Malpighiaceous Mal·pi`ghi·a"ceous 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 Mal·pi"ghi·an 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 Mal`po·si"tion noun [ Mal- + position .] A wrong position.

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

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

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

Maltese Mal·tese" 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 Mal"tha (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 Mal·thu"sian 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 Mal·thu"sian noun A follower of Malthus.

Malthusianism Mal·thu"sian·ism noun The system of Malthusian doctrines relating to population.

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

Malting Malt"ing noun The process of making, or of becoming malt.

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

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

Maltose Malt"ose` (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 Mal·treat" 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 Mal·treat"ment noun ; [ Confer French maltraitement .] Ill treatment; ill usage; abuse.

Maltster Malt"ster noun A maltman. Swift.

Maltworm Malt"worm` noun A tippler. [ R.] Shak.

Malty Malt"y adjective Containing, or like, malt. Dickens.

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

Malvaceous Mal·va"ceous 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 Mal`ver·sa"tion 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 Mal"ve·sie noun Malmsey wine. See Malmsey . " A jub of malvesye ." Chaucer.

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

Mama Ma·ma" noun See Mamma .

Mamaluke Mam"a·luke noun Same as Mameluke .

Mamelon Mam"e·lon noun [ French] A rounded hillock; a rounded elevation or protuberance. Westmin. Rev.

Mameluco Mam`e·lu"co noun [ Portuguese ] A child born of a white father and Indian mother. [ S. Amer.]

Mameluke Mam"e·luke 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 Mam"il·la`ted adjective See Mammillated .

Mamma Mam·ma" 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 Mam"ma 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 Mam"mal 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 Mam·ma"li·a 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 Mam·ma"li·an adjective Of or pertaining to the Mammalia or mammals.

Mammaliferous Mam`ma·lif"er·ous adjective [ Mammal + -ferous .] (Geol.) Containing mammalian remains; -- said of certain strata.

Mammalogical Mam`ma·log"ic·al adjective Of or pertaining to mammalogy.

Mammalogist Mam·mal"o·gist noun [ Confer French mammalogiste .] One versed in mammalogy.

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

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

Mammee Mam·mee" 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 Mam"mer intransitive verb [ Confer German memme coward, poltroon.] To hesitate; to mutter doubtfully. [ Obsolete]

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

Mammetry Mam"met·ry noun See Mawmetry . [ Obsolete]

Mammifer Mam"mi·fer noun [ New Latin See Mammiferous .] (Zoology) A mammal. See Mammalia .

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