Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Monotonic, Monotonical adjective Of, pertaining to, or uttered in, a monotone; monotonous. " Monotonical declamation." Chesterfield.
Monotonist noun One who talks in the same strain or on the same subject until weariness is produced. Richardson.
Monotonous adjective [ Greek ...;
mo`nos alone, single + ... tone. See
Tone .]
Uttered in one unvarying tone; continued with dull uniformity; characterized by monotony; without change or variety; wearisome. --
Mo*not"o*nous*ly ,
adverb --
Mo*not"o*nous*ness ,
noun
Monotony noun [ Greek ...: confer French
monotonie . See
Monotonius .]
1. A frequent recurrence of the same tone or sound, producing a dull uniformity; absence of variety, as in speaking or singing. 2. Any irksome sameness, or want of variety. At sea, everything that breaks the monotony of the surrounding expanse attracts attention.
W. Irving.
Monotremata noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek
mo`nos single + ... hole.]
(Zoology) A subclass of Mammalia, having a cloaca in which the ducts of the urinary, genital, and alimentary systems terminate, as in birds. The female lays eggs like a bird. See Duck mole , under Duck , and Echidna .
Monotrematous adjective (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the Monotremata.
Monotreme noun [ Confer French monotrème .] (Zoology) One of the Monotremata.
Monotriglyph 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 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 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 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 adjective [
Mono- + Latin
valens , present participle See
Valence .]
(Chemistry) Having a valence of one; univalent. See Univalent .
Monoxide noun [ Mon- + oxide .] (Chemistry) An oxide containing one atom of oxygen in each molecule; as, barium monoxide .
Monoxylon 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 adjective [ See
Monoxylon .]
Made of one piece of wood.
Monozoa 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
Monseigneur 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 (Medicine) A basic sulphate of iron; -- so named from Monsel , a Frenchman.
Monsel's solution [ See
Monsel's salt .]
(Medicine) An aqueous solution of Monsel's salt, having valuable styptic properties.
Monsieur 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 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 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 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 adjective Monstrous in size. Pope.
Monster transitive verb To make monstrous. [ Obsolete] Shak.
Monstrance 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 noun [ Latin
monstratio .]
The act of demonstrating; proof. [ Obsolete]
A certain monstration .
Grafton.
Monstrosity 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 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 adverb Exceedingly; very; very much. "A
monstrous thick oil on the top."
Bacon. And will be monstrous witty on the poor.
Dryden.
Monstrously adverb In a monstrous manner; unnaturally; extraordinarily; as, monstrously wicked. "Who with his wife is monstrously in love." Dryden.
Monstrousness noun The state or quality of being monstrous, unusual, extraordinary. Shak.
Monstruosity noun Monstrosity. [ Obsolete] Shak.
Monstruous adjective Monstrous. [ Obsolete]
Mont noun [ French See
Mount ,
noun ]
Mountain.
Mont de piété [ 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 noun A mountain. [ Obsolete]
Montanic adjective [ Latin
montanus , from
mons ,
montis , mountain. See
Mount ,
noun ]
Of or pertaining to mountains; consisting of mountains.
Montanist 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 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 (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 noun In Spanish America, a wood; forest; timber land; esp., in parts of South America, a comparatively wooden region.
Monte-acid 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 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 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 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 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 (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).