Maplike Map"like` adjective Having or consisting of lines resembling a map; as, the maplike figures in which certain lichens grow.
Mappery Map"per·y noun [ From Map.]
The making, or study, of maps. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Maqui Ma"qui noun (Botany) A Chilian shrub ( Aristotelia Maqui ). Its bark furnishes strings for musical instruments, and a medicinal wine is made from its berries.
Mar Mar noun A small lake. See Mere . [ Prov. Eng.]
Mar Mar transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Marred (märd);
present participle & verbal noun Marring .] [ Middle English
marren ,
merren , Anglo-Saxon
merran ,
myrran (in comp.), to obstruct, impede, dissipate; akin to Old Saxon
merrian , Old High German
marrjan ,
merran ; confer Dutch
marren ,
meeren , to moor a ship, Icelandic
merja to bruise, crush, and Goth.
marzjan to offend. Confer
Moor ,
v. ]
1. To make defective; to do injury to, esp. by cutting off or defacing a part; to impair; to disfigure; to deface. I pray you mar no more trees with wiring love songs in their barks.
Shak. But mirth is marred , and the good cheer is lost.
Dryden. Ire, envy, and despair
Which marred all his borrowed visage.
Milton. 2. To spoil; to ruin. "It makes us, or it
mars us." "Striving to mend, to
mar the subject."
Shak.
Mar Mar noun A mark or blemish made by bruising, scratching, or the like; a disfigurement.
Mar-text Mar"-text` noun A blundering preacher.
Mara Ma"ra noun [ Sanskrit
māra .]
(Hind. Myth.) The principal or ruling evil spirit. E. Arnold.
Mara Ma"ra noun [ Icelandic
mara nightmare, an ogress. See
Nightmare .]
(Norse Myth.) A female demon who torments people in sleep by crouching on their chests or stomachs, or by causing terrifying visions.
Mara Ma"ra noun (Zoology) The Patagonian cavy ( Dolichotis Patagonicus ).
Marabou Mar`a·bou" noun [ French]
1. (Zoology) A large stork of the genus Leptoptilos (formerly Ciconia ), esp. the African species ( Latin crumenifer ), which furnishes plumes worn as ornaments. The Asiatic species ( Latin dubius , or Latin argala ) is the adjutant. See Adjutant . [ Written also
marabu .]
2. One having five eighths negro blood; the offspring of a mulatto and a griffe. [ Louisiana]
Bartlett.
Marabou Mar`a·bou" noun A kind of thrown raw silk, nearly white naturally, but capable of being dyed without scouring; also, a thin fabric made from it, as for scarfs, which resembles the feathers of the marabou in delicacy, -- whence the name.
Marabout Marabout" noun [ French, from Portuguese
marabuto , Arabic
morābit . Confer
Maravedi .]
A Mohammedan saint; especially, one who claims to work cures supernaturally.
Maracan Mar"a·can noun [ Braz.
maracaná .]
(Zoology) A macaw.
Marai Ma·rai" noun A sacred inclosure or temple; -- so called by the islanders of the Pacific Ocean.
Maranatha Mar`a·nath"a noun [ Aramaic
māran athā .]
"Our Lord cometh;" -- an expression used by St. Paul at the conclusion of his first Epistle to the Corinthians (xvi. 22). This word has been used in anathematizing persons for great crimes; as much as to say, "May the Lord come quickly to take vengeance of thy crimes." See Anathema maranatha , under Anathema .
Maranta Ma·ran"ta noun [ New Latin ]
(Botany) A genus of endogenous plants found in tropical America, and some species also in India. They have tuberous roots containing a large amount of starch, and from one species ( Maranta arundinacea ) arrowroot is obtained. Many kinds are cultivated for ornament.
Maraschino Ma`ra·schi"no noun [ Italian , from
marasca ,
amarasca , a sour cherry, Latin
amarus bitter.]
A liqueur distilled from fermented cherry juice, and flavored with the pit of a variety of cherry which grows in Dalmatia.
Marasmus Ma·ras"mus noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... , from ..., to quench, as fire; pass., to die away.]
(Medicine) A wasting of flesh without fever or apparent disease; a kind of consumption; atrophy; phthisis. Pining atrophy,
Marasmus , and wide-wasting pestilence.
Milton. Marasmus senilis [ Latin ],
progressive atrophy of the aged.
Marathi, Mahratta Ma·ra"thi, Mah·rat"ta noun A Sanskritic language of western India, probably descended from the Maharastri Prakrit, spoken by the Marathas and neighboring peoples. It has an abundant literature dating from the 13th century. It has a book alphabet nearly the same as Devanagari and a cursive script translation between the Devanagari and the Gujarati.
Maraud Ma·raud" intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Marauded ;
present participle & verbal noun Marauding .] [ French
marauder , from
maraud vagabond, Old French
marault ; of uncertain origin, perhaps for
malault , from (assumed) Late Latin
malaldus ; from Latin
malus bad, ill + a suffix of German origin (cf.
Herald ). Confer
Malice .]
To rove in quest of plunder; to make an excursion for booty; to plunder. "
Marauding hosts."
Milman.
Maraud Ma·raud" noun An excursion for plundering.
Marauder Ma·raud`er noun [ From
Maraud ,
v. : confer French
maraudeur .]
A rover in quest of booty or plunder; a plunderer; one who pillages. De Quincey.
Maravedi Mar`a·ve"di noun [ Spanish
maravedí ; -- so called from the
Morābitīn (lit., the steadfast), an Arabian dynasty which reigned in Africa and Spain. Confer
Marabout .]
(Numis.) A small copper coin of Spain, equal to three mils American money, less than a farthing sterling. Also, an ancient Spanish gold coin.
Marble Mar"ble (mär"b'l)
noun [ Middle English
marbel ,
marbre , French
marbre , Latin
marmor , from Greek
ma`rmaros , from
marmai`rein to sparkle, flash. Confer
Marmoreal .]
1. A massive, compact limestone; a variety of calcite, capable of being polished and used for architectural and ornamental purposes. The color varies from white to black, being sometimes yellow, red, and green, and frequently beautifully veined or clouded. The name is also given to other rocks of like use and appearance, as serpentine or verd antique marble, and less properly to polished porphyry, granite, etc. »
Breccia marble consists of limestone fragments cemented together. --
Ruin marble , when polished, shows forms resembling ruins, due to disseminated iron oxide. --
Shell marble contains fossil shells. --
Statuary marble is a pure, white, fine-grained kind, including
Parian (from Paros) and
Carrara marble. If coarsely granular it is called
saccharoidal .
2. A thing made of, or resembling, marble, as a work of art, or record, in marble; or, in the plural, a collection of such works; as, the Arundel or Arundelian marbles ; the Elgin marbles . 3. A little ball of marble, or of some other hard substance, used as a plaything by children; or, in the plural, a child's game played with marbles. »
Marble is also much used in self-explaining compounds; when used figuratively in compounds it commonly means, hard, cold, destitute of compassion or feeling; as,
marble- breasted,
marble- faced,
marble- hearted.
Marble Mar"ble adjective 1. Made of, or resembling, marble; as, a marble mantel; marble paper. 2. Cold; hard; unfeeling; as, a marble breast or heart.
Marble Mar"ble transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Marbled ;
present participle & verbal noun Marbling .] [ Confer French
marbrer . See
Marble ,
noun ]
To stain or vein like marble; to variegate in color; as, to marble the edges of a book, or the surface of paper.
Marble-edged Mar"ble-edged` adjective Having the edge veined or spotted with different colors like marble, as a book.
Marbled Mar"bled adjective 1. Made of, or faced with, marble. [ Obsolete] "The
marbled mansion."
Shak. 2. Made to resemble marble; veined or spotted like marble. "
Marbled paper."
Boyle. 3. (zoöl.) Varied with irregular markings, or witch a confused blending of irregular spots and streaks.
Marbleize Mar"ble·ize transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Marbleized ;
present participle & verbal noun Marbleizing .]
To stain or grain in imitation of marble; to cover with a surface resembling marble; as, to marbleize slate, wood, or iron.
Marbler Mar"bler noun 1. One who works upon marble or other stone. [ R.]
Fuller. 2. One who colors or stains in imitation of marble.
Marbling Mar"bling noun 1. The art or practice of variegating in color, in imitation of marble. 2. An intermixture of fat and lean in meat, giving it a marbled appearance. 3. plural (Zoology) Distinct markings resembling the variegations of marble, as on birds and insects.
Marbly Mar"bly adjective Containing, or resembling, marble.
Marbrinus Mar·bri"nus noun [ Late Latin , from Old French & French
marble marble. See
Marble .]
A cloth woven so as to imitate the appearance of marble; -- much used in the 15th and 16th centuries. Beck (Draper's Dict.).
Marc Marc noun [ French]
The refuse matter which remains after the pressure of fruit, particularly of grapes.
Marc Marc noun [ Anglo-Saxon
marc ; akin to German
mark , Icelandic
mörk , perhaps akin to English
mark a sign. √106, 273.] [ Written also
mark .]
1. A weight of various commodities, esp. of gold and silver, used in different European countries. In France and Holland it was equal to eight ounces. 2. A coin formerly current in England and Scotland, equal to thirteen shillings and four pence. 3. A German coin and money of account. See Mark .
Marcantant Mar"can·tant noun [ Italian
mercatante . See
Merchant .]
A merchant. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Marcasite Mar"ca·site noun [ French
marcassite ; confer Italian
marcassita , Spanish
marquesita , Portuguese
marquezita ; all from Arabic
marqashītha .]
(Min.) A sulphide of iron resembling pyrite or common iron pyrites in composition, but differing in form; white iron pyrites. Golden marcasite ,
tin. [ Obsolete]
Marcasitic, Marcasitical Mar`ca·sit"ic, Mar`ca·sit"ic·al adjective Containing, or having the nature of, marcasite.
Marcassin Mar·cas"sin noun [ French]
(Her.) A young wild boar.
Marcato Mar·ca"to adjective [ Italian ]
(Mus.) In a marked emphatic manner; -- used adverbially as a direction.
Marceline Mar"cel·ine noun [ French, from Latin
marcidus withered, from
marcere to wither, shrivel.]
A thin silk fabric used for linings, etc., in ladies' dresses.
Marcescent Mar·ces"cent adjective [ Latin
marcescens , present participle of
marcescere to wither, decay, from
marcere to wither, droop: confer French
marcescent .]
(Botany) Withering without falling off; fading; decaying.
Marcescible Mar·ces"ci·ble adjective [ Confer French
marcescible .]
Liable to wither or decay.
March March noun [ Latin
Martius mensis Mars'month from
Martius belonging to
Mars , the god of war: confer French
mars . Confer
Martial .]
The third month of the year, containing thirty-one days. The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies.
Bryant. As mad as a March Hare ,
an old English Saying derived from the fact that March is the rutting time of hares, when they are excitable and violent. Wright.
March March noun [ Middle English
marche , French
marche ; of German origin; confer Old High German
marcha , German
mark , akin to Old Saxon
marka , Anglo-Saxon
mearc , Goth.
marka , Latin
margo edge, border, margin, and possibly to English
mark a sign. √106. Confer
Margin ,
Margrave ,
Marque ,
Marquis .]
A territorial border or frontier; a region adjacent to a boundary line; a confine; -- used chiefly in the plural, and in English history applied especially to the border land on the frontiers between England and Scotland, and England and Wales. Geneva is situated in the marches of several dominions -- France, Savoy, and Switzerland.
Fuller. Lords of waste marches , kings of desolate isles.
Tennyson.
March March intransitive verb [ Confer Old French
marchir . See 2d
March .]
To border; to be contiguous; to lie side by side. [ Obsolete]
That was in a strange land
Which marcheth upon Chimerie.
Gower. To march with ,
to have the same boundary for a greater or less distance; -- said of an estate.
March March intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Marched ;
present participle & verbal noun Marching .] [ French
marcher , in Old French also, to tread, probably from Latin
marcus hammer. Confer
Mortar .]
1. To move with regular steps, as a soldier; to walk in a grave, deliberate, or stately manner; to advance steadily. Shak. 2. To proceed by walking in a body or in military order; as, the German army marched into France.
March March transitive verb To cause to move with regular steps in the manner of a soldier; to cause to move in military array, or in a body, as troops; to cause to advance in a steady, regular, or stately manner; to cause to go by peremptory command, or by force. March them again in fair array.
Prior.
March March noun [ French
marche .]
1. The act of marching; a movement of soldiers from one stopping place to another; military progress; advance of troops. These troops came to the army harassed with a long and wearisome march .
Bacon. 2. Hence: Measured and regular advance or movement, like that of soldiers moving in order; stately or deliberate walk; steady onward movement. With solemn march
Goes slow and stately by them.
Shak. This happens merely because men will not bide their time, but will insist on precipitating the march of affairs.
Buckle. 3. The distance passed over in marching; as, an hour's march ; a march of twenty miles. 4. A piece of music designed or fitted to accompany and guide the movement of troops; a piece of music in the march form. The drums presently striking up a march .
Knolles. To make a march ,
(Card Playing) ,
to take all the tricks of a hand, in the game of euchre.