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 Talk Talk - Communication terms
Category: General technical and industrial
Date & country: 28/05/2010, UK
Words: 18630


methanal
Gas at ordinary temperatures, condensing to a liquid at -21°C/-5.8°F. It has a powerful, penetrating smell. Dissolved in water, it is used as a biological preservative. It is used in the manufacture of plastics, dyes, foam (for example, urea-formaldehyde foam, used in insulation), and in medicine. It is the simplest exampl...

Messier, Charles
French astronomer. He discovered 15 comets and in 1784 published a list of 103 star clusters and nebulae. Objects on this list are given M (for Messier) numbers, which astronomers still use today, such as M1 (the Crab nebula) and M31 (the Andromeda galaxy)

menu
In computing, a list of options, displayed on screen, from which the user may make a choice – for example, the choice of services offered to the customer by a bank cash dispenser: withdrawal, deposit, balance, or statement. Menus are used extensively in graphical user interface (GUI) systems, where the menu options are often selected using...

merlin
Small falcon of Europe, Asia, and North America, where it is also called a pigeon hawk. The male, 26 cm/10 in long, has a grey-blue back and reddish-brown barred front; the female, 32 cm/13 in long, has a dark brown back and lighter front with streaks. Merlins fly relatively low over the ground when hunting and `stoop`...

merino
Breed of sheep. Its close-set, silky wool is highly valued. Originally from Spain, the merino is now found all over the world, and is the breed on which the Australian wool industry is built

merganser
Any of several diving ducks with long, slender, serrated bills for catching fish, widely distributed in the northern hemisphere. Most have crested heads. (Genus Mergus, family Anatidae.) The male common merganser or goosander (M. merganser) has a greenish-black head, black back, and a pinkish-white brea...

megamouth
Deep-sea shark that feeds on plankton. It has a bulbous head with protruding jaws and blubbery lips, is 4.5 m/15 ft long, and weighs 750 kg/1,650 lb. Although first discovered in 1976, the first live specimen was found in 1992 off the coast of Los Angeles. The first female was found in 1994 in Hakata Bay, Kyushu, Japan; she was 4.8 ...

menopause
In women, the cessation of reproductive ability, characterized by menstruation (see menstrual cycle) becoming irregular and eventually ceasing. The onset is at about the age of 50, but varies greatly. Menopause is usually uneventful, but some women suffer from complications such as flushing, excessive bleeding, and nervous disorders. Since the 1950...

metamorphosis
(biology) Click images to enlargePeriod during the life cycle of many invertebrates, most amphibians, and some fish, during which the individual's body changes from one form to another through a major reconstitution of its tissues. For exam...

Mendelism
In genetics, the theory of inheritance originally outlined by Austrian biologist Gregor Mendel. He suggested that, in sexually reproducing species, all characteristics are inherited through indivisible `factors` (now identified with genes) contributed by each parent to its offspring

methanogenic bacteria
A group of micro-organisms belonging to the domain of the Archaea. They give off methane gas as a by-product of their metabolism, and are common in sewage treatment plants and hot springs, where the temperature is high and oxygen is absent

Mesozoic
Era of geological time 245–65 million years ago, consisting of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. At the beginning of the era, the continents were joined together as Pangaea; dinosaurs and other giant reptiles dominated the sea and air; and ferns, horsetails, and cycads thrived in a warm climate worldwide. By the end of th...

Mediterranean climate
Climate characterized by hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters. Mediterranean zones are situated in either hemisphere on the western side of continents, between latitudes of 30° and 60°. During the winter, rain is brought by the westerlies, which blow from the sea. In summer, Mediterranean climate areas are under the influence of the tra...

meander
Loop-shaped curve in a river flowing sinuously across flat country. As a river flows, any curve in its course is accentuated (intensified) by the current. On the outside of the curve the velocity, and therefore the erosion, of the current is greatest. Here the river cuts into the outside bank, pr...

megapode
Any of a group of chickenlike birds found in the Malay Archipelago and Australia. They pile up large mounds of vegetable matter, earth, and sand 4 m/13 ft across, in which to deposit their eggs, then cover the eggs and leave them to be incubated by the heat produced by the rotting vegetation. There are 19 species, all large birds, 50–70 cm...

mercantilism
Economic theory, held in the 16th–18th centuries, that a nation's wealth (in the form of bullion or treasure) was the key to its prosperity. To this end, foreign trade should be regulated to create a surplus of exports over imports, and the state should intervene where necessary (for example, subsidizing exports and taxing imports). The bu...

mesophyll
Tissue between the upper and lower epidermis of a leaf blade (lamina), consisting of parenchyma-like cells containing numerous chloroplasts. In many plants, mesophyll is divided into two distinct layers. The palisade mesophyll is usually just below the upper epidermis and is composed of regular layers of elongated cells. Lying below them is the...

meristem
Region of plant tissue containing cells that are actively dividing to produce new tissues (or have the potential to do so). Meristems found in the tip of roots and stems, the apical meristems, are responsible for the growth in length of these organs. The cambium is a lateral meristem that is responsible for increase in girth in perennial plants. So...

median
In mathematics and statistics, the middle number of an ordered group of numbers. If there is no middle number (because there is an even number of terms), the median is the mean (average) of the two middle numbers. For example, the median of the group 2, 3, 7, 11, 12 is 7; that of 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, ...

menstrual cycle
Biological cycle occurring in female mammals of reproductive age that prepares the body for pregnancy. At the beginning of the cycle, a Graafian (egg) follicle develops in the ovary, and the inner wall of the uterus forms a soft spongy lining. The egg (ovum) is released from the ovary, and the uterus...

metal fatigue
Condition in which metals fail or fracture under relatively light loads, when these loads are applied repeatedly. Structures that are subject to flexing, such as the airframes of aircraft, are prone to metal fatigue

Mercalli scale
Qualitative scale describing the intensity of an earthquake. It differs from the Richter scale, which indicates earthquake magnitude and is quantitative. It is named after the Italian seismologist Giuseppe Mercalli (1850–1914). Intensity is a subjective value, based on observed phenomena, and varies from place to place even when describing the...

metal detector
Electronic device for detecting metal, usually below ground, developed from the wartime mine detector. In the head of the metal detector is a coil, which is part of an electronic circuit. The presence of metal causes the frequency of the signal in the circuit to change, setting up an audible note in the headphones worn by the user. They are used to...

mechanization
The use of machines in place of manual labour or the use of animals. Until the 1700s there were few machines available to help people in the home, on the land, or in industry. There were no factories, only cottage industries, in which people carried out work, such as weaving, in their own homes for other people. The 1700s saw a long series of inven...

metaphor
Figure of speech using an analogy or close comparison between two things that are not normally treated as if they had anything in common. Metaphor is a common means of extending the uses and references of words. See also simile

metonymy
Figure of speech that works by association, naming something closely connected with what is meant; for example, calling the theatrical profession `the stage`, horse racing `the turf`, or journalists `the press`. It is related to synecdoche

memory
(computing) In computing, the part of a system used to store data and programs either permanently or temporarily. There are two main types: immediate access memory and backing storage. Memory capacity is measured in bytes or, more...

Melanesian languages
See Austronesian languages

meteorite
Piece of rock or metal from space that reaches the surface of the Earth, Moon, or other body. Most meteorites are thought to be fragments from asteroids, although some may be pieces from the heads of comets. Most are stony, although some are made of iron and a few have a mixed rock–iron composition. Stony meteorites can be divided into two kin...

Medawar, Peter Brian
Brazilian-born British immunologist who was awarded a Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1960 with Macfarlane Burnet for their work on acquired immunological tolerance of transplanted tissues. They discovered that the body's resistance to grafted tissue is undeveloped in the newborn child, and studied the way it is acquired. Medawar ...

Meuse
River flowing through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands; length 900 km/559 mi. It was an important line of battle in both world wars. It gives its name to a French département

Mexican War
War between the USA and Mexico 1846–48. The war was ostensibly over disputed boundaries between the two nations, but it was also an excuse for the USA to pursue its `manifest destiny` to expand westwards. US forces defeated the Mexican army in a series of battles in the disputed regions and Mexico itself, and occupied Mexico City in ...

Methuselah
In the Old Testament, Hebrew patriarch who lived before the Flood; his lifespan of 969 years makes him a byword for longevity

Methodius, St
Greek Christian bishop, who with his brother Cyril translated much of the Bible into Slavonic. Feast day 14 February

methane
Simplest hydrocarbon of the alkane series. Colourless, odourless, and lighter than air, it burns with a bluish flame and explodes when mixed with air or oxygen. As the chief constituent of natural gas, methane's main use is as a fuel. It also occurs in the explosive firedamp of coal mines. Methane emitted by rotting vegetation forms marsh gas, ...

meteorology
Click images to enlargeScientific observation and study of the atmosphere, so that weather can be accurately forecast. Data from meteorological stations and weather satellites are collated by computers at central agencies, and forecast and weather maps based on current readings are issued at regular intervals. Modern anal...

metamorphic rock
Rock altered in structure, composition, and texture by pressure or heat after its original formation. (Rock that actually melts under heat is called igneous rock upon cooling.) For example, limestone can be metamorphosed by heat into marble, and shale by pressure into slate. The term was coined in 18...

metabolism
Chemical processes of living organisms enabling them to grow and to function. It involves a constant alternation of building up complex molecules (anabolism) and breaking them down (catabolism). For example, green plants build up complex organic substances from water, carbon dioxide, and mineral salts (photosynthesis); by digestion animals part...

Messina, Strait of
Channel in the central Mediterranean separating Sicily from mainland Italy, joining the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas; it is 32 km/20 mi long, and its width varies from 16 km/10 mi in the south to 3 km/2 mi in the north. In Greek legend the monster Scylla devoured sailors from a rock on the Italian shore, while another, Charybdis, crea...

Messerschmitt, Willy
(Wilhelm Emil) German aeroplane designer. His Me-109 was a standard Luftwaffe fighter in World War II, and his Me-262 (1944) was the first mass-produced jet fighter. Messerschmitt aeroplanes were characterized by simple concept, minimum weight and aerodynamic drag, and the possibil...

Messalina, Valeria
Third wife of the Roman emperor Claudius I. She was notorious for her immorality, persuading a noble to marry her in AD 48, although still married to Claudius. Claudius was then persuaded (with some difficulty), by his secretary Narcissus, to have her executed. Messalina was the daughter of Marcus Valerius Messala Barbatus and mother of Claudius...

Mesolithic
The Middle Stone Age developmental stage of human technology and of prehistory

mesa
Flat-topped, steep-sided plateau, consisting of horizontal weak layers of rock topped by a resistant formation; in particular, those found in the desert areas of the USA and Mexico. A small mesa is called a butte

Mesmer, Friedrich Anton
(or Franz) Austrian physician, an early experimenter in hypnosis, which was formerly (and popularly) called `mesmerism` after him. He claimed to reduce people to trance state by consciously exerted `animal magnetism`, their willpower being entirely subordinated to his. Expe...

mermaid
Mythical sea creature (the male is a merman), having a human head and torso, often of great beauty, and a fish's tail. Suggested animals behind the myth include the dugong or manatee and seal

Merseyside
Metropolitan county of northwest England, created in 1974; in 1986, most of the functions of the former county council were transferred to metropolitan borough councils (The Wirral, Sefton, Liverpool, Knowsley, St Helens). Area 650 sq km/251 sq mi Towns and cities Liverpool, Bootle, Birkenhea...

Merlin
Legendary magician and seer to King Arthur. Welsh bardic literature has a cycle of poems attributed to him, and he may have been a real person. His legend is related in Vita Merlini by the 12th-century chronicler Geoffrey of Monmouth

Mercia
Anglo-Saxon kingdom that emerged in the 6th century. By the late 8th century it dominated all England south of the Humber, but from about 825 came under the power of Wessex. Mercia eventually came to denote an area bounded by the Welsh border, the River Humber, East Anglia, and the River Thames

Mercator, Gerardus
Flemish mapmaker who devised Mercator's projection in which the parallels and meridians on maps are drawn uniformly at 90°. The projection continues to be used, in particular for navigational charts, because compass courses can be drawn as straight lines, but the true area of countries is increasingly distorted the further north or south t...

Menuhin, Yehudi, Baron Menuhin
US-born violinist and conductor. His solo repertoire extended from Vivaldi to George Enescu. He recorded the Elgar Violin Concerto in 1932 with the composer conducting, and commissioned the Sonata for violin solo in 1944 from an ailing Bartók. He appeared in concert with sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, an...

Mennonite
Member of a Protestant Christian sect, originating as part of the Anabaptist movement in Zürich, Switzerland in 1523. Members refuse to hold civil office or do military service, and reject infant baptism. They were named Mennonites after Menno Simons (1496–1559), leader of a group in Holland. Persecution drove other groups to Russia and N...

Mendelssohn
(-Bartholdy) German composer, also a pianist and conductor. His music has the lightness and charm of classical music, applied to Romantic and descriptive subjects. Among his best-known works are A Midsummer Night's Dream (1826); the Fingal's Cave...

Mendeleyev, Dmitri Ivanovich
Russian chemist who framed the periodic law in chemistry in 1869, which states that the chemical properties of the elements depend on their relative atomic masses. This law is the basis of the periodic table of the elements, in which the elements are arranged by atomic number and organized by their related groups. Mendeleyev was the first chemist t...

Mendel, Gregor Johann
Austrian biologist who founded genetics. His experiments with successive generations of peas gave the basis for his theory of particulate inheritance rather than blending, involving dominant and recessive characters; see Mendelism. His results, published 1865–69, remained unrecognized until ...

Menander
Greek comic dramatist. Previously only known by reputation and some short fragments, Menander's comedy Bad-Tempered Man (316 BC), was discovered in 1957 on Egyptian papyrus. Substantial parts of The Samian Woman, The Arbitration, The Unkindest Cut, and The ...

Menai Strait
Channel of the Irish Sea dividing Anglesey from the Welsh mainland; about 22 km/14 mi long and up to 3 km/2 mi wide. It is crossed by two bridges. Thomas Telford's suspension bridge (521 m/1,710 ft long) was opened in 1826 but was reconstructed to the original design in 1940, and freed from tolls. Robert Stephenson's tubular...

Memling, Hans
Flemish painter. He was probably a pupil of van der Weyden, but his style is calmer and softer. He painted religious subjects and also portraits, including Tommaso Portinari and His Wife (about 1480; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). His works, which were highly regarded in Renaissance Italy, where they influenced PPerug...

Melville, Herman
US writer. His novel Moby-Dick (1851) was inspired by his whaling experiences in the South Seas and is considered to be one of the masterpieces of American literature. Billy Budd, Sailor, completed just before his death and published in 1924, was the basis of an opera by Benjamin Britten (1951). Although mo...

Melbourne,
(Henry) British Whig politician. Home secretary 1830–34, he was briefly prime minister in 1834 and again in 1835–41. Accused in 1836 of seducing Caroline Norton, he lost the favour of William IV. Viscount 1829

Melbourne
(Australia) Capital of the state of Victoria, Australia; population (2001 est) 3,366,500. Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne is situated on the southeast coast of Australia, on Port Philip Bay, at the mouth of the River Yarra. It is separated from Tasmania by the Bass Strai...

melanoma
Highly malignant tumour of the melanin-forming cells (melanocytes) of the skin. It develops from an existing mole in up to two-thirds of cases, but can also arise in the eye or mucous membranes. Malignant melanoma is the most dangerous of the skin cancers; it is associated with brief but excessive exposure to sunlight. It is easily trea...

Melanchthon, Philip
German theologian who helped Martin Luther prepare a German translation of the New Testament. In 1521 he issued the first systematic formulation of Protestant theology, reiterated in the Confession of Augsburg (1530)

Mekong
River of China, rising as the Za Qu in Qinghai province, flowing through Tibet autonomous region and Yunnan province as the Lancang Jiang, and then through Laos, where part of its course forms the border with Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam; length 4,425 km/2,750 mi. The Mekong empties into the South China Sea through a vast delta, covering...

Meistersinger
One of a group of German lyric poets, singers, and musicians of the 14th–16th centuries, who formed guilds for the revival of minstrelsy. Hans Sachs was a Meistersinger, and Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg/The Mastersingers of Nuremberg (1868) depicts the tradition

Meir, Golda
Israeli Labour politician; foreign minister 1956–66 and prime minister 1969–74. Criticism of the Israelis' lack of preparation for the 1973 Arab-Israeli War led to election losses for Labour and, unable to form a government, she resigned. Born in Russia, she emigrated to the USA in 1906, and in 1921 went to Palestine

Megiddo
Site of a fortress town in northern Israel, where Thutmose III defeated the Canaanites; the Old Testament figure Josiah was killed in battle in about 609 BC; and in World War I the British field marshal Allenby broke the Turkish front in 1918. It is identified with Armageddon

Meghalaya
State of northeast India, bordered to the north by Assam, to the south by Bangladesh; area 22,489 sq km/8,683 sq mi; population (2001 est) 2,306,100, mainly Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo. The capital is Shillong. The state is upland with hills reaching 2,000 m/6,500 ft, rising steeply in the south away from its border with Bangladesh. Th...

megalith
Click images to enlargePrehistoric stone monument of the late Neolithic (New Stone Age) or early Bronze Age. Most common in Europe, megaliths include single large uprights or menhirs (for example, the Five Kings, Northumberland, England); rows or alignments (for example, Carnac, Brittany, France); stone circles...

Medusa
In Greek mythology, a mortal woman who was transformed into a snake-haired Gorgon by Athena for defiling the goddess's temple with the god Poseidon. She was slain by the hero Perseus who watched her reflection in his shield, as her head was so hideous – even in death – that a direct beholder was turned to stone. The winged horse P...

meditation
Act of spiritual contemplation, practised by members of many religions or as a secular exercise. It is a central practice in Buddhism and Hinduisum (the Sanskrit term is samadhi) and the movement for transcendental meditation

Mediterranean Sea
Inland sea separating Europe from north Africa, with Asia to the east; extreme length 3,860 km/2,400 mi; area 2,966,000 sq km/1,145,000 sq mi. It is linked to the Atlantic Ocean (at the Strait of Gibraltar), Red Sea and Indian Ocean (by the Suez Canal), and the Black Sea (at the Dardanelles and Sea of Marmara). The main subdivisions...

medicine, alternative
Forms of medical treatment that do not use synthetic drugs or surgery in response to the symptoms of a disease, but aim to treat the patient as a whole (see holism). The emphasis is on maintaining health (with diet and exercise) and on dealing with the underlying causes rather than just the symptoms of illness. It may involve the use of herbal reme...

medicine
Click images to enlargeThe practice of preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease, both physical and mental; also any substance used in the treatment of disease. The basis of medicine is anatomy (the structure and form of the body) and physiology (the study of the body's functions). In the West, medicine increas...

Medici family
Noble family that ruled the Italian city-state of Florence from the 15th to the 18th centuries. The Medici arrived in Florence in the 13th century and made their fortune in banking. The first family member to control the city, from 1434 to 1464, was Cosimo de' Medici (`the Elder`); he and his grandson Lorenzo (`the Magnif...

Mede
Member of a people of northwestern Iran who in the 9th century BC were tributaries to Assyria, with their capital at Ecbatana (now Hamadán), in the ancient southwestern Asian country of Media. Allying themselves with Babylon, they destroyed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 BC, and extended their conquests into central Anatolia. In 550 BC...

Medea
In Greek mythology, the sorceress daughter of the king of Colchis. When Jason reached Colchis, she fell in love with him, helped him acquire the Golden Fleece, and they fled together. When Jason later married Creusa, daughter of the king of Corinth, Medea killed his bride with the gift of a poisoned garment, and then killed her own two children by ...

Mecklenburg-West Pomerania
Administrative region (German Land) in northern Germany; area 23,170 sq km/8,946 sq mi; population (1999 est) 1,789,300; the capital is Schwerin, and other major towns include Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, and Neubrandenburg. Products of the region include fish, ships, diesel engines, electronics, plastics, and chal...

Mecca
City in Saudi Arabia and, as birthplace of Muhammad, the holiest city of the Islamic world and a place of annual pilgrimage (the hajj); population (2004) 1,294,200. Non-Muslims have been forbidden entry to the city since AD 630, when Muhammad made it the centre of the Muslim faith. In the centre of Mecca is the Great Mosque, in the courtyar...

Meath
Click images to enlargeCounty of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Leinster; county town Navan; area 2,340 sq km/ 903 sq mi; population (2002) 134,000. The chief river is the Boyne, of which the Blackwater is a tributary. The principal towns are Kells, Trim, Athboy, Bettystown, and Laytown. Cattl...

measles
Acute virus disease spread by airborne infection. Symptoms are fever, severe catarrh, small spots inside the mouth, and a raised, blotchy red rash appearing for about a week after two weeks' incubation. Prevention is by vaccination. In 2003, 530,000 children died of measles worldwide. In industrialized countries measles is not usually a serious...

Menorca
Second largest of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean; area 689 sq km/266 sq mi; population (2001 est) 75,300. The capital and chief port is Mahón; the other main towns are Ciudadela, Alayor, Mercadal, Ferrerias, and Fornells. Leather goods, costume jewellery, and cheese and dairy products are produced on the island, and ...

mezzotint
Print produced by a method of etching in density of tone rather than line, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries when it was largely used for the reproduction of paintings, especially portraits. A copper or steel plate is roughened with a finely-toothed tool known as a `rocker` to raise an even, overall burr (rough edge), which will ...

mezzanine
Architectural term for a storey with a lower ceiling placed between two main storeys, usually between the ground and first floors of a building

Mezzogiorno
Hot, impoverished area of southern Italy, comprising the regions of Molise, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, and Calabria, and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Agriculture is the chief mainstay of a generally poor economy; the main products are grains, vegetables, grapes, and olives. The region's economic, educational, and income levels are...

Meyerbeer, Giacomo
German composer. His spectacular operas include Robert le Diable (1831) and Les Huguenots (1836). From 1826 he lived mainly in Paris, returning to Berlin after 1842 as musical director of the Royal Opera

Mexico City
Capital, industrial, and cultural centre of Mexico, 2,255 m/7,400 ft above sea level on the southern edge of the central plateau; population (2000 est) 8,605,200 (city), 18,327,000 (urban area; the largest urban agglomeration in the world). Over half of the country's manufacturing out...

meteor
Flash of light in the sky, popularly known as a shooting or falling star, caused by a particle of dust, a meteoroid, entering the atmosphere at speeds up to 70 kps/45 mps and burning up by friction at a height of around 100 km/60 mi. On any clear night, several sporadic meteors can be seen each hour. A brilliant meteor is termed a fireball....

metaphysics
Branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, in particular `being` (ontology) and `knowing` (epistemology), and that is concerned with the ultimate nature of reality. It has been maintained that no certain knowledge of metaphysical questions is possible. Epistemology, or the study of how we know, lies at the threshold ...

Messiah
In Judaism and Christianity, the saviour or deliverer. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) foretold that a wise and pious man descended from King David would lead and rule over the Messianic age, a time of peace and godliness. Jews from the time of the Babylonian Captivity (6th century BC), have looked forward to the coming of the Mess...

Mesopotamia
Click images to enlargeThe land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now part of Iraq. The civilizations of Sumer and Babylon flourished here. The Sumerian civilization (3500 BC) may have been the earliest urban civilization. Prior to World War I the area was part of the Turkish Empire, but the British drove the Turks...

mescaline
Psychedelic drug derived from a small, spineless cactus Lophophora williamsii of northern Mexico and the southwest USA, known as peyote. The tops (called mescal buttons), which scarcely appear above ground, are dried and chewed, or added to alcoholic drinks. Mescaline is a crystalline alkaloid C11H
Merv
Oasis in Turkmenistan, a centre of civilization from at least 1200 BC, and site of a town founded by Alexander the Great. Old Merv was destroyed by the emir of Bokhara in 1787, and the modern town of Mary, founded by the Russians in 1885, lies 29 km/18 mi to its west

Merovingian dynasty
Frankish dynasty, named after its founder, Merovech (5th century AD). His descendants ruled France from the time of Clovis (481–511) to 751

Meroë
Ancient city in Sudan, on the Nile near Khartoum, capital of Nubia from about 600 BC to AD 350. Tombs and inscriptions have been excavated, and iron-smelting slag heaps have been found

meridian
Half a great circle drawn on the Earth's surface passing through both poles and thus through all places with the same longitude. Terrestrial longitudes are usually measured from the Greenwich Meridian. An astronomical meridian is a great circle passing through the celestial pole and the zenith (t...

Mercury
(mythology) In Roman mythology, a god of commerce and gain, and messenger of the gods. He was identified with the Greek Hermes, and similarly represented with winged sandals and a winged staff entwined with snakes. A temple near the Circus Maximus was dedicated to him, and his festival was cel...

Menzies, Robert Gordon
Australian conservative politician, leader of the United Australia (now Liberal) Party and prime minister 1939–41 and 1949–66. A Melbourne lawyer, he entered politics in 1928 as a Nationalist in the Victoria parliament, was attorney general in the federal parliament 1934–39, and in 1939 succeeded Joseph Lyons as prime minister and le...

Menshevik
Member of the minority of the Russian Social Democratic Party, who split from the Bolsheviks in 1903. The Mensheviks believed in a large, loosely organized party and that, before socialist revolution could occur in Russia, capitalist society had to develop further. During the Russian Revolution they had limited power and set up a governm ent in Geor...

meningitis
Inflammation of the meninges (membranes) surrounding the brain, caused by bacterial or viral infection. Bacterial meningitis, though treatable by antibiotics, is the more serious threat. Diagnosis is by lumbar puncture. Bacterial meningitis is caused by Neisseria meningitidis, a bacterium that colonizes the epithelial lining of t...

mendicant order
Religious order dependent on alms. In the Roman Catholic Church there are four orders of mendicant friars: Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinians. Buddhism has similar orders