Mobocracy Mob·oc"ra·cy noun [
Mob rabble +
-cracy , as in
democracy .]
A condition in which the lower classes of a nation control public affairs without respect to law, precedents, or vested rights. It is good name that Dr. Stevens has given to our present situation (for one can not call it a government), a mobocracy .
Walpole.
Mobocrat Mob"o·crat noun One who favors a form of government in which the unintelligent populace rules without restraint. Bayne.
Mobocratic Mob`o·crat"ic adjective Of, or relating to, a mobocracy.
Moccasin Moc"ca·sin noun [ An Indian word. Algonquin
makisin .] [ Sometimes written
moccason .]
1. A shoe made of deerskin, or other soft leather, the sole and upper part being one piece. It is the customary shoe worn by the American Indians. 2. (Zoology) A poisonous snake of the Southern United States. The water moccasin ( Ancistrodon piscivorus ) is usually found in or near water. Above, it is olive brown, barred with black; beneath, it is brownish yellow, mottled with darker. The upland moccasin is Ancistrodon atrofuscus . They resemble rattlesnakes, but are without rattles. Moccasin flower (Botany) ,
a species of lady's slipper ( Cypripedium acaule ) found in North America. The lower petal is two inches long, and forms a rose-colored moccasin-shaped pouch. It grows in rich woods under coniferous trees.
Moccasined Moc"ca·sined adjective Covered with, or wearing, a moccasin or moccasins. "
Moccasined feet."
Harper's Mag.
Mocha Mo"cha noun 1. A seaport town of Arabia, on the Red Sea. 2. A variety of coffee brought from Mocha. 3. An Abyssinian weight, equivalent to a Troy grain. Mocha stone (Min.) ,
moss agate.
Moche Moche noun [ French]
A bale of raw silk.
Moche Moche adjective Much. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Mochel Moch"el adjective & adverb Much. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Mochila Mo·chi"la noun [ Spanish ]
A large leather flap which covers the saddletree. [ Western U.S.]
Mock Mock transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Mocked ;
present participle & verbal noun Mocking .] [ French
moquer , of uncertain origin; confer OD.
mocken to mumble, German
mucken , OSw.
mucka .]
1. To imitate; to mimic; esp., to mimic in sport, contempt, or derision; to deride by mimicry. To see the life as lively mocked as ever
Still sleep mocked death.
Shak. Mocking marriage with a dame of France.
Shak. 2. To treat with scorn or contempt; to deride. Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud.
1 Kings xviii. 27. Let not ambition mock their useful toil.
Gray. 3. To disappoint the hopes of; to deceive; to tantalize; as, to mock expectation. Thou hast mocked me, and told me lies.
Judg. xvi. 13. He will not . . .
Mock us with his blest sight, then snatch him hence.
Milton. Syn. -- To deride; ridicule; taunt; jeer; tantalize; disappoint. See
Deride .
Mock Mock intransitive verb To make sport in contempt or in jest; to speak in a scornful or jeering manner. When thou mockest , shall no man make thee ashamed?
Job xi. 3. She had mocked at his proposal.
Froude.
Mock Mock noun 1. An act of ridicule or derision; a scornful or contemptuous act or speech; a sneer; a jibe; a jeer. Fools make a mock at sin.
Prov. xiv. 9. 2. Imitation; mimicry. [ R.]
Crashaw.
Mock Mock adjective Imitating reality, but not real; false; counterfeit; assumed; sham. That superior greatness and mock majesty.
Spectator. Mock bishop's weed (Botany) ,
a genus of slender umbelliferous herbs ( Discopleura ) growing in wet places. --
Mock heroic ,
burlesquing the heroic; as, a mock heroic poem. --
Mock lead .
See Blende ( a ). --
Mock nightingale (Zoology) ,
the European blackcap. --
Mock orange (Botany) ,
a genus of American and Asiatic shrubs ( Philadelphus ), with showy white flowers in panicled cymes. P. coronarius , from Asia, has fragrant flowers; the American kinds are nearly scentless. --
Mock sun .
See Parhelion . --
Mock turtle soup ,
a soup made of calf's head, veal, or other meat, and condiments, in imitation of green turtle soup. --
Mock velvet ,
a fabric made in imitation of velvet. See Mockado .
Mockable Mock"a·ble adjective Such as can be mocked. Shak.
Mockado Mock"a·do noun A stuff made in imitation of velvet; -- probably the same as mock velvet . [ Obsolete]
Our rich mockado doublet.
Ford.
Mockadour Mock"a·dour noun See Mokadour . [ Obsolete]
Mockage Mock"age noun Mockery. [ Obsolete]
Fuller.
Mockbird Mock"bird` noun (Zoology) The European sedge warbler ( Acrocephalus phragmitis ).
Mocker Mock"er noun 1. One who, or that which, mocks; a scorner; a scoffer; a derider. 2. A deceiver; an impostor. 3. (Zoology) A mocking bird. Mocker nut (Botany) ,
a kind of hickory ( Carya tomentosa ) and its fruit, which is far inferior to the true shagbark hickory nut.
Mockery Mock"er·y noun ;
plural Mockeries . [ French
moquerie .]
1. The act of mocking, deriding, and exposing to contempt, by mimicry, by insincere imitation, or by a false show of earnestness; a counterfeit appearance. It is, as the air, invulnerable,
And our vain blows malicious mockery .
Shak. Grace at meals is now generally so performed as to look more like a mockery upon devotion than any solemn application of the mind to God.
Law. And bear about the mockery of woe.
Pope. 2. Insulting or contemptuous action or speech; contemptuous merriment; derision; ridicule. The laughingstock of fortune's mockeries .
Spenser. 3. Subject of laughter, derision, or sport. The cruel handling of the city whereof they made a mockery .
2 Macc. viii. 17.
Mocking Mock"ing adjective Imitating, esp. in derision, or so as to cause derision; mimicking; derisive. Mocking bird (Zoology) ,
a North American singing bird ( Mimus polyglottos ), remarkable for its exact imitations of the notes of other birds. Its back is gray; the tail and wings are blackish, with a white patch on each wing; the outer tail feathers are partly white. The name is also applied to other species of the same genus, found in Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. --
Mocking thrush (Zoology) ,
any species of the genus Harporhynchus , as the brown thrush ( H. rufus ). --
Mocking wren (Zoology) ,
any American wren of the genus Thryothorus , esp. T. Ludovicianus .
Mockingly Mock"ing·ly adverb By way of derision; in a contemptuous or mocking manner.
Mockingstock Mock"ing·stock` noun A butt of sport; an object of derision. [ R.]
Mockish Mock"ish adjective Mock; counterfeit; sham. [ Obsolete]
Mockle Moc"kle adjective See Mickle .
Moco Mo"co noun (Zoology) A South American rodent ( Cavia rupestris ), allied to the Guinea pig, but larger; -- called also rock cavy .
Modal Mo"dal adjective [ Confer French
modal . See
Mode .]
1. Of or pertaining to a mode or mood; consisting in mode or form only; relating to form; having the form without the essence or reality. Glanvill. 2. (Logic & Metaph.) Indicating, or pertaining to, some mode of conceiving existence, or of expressing thought.
Modalist Mo"dal·ist noun (Theol.) One who regards Father, Son, and Spirit as modes of being, and not as persons, thus denying personal distinction in the Trinity. Eadie.
Modality Mo·dal"i·ty noun [ Confer French
modalité .]
1. The quality or state of being modal. 2. (Logic & Metaph.) A modal relation or quality; a mode or point of view under which an object presents itself to the mind. According to Kant, the quality of propositions, as assertory, problematical, or apodeictic.
Modally Mo"dal·ly adverb In a modal manner. A compound proposition, the parts of which are united modally . . . by the particles "as" and "so."
Gibbs.
Mode Mode noun [ Latin
modus a measure, due or proper measure, bound, manner, form; akin to English
mete : confer French
mode . See
Mete , and confer
Commodious ,
Mood in grammar,
Modus .]
1. Manner of doing or being; method; form; fashion; custom; way; style; as, the mode of speaking; the mode of dressing. The duty of itself being resolved on, the mode of doing it may easily be found.
Jer. Taylor. A table richly spread in regal mode .
Milton. 2. Prevailing popular custom; fashion, especially in the phrase the mode . The easy, apathetic graces of a man of the mode .
Macaulay. 3. Variety; gradation; degree. Pope. 4. (Metaph.) Any combination of qualities or relations, considered apart from the substance to which they belong, and treated as entities; more generally, condition, or state of being; manner or form of arrangement or manifestation; form, as opposed to matter . Modes I call such complex ideas, which, however compounded, contain not in them the supposition of subsisting by themselves, but are considered as dependencies on, or affections of, substances.
Locke. 5. (Logic) The form in which the proposition connects the predicate and subject, whether by simple, contingent, or necessary assertion; the form of the syllogism, as determined by the quantity and quality of the constituent proposition; mood. 6. (Gram.) Same as Mood . 7. (Mus.) The scale as affected by the various positions in it of the minor intervals; as, the Dorian mode , the Ionic mode , etc., of ancient Greek music. » In modern music, only the major and the minor mode, of whatever key, are recognized.
8. A kind of silk. See Alamode , noun Syn. -- Method; manner. See
Method .
Model Mod"el noun [ French
modèle , Italian
modello , from (assumed) Latin
modellus , from
modulus a small measure, dim. of
modus . See
Mode , and confer
Module .]
1. A miniature representation of a thing, with the several parts in due proportion; sometimes, a facsimile of the same size. In charts, in maps, and eke in models made.
Gascoigne. I had my father's signet in my purse,
Which was the model of that Danish seal.
Shak. You have the models of several ancient temples, though the temples and the gods are perished.
Addison. 2. Something intended to serve, or that may serve, as a pattern of something to be made; a material representation or embodiment of an ideal; sometimes, a drawing; a plan; as, the clay model of a sculpture; the inventor's model of a machine. [ The application for a patent] must be accompanied by a full description of the invention, with drawings and a model where the case admits of it.
Am. Cyc. When we mean to build
We first survey the plot, then draw the model .
Shak. 3. Anything which serves, or may serve, as an example for imitation; as, a government formed on the model of the American constitution; a model of eloquence, virtue, or behavior. 4. That by which a thing is to be measured; standard. He that despairs measures Providence by his own little, contracted model .
South. 5. Any copy, or resemblance, more or less exact. Thou seest thy wretched brother die,
Who was the model of thy father's life.
Shak. 6. A person who poses as a pattern to an artist. A professional model .
H. James. Working model ,
a model of a machine which can do on a small scale the work which the machine itself does, or is expected to do.
Model Mod"el adjective Suitable to be taken as a model or pattern; as, a model house; a model husband.
Model Mod"el transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Modeled or
Modelled ;
present participle & verbal noun Modeling or
Modelling .] [ Confer French
modeler , Italian
modellare .]
To plan or form after a pattern; to form in model; to form a model or pattern for; to shape; to mold; to fashion; as, to model a house or a government; to model an edifice according to the plan delineated.
Model Mod"el intransitive verb (Fine Arts) To make a copy or a pattern; to design or imitate forms; as, to model in wax.
Modeler Mod"el·er noun One who models; hence, a worker in plastic art. [ Written also
modeller .]
Modeling Mod"el·ing noun (Fine Arts) The act or art of making a model from which a work of art is to be executed; the formation of a work of art from some plastic material. Also, in painting, drawing, etc., the expression or indication of solid form. [ Written also
modelling .]
Modeling plane ,
a small plane for planing rounded objects. --
Modeling wax ,
beeswax melted with a little Venice turpentine, or other resinous material, and tinted with coloring matter, usually red, -- used in modeling.
Modelize Mod"el·ize transitive verb To model. [ Obsolete]
B. Jonson.
Modena Mod"e·na noun [ From
Modena , in Italy.]
A certain crimsonlike color. Good.
Modenese Mod`e·nese" adjective Of or pertaining to Modena or its inhabitants. --
noun sing. & plural A native or inhabitant of Modena; the people of Modena.
Moder Mo"der noun [ Middle English See
Mother female parent.]
1. A mother. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. 2. The principal piece of an astrolabe, into which the others are fixed. [ Obsolete]
Moder Mod"er transitive verb To moderate. [ Obsolete]
Moderable Mod"er·a·ble adjective [ Latin
moderabilis .]
Moderate; temperate. [ Obsolete]
Moderance Mod"er·ance noun Moderation. [ Obsolete]
Caxton.
Moderate Mod"er·ate adjective [ Latin
moderatus , past participle of
moderate ,
moderati , to moderate, regulate, control, from
modus measure. See
Mode .]
Kept within due bounds; observing reasonable limits; not excessive, extreme, violent, or rigorous; limited; restrained ; as:
(a) Limited in quantity; sparing; temperate; frugal; as, moderate in eating or drinking; a moderate table. (b) Limited in degree of activity, energy, or excitement; reasonable; calm; slow; as, moderate language; moderate endeavors. (c) Not extreme in opinion, in partisanship, and the like; as, a moderate Calvinist. A number of moderate members managed . . . to obtain a majority in a thin house.
Swift. (d) Not violent or rigorous; temperate; mild; gentle; as, a moderate winter. "
Moderate showers."
Walter. (e) Limited as to degree of progress; as, to travel at moderate speed. (f) Limited as to the degree in which a quality, principle, or faculty appears; as, an infusion of moderate strength; a man of moderate abilities. (g) Limited in scope or effects; as, a reformation of a moderate kind. Hooker.
Moderate Mod"er·ate noun (Eccl. Hist.) One of a party in the Church of Scotland in the 18th century, and part of the 19th, professing moderation in matters of church government, in discipline, and in doctrine.
Moderate Mod"er·ate transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Moderated ;
present participle & verbal noun Moderating .]
1. To restrain from excess of any kind; to reduce from a state of violence, intensity, or excess; to keep within bounds; to make temperate; to lessen; to allay; to repress; to temper; to qualify; as, to moderate rage, action, desires, etc.; to moderate heat or wind. By its astringent quality, it moderates the relaxing quality of warm water.
Arbuthnot. To moderate stiff minds disposed to strive.
Spenser. 2. To preside over, direct, or regulate, as a public meeting; as, to moderate a synod.
Moderate Mod"er·ate intransitive verb 1. To become less violent, severe, rigorous, or intense; as, the wind has moderated . 2. To preside as a moderator. Dr. Barlow [ was] engaged . . . to moderate for him in the divinity disputation.
Bp. Barlow's Remains (1693).
Moderately Mod"er·ate·ly adverb In a moderate manner or degree; to a moderate extent. Each nymph but moderately fair.
Waller.
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