Monotreme Mon"o·treme noun [ Confer French monotrème .] (Zoology) One of the Monotremata.

Monotriglyph Mon`o·tri"glyph noun [ Mono- + triglyph : confer French monotriglyphe .] (Architecture) A kind of intercolumniation in an entablature, in which only one triglyph and two metopes are introduced.

Monotropa Mo·not"ro·pa noun [ New Latin , from Greek mo`nos single + ... turn, from ... to turn.] (Botany) A genus of parasitic or saprophytic plants including the Indian pipe and pine sap. The name alludes to the dropping end of the stem.

Monotype Mon"o·type noun [ Mono- + - type .] 1. (Biol.) The only representative of its group, as a single species constituting a genus. 2. A print (but one impression can be taken) made by painting on metal and then transferring the painting to paper by pressure; also, the process of making such prints. 3. A kind of typesetting and casting machine that makes and sets individual types.

Monotype, Monotypic Mon"o·type, Mon`o·typ"ic adjective [ Mono- + -type : confer French monotype .] (Biol.) Having but one type; containing but one representative; as, a monotypic genus, which contains but one species.

Monovalent Mo·nov"a·lent adjective [ Mono- + Latin valens , present participle See Valence .] (Chemistry) Having a valence of one; univalent. See Univalent .

Monoxide Mo·nox"ide noun [ Mon- + oxide .] (Chemistry) An oxide containing one atom of oxygen in each molecule; as, barium monoxide .

Monoxylon Mo·nox"y·lon noun [ New Latin , from Greek ..., from ... made from one piece of wood; mo`nos alone + ... wood.] A canoe or boat made from one piece of timber.

Monoxylous Mo·nox"y·lous adjective [ See Monoxylon .] Made of one piece of wood.

Monozoa Mon`o·zo"a noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek mo`nos single + zo^,on an animal.] (Zoology) A division of Radiolaria; -- called also Monocyttaria . -- Mon`o*zo"ic adjective

Monroe doctrine Mon·roe" doc"trine See under Doctrine .

Monseigneur Mon`sei`gneur" noun ; plural Messeigneurs . [ French, from mon my + seigneur lord, Latin senior older. See Senior , and confer Monsieur .] My lord; -- a title in France of a person of high birth or rank; as, Monseigneur the Prince, or Monseigneur the Archibishop. It was given, specifically, to the dauphin, before the Revolution of 1789. (Abbrev. Mgr.)

Monsel's salt Mon"sel's salt` (Medicine) A basic sulphate of iron; -- so named from Monsel , a Frenchman.

Monsel's solution Mon"sel's so·lu"tion [ See Monsel's salt .] (Medicine) An aqueous solution of Monsel's salt, having valuable styptic properties.

Monsieur Mon·sieur" noun ; plural Messieurs . [ French, from mon my + Sieur , abbrev. of seigneur lord. See Monseigneur .] 1. The common title of civility in France in speaking to, or of, a man; Mr. or Sir. [ Represented by the abbreviation M. or Mons. in the singular, and by MM. or Messrs. in the plural.] 2. The oldest brother of the king of France. 3. A Frenchman. [ Contemptuous] Shak.

Monsignore Mon`si·gno"re noun ; plural Monsignors . [ Italian , my lord. Confer Monseigneur .] My lord; -- an ecclesiastical dignity bestowed by the pope, entitling the bearer to social and domestic rank at the papal court. (Abbrev. Mgr.)

Monsoon Mon·soon" noun [ Malay mūsim , from Arabic mausim a time, season: confer French monson , mousson , Sr. monzon , Portuguese monção , Italian monsone .] A wind blowing part of the year from one direction, alternating with a wind from the opposite direction; -- a term applied particularly to periodical winds of the Indian Ocean, which blow from the southwest from the latter part of May to the middle of September, and from the northeast from about the middle of October to the middle of December.

Monster Mon"ster noun [ Middle English monstre , French monstre , from Latin monstrum , orig., a divine omen, indicating misfortune; akin of monstrare to show, point out, indicate, and monere to warn. See Monition , and confer Demonstrate , Muster .] 1. Something of unnatural size, shape, or quality; a prodigy; an enormity; a marvel.

A monster or marvel.

Chaucer. 2. Specifically , an animal or plant departing greatly from the usual type, as by having too many limbs. 3. Any thing or person of unnatural or excessive ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty.

Monster Mon"ster adjective Monstrous in size. Pope.

Monster Mon"ster transitive verb To make monstrous. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Monstrance Mon"strance noun [ Late Latin monstrantia , from Latin monstrare to show: confer Old French monstrance . See Monster .] (R. C. Ch.) A transparent pyx, in which the consecrated host is exposed to view.

Monstration Mon·stra"tion noun [ Latin monstratio .] The act of demonstrating; proof. [ Obsolete]

A certain monstration .

Grafton.

Monstrosity Mon·stros"i·ty noun ; plural Monstrosities . [ Confer French monstruosité . See Monstrous .] The state of being monstrous, or out of the common order of nature; that which is monstrous; a monster. South.

A monstrosity never changes the name or affects the immutability of a species.

Adanson (Trans. ).

Monstrous Mon"strous adjective [ Middle English monstruous , French monstrueux , from Latin monstruosus , from monstrum . See Monster .] 1. Marvelous; strange. [ Obsolete] 2. Having the qualities of a monster; deviating greatly from the natural form or character; abnormal; as, a monstrous birth. Locke.

He, therefore, that refuses to do good to them whom he is bound to love . . . is unnatural and monstrous in his affections.

Jer. Taylor. 3. Extraordinary in a way to excite wonder, dislike, apprehension, etc.; -- said of size, appearance, color, sound, etc.; as, a monstrous height; a monstrous ox; a monstrous story. 4. Extraordinary on account of ugliness, viciousness, or wickedness; hateful; horrible; dreadful.

So bad a death argues a monstrous life.

Shak. 5. Abounding in monsters. [ R.]

Where thou, perhaps, under the whelming tide
Visitest the bottom of the monstrous world.

Milton.

Monstrous Mon"strous adverb Exceedingly; very; very much. "A monstrous thick oil on the top." Bacon.

And will be monstrous witty on the poor.

Dryden.

Monstrously Mon"strous·ly adverb In a monstrous manner; unnaturally; extraordinarily; as, monstrously wicked. "Who with his wife is monstrously in love." Dryden.

Monstrousness Mon"strous·ness noun The state or quality of being monstrous, unusual, extraordinary. Shak.

Monstruosity Mon`stru·os"i·ty noun Monstrosity. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Monstruous Mon"stru·ous adjective Monstrous. [ Obsolete]

Mont Mont noun [ French See Mount , noun ] Mountain.

Mont de piété Mont" de pi`é`té" [ French, from Italian monte di pietà mount of piety.] One of certain public pawnbroking establishments which originated in Italy in the 15th century, the object of which was to lend money at a low rate of interest to poor people in need; -- called also mount of piety . The institution has been adopted in other countries, as in Spain and France. See Lombard-house .

Montaigne Mon"taigne noun A mountain. [ Obsolete]

Montanic Mon·tan"ic adjective [ Latin montanus , from mons , montis , mountain. See Mount , noun ] Of or pertaining to mountains; consisting of mountains.

Montanist Mon"ta·nist noun (Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Mintanus, a Phrygian enthusiast of the second century, who claimed that the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, dwelt in him, and employed him as an instrument for purifying and guiding men in the Christian life. -- Mon`ta*nis"tic , Mon`ta*nis"tic*al adjective

Montant Mon"tant noun [ French,prop., mounting, from monter to mount, from Latin mons , montis , mountain. See Mount .] 1. (Fencing) An upward thrust or blow. Shak. 2. (Architecture) An upright piece in any framework; a mullion or muntin; a stile. [ R.] See Stile .

Monte Mon"te (mŏn"ta) noun [ Spanish , lit., mountain, hence, the stock of cards remaining after laying out a certain number, from Latin mons , montis , mountain.] A favorite gambling game among Spaniards, played with dice or cards.

Monte Mon"te noun In Spanish America, a wood; forest; timber land; esp., in parts of South America, a comparatively wooden region.

Monte-acid Monte`-ac"id noun [ French monter to raise + acide acid.] (Chemistry) An acid elevator, as a tube through which acid is forced to some height in a sulphuric acid manufactory.

Monte-jus Monte"-jus" noun [ French, from monter to bring up + jus juice.] An apparatus for raising a liquid by pressure of air or steam in a reservoir containing the liquid.

Monteith Mon·teith" noun See Monteth .

Monteith Mon·teith" noun A kind of cotton handkerchief having a uniform colored ground with a regular pattern of white spots produced by discharging the color; -- so called from the Glasgow manufactures.

Montem Mon"tem noun [ Latin ad montem to the hillock. See Mount , noun ] A custom, formerly practiced by the scholars at Eton school, England, of going every third year, on Whittuesday, to a hillock near the Bath road, and exacting money from all passers-by, to support at the university the senior scholar of the school.

Montero Mon·te"ro noun [ Spanish montera a hunting cap, from montero a huntsman, monte a mountain, forest, Latin mons , montis , mountain. See Mount , noun ] An ancient kind of cap worn by horsemen or huntsmen. Bacon.

Montessori Method Mon`tes·so"ri Meth"od (Pedagogy) A system of training and instruction, primarily for use with normal children aged from three to six years, devised by Dr. Maria Montessori while teaching in the "Houses of Childhood" (schools in the poorest tenement districts of Rome, Italy), and first fully described by her in 1909. Leading features are freedom for physical activity (no stationary desks and chairs), informal and individual instruction, the very early development of writing, and an extended sensory and motor training (with special emphasis on vision, touch, perception of movement, and their interconnections), mediated by a patented, standardized system of "didactic apparatus," which is declared to be "auto-regulative." Most of the chief features of the method are borrowed from current methods used in many institutions for training feeble-minded children, and dating back especially to the work of the French-American physician Edouard O. Seguin (1812-80).

Monteth, Monteith Mon·teth", Mon·teith" noun A vessel in which glasses are washed; -- so called from the name of the inventor.

New things produce new words, and thus Monteth
Has by one vessel saved his name from death.

King.

Montgolfier Mont`gol"fier noun A balloon which ascends by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire; a fire balloon; -- so called from two brothers, Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier , of France, who first constructed and sent up a fire balloon.

Month Month (mŭnth) noun [ Middle English month , moneth , Anglo-Saxon mōnð , mōnað ; akin to mōna moon, and to Dutch maand month, German monat , Old High German mānōd , Icelandic mānuðr , mānaðr , Goth. mēnōþs . √272. See Moon .] One of the twelve portions into which the year is divided; the twelfth part of a year, corresponding nearly to the length of a synodic revolution of the moon, -- whence the name. In popular use, a period of four weeks is often called a month . » In the common law, a month is a lunar month, or twenty-eight days, unless otherwise expressed. Blackstone. In the United States the rule of the common law is generally changed, and a month is declared to mean a calendar month. Cooley's Blackstone. A month mind . (a) A strong or abnormal desire . [ Obsolete] Shak. (b) A celebration made in remembrance of a deceased person a month after death. Strype. -- Calendar months , the months as adjusted in the common or Gregorian calendar; April, June, September, and November, containing 30 days, and the rest 31, except February, which, in common years, has 28, and in leap years 29. -- Lunar month , the period of one revolution of the moon, particularly a synodical revolution; but several kinds are distinguished, as the synodical month , or period from one new moon to the next, in mean length 29 d. 12 h. 44 m. 2.87 s.; the nodical month , or time of revolution from one node to the same again, in length 27 d. 5 h. 5 m. 36 s.; the sidereal , or time of revolution from a star to the same again, equal to 27 d. 7 h. 43 m. 11.5 s.; the anomalistic , or time of revolution from perigee to perigee again, in length 27 d. 13 h. 18 m. 37.4 s.; and the tropical , or time of passing from any point of the ecliptic to the same again, equal to 27 d. 7 h. 43 m. 4.7 s. -- Solar month , the time in which the sun passes through one sign of the zodiac, in mean length 30 d. 10 h. 29 m. 4.1 s.

Monthling Month"ling noun That which is a month old, or which lives for a month. [ R.] Wordsworth.

Monthly Month"ly adjective 1. Continued a month, or a performed in a month; as, the monthly revolution of the moon. 2. Done, happening, payable, published, etc., once a month, or every month; as, a monthly visit; monthly charges; a monthly installment; a monthly magazine. Monthly nurse , a nurse who serves for a month or some short time, esp. one which attends women after childbirth.

Monthly Month"ly noun ; plural Monthlies A publication which appears regularly once a month.