appearance, and contains, scattered through its substance, protoplasmic nuclei, the so-called
muscle corpuscles . The nonstriated muscles are
involuntary . They constitute a large part of the walls of the alimentary canal, blood vessels, uterus, and bladder, and are found also in the iris, skin, etc. They are made up of greatly elongated cells, usually grouped in bundles or sheets.
2. Muscular strength or development; as, to show one's muscle by lifting a heavy weight. [ Colloq.]
3. [ Anglo-Saxon
muscle , Latin
musculus a muscle, mussel. See above.]
(Zoology) See Mussel . Muscle curve (Physiol.) ,
contraction curve of a muscle; a myogram; the curve inscribed, upon a prepared surface, by means of a myograph when acted upon by a contracting muscle. The character of the curve represents the extent of the contraction.
Muscle reading Mus"cle read`ing The art of making discriminations between objects of choice, of discovering the whereabouts of hidden objects, etc., by inference from the involuntary movements of one whose hand the reader holds or with whom he is otherwise in muscular contact.
Muscled Mus"cled adjective Furnished with muscles; having muscles; as, things well muscled .
Muscling Mus"cling noun (Fine Arts) Exhibition or representation of the muscles. [ R.]
A good piece, the painters say, must have good muscling , as well as coloring and drapery.
Shaftesbury.
Muscogees Mus·co"gees noun plural See Muskogees .
Muscoid Mus"coid adjective [
Muscus +
- oid : confer French
muscoide .]
(Botany) Mosslike; resembling moss.
Muscoid Mus"coid noun (Botany) A term formerly applied to any mosslike flowerless plant, with a distinct stem, and often with leaves, but without any vascular system.
Muscology Mus·col"o·gy noun [
Muscus +
-logy .]
Bryology.
Muscosity Mus·cos"i·ty noun [ Latin
muscosus mossy, from
muscus moss.]
Mossiness. Jonhson.
Muscovado Mus`co·va"do adjective [ Corrupted from Spanish
mascabado ; confer Portuguese
mascavado , French
moscouade , noun , formerly also
mascovade , Italian
mascavato .]
Pertaining to, or of the nature of, unrefined or raw sugar, obtained from the juice of the sugar cane by evaporating and draining off the molasses. Muscovado sugar contains impurities which render it dark colored and moist.
Muscovado Mus`co·va"do noun Unrefined or raw sugar.
Muscovite Mus"co·vite noun [ See
Muscovy glass .]
1. A native or inhabitant of Muscovy or ancient Russia; hence, a Russian. 2. (Min.) Common potash mica. See Mica .
Muscovy duck Mus"co·vy duck` [ A corruption of musk duck.] (Zoology) A duck ( Cairina moschata ), larger than the common duck, often raised in poultry yards. Called also musk duck . It is native of tropical America, from Mexico to Southern Brazil.
Muscovy glass Mus"co·vy glass` [ From Muscovy , the old name of Russia: confer F. verre de Moscovie .] Mica; muscovite. See Mica .
Muscular Mus"cu·lar adjective [ Confer French
musculaire . See
Muscle .]
1. Of or pertaining to a muscle, or to a system of muscles; consisting of, or constituting, a muscle or muscles; as, muscular fiber. Great muscular strength, accompanied by much awkwardness.
Macaulay. 2. Performed by, or dependent on, a muscle or the muscles. "The
muscular motion."
Arbuthnot. 3. Well furnished with muscles; having well- developed muscles; brawny; hence, strong; powerful; vigorous; as, a muscular body or arm. Muscular Christian ,
one who believes in a part of religious duty to maintain a healthful and vigorous physical state. T. Hughes. --
Muscular Christianity .
(a) The practice and opinion of those Christians who believe that it is a part of religious duty to maintain a vigorous condition of the body, and who therefore approve of athletic sports and exercises as conductive to good health, good morals, and right feelings in religious matters. T. Hughes. (b) An active, robust, and cheerful Christian life, as opposed to a meditative and gloomy one. C. Kingsley. --
Muscular excitability (Physiol.) ,
that property in virtue of which a muscle shortens, when it is stimulated; irritability. --
Muscular sense (Physiol.) ,
muscular sensibility; the sense by which we obtain knowledge of the condition of our muscles and to what extent they are contracted, also of the position of the various parts of our bodies and the resistance offering by external objects.
Muscularity Mus`cu·lar"i·ty noun The state or quality of being muscular. Grew.
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