MILKSOPISM ness: a term of contempt from the time of Chaucer. Allas! she seith, that ever I was shape To wed a milksop or a coward ape. Chaucer. Milksopism (milk'sop-izm), n. The quality of a milksop; effeminacy. G. P. R. James. Milk-sugar (milk'shy-gér), n. Same as Lactine (which see). Milk-thistle (milk'this-1), n. A plant, Carduus Marianus, so named from its leafveins being of a milky whiteness. Milk-thrush (milk'thrush), n. See APHTHÆ. Milk-tooth (milk'toth), n. One of the first set of teeth in children; in farriery, the fore-tooth of a foal, which comes at the age of about three months, and is cast within two or three years. Milk-tree (milk'tre). See CoW-TREE and ARTOCARPACEÆ. Milk-vat (milk'vat), n. A deep pan in which milk is set to raise cream or to curdle for cheese. Milk-vessel (milk'ves-el), n. 1. A vessel for holding milk. 2. In bot. one of the tubes in which a milky fluid is secreted; a laticiferous vessel. Milk-vetch (milk'vech), n. The English name of the genus Astragalus. See ASTRAGALUS. Milk-walk (milk'wak), n. The district of a city or town served by a milkman. Milk-warm (milk'warm), a. Warm as milk in its natural state, or as it comes from the breast or udder. Milkweed (milk'wēd), n. A plant, Asclepias syriaca, abounding in a milky juice. Called also Silkweed. Milkwhite (milk'whit), a. White as milk. Before milkwhite, now purple with love's wound, Milk-wood (milk'wyd), n. A tree, the Milkwort (milk'wêrt), n. A British plant, Polygala vulgaris, abounding in a milky juice, and believed by the ignorant to promote the flow of milk in the breasts of nurses. Called also Rogation-flower. Milky (milk'i), a. 1. Pertaining to, resembling, or containing milk; as, a milky juice; a milky colour.-2. Yielding milk. milky mothers of the plain.' Roscommon.-3. Soft; mild; gentle; timorous. "The Shak Has friendship such a faint and milky heart, It turns in less than two nights? Milky-way (milk'i-wā), n. The Galaxy. See GALAXY. Her face is like the milky-way i' the sky, A meeting of gentle lights without a name. Suckling. Mill (mil), n. [L. mille, a thousand.] A money of account of the United States, of the value of the tenth of a cent or the thousandth of a dollar, equal to about d Mill (mil), n. [O.E. mylene, miln, A. Sax. mylen, myln, from L. molina, a mill, from L. mola, a mill or millstone, from molo, to grind the root being the same as in meal, mould, &c.] 1. Originally, a machine for grinding and reducing to fine particles grain, fruit, or other substance; now applied also to a great many machines for grinding or polishing by circular motion, or to complicated engines or machinery for working up raw material and transforming it into a condition in which it is fit for immediate use or for employment in a further stage of manufacture. In the first sense of the word we have flour-mills, cider-mills, coffee-mills; in the second sense we speak of a lapidary's mill; and in the third sense we speak of cotton-mills, spinning-mills, weaving-mills, oil-mills, sawmills, slitting-mills, bark-mills, fulling-mills, &c. The word commonly includes the building for the special accommodation of the machinery, as well as the machinery itself. 2. In calico-printing, a copper printing cylinder, on which the impression has been produced by a process similar to that of the milling-tool.-3. [See meaning 6 in next art.] A pugilistic contest; a fight with the fists. One of the most gratifying mills in the annals of the school.' T. Hughes. [Slang.] Mill (mil), v. t. 1. To grind; to comminute; to reduce to fine particles or to small pieces. 2. To pass through a machine; to shape or finish in a machine: used chiefly of metal work.-3. To stamp in a coining-press; especially to stamp either so as to make a slightly raised edge round a coin, throwing 170 the face a little into recess; or so as to make a serrated or transversely grooved edge round; also to make a similar edge without stamping, round the head of an adjusting screw of a mathematical or other instrument. Wood's halfpence are not milled, and therefore more easily counterfeited. Swift. 4. To throw, as silk.--5. To full, as cloth. — 6. To beat severely with the fists, as if in a fulling-mill; to fight. 'Having conquer'd the prime one that mill'd us all round.' Moore. [Slang.] Mill, Mull (mil, mul), n. A snuff-box. [Scotch.] Mill (mil), v.i. To swim under water: a term used of whales among whale-fishers. Mill-bar (mil bär), n. Rough bar-iron as drawn out by the puddler's rolls, as distinguished from merchant-bar, which is finished bar-iron ready for sale. Mill-board (mil'bōrd), n. A stout kind of pasteboard made in a paper-mill. Mill-cake (milkāk), n. A mass or cake of gunpowder before it is subjected to granulation. Mill-cog (mil'kog), n. The cog of a mill wheel. Mill-dam (mil'dam), n. 1. A dam or mound to obstruct a water-course and raise the water to an altitude sufficient to turn a millwheel. 2. A mill-pond. [Scotch.] Milled (mild), p. and a. Having undergone the operation of a mill; having the edge transversely grooved, as a shilling, &c.; fulled, as cloth.-Milled lead, lead rolled out into sheets by machinery.-Milled slate, slates sawed out of blocks by machinery, in place of being split into laminæ. Millefiore Glass (mil'le-fi-ō're glas), n. [Tt. mille, a thousand, fiore, a flower.] Ornamental glasswork made by fusing together tubes of glass enamel. Örnamental work of this kind is usually imbedded in flintglass. E. H. Knight. Millenarian (mil-le-nă'ri-an), a. [Fr. millénaire, L. millenarius, pertaining to or containing a thousand, from mille, a thousand.] Consisting of a thousand; especially consisting of a thousand years; pertaining to the millennium. Millenarian, Millennarian (mil-le-na'rian), n. One who believes in the millennium, and that Christ will reign on earth with his saints a thousand years before the end of the world; a chiliast. Millenarianism, Millenarism (mil-le-nā'ri-an-izm, mil'le-na-rizm), n. The doctrine of millenarians. One who Millennialist (mil-len'i-al-ist), n. believes that Christ will reign on earth a thousand years; a chiliast. Millennianism, Millenniarism (mil-len'i-an-izm, mil-len'i-är-izm), n. Millenarianism (which see). Millennist (millen-ist), n. One who believes in the millennium. Millennium (mil-len'i-um), n. [L. mille, a thousand, and annus, year.] An aggregate of a thousand years: a word used to denote the thousand years mentioned in Rev. xx. 1-5, during which period Satan will be bound and restrained from seducing men to sin, and during which, millenarians believe, Christ will reign on earth with his saints. Milleped, Milliped (mil'le-ped, milli-ped), n. [L. mille, a thousand, and pes, pedis, a foot.] A name common to the family Iulidæ, of the order Myriapoda, from the number of their feet. The most common is the Iulus sabulosus, about 1 inch long. young when hatched have only three pairs of legs, the remainder being gradually acquired till the number is complete, which is usually about 120 pairs. The name is also given to the Porcellio scaber, or sclater of the Scotch, as well as to the Oniscus Asellus or common woodlouse. The MILLIGRAM Millepora, Milleporida (mil-lep'o-ra, mille-pori-dē), n., n. pl. [L. mille, a thousand, and porus, a pore.] A genus and family of reef-building branching corals, common to mesozoic, kainozoic, and recent times, so named from their numerous minute distinct cells or pores perpendicular to the surface. Agassiz regarded them as Hydrozoa, not Actinozoa, and not therefore true corals. Millepore (mil'le-pōr), n. One of the Millepora (which see). Milleporite (mil'le-por-it), n. A fossil mille pore. Miller (mil'èr), n. 1. One who grinds; one who keeps or attends a mill, especially a flour-mill. More water glideth by the mill Shak. 2. A moth whose wings appear as if covered with white dust or powder, like a miller's clothes. 3. A fish, the eagle-ray (which see). Millerite (mil'èr-it), n. A disciple of William Miller, who taught that the end of the world and the coming of Christ's reign on earth were soon to take place. Miller's-thumb (mil'èrz-thum), n. A small fish found in streams, the Cottus gobio. Called also Bull-head. Millesimal (mil-les'im-al), a. [L. millesimus, from mille, a thousand.] Thousandth; consisting of thousandth parts; as, millesimal fractions. Millet (mil'et), n. [Fr. millet, dim. of mil, from L. milium, millet, said to be from mille, a thousand, from the large number of its grains.] 1. A common name for various species of small seed-corn, more particularly Panicum miliaceum and P. miliare. Millet is cultivated largely in the southern parts of Europe, but it is grown most extensively in the East Indies, China, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Nubia, where it is used as food for men. The leaves and panicles are given both green and dried as fodder to cattle. The Walachians also make a favourite alcoholic beverage from it. - German millet (Setaria germanica), a native of the East, but cultivated in South Germany on account of its seeds, which are used as food for cage-birds.-Italian millet (Setaria italica) is a closely allied species.--Indian millet. See SORGHUM.-2. A name sometimes given to millet-grass. Millet-beer (mil'et-ber), n. A fermented drink made in Roumania and the neighbouring parts from millet seed. Millet-grass (mil'et-gras), n. The English name for Milium effusum. See MILIUM. Mill-eye (mil'ī), n. The eye or opening in the cases of a mill, at which the meal is let out. 'A noble and seemly baron's mill... that cast the meal through the mill-eye by forpets at a time.' Sir W. Scott. Mili-furnace (mil'fèr-nās), n. In an ironwork, a furnace in which the puddled metal is reheated before being again rolled. E. H. Knight. Mill-gang (mil'gang), n. In warping, that part of the warp which is made by a descending and ascending course of the threads round the warping-mill. E. H. Knight. Mill-gearing (mil'ger-ing), n. The shaft, wheels, &c., by which the motion of the first moving power is communicated to any manufacturing machine. Simmonds. Mill-hand (mil'hand), n. A workman employed in a mill. Mill-head (mil'hed), n. The head of water by which a mill-wheel is turned. Mill-holm (mil'hōlm or mil'hōm), n. A low meadow or field in the vicinity of a mill, or a watery place about a mill-dam. Milliard (mil-li-ärd), n. [Fr. ] A thousand millions; as, a milliard of francs= £40,000,000 sterling. Milliary (mil'i-a-ri), a. [L. milliarius, of or belonging to a thousand, comprising a thousand paces, or a Roman mile, from mille, a thousand.] Pertaining to an ancient Roman mile of a thousand paces or five thousand Roman feet; denoting a mile; as, a milliary column. A milliary column from which they used to compute the distance of all places of note.' Evelyn. Milliary (mil'i-a-ri), n. [L. milliarium, a milestone.] A milestone. Milligram, Milligramme (mil'i-gram), n. [Fr. milligramme, from L. mille, a thousand, and Fr. gramme, a gram. ] In the system of French weights and measures, the thousandth part of a gram, equal to a cubic millimetre of water. The milligram is equal to 0154 of an English grain. MILLILITRE Millilitre (mil'i-li-ter or mil-i-lē'tr), n. [Fr., from L. mille, a thousand, and Fr. litre.] A French measure of capacity containing the thousandth part of a litre, equal to 06103 decimals of a cubic inch. Millimetre (mil'i-mē-tér or mil-i-mā'tr), n. [Fr. millimètre, from L. mille, a thousand, and metrum, Gr. metron, a measure.] A French lineal measure containing the thousandth part of a metre; equal to 03937 of an inch. Milliner (mil'in-èr), n. [Supposed to be for Milaner, from Milan, in Italy, famous for its silks and ribbons: comp, mantua-maker and lombard] A person, now usually a woman, who makes and sells head-dresses, hats, or bonnets, &c., for females. Nares says this is one of the few occupations which females have latterly gained from the other sex. A milliner was originally a man.' To conceal such real ornaments as these, and shadow their glory as a milliner's wife does her wrought stomacher, with a smoky lawn or a black cyprus. B. Jonson. Millinery (mil'in-er-i), n. 1. The business or occupation of a milliner. Those who are cunning in the arts of millinery and dressmaking.' Dickens.-2. The articles made or sold by milliners, as head-dresses, hats, or bonnets, laces, ribbons, and the like. Millinet (mil'in-et), n. A sort of coarse, stiff, thin muslin. Milling-tool (mil'ing-töl), n. A small indented roller used to mill or nurl the edges of the heads of screws, &c. Million (mil'yon), n. [Fr. million, from L. mille, a thousand, by the addition of an augmentative suffix.] 1. The number of ten hundred thousand, or a thousand thousand; as, a million of men, or a million men.2 A very great number, indefinitely. 'A million of manners.' Shak. Millions of mischiefs.' Shak. There are millions of truths that men are not concerned to know. Locke. 3. With the definite article, the great body of the people; the multitude; the public; the masses. Oh, law-making masters, and taskers of the common million.' D. Jerrold. For the play, I remember, pleased not the million; twas caviare to the general. Shak Millionaire, Millionnaire (mil'yon-ār), n. [Fr. millionnaire.] A man worth a million of money; a man of great wealth. The dark old place will be gilt with the touch of a millionaire. Tennyson. Millionary (mil'yon-a-ri), a. Pertaining to millions; consisting of millions; as, the millionary chronology of the Pundits. Pinkerton. Millioned (mil'yond), a. Multiplied by millions. [Rare.] Time, whose million'd accidents Creep in 'twixt vows and change decrees of kings. Shak. Millionist (mil'yon-ist), n. A millionaire. AIRE. Fitzedward Hall. Millionth (mil'yonth), a. Ten hundred thousandth; constituting one of a million. Millionth (mil'yonth), n. One of a million parts; the quotient of unity divided by a million; a ten hundred thousandth part. Mill-mountain (mil'moun-tān), n. Same as Mountain-flax. Mill-pick (mil'pik), n. A tool for dressing millstones, or for giving them their corrugated or otherwise roughened surface. Mill-pond (mil'pond), n. A pond or reservoir of water raised for driving a millwheel. Mill-pool (mil'pöl), n. A mill-pond. Mill-race (mil'rás), n. The current of water that drives a mill-wheel, or the canal in which it is conveyed. Millrea, Millree (mil're), n. Same as Müreis, from which this is corrupted. Mill-rind, Mill-rynd (mil'rind), n. A moline (which see). Gloss. of Heraldry. Mill-sixpence, Milled Sixpence (mil'sikspens, mild' siks-pens), n. An old English coin first milled in 1561. 'Seven groats in mill-sixpences.' Shak. Mill-spindle (mil'spin-dl), n. The vertical shaft or spindle of a grinding-mill by which the runner or revolving millstone is supported. Millstone (mil'stōn), n. A stone used for grinding grain. The stone best suited for this purpose is called buhrstone or burr 171 stone or burrh (which see).-Millstone balance, a weight so placed as to balance any inequalities of weight in a millstone.-Millstone bridge, the bar across the eye of a millstone by which it is supported at the end of the spindle.-Millstone chess, the arrangement of the furrows on the face of a millstone.-Millstone-dresser, a machine for cutting the furrows on the face of a millstone. Millstone hammer and millstone pick. Same as Mill-pick.-Millstone grit, the name given to a siliceous conglomerate rock. It has been thus named from some of the strata being worked for millstones. It constitutes one of the members of the carboniferous group underlying the true coal-measures, and overlying the mountain limestone. In Wales known as 'farewell rock,' because when the miners strike it they bid farewell to profitable seams. Millstones are also got from the old red and Permian strata. To see into or through a millstone, to see with acuteness, or to penetrate into abstruse subjects.-To weep or drop millstones, not to weep at all; to be insensible to grief. Your eyes drop millstones, when fools' eyes drop Shak. tears. Mill-wheel (mil'whel), n. drive a mill; a water-wheel. Mill-work (mil'wèrk), n. 1. The machinery of mills.-2. The operation or art of constructing mills. Mill-wright (mil'rīt), n. A mechanic or wright whose occupation it is to construct the machinery of mills. Milord (mi-lord'), n. A form used for my lord by foreigners. Milreis (mil'rēs), n. [Pg. mil, a thousand, and reis, pl. of real, a small denomination of money.] A Portuguese coin worth a thousand reis or about 48. 44d. Milsey (mil'si), n. [Contr. of milk-sieve.] A sieve for straining milk. [Local.] Milt (milt), n.. [A. Sax. and L.G. milte, Dan. milt, Icel. milti, G. milz, the spleen; D. milt, the spleen, also the milt of fishes; root meaning doubtful. The application of the term to the milt or soft roe of fishes seems to have arisen from the resemblance of the word to the word milk, and from the milky appearance of the milt of fishes; in German, Danish, and Swedish the word for milk also means milt or fish roe; so Fr. laite, milt, from L. lac, milk.] 1. În anat. the spleen, an organ situated in the left hypochondrium under the diaphragm.— 2. The soft roe of fishes, or the spermatic organ of the males. Milt (milt), v.t. To impregnate the roe or spawn of the female fish. Milter (milt'èr), n. [D. milter, a male fish; comp. Dan. melkfisk, G. milcher, lit. milk-fish. See MILT.] A male fish or one having a milt. Miltonic (mil-ton'ik), a. Relating to Milton or his poetry. If time the avenger execrates his wrongs, And makes the word 'Miltonic' mean 'sublime.' Byron. Miltwaste (milt'wast), n. [From being believed formerly to be a remedy for wasting or disease of the spleen or milt; comp. spleenwort.] A fern, Ceterach officinarum. See CETERACH. Milvina (mil-vi'nē), n. pl. A sub-family of raptorial birds, family Falconidae, of which Milvus is the type genus. Milvine (mil'vin), a. Belonging to or resembling birds of the kite family. Milvus (mil'vus), n. [L., a kite.] A genus of raptorial birds of the family Falconidae; the kites. See KITE. Mim (mim), a. [Probably a form of mum, silent.] Primly silent; prim; demure; precise; affectedly modest; quiet; mute: also used adverbially. 'Meek an' mim.' Burns. [Provincial.] Mimbar (mim'bär), n. [Ar.] A pulpit in a mosque. See MIHRAB. Mime (mim), n. [L. mimus; Gr. mimos.] 1. A species of dramatic entertainment among the Greeks and Romans. Among the former the mime was a dramatic performance of irregular form, in which ridiculous occurrences of real life were clothed in a poetical dress, and resembled the modern farce or vaudeville in its character and ac MIMICRY companiments. Among the Romans, mimes were a species of comedy in which gestures and mimicry predominated. They were of a coarse and often indecent character.-2. An actor in such performances. Mimet (mim), v.i. To mimic, or play the buffoon. Mimert (mim'èr), n. A mimic. Mimesis (mi-me'sis), n. [Gr.] In rhet. imitation of the voice or gestures of another. Mimetene (mi'mē-tēn), n. [From Gr. mimētés, an imitator, from its close resemblance to pyromorphite.] The mineral arsenate of lead occurring in yellowish or brownish hexagonal crystals. Also called Mimetite and Mimetesite. Mimetic (mi-met'ik), a. [Gr. mimētikos. See MIMIC.] 1. Apt to imitate; given to aping or mimicry.-2. In nat. hist. characterized by mimicry: applied to plants or animals which wonderfully resemble each other in external appearance, or to animals which closely resemble the natural objects by which they are surrounded, as the insects of the family Phasmidæ. See MIMICRY, PHASMIDE. In all these cases it appears that the mimetic species is protected from some enemy by its outward similarity to the form which it mimics. H. A. Nicholson. Mimetism (mi'met-izm), n. The act, process, or habit, of mimicking or imitating: mimicry, as among certain insects. See MIMETIC, 2. Mimic, Mimical (mim'ik, mim'ik-al), a. [L. mimicus; Gr. mimikos, from mimos, an imitator, actor, mime.] 1. Imitative; inclined to imitate or to ape; having the practice or habit of imitating. Man is of all creatures the most mimical in ges tures, speech, &c. Wotton. Oft in her absence mimic Fancie wakes 2. Consisting of imitation; made in imitation; imitating; as, mimic gestures. Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls Wordsworth. That they might answer him. Mimic (mim'ik), n. 1. One who imitates or mimics; especially a buffoon who attempts to excite laughter or derision by acting or speaking in the manner of another. 'Jugglers and dancers,antics, mummers, mimics.' Milton. 3. In nat. hist. a plant or animal that mimics. See MIMIC, v. t. 2. Mimic (mim'ik), v. t. pret. & pp. mimicked; ppr. mimicking. 1. To imitate or ape, espe cially for sport; to ridicule by imitation; to act or speak like intentionally. The walk, the words, the gesture, could supply, The habit mimic, and the mien belie. Dryden. Both Swift and Voltaire have been successfully mimicked, but no man has yet been able to mimic Addison. Macaulay. 2. In nat. hist. to assume, as some animals and plants do, a close resemblance to another organism generally of an entirely different nature, or even to some inorganic object. There are numerous cases in which animals mimic certain natural objects, and thus greatly diminish their chances of being detected by their natural foes. H. A. Nicholson. SYN. To ape, imitate, counterfeit, mock. Mimically (mim'ik-al-li), adv. In a mimic or imitative manner. Mimically to imitate their neighbours' fooleries.' South. Mimicalness (mim'ik-al-nes), n. The quality of being mimical. To speak plainly, it is not the fierceness of the lion, nor the fraud of the fox, but the mimicalness of the ape, which, in our eye, hath discredited the undoubted truth. Fuller. Mimic-beetle (mim'ik-bē-tl), n. One of certain coleopterous insects of the family Histeridæ, so named from their feigning death when disturbed. Mimicker (mim'ik-ér), n. One who mimics. Mimicry (mim'ik-ri), n. 1. Imitation, often ludicrous imitation for sport or ridicule. "The mimicry of man.' Gay. 'Absolute princes, who ruin their people by a mimicry of the great monarchs.' Hume.-2. In nat. hist. the name given to that condition or phenomenon which consists in certain plants and animals exhibiting a wonderful resemblance to certain other plants or animals, or to the natural objects in the midst of which they live. This peculiar characteristic is generally the chief means of protection the MIMMATION animal has against its enemies. It is well seen in the leaf-insects (Phyllium) and in the walking-stick' insects (Phasmida). Certain tropical butterflies reproduce the appearance of leaves so closely that even the parasitic fungi which grow upon the leaves are imitated. So also a South American moth has a most accurate resemblance to a humming-bird; while the cacti of America and the euphorbias of Africa might easily be mistaken for each other, though widely different in structural characters. Called also Mimetism and Protective Resemblance. Mimmation (mi-mā'shon), n. The frequent use of the letter m. The principal differences between these dialects (the Semitic-Babylonian and the Semitic-Assyrian) areIst, the use of mimmation by the Babylonians, and not by the Assyrians; thus the Babylonian words Sumirim and Akkadim, were rendered by the Assyrians Sumiri and Akkadi. Eng. Ency. Mim-moued (mim'möd), a. [Scotch.] 1. Reserved in discourse, implying the idea of affectation of modesty. I'm no for being mim-mou'd, when there's no rea son; but a man had as gude, whiles, cast a knot on his tongue. Gall. 2. Affectedly moderate at table. Mimographer (mim-og'ra-fèr), n. [Gr. mimos, a mime, and graphō, to write.] A writer of mimes or farces. Mimosa (mi-mō'sa), n. A genus of plants. See MIMOSEÆ and SENSITIVE-PLANT. Mimoseæ (mi-mo'sē-ē), n. pl. [L., from mimus, an actor or imitator.] A division of Leguminosa consisting of shrubs or trees, rarely herbs, having regular usually pentamerous flowers in heads or spikes, usually with small petals and sepals and conspicuous stamens, and bipinnate leaves, the principal genus of which is Acacia. Many of the species are remarkable for the irritability of their leaves, and hence they have been termed sensitive-plants. Mimosite (mi-mo'sit), n. A fossil seed-pod supposed to have belonged to a plant of the Mimosa family. Mimulus (mi'mū-lus), n. [L., a dim. of mimus, an actor: from the resemblance of the corolla to a mask.] A genus of plants, nat. order Scrophulariaceae. There are about forty species, natives of extratropical and mountainous regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, and America, abounding especially in western America: none are found in Europe, although M. luteus, from Chili, has been naturalized in many parts of Britain. They are erect or trailing herbs, with opposite undivided leaves, and axillary solitary often handsome red, yellow, or violet flowers. M. moschatus is the musk plant of gardens. Mimusops (mi-mü'sops), n. [Lit. ape's-face -Gr. mimo, an ape, genit. mimous, and ōps, countenance: from the fancied resemblance of the flowers to a monkey's face.] A genus of large, milky-juiced tropical trees common to both hemispheres, belonging to the nat. order Sapotaceæ. Several species yield hard, durable timber, excellent for house-building purposes, of which M. Elengi and M. indica of Ceylon and M. hexandra of India are examples. A species called bully-tree or bullet-tree, growing in British Guiana, attains the height of 100 or 120 feet, clear of branches for 60 or 70 feet, and yields, in addition to excellent close-grained timber, a delicious fruit about the size of a coffeebean. The fruit of several other species is eaten, and the flowers of M. Elengi are used to perfume water. Mina (mi'na), n. [L.; Gr. mna, contr. for mina. The word is not Greek but Egyptian.] Among the Greeks, a weight of 100 drachmæ; also, a piece of money valued at 100 drachmæ. The Attic mina (sixty of which made a talent) was worth £4, 18. 3d.; the Æginetan mina, £5, 148. 7d. Minaccioso (mē-nä-chōzō), adv. [It.] In a menacing, threatening style. Minacious (mi-na'shus), a. [L. minax, minacis, from minor, to threaten.] Threatening; menacing. Whether the face of heaven smile upon us with a cheerful bright azure, or look upon us with a more sad and minacious countenance. Dr. H. More. Minacity (mi-nas'i-ti), n. [L. minax, minacis. See MINACIOUS.] Disposition to threaten. [Rare.] Minaret (min'a-ret), n. [Fr. minaret, Sp. minarete, from Ar. menára, a lighthouse, a minaret, from nar, to shine.] A slender lofty turret rising by different stages or stories, surrounded by one or more project 172 ing balconies, common in mosques in Mohammedan countries. Minarets are used by the priests for summoning from the bal Minarets, Mosque of St. Sophia, Constantinople. conies the people to prayers at stated times of the day; so that they answer the purpose of belfries in Christian churches. Minargent (min-är'jent), n. [An irregular compound, the elements of which are taken from aluminium, and L. argentum, silver.] A kind of aluminium bronze, the ingredients of which are copper 1000 parts, nickel 700, tungsten 50, and aluminium 10. E.H.Knight. Minatorily (min'a-to-ri-li), adv. In a minatory manner; with threats. Threatening; Minatory (min'a-to-ri), a. menacing. A statute monitory and minatory.' Bacon. Minaul (mi-nal), n. met with in India. Monal. A kind of pheasant Written also Menall, They had only killed a few splendid minaul. W. H. Russell. Mince (mins), v. t. pret. and pp. minced; ppr. mincing. [Ö. Fr. mincer, to mince, to cut into small pieces, from mince, fine, thin, small; the history of the word is uncertain, though the root must be the same as that of minor (which see). The development of meanings in English seems to have arisen through confounding this word with minish.] 1. To cut or chop into very small pieces; as, to mince meat. Mincing her husband's limbs.' Shak.-2. To diminish in speaking; to retrench, cut, or omit a part of, for the purpose of suppressing the truth; to extenuate; to palliate: now most common in the phrase to mince the matter, to mince matters. Siren, now mince the sin, And mollify damnation with a phrase. Dryden. If, to mince his meaning, I had either omitted some part of what he said, or taken from the strength of his expression, I certainly had wronged him. Dryden. 3. To pronounce with affected elegance; not to utter the full sound of; hence, to make an affected display of. Behold yon simpering dame That minces virtue, and doth shake the head To hear of pleasure's name. Shak. -Minced collops, minced beef; minced meat. [Scotch.] Mince (mins), v.i. 1. To walk with short steps; to walk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner. Away, I say; time wears: hold up your head and mince. Shak. Because the daughters of Zion are haughty. walking and mincing as they go. Is. iii. 16. 2. To speak with affected elegance. "Whose mincing dialect.' Lloyd. "The mincing lady-prioress and the broad-speaking wife of Bath.' Dryden. Mince-meat, Minced-meat (mins'mēt, minst'mēt), n. Meat chopped small. Mince-pie, Minced-pie (mins'pi, minst'pi), n. A pie made with minced meat and other MIND ingredients, baked in paste. Brawn and minced-pies upon New-Year's day.' Spectator. Mincer (mins'èr), n. One who minces: (a) one who cuts into small pieces. (b) One who speaks softly or with affected nicety; one who walks with affected elegance. (c) One who suppresses part of the truth; one who detracts. 'Mincers of each other's fame.' Tennyson. Mincing (mins'ing), p. and a. 1. Speaking or walking affectedly. Fit mate for such a mincing minion.' Spenser.-2. Affectedly elegant. I'll turn two mincing steps Into a manly stride. Shak. Mincingly (mins 'ing-li), adv. 1. In small parts; not fully; so as to curtail. Hooker. 2. With a mincing manner; affectedly. Sheldon. Mincturiency† (mingk-tü'ri-en-si), n. Micturition. Mind (mind), n. [A. Sax. mynd, gemynd, mind, thought, intention, also myne, memory, intention; cog. Dan. minde, memory, remembrance; Icel. minni, memory, a memorial; from a root man, to think, seen also in mean, to intend; L. mens, mentis, mind, memini, to remember; Gr. menos, mind. See MAN, MEAN.] 1. The intellectual or intelligent power in man; the power that conceives, judges, reasons, wills, imagines, remembers, or performs any other intellectual operation; the understanding; the soul. I fear I am not in my perfect mind. Shak. (c) Inclination; desire; intention; purpose; will. Few, but all brave, all of one mind with him.' Tennyson. (d) Memory; remembrance; in the phrases to call to mind; to have, to keep, to bear in mind; to put a person in mind of a thing. [The phrase to put a thing into one's mind' now means to suggest a thing to one; but Shakspere has it in the sense of to recall to mind, for which we now use the last of the phrases given above. All this from my remembrance brutish wrath Had so much grace to put it in my mind. Shak.] (e) Courage; spirit. Chapman. [These shades of meaning are not to be regarded as, properly speaking, different senses of the word mind. In each case this word is used only in its strict sense of the intelligent principle in man, and the modified sense is due to the nature of the phrase in which it occurs. Hence, though in some phrases one modification of meaning is clearly prominent, in others it is scarcely possible to say what is the precise shade of meaning intended, whether, for example, purpose or opinion.]-To be in two minds about a thing, to be in doubt. At first I was in two minds about taking such a liberty. Dickens. -To have half a mind to, to be pretty much disposed to; to have a certain inclination to. I have half a mind to settle the question from this point. Dickens. Mind (mind), v.t. [A. Sax. mynan, to remember, to intend, to admonish; Dan. minde, to remind; Icel. minna, to remind, to recollect. See the noun.] 1. To attend to; to fix the thoughts on; to regard with attention; to heed; to notice; to pay attention to. Cease to request me; let us mind our way. Dryden. 2. To attend to or regard with submission; to obey; as, his father told him to desist, but he would not mind him.-3. To bear in mind; to recollect; to remember. [Obsolete and provincial]-4. To put in mind; to remind. [Old English and Scotch.] I do thee wrong to mind thee of it. Shak. Baxter. 5. To intend; to mean; to purpose; to design. As for me, be sure I mind no harm SYN. To notice, mark, regard, observe, obey. Mind (mind), v.i. 1. To be inclined or disposed; to mean; to design; to intend. When one of them mindeth to go into rebellion.' Spenser. I mind to tell him plainly what I think. Skak. MINDED 2 To remember; to have a recollection. [Old English and Scotch.] Minded (mind'ed), a. 1. Disposed; inclined: in this sense not used attributively. If men were minded to live virtuously.' Tillotson. Joseph... was minded to put her away privily. Mat. i. 19. 2. Having a mind: only in composition; as, high-minded, low-minded, feeble-minded, sober-minded, double-minded. Mindedness (mind'ed-nes), n. Disposition; inclination toward anything: only in composition; as, heavenly-mindedness. 'Historical-mindedness.' Pall Mall Gazette. Minder (mind'ér), n. [Not one who minds, but one who is minded or taken care of.] An orphan intrusted by a poor-law board to the care of a private person. Dickens. Mindful (mindful), a. Attentive; regarding with care; bearing in mind; heedful; observant. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? Mindfully (mind'fyl-li), adv. Attentively; heedfully. Mindfulness (mind'ful-nes), n. Attention; regard; heedfulness. Minding-school (mind'ing-sköl), n. A house in which minders are kept. Dickens. See MINDER. Mindless (mind'les), a. 1. Not endowed with mind. Mindless bodies.' Sir J. Davies. 2. Stupid; unthinking; unaccompanied by the exercise of mind. 'Pronounce thee a gross lout, a mindless slave.' Shak. I must severely guard my pupils from the thought that sacred rest may be honourably exchanged for selfish and mindless activity. Ruskin. 3. Inattentive; heedless; forgetful; negligent; careless. 'Cursed Athens, mindless of thy worth.' Shak. Mind-strickent (mind'strik-n), a. Moved; affected in mind. 'Mind-stricken by the beauty of virtue.' Sir P. Sidney. Mine (min), a. called sometimes a pronominal adjective. [A. Sax. min, from me, with n, a genitive or adjective suffix; cog. O.Sax. O. Fris. O.H.G. min, Dan. and Sw. min, Icel. minn, Goth. meina, D. mijn, G. mein (both pron. like mine). My is a shortened form, then beginning to be dropped before consonants in the twelfth century. Comp. thine.] My; belonging to me. It was once regularly used before nouns beginning with vowels, my being used before consonants. 'I kept myself from mine iniquity.' Ps. xviii. 23. But this use is now archaic or poetical, my alone being used adjectively with nouns, and made to stand before a vowel as well as before a consonant; as, my iniquity. Mine is now generally used, similarly to thine, hers, ours, yours, theirs, as equivalent to my followed by a noun, and it may serve either for a nominative or an objective; as, his book is good, and so is mine (that is, my book); look at mine; give him mine; this house of mine. The last expression is a little peculiar. It means simply 'this my house,' though it should rather mean this one of my houses. So also, this of his, this of yours, &c. Mine (min), n. [Fr. mine, a mine, according to Brachet from miner, to form a mine, from L. minare, to drive, to conduct, originally to drive (animals) with threats, from mina, a threat.] 1. A subterranean cavity or passage; especially, (a) a pit or excavation in the earth, from which coal, metallic ores, and other mineral substances are taken by digging. The pits from which stones only are taken are called quarries. Mines are generally denominated from the substances obtained from them, as, for instance, gold, silver, iron, lead, coal, alum, salt, mines, &c. I would not wed her for a mine of gold. Shak. (b) Milit. a subterraneous gallery or passage dug under the wall or rampart of a fortification, where a quantity of powder or other explosive may be lodged for blowing up the works-Common mine (milit.), one in which the radius of the crater, that is, the radius of the circular opening produced by the explosion, is equal to the line of least resistance, that is, the shortest line from the centre of the charge to the surface of the ground.Overcharged or surcharged mine, one that produces a crater the radius of which is greater than the line of least resistance.Undercharged mine, one that produces a crater the radius of which is less than the 173 line of least resistance.-2. A rich source or store of wealth or anything highly valued; as, Spenser's poems are a mine of poetical imagery. O, Antony, thou mine of bounty! Shak. Mine (min), v.i. pret. & pp. mined; ppr. mining. 1. To dig a mine or pit in the earth, especially for the purpose of obtaining minerals, or of depositing powder or some other explosive to blow up anything. The enemy mined, and they countermined. Raleigh. 2. To form a subterraneous tunnel, gallery, or hole by scratching; to form a burrow or lodge in the earth; to burrow; as, the sandmartin has to mine in order to make a nest. 3. To practise secret or insidious means of injury. Mine (min), v.t. To dig away or otherwise remove the substratum or foundation from; to undermine; to sap; hence, to ruin or destroy by slow degrees or secret means. 'While rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen." Shak. They mined the walls.' Hayward. N. Milit. Too lazy to cut down these immense trees, the spoilers had mined them, and placed a quantity of gunpowder in the cavity. Sir W. Scott. Mine-captain (min'kap-tān or min'kap-tin), The overseer of a mine. Mine-chamber (min'chām-ber), n. the place where the charge is deposited in a mine. Mine-dial (min'di-al), n. A kind of magnetic compass consisting of a box and needle, used by miners. Mineont (min'e-on), n. A minion; a wanton. Spenser. Miner (min'èr), n. One who mines; especially, (a) one who digs for metals and other minerals. No good miner casts away his mattock because he finds a vein of tough clay or a shelf of stone. Bp. Hall. (b) One who digs canals or passages under the walls of a fort, &c. Ehrenbreitstein, with her shattered wall, black with the miner's blast.' Byron. Mineral (min'èr-al), n. [Fr. minéral, from miner, to mine. See MINE.] Any ingredient in the earth's crust; more specifically, a body destitute of organization, but with a definite chemical composition, and which naturally exists within the earth or at its surface. See extract and MINERALOGY. In the stricter language of mineralogy, a mineral species is a substance whose form, chemical composition, and physical properties are sufficiently uniform and persistent to admit of identification, as diamond, rock-crystal, garnet, and so forth. In this sense also geologists speak of simple minerals, meaning thereby the primary ingredients of rockmasses. Thus ordinary granite, as a compound rock, consists of the simple minerals, quartz, felspar, and mica, though, chemically speaking, each of these is composed of several elementary ingredients. Page. 2. † A mine. His very madness, like some ore Shak. Mineral (min'ér-al), a. 1. Pertaining to minerals; consisting of minerals; as, the mineral kingdom. There is little resemblance between a piece of a mineral substance found in the earth, and a plough, F. S. Mill an axe, or a saw. 2. Impregnated with minerals or mineral matter; as, mineral waters; a mineral spring. -Mineral acids, a name given to sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids. - Mineral adipocere. See under ADIPOCERE.-Mineral black, a native oxide of carbon, one variety of which is known as black ochre.-Mineral caoutchouc, a variety of bitumen, intermediate between the harder and softer kinds. It sometimes much resembles india-rubber in its softness and elasticity, and hence its name. It occurs near Castleton in Derbyshire. Also called Elaterite. - Mineral chameleon, a manganesate of potash, so called from the variety of colours which its aqueous solution successively exhibits. See under CHAMELEON.-Mineral charcoal, a fibrous variety of non-bituminous mineral coal.-Mineral cotton, a fibre formed by allowing a jet of steam to escape through a stream of liquid slag, by which the slag is blown into fine white threads, sometimes 2 or 3 feet in length. It is a poor conductor of heat, and is therefore suggested as a covering for steam-boilers and pipes. E. H. Knight.-Mineral green, carbonate of copper. - Mineral kingdom, that grand division of natural objects which includes minerals or inorganic bodies, and of which mineralogy is the science.-Mineral MINERVA oil. See PETROLEUM.-Mineral pitch, a solid softish bitumen.- Mineral salt, a salt of a mineral acid. — Mineral solution, arsenical liquor, or liquor potassæ arsenitis.-Mineral tar, bitumen of a tarry consistence.-Mineral waters, a term applied to certain spring waters, containing so large a portion of foreign matters as to be unfit for ordinary use. The ingredients contained in the principal mineral springs of this country are: gases, carbonates, sulphates, muriates, oxide of iron, and silica. Mineral waters may, in most cases, be prepared artificially. -Mineral wax. Same as Ozocerite (which see). Mineral weed, a plant found wild in the state of Minnesota, America, so called because it is supposed to grow on spots where there is lead underneath. Mineral yellow, or patent yellow, a compound of oxide and chloride of lead, obtained by digesting powdered litharge in a solution of common salt, washing, drying, and fusing the product. It is used as a pigment. Mineralist (min'èr-al-ist), n. One skilled in or concerned about minerals. Boyle; Woodward. Mineralization (min'èr-al-iz-a"shon), n. The act or process of mineralizing; the process of converting or being converted into a mineral, as vegetable matter into coal, animal fibre into adipocere, or a metal into an oxide, sulphuret, or other ore. Page. Mineralize (min'èr-al-iz), v.t. pret. & pp. mineralized; ppr. mineralizing. To convert into a mineral; to give mineral properties or characteristics to; to reduce to a mineral form; to impregnate with mineral substance; as, to mineralize vegetable matter into coal. In these caverns the bones are not mineralized. Mineralize (min'èr-al-iz), v.i. To go on a mineralogical excursion; to make an excursion with the view of collecting minerals. Mineralizer (min'èr-al-iz-ér), n. A substance or agent that mineralizes; a substance that combines with a metal to form an ore. Mineralogic (min'er-a-loj"ik), a. Same as Mineralogical. Mineralogical (min'èr-a-loj"ik-al), a. Pertaining to mineralogy or the science of Mineralogically (min'èr-a-loj"ik-al-li), adv. minerals; as, a mineralogical table. According to the principles of, or with reference to mineralogy. Mineralogist (min-èr-al'o-jist), n. 1.One who is versed in the science of minerals, or one who treats or discourses of the properties of mineral bodies.-2. A name frequently given to a shell of the genus Phorus, from pieces of stone of various kinds becoming attached to it. Mineralogy (min-ĕr-al'o-ji), n. [Mineral, and Gr. logos, discourse.] The science which treats of the properties of mineral substances, and teaches us to characterize, distinguish, and classify them according to their properties. It comprehends the study or science of all inorganic substances in the earth or on its surface. As distinguished from geology, mineralogy deals with the various mineral bodies as separate constituents of the earth's crust, and examines their properties as such, while geology treats them in the aggregate, as building up the crust of the earth, and as forming masses and presenting phenomena that have a history to be investigated. Minerals may be described and classified either in accordance with their chemical composition, their crystallographic forms, or their physical properties of hardness, fracture, colour, lustre, &c., or a combination of all, and thus various systems of classification have been adopted. Mineral-surveyor (min'èr-al-sèr-vā'èr), n. A surveyor of mines; one who understands the probable value of lodes and their facilities for working. Minerva (mi-nèr'va), n. [L., from root of mens, mind; Skr. men, man, to think.] In Rom. myth. one of the three chief divinities to whom a common temple was dedicated on the Capitoline hill, Jupiter and Juno being the other two. She was regarded as a virgin, and as the daughter of Jupiter the supreme god, and was hence in later times identified by the Romans with the Greek goddess Athēnē, or Pallas Athēnē, the goddess of wisdom, of war, and of the liberal arts, and was represented, like her, as a virgin, with a grave and noble countenance, armed with helmet, shield, and spear, MINERVA-PRESS wearing long full drapery, and on her breast the regis, with a border of serpents, and the head of Medusa in the centre. See cut under PALLAS. Minerva-press (mi-nerva-pres), n. The name of a printing-press formerly in Leadenhall Street, London; also given to a class of maudlin, ultra-sentimental novels, published from seventy to a hundred years ago at this press, and to other productions of similar character. These novels were remarkable for their complicated plots, and especially for the labyrinths of difficulties into which the hero and heroine became involved before they could get married to each other. Could never man work thee a worser shame Mingle (ming'gl), v.t. pret. & pp. mingled; Shak. 'Milk So there was hail and fire mingled with the hail. Ex. ix. 24. 2. To join in mutual intercourse or in society. The holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands. Ezra ix. 12. They met and sate them mingled down, As brothers meet in foreign land. Sir W. Scott. 3. To debase by mixture. The best of us appear contented with a mingled Rogers. imperfect virtue. Mingle (ming'gl), v.i. To be mixed; to be or become united with. 'And mingle with the English epicures.' Shak. Addison. She, when she saw her sister nymphs, suppress'd Her rising fears, and mingled with the rest. Mingle (ming'gl), n. Mixture; medley; promiscuous mass. He was not sad, for he would shine on those 174 Tragedy is the miniature of human life; an epic poem is the draught at length. Dryden. 2. Greatly reduced scale, style, or form. We may reasonably presume it (Eden) to have been the earth in miniature. Bp. Horne. 3. Red letter; lettering in red-lead or vermilion for distinctness. Hickes. Hence4. † Distinctive or particular trait of feature. There's no miniature In her fair face but is a copious theme. Massinger. Miniature (min'i-tür), a. On a small scale; much reduced from natural size. Gay. Here shall the pencil bid its colours flow, And make a miniature creation grow. Miniature (min'i-tür), v. t. To represent or depict on a small scale. [Rare.] Miniaturist (min'i-tür-ist), n. One who paints miniatures. Minibus (min'i-bus), n. [From L. minor, less, with the term. of omnibus.] A light sort of vehicle or carriage to accommodate four persons, drawn by one horse, and used for conveying persons short distances. Minie-ball (min'i-bal), n. A ball or bullet for a minie-rifle. Minie-rifle (min'i-ri-fl), n. A rifle invented by a Frenchman of the name of Minié. See RIFLE. Minikin (min'i-kin), n. [A kind of dim. of minion, or at any rate of same origin.] 1. A small sort of pins.-2. A darling; a favourite; a minion. Minikin (min'i-kin), a. Small; diminutive: used as a term of endearment or in slight contempt. Shak. And for one blast of thy minikin mouth, Thy sheep shall take no harm. Minim (min'im), n. [Fr. minime, L. minimum, the least.] 1. A little man or being; a dwarf. 2. One of a certain reformed order of Franciscans, founded by St. Francis of Paula in Calabria in 1473.-3. A note in music, equal in time to half a semibreve or two crotchets.-4. † A short poem. Spenser.-5. A small fish; a minnow. 6. The smallest liquid Minim. measure, generally regarded as about equal to one drop. The fluid drachm is divided into sixty minims.-7. A small kind of type, minion. Johnson. Minim (min'im), a. Very little. N. Drake. Miniment (min'i-ment), n. A title-deed or other record; a muniment. Mingleable (ming'gl-a-bl), a. Capable of Miniment t (min'i-ment), n. [From L. minibeing mingled. [Rare.] Merely by the fire, quicksilver may, in convenient vessels,... be reduced into a thin liquor like water, and mingleable with it. Boyle. mingling; state of being mixed. [Rare.] Mingler (mingʼglėr), n. One that mingles. Mingrelian (ming-grē'li-an), n. 1. A native or inhabitant of Mingrelia.-2. One of a sect of Greek Christians inhabiting Mingrelia, who, among other peculiarities, refrain from baptizing their children till their eighth year. They are followers of Cyrillus and Methodius. Miniard + (min'yėrd), a. Same as Migniard. Miniardize + (min'yêrd-iz), n. and v.t. See MIGNIARDISE. Miniate (min'i-at), v. t. [From L. minio, miniatum, from minium, red-lead or vermilion.] To paint or tinge with red-lead or vermilion. All the capitals in the body of the text are miniated with a pen. T. Warton. In bot. of the colour Miniate (min'i-āt), a. of minium or vermilion. Miniature (min'i-tūr), n. [It. miniatura, a painting such as those used to ornament manuscripts, hence, a very small-sized painting, from miniare, to write with minium or red-lead, this pigment being much used in the ornamenting of old manuscripts. See MINIATE.] 1. A painting, generally a portrait of very small dimensions, usually executed in water-colours, but sometimes in oil, on ivory, vellum, or paper of a thick and fine quality; as, she had a miniature of her husband; hence, anything represented on a greatly reduced scale. The water, with twenty bubbles, not content to have the picture of their face in large, would in each of these bubbles set forth the miniature of them. Sir P. Sidney. mum, the least.] A jewel; a trinket. Spen ser. Minimize (min'im-iz), v. t. To reduce to a minimum, or the smallest possible proportion or part; as, so many precautions were taken that the danger was minimized. Minimum (min'i-mum), n. [L.] The smallest amount or degree; the least quantity assignable in a given case: opposed to maximum.-Minimum thermometer, a thermometer so constructed as to indicate the lowest temperature during a day, or during any given space of time, or since its last adjustment. Minimus (min'i-mus), n. [L.] A being of the smallest size. Get you gone, you dwarf, You minimus, of hind'ring knot-grass made. Shak. Mining (min'ing), p. and a. 1. Of burrowing habits; as, the rabbit is a mining animal.2. Insidious; working by underhand means. Mining fraud shall find no way to creep Into their fenced ears with grave advice. Sackville. Minion (min'yon), n. [Fr. mignon, It. mignone, a darling, from O. H. G. minni, minnia, love.] 1. A favourite; a darling. 'God's disciple and his dearest minion.' Sylvester. 2. An unworthy favourite; one who gains favours by flattery or mean adulation; a servile dependent; a creature. The drowsy tyrant by his minions led.' Swift. Edward sent an army into Ireland, not for conquest, but to guard the person of his minion, Piers Gaveston, Sir J. Davies. 3. A small kind of printing types. In size it is between nonpareil and brevier.-4. † An ancient piece of ordnance of small size, having a bore of 3 inches. Load me but these two minions in the chase there. Beau. & Fl. Minion + (min'yon), a. Fine; trim; dainty; small; delicate. Their curious singing and minion dancing.' Fryth. Minion (min'yon), n. The siftings of ironstone after calcination at the iron furnaces. Weale. MINISTERIAL Minionette (min-yon-et'), n. [Dim. of minion.] A small fancy type. E. H. Knight. Minioning (min'yon-ing), n. Kind treatment. 'Sweet behaviour and soft minioning.' Marston. Minionlike, Minionly (min'yon-lik, min'yon-li), adv. 1. Like a minion.-2. ↑ Finely; daintily. Hitherto will our sparkful youth laugh at their great grandfather's English, who had more care to Camden. do well than to speak minionlike. Minionship (min'yon-ship),n. State of being a minion. Howell. Minious (min'i-us), a. [From L. minium, red-lead.] Of the colour of red-lead or vermilion. A red and minious tincture.' Sir T. Browne. Minisht (min'ish), v.t. [From O. Fr. menusier, menuisier, to lessen or diminish, from LL. minutiare, to make small, from L minutus, minute, minuo, to lessen, root min in minor, less. Hence diminish.] To lessen; to diminish. Ex. v. 19. The act Ye shall not minish aught from your bricks of your daily task. Minishmentt (min'ish-ment), n. of diminishing; diminution. Minister (min'is-tër), n. [L. minister, from minor, minus, less; as magister, master, from magis, more. See MINOR.] 1. One who acts under the authority of another; a subordinate to another; a servant; an attendant. Moses rose up and his minister Joshua. Ex.xxiv. 13. Oh! that the desert were my dwelling-place, With one fair spirit for my minister. Byron. 2. One to whom a king or prince intrusts the direction of affairs of state; one engaged in the administration of government; as, a minister of state; the prime minister.— 3. A delegate; an ambassador; the representative of a sovereign at a foreign court. 4. The pastor of a church duly authorized or licensed to preach the gospel and administer the sacraments.-Minister's rental, in Scots law, the rental of the parish lodged by the minister in a process of augmentation and locality. SYN. Servant, attendant, delegate, ambassador, clergyman, parson, priest. Minister (min'is-têr), v. t. [L. ministro, from minister. See the noun.] 1. To give; to afford; to supply. [Obsolescent.] Now he that ministereth seed to the sower doth minister bread for your food. 2 Cor. ix, 10. 2. To perform; to render. [Rare.] 3. To administer medically. When I was sick, you gave me bitter pills, And I must minister the like to you. Shak. Minister (min'is-ter), v.i. 1. To act as a minister or attendant; to attend and serve; to perform service in any office, sacred or secular. I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. Ex. xxix. 44 2. To afford supplies; to give things needful; to supply the means of relief; to furnish remedies or afford means of alleviation of a disease. When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Mat. xxv. 44. Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased? Shak Ministerial (min-is-tē'ri-al), a. 1. Pertaining to ministry or the performance of service; attending for service; attendant; acting at command; subservient; subsidiary; conducive; tending to promote or advance. 'Enlight'ning spirits and ministerial flames.' Prior. We have fixed our view on those uses of conversation which are ministerial to intellectual culture. De Quincey. 2. Pertaining to a ministry or to ministers of state; pertaining to executive offices, as distinct from judicial. For the ministerial offices in court there must be an eye to them. Bacon. Very solid and very brilliant talents distinguished the ministerial benches. Burke. 3. Sacerdotal; pertaining to ministers of the gospel; as, ministerial garments; ministerial duties. Genuine ministerial prudence keeps back no important truth, listens to no compromise with sin, connives at no fashionable vice, cringes before no lordly worldling. H. Humphrey. |