Malpighia noun [ New Latin See Malpighian .] (Botany) A genus of tropical American shrubs with opposite leaves and small white or reddish flowers. The drupes of Malpighia urens are eaten under the name of Barbadoes cherries .

Malpighiaceous adjective (Botany) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a natural order of tropical trees and shrubs ( Malpighiaceæ ), some of them climbing plants, and their stems forming many of the curious lianes of South American forests.

Malpighian adjective (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or discovered by, Marcello Malpighi, an Italian anatomist of the 17th century.

Malpighian capsules or corpuscles , the globular dilatations, containing the glomeruli or Malpighian tufts, at the extremities of the urinary tubules of the kidney. -- Malpighian corpuscles of the spleen , masses of adenoid tissue connected with branches of the splenic artery.

Malposition noun [ Mal- + position .] A wrong position.

Malpractice noun [ Mal- + practice .] Evil practice; illegal or immoral conduct; practice contrary to established rules; specifically, the treatment of a case by a surgeon or physician in a manner which is contrary to accepted rules and productive of unfavorable results. [ Written also malepractice .]

Malt noun [ Anglo-Saxon mealt ; akin to Dutch mout , German malz , Icelandic , Swedish , & Danish malt , and English melt . √108. See Melt .] Barley or other grain, steeped in water and dried in a kiln, thus forcing germination until the saccharine principle has been evolved. It is used in brewing and in the distillation of whisky.

Malt adjective Relating to, containing, or made with, malt.

Malt liquor , an alcoholic liquor, as beer, ale, porter, etc., prepared by fermenting an infusion of malt. - - Malt dust , fine particles of malt, or of the grain used in making malt; -- used as a fertilizer. " Malt dust consists chiefly of the infant radicle separated from the grain." Sir H. Davy. -- Malt floor , a floor for drying malt. -- Malt house , or Malthouse , a house in which malt is made. -- Malt kiln , a heated chamber for drying malt.

Malt transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Malted : present participle & verbal noun Malting .] To make into malt; as, to malt barley.

Malt intransitive verb To become malt; also, to make grain into malt. Mortimer.

Maltalent noun [ French See Malice , and Talent .] Ill will; malice. [ Obsolete] Rom. of R. Spenser.

Maltese adjective Of or pertaining to Malta or to its inhabitants. -- noun sing. & plural A native or inhabitant of Malta; the people of Malta.

Maltese cat (Zoology) , a mouse- colored variety of the domestic cat. -- Maltese cross . See Illust. 5, of Cross . -- Maltese dog (Zoology) , a breed of small terriers, having long silky white hair. The breed originated in Malta.

Maltha (măl"thȧ) noun [ Latin , from Greek ma`lqa .]
1. A variety of bitumen, viscid and tenacious, like pitch, unctuous to the touch, and exhaling a bituminous odor.

2. Mortar. [ Obsolete] Holland.

Malthusian adjective Of or pertaining to the political economist, the Rev. T. R. Malthus , or conforming to his views; as, Malthusian theories.

» Malthus held that population tends to increase faster than its means of subsistence can be made to do, and hence that the lower classes must necessarily suffer more or less from lack of food, unless an increase of population be checked by prudential restraint or otherwise.

Malthusian noun A follower of Malthus.

Malthusianism noun The system of Malthusian doctrines relating to population.

Maltin, Maltine noun (Physiol. Chem.) The fermentative principle of malt; malt diastase; also, a name given to various medicinal preparations made from or containing malt.

Malting noun The process of making, or of becoming malt.

Maltman noun ; plural Maltmen A man whose occupation is to make malt.

Maltonic adjective (Chemistry) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, maltose; specif., designating an acid called also gluconic or dextronic acid. See Gluconic .

Maltose (malt"ōs`) noun [ From Malt .] (Physiol. Chem.) A crystalline sugar formed from starch by the action of diastase of malt, and the amylolytic ferment of saliva and pancreatic juice. It resembles dextrose, but rotates the plane of polarized light further to the right and possesses a lower cupric oxide reducing power.

Maltreat transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Maltreated ; present participle & verbal noun Maltreating .] [ Mal- + treat : confer French maltraiter .] To treat ill; to abuse; to treat roughly.

Maltreatment noun ; [ Confer French maltraitement .] Ill treatment; ill usage; abuse.

Maltster noun A maltman. Swift.

Maltworm noun A tippler. [ R.] Shak.

Malty adjective Containing, or like, malt. Dickens.

Malum noun ; plural Mala . [ Latin ] An evil. See Mala .

Malvaceous adjective [ Latin malvaceus , from malva mallows. See Mallow .] (Botany) Pertaining to, or resembling, a natural order of plants ( Malvaceæ ), of which the mallow is the type. The cotton plant, hollyhock, and abutilon are of this order, and the baobab and the silk-cotton trees are now referred to it.

Malversation noun [ French, from malverser to be corrupt in office, from Latin male ill + versari to move about, to occupy one's self, vertere to turn. See Malice , and Verse .] Evil conduct; fraudulent practices; misbehavior, corruption, or extortion in office.

Malvesie noun Malmsey wine. See Malmsey . " A jub of malvesye ." Chaucer.

Mam (măm) noun [ Abbrev. from mamma .] Mamma.

Mama noun See Mamma .

Mamaluke noun Same as Mameluke .

Mamelon noun [ French] A rounded hillock; a rounded elevation or protuberance. Westmin. Rev.

Mameluco noun [ Portuguese ] A child born of a white father and Indian mother. [ S. Amer.]

Mameluke noun [ French mamelouk , confer Spanish mameluco , Italian mammalucco ; all from Arabic maml...k a purchased slave or captive; lit., possessed or in one's power, past participle of malaka to possesses.] One of a body of mounted soldiers recruited from slaves converted to Mohammedanism, who, during several centuries, had more or less control of the government of Egypt, until exterminated or dispersed by Mehemet Ali in 1811.

Mamillated adjective See Mammillated .

Mamma noun [ Reduplicated from the infantine word ma , influenced in spelling by Latin mamma .] Mother; -- word of tenderness and familiarity. [ Written also mama .]

Tell tales papa and mamma .

Swift.

Mamma noun ; plural Mammæ . [ Latin mamma breast.] (Anat.) A glandular organ for secreting milk, characteristic of all mammals, but usually rudimentary in the male; a mammary gland; a breast; udder; bag.

Mammal noun ; plural Mammals . [ Latin mammalis belonging to the breast, from mamma the breast or pap: confer French mammal .] (Zoology) One of the Mammalia .

Age of mammals . See under Age , noun , 8.

Mammalia noun plural [ New Latin , from Latin mammalis . See Mammal .] (Zoology) The highest class of Vertebrata. The young are nourished for a time by milk, or an analogous fluid, secreted by the mammary glands of the mother.

» Mammalia are divided into three subclasses; --

I. Placentalia . This subclass embraces all the higher orders, including man. In these the fetus is attached to the uterus by a placenta.

II. Marsupialia . In these no placenta is formed, and the young, which are born at an early state of development, are carried for a time attached to the teats, and usually protected by a marsupial pouch. The opossum, kangaroo, wombat, and koala are examples.

III. Monotremata . In this group, which includes the genera Echidna and Ornithorhynchus , the female lays large eggs resembling those of a bird or lizard, and the young, which are hatched like those of birds, are nourished by a watery secretion from the imperfectly developed mammæ.

Mammalian adjective Of or pertaining to the Mammalia or mammals.

Mammaliferous adjective [ Mammal + -ferous .] (Geol.) Containing mammalian remains; -- said of certain strata.

Mammalogical adjective Of or pertaining to mammalogy.

Mammalogist noun [ Confer French mammalogiste .] One versed in mammalogy.

Mammalogy noun [ Mamma breast + -logy : confer f. mammalogie .] The science which relates to mammals or the Mammalia. See Mammalia .

Mammary adjective [ Confer French mammaire .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the mammæ or breasts; as, the mammary arteries and veins.

Mammee noun [ Haytian mamey .] (Botany) A fruit tree of tropical America, belonging to the genus Mammea ( M. Americana ); also, its fruit. The latter is large, covered with a thick, tough ring, and contains a bright yellow pulp of a pleasant taste and fragrant scent. It is often called mammee apple .

Mammer intransitive verb [ Confer German memme coward, poltroon.] To hesitate; to mutter doubtfully. [ Obsolete]

Mammet noun [ See Mawmet .] An idol; a puppet; a doll. [ Obsolete] Selden. Shak.

Mammetry noun See Mawmetry . [ Obsolete]