covered with soft leather, to protect the picture from in- mahogany-gum (ma-hog'a-ni-gum), n. Same jury in case of contact. as jarrah. 1. Same 1. Hence-2. The dinner-table. as mahogany, Little we fear Weather without, Sheltered about The mahogany tree. mahmoodis, mahmoudis, mahmudis (mä-mö'- mahogany-tree (ma-hog'a-ni-tre), n. dis), n. pl. Same as mammodis. mahoe (mahō), n. [Also mahaut; a native name.] 1. A malvaceous tree or shrub, Hibiscus (Paritium) tiliaceus, common on tropical coasts. The inner bark has been much used for cordage.-2. Sterculia Caribæa, a tall West Indian tree.-3. Melicytus ramiflorus, a small New Zealand tree of the violet family, with small flowers in bundles on the branches.-Blue, gray, or mountain mahoe, Hibiscus (Paritium) elatus, a West Indian tree yielding the Cuba bast.-Congo mahoe, Hibiscus clypeatus.-Seaside mahoe, Thespesia populnea, also one of the Malvaceae, whose bast has been used in British Guiana for making coffee-sacks. mahoganize (ma-hog'a-niz), v. t.; pret. and pp. mahoganized, ppr. mahoganizing. [ mahogan(y) + -ize.] To cause to resemble mahog- Mahomedanism, n. See Moany, as by staining. = Thackeray, The Mahogany Tree. mahoitre (ma-hoi'tr), n. [OF. mahoitre, mahoistre, maheustre, maheutre, maheurtre, etc.] A wadded and upraised shoulder (of a garment) in fashion during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Mahomedan (ma-hom'edan), a. and n. See Mohammedan. hammedanism. mahogany (ma-hog'a-ni), n. [= F. mahagoni, Mahomedanize, v. See Momahogon=Pg. mogono, mogno, magno It. mogano = D. mahonie G. mahagoni =Sw. mahagony, mahogny, mahogni Dan. mahogni = Turk. maghun (NL. mahogoni), W. Ind. or S. Amer. mahogoni. Cf. acajou1.] 1. A tree, a = Flowering Branch of Mahogany (Swietenía Mahogani). a, the flower; b, the fruit. timber. Swietenia Mahogani, of the natural order Meliacea. It is native in the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, and the Florida keys. Its importance lies in its 2. The wood of the above tree. It combines a rich reddish-brown color, beauty of grain, and suscepti bility of polish with unusual soundness, uniformity, freedom from warping, durability, and largeness of dimensions. On account of its costliness, its use is restricted mainly to furniture-making, cabinet-work, etc., often in the form of a veneer. The quality of the timber varies with the conditions of its growth, exposed situations and solid ground yielding the finest. Mahogany with figured grain is especially prized, and is obtained largely, but not exclusively, from the San Domingo and Cuba wood, called Spanish mahogany. The Honduras mahogany, or baywood, shipped from the Bay of Campeachy, is more opengrained and plain, and of larger dimensions, yielding logs sometimes 40 feet in length. The Mexican mahogany has the largest growth of all, is similar to the last-named, and supplements its diminishing supply. Hence-3. A table, especially a dinner-table. I had hoped to have seen you three gentlemen with your legs under the mahogany in my humble parlor in the Marks. Dickens, Master Humphrey's Clock. 4t. A kind of drink. See the quotation. Mr. Eliot mentioned a curious liquor peculiar to his country, which the Cornish fishermen drink. They call it mahogany; and it is made of two parts gin and one part treacle, well beaten together. Boswell, Johnson (ed. 1885), VIII. 53. African mahogany. Same as Senegal mahogany.-Australian mahogany, Eucalyptus marginata (see jarrah); also, other eucalypts (as below) and species of the related genus Angophora.-Bastard mahogany, in Jamaica, Matayba (Ratonia) apetala; in Australia, Eucalyptus mar ginata, the jarrah, and E. botryoides.-Ceylon mahogany. Same as jack-wood.-Forest-mahogany, in New South Wales and Queensland, Eucalyptus resinifera.Horse-flesh mahogany. Same as sabicu.-Indian or East Indian mahogany, Cedrela Toona, the toon-tree; also, Soymida febrifuga, the Indian redwood, and Chick rassia tabularis, the Chittagong-wood-both formerly classed under Swietenia.-Kentucky mahogany, a rare name of the Kentucky coffee-tree. See Gymnocladus. Madeira mahogany. Same as canary-wood.-Mountain mahogany, a tree of the genus Cercocarpus, especially C. ledifolius and C. parvifolius; sometimes also same as mahogany-birch.-Red mahogany. Same as forest-mahogany.-Senegal mahogany. See Khaya.-Swamp mahogany, in New South Wales, Eucalyptus botryoides and E. robusta.-White mahogany, in Jamaica, Antirrhoea bifurcata; in Australia, Eucalyptus pilularis, var. acmenioides, and E. robusta. mahogany-birch (ma-hog'a-ni-bérch), n. The cherry-birch, Betula lenta." See birch. mahogany-brown (ma-hog'a-ni-broun), n. A reddish brown, the color of mahogany. mahogany-color (ma-hog'a-ni-kul or), n. A reddish-brown color resembling that of mahogany. = hammedanize. Mahometan (ma-hom'et[Formerly an), a. and n. also Mahumetan; F. Mahométan Sp. Pg. Mahometano= It. Maomettano, < ML. *Mahometanus, of Mahomet, Mahomet, in older E. Mahoun, Mahound, etc. (see Mahoun), now better Mohammed, in nearer agreement with the Ar. Muhammad, the Arabian prophet.] See Mohammedan (the form of the adjective now preferred). Mahometanism, n. See Mohammedanism. Mahometanize, v. See Mohammedanize. Mahometicalt, a. [Formerly also Mahumetical; as Mahomet +-ic-al.] Mohammedan. Mahometism (ma-hom'et-izm), n. [Formerly also Mahumetism; < F. Mahométisme - Sp. Pg. Mahometismo It. Maomettismo; as Mahomet + -ism.] Mohammedanism. [Rare.] Such as haue reuolted from the Faith to Mahumitisme. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 264. Mahometist (ma-hom'et-ist), n. [Formerly also Mahumetist; Sp. Mahometista; as Mahomet +-ist.] A follower of Mahomet or Mohammed. [Rare.] This present Emperour his sonne hath had great good successe in his warres, both against the Christians and also the Mahometists. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 324. Mahometry (ma-hom'et-ri), ". (see Mahometan) +-ry. Cf. mammetry, mau[< Mahomet metry.] Mohammedanism. The sacrifices which God gave Adam's sons were no dumb popetry or superstitious mahometry, but signs of the testament of God. Tyndale, Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Soc., 1850), p. 27. = mahone (ma-hōn'), n. [< F. mahonne = Sp. mahona It. maona, < Turk. maghuna, a barge, lighter.] A large Turkish galley, barge, or transport of burden. Mahonia (ma-ho'ni-a), n. [NL. (Nuttall, 1818), named after Bernard M'Mahon, a patron of botanical science.] A subgenus of the genus Berberis (which see). mahonnett, n. [Dim. of mahone.] Same as mahone. The number of the ships were these: 30 galliasses, 103 gallies, as well bastards as subtill mahonnets, 15 taffours, 20 fusts, 64 great ships, sixe or seuen gallions, and 30 gal. leres. Hakluyt's Voyages, II. 78. Mahoun, Mahound (ma-houn or mä'houn, ma-hound' or mä'hound), n. [Sometimes also Machound; ME. Mahoun, Mawhown, Mahun, Mahound,OF. Mahon, Mahoms, Mahum, also Mahumet, Mahomet, now usually called Mohammed, Ar. Muhammad: see Mohammedan. Cf. Macon, another form of the same word; cf. also mammet, maumet, etc.] 14. Mahomet or Mohammed: an old form of the name of the Arabian prophet. 2. The presence seems, with things so richly odd, [1. c.] A monster; a terrifying creature. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 7758. 3. The devil; an evil spirit: so called as confused or identified, in the medieval mind, which regarded all heretics and false prophets as instigated by the devil, with Mahomet or Mohammed, the False Prophet. Compare maumet. maian The deil cam' fiddling through the town, Burns, The Exciseman. 4t. [1.c.] An idol or pagan deity. See maumet. mahout (ma-hout'), n. [< Hind. mahaut, the form, in the eastern provinces, of mahawat, mahavat, an elephant-driver.] In the East Indies, the keeper and driver of an elephant. Our curiosity was aroused by the eccentric movements of our elephant and the sudden excitement of his mahout. J. W. Palmer, Up and Down the Irrawaddi, p. 63. mahout2, n. [Origin not ascertained.] A coarse woolen cloth formerly manufactured in England and in the south of France, exclusively for export to the seaports of the Mediterranean, and particularly to Egypt. mahovo (ma-ho'vo), n. [Etym. not ascertained.] A name given by Von Schubersky to his application of the fly-wheel to the locomotive. The fly-wheel in this invention is ponderous, and in running down grades it stores up surplus mechanical power generated by the descent of the locomotive and train, to be in turn imparted to the driving-wheels in ascending a grade, thus aiding the engine in making its ascent. The inven tion has not met with success. Mahratta (ma-rat'ä), n. One of a race of Hindus inhabiting western and central India, who in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries conquered and ruled many states, of which they formed a confederation, but which are now largely under British rule. They are Brahmans in religion, but differ physically from other Hindus, mahsir, mahsur (mä'ser), n. [E. Ind.] A and have a distinct Hindu dialect, the Mahratti (Marathi). cyprinoid fish, Barbus tor, occurring generally in the fresh waters of India, but of the largest streams. It resembles the European barbel in generic size and most abundant in mountain and rocky characters, but has much larger scales (25 to 27 along the lateral line), thick lips, often enlarged about the middle, and the maxillary barbels longer than the rostral and exfresh-water game-fish of India, and reaches a large size, tending to below the last third of the eye. It is the great occasionally weighing 100 to 150 pounds. Also called mahasur, and by other forms of the word. Mahu (mä hö), n. [Perhaps a made name, like many other appellations of devils; but of. Mahoun, 3.] An appellation in Shakspere of the devil as the instigator of theft. Hobbi Five fiends have been in poor Tom at once; didance, prince of dumbness; Mahu, of stealing. Shak., Lear, iv. 1. 63. Mahumetant, etc. See Mahometan, etc. mahute (ma-höt'), n. [OF. mahute, upper arm.] An arm; specifically, in falconry, that part of body. the wing in birds of prey which lies close to the mahwa-butter (mä'wä-but ér), n. A concrete oil obtained in India from the seeds of the mahwa-tree. It has about the industrial value of cocoanut-oil, and is useful for making soap; in India it is used for cooking and burning, and to adulterate ghee or clarified butter. mahwa-oil (mä'wä-oil), n. Same as mahwa butter. mahwa-tree, mohwa-tree (mä'wä-tre, mo'wätre), n. [E. Ind. mahwa or mohwa + E. tree.] The tree Bassia latifolia. Maia (ma'yä), n. [NL., <Gr. paia, a large kind of crab, a particular use of uaia, old woman, nurse, mother.] The typical genus of Maiida, founded by Lamarck in 1801. M. squinado is known as the sea-spider or spider-crab. The carapace is oval, with Spinous Spider-crab (Maia squinado). many projecting points on the sides and in front, and the long slim legs are beset with cirri. These crabs are observed crawling sluggishly in the mud. Maiacea (ma-ya'se-ä), n. pl. [NL., Maia + -acea.] A group of spider-crabs. See Maioidea. maiacean (ma-ya'se-an), a. and n. Same as maioidean. maian (ma'yan), a. and n. [< Maia + -an.] Same as maioid. Maianthemum Maianthemum (ma-yan'the-mum), n. [NL. = = Canadense. a, flower; b, fruits. = = OS. magath, magadh, Flowering Plant of Maianthemum And bytwyne Citie and the seyd Chirche ys the flod floridus, where the fayer mayd shuld a ben brent. Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 47. But communed only with the little maid, Tennyson, Guinevere. 2. A woman, especially a young woman, who has preserved her virginity; a virgin. Would you not swear, All you that see her, that she were a maid, 3+. A man who has always remained continent. 4. A female servant or attendant charged with And when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. She's called upon her maids by seven, 3580 and doomed to be an old maid (or bachelor). (c) The A maid-child call'd Marina. Shak., Pericles, v. 3. 6. Of bodi was he mayden clene. O I'll go tak the bride's maidens, Fair Janet (Child's Ballads, II. 91). 2. An animal or a thing that is young, new, Maiden, Museum of the Society of Antiquaries, Edinburgh. to the top of the frame and The ax was raised then let fall, severing the 6. A mallet for beating linen, used in washing. His maiden sister and his orphan niece, whom he .. 2. Scott, Antiquary, fi. Addison, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., ii. 513. Of or pertaining to a maid or to maids: as, Now, by my maiden honour, yet as pure maiden-meek way by which the corpse of an unmarried person of either sex was carried to the grave. Yet here she is allow'd her virgin crants, Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home Of bell and burial. Shak., Hamlet, v. 1. 256. maident (ma'dn), v. i. [< maiden, n.] To act or speak in a maidenly manner; behave modestly or demurely. [Rare.] For had I mayden'd it, as many use, Loath for to grant, but loather to refuse. Bp. Hall, Satires, III. iii. 5. maidenhair (mãʼdn-hãr), ". 1. A fern of the genus Adiantum, particularly A. Capillus-Veneris, a native of North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, China, and Japan, and A. pedatum, a native of North America from Canada southward, Hindustan, Japan, and Manchuria. They grow in moist rocky places, and are so called from the fine, hair-like stalks, or from the fine black fibrous roots. Asplenium Trichomanes is the black or English maidenhair. maidenhead (māʼdn-hed), n. [<ME. mayden- By my troth and maidenhead, Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 3. 23. 2t. Newness; freshness; incipiency; also, the first of a thing. The maidenhead of our affairs. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 59. Then came home to my fire the maidenhead of second half bushel [of coals]. Swift. 3. The hymen or vaginal membrane, regarded as the physical proof of virginity.-4f. The first using of anything. Ex. ii. 5. 3. Like a maid in any respect; virginal; chaste. Virgin forming the end or "head" of the handle. S. K. Bothwell (Child's Ballads, I. 159). She had no maids to stand A. C. Swinburne, Madonna Mia. 5. One of various fishes. (a) The female of several species of skate. When fishy Stalls with double Store are laid: The golden belly'd Carp, the broad-finn'd Maid. Gay, Trivia, ii. 414. (b) The thornback ray. Also called maiden and maidenskate. (c) The twait-shad.- Cuckoo's maid. (a) The red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio. (b) The wryneck, lynx torquilla.-Lady's maid, a female servant em ployed to attend to the personal wants of a woman.Maid of all work, a female servant who does work of every kind; a domestic who performs general housework.-Maid of honor. (a) A woman of good birth having membership in a royal household as an atten dant on a princess or the queen. While technically in the latter's service, actual attendance is either divided as to period among the several maids of honor, or is limited to appearance at state occasions and court ceremonies. In England eight maids of honor are now regularly chosen, but more are often nominated. They are usually if not always daughters or granddaughters of peers, and when possessing no other title are styled honorable. (b) A sort of cheesecake. [Said to be made according to a recipe originally given by a maid of honor of Queen Elizabeth.] He [the baker] has brought down a girl from London, who can make short bread and maids of honor. R. D. Blackmore, Kit and Kitty, vii. Old maid. (a) A woman who remains unmarried beyond the usual or average age for marriage. [Colloq.] (b) A game of cards played by any number of persons with a pack of fifty-one cards, one of the queens being thrown out; all cards that match are discarded, and that player in whose hand the odd queen is finally left is said to be caught, Indeed I knew Of no more subtle master under heaven Full bravely hast thou flesh'd A chaine of golde that cost him lvij pound and odde money, wherof because he would have the maydenhead or first wearing himselfe, he presently put it on in the Goldsmith's shop. Greene, Conny Catching, 3d Part (1592). Maidenhead spoon, a spoon having a small figure of the Handbook College and Corporation Plate, p. 69. maidenhood (mā'dn-hud), n. [ME. maydenhode; maiden +-hood.] 1. The state of being a maid or maiden; the state of an unmarried female; virginity. And, for the modest love of maidenhood To her, perpetual maidenhood, Tennyson, In Memoriam, vi. 2. Freshness; newness. [Rare.] Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 4. 133. A maiden battle, then? Shak., T. and C., iv. 5. 87. This hand of mine Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand, fore her marriage; the surname of a maiden.-Maiden over, in cricket, an over in which no runs are made. See The ireful bastard Orleans-that drew blood maidenliness (ma'dn-li-nes), n. The quality maidenly (ma ́dn-li), adv. [< maiden + -ly2.] maiden-meek (ma'dn-mek), a. Meek as be- I was courteous, every phrase well oil'd 3581 maiden-nut maiden-nut (māʼdn-nut), n. In mech., the in- than meat (faire maigre, abstain from meat): ner of two nuts on the same screw. The outer see meager, the E. form of the word.] I. a. 1. nut is called the jam-nut. E. H. Knight. Made neither of flesh-meat nor with the gravy maiden-pink (ma'dn-pingk), n. A kind of pink, of flesh-meat: applied to the dishes used by Dianthus deltoides. Sometimes called meadow- Roman Catholics during Lent and on the days pink. on which abstinence from flesh-meat is enjoinmaiden-plum (ma'dn-plum), n. A West In- ed.-2. Of or pertaining to a fast or fast-day. dian plant, Comocladia integrifolia or C. den-Maigre day, in the Rom. Cath. Ch., one of the days on tata, of the natural order Anacardiacea. It which the use of flesh-meat, or of food prepared with the juice of flesh-meat, is disallowed. yields a viscid juice, which on exposure to air becomes an indelible black dye. maiden's-blush (ma'dnz-blush), n. 1. A delicate pink variety of rose. Maydens-blush commixt with jessimine. Herrick, The Invitation. 2. A small geometrid moth, Ephyra punctaria. maidenshipt (māʼdn-ship), n. [< maiden + -ship.] Maidenhood. Fuller. maiden's-honesty (maʼdnz-on es-ti), n. The virgin's-bower, Clematis Vitalba. Britten and Holland, Eng. Plant Names. [Some have supposed the plant honesty to be meant. See honesty, 5.] About Michaelmass all the hedges about Thickwood (in the parish Colerne) are (as it were) hung with mayden's honesty, which lookes very fine. Aubrey's Wilts, MS. Royal Soc., p. 120. (Halliwell.) maiden-skate (māʼdu-skāt), n. Same as maid, 5 (b). maiden-tongued (ma'dn-tungd), a. voiced and gentle in speech as a girl. Sweet His qualities were beauteous as his form, For maiden-tongued he was. Shak., Lover's Complaint, 1. 100. maiden-widowed (ma'dn-widʻōd), a. Widowed while still a virgin. [Rare.] But I, a maid, die maiden-widowed. Shak., R. and J., iii. 2. 135. maidhood (mād'húd), n. [< maid + -hood.] Maidenhood; virginity. Cesario, by the roses of the spring, By maidhood, honour, truth, and everything, I love thee. Shak., T. N., iii. 1. 162. maidkint, n. A little maid. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] It happened to be a maigre-day. Walpole, To Mann, July 31, 1743. II. n. An acanthopterygian fish of the genus Sciana, specifically S. aquila, a large and very powerful fish common in the Mediterranean and occasionally taken on the British coasts. It is remarkable for making a whirring noise as it moves through the water. The name is sometimes extended to the Scianida. Also meager, shade-fish, bar, and bubbler. maihemt, n. See mayhem. Maiidæ (ma'yi-dē), n. pl. [NL., < Maia +-idæ.] A family of short-tailed, stalk-eyed, decapod crustaceans, typified by the genus Maia, and corresponding more or less exactly to Milne-Edwards's tribe Maiens of his family Oxyrhyncha; the spider-crabs. These maioids have long legs, the spiny carapace nearly always longer than broad, and the rostrum usually two-horned. The common sea-spider, Maia squinado, is a characteristic example. The genera are numerous, and the limits of the family vary with different writers. See cut at Maia. Also Maida, Maiada. maik1, n. A Scotch spelling of make2. maik2, make (māk), n. [Cf. mag3.] A halfpenny. [Scotch and Eng. slang.] mail (mål), n. [< ME. maile, male, maille, maylle, OF. maile, maille, a link of mail, a mesh of a net, F. maille, link of mail, a mesh, stitch, =Pr. malha = Sp. malla = Pg. malha = It. maglia, link of mail, mail, stitch, L. macula, a spot, speck, hole, mesh of a net: see macle, mackle, macula. In def. 1, the orig. sense, the E. word may possibly be in part due to AS. mal, mal, a spot: see mole1.] 1t. A spot; especially, a spot or speck on a bird's feather; hence, a spotted or speckled feather. The moorish-fly: made with the body of duskish wool; and the wings made of the blackish mail of the drake. I. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 101. mailable Cap of mail. Same as coif of mail.-Coat of mail. See coat2.-Coif of mail. See coif.-Edgewise mail. Same as edge-mail-Glove of mail. Same as gauntlet1 1.-Hose of mail. Same as chausses, 2.-House of mail. See house2.-Interlinked mail. Same as chain-mail. See def. 3. mail1 (mal), v. t. [<mail, n.] 1. To spot or stain. [Old Eng. and Scotch.] Mailed wi' the bluid of a bit skirling wean that was hurt some gate. Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, xvii. 2. To put mail upon; dress in mail; by ex- The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit, Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 116. mail2 (māl), n. = Prince, by your leave, I'll have a circingle, And mail you, like a hawk. Beau. and Fl., Philaster, v. [< ME. male = MD. maele, D. maal = G. malle, OF. male, malle, a bag, wallet, portmanteau, F. malle, a peddler's basket, a trunk, mail (post), mail-coach, Sp. Pg. mala, a bag, trunk, ‹ ML. mala, a bag; prob. of Celtic origin, Ir. and Gael. mala Bret. mal, a bag, sack; but the Rom. and Celtic forms may be from the Teut.; cf. OHG. malaha, malha, MHG. malhe, a saddle-bag, a wallet; Icel. malr, a knapsack. The ult. origin is undetermined.] 1t. A bag, sack, or other receptacle for the conveyance or keeping of small articles of personal property or merchandise, especially the clothing or other baggage of a traveler, the equipments of a soldier, etc. maidlyt, a. [< maid + -ly1.] Like a maid or girl. 24. In armor, a ring, link, or scale on a coat of monastery of Saint Mary's. O cowards all, and maydly men, Of courage faynt and weake. Googe, Epitaphe on M. Shelley. (Davies.) Maid Mariant, Maid-mariant (mad-mar'i-an), 1. Originally, the queen of the May, one of the characters in the old morris-dance, often a man in woman's clothes. n. In the English Morris she is called simply The Lady, or more frequently Maid Marian, a name which, to our apprehension, means Lady of the May, and nothing more. Child's Ballads, Int., p. xxviii. 2. A kind of dance; a morris-dance or Moorish dance. A set of morrice-dancers danced a maid-marian with a tabor and pipe. Sir W. Temple. maid-of-the-meadow (mãd'ov-the-med ́o), n. A plant, Spiræa Ulmaria, of the natural order Rosacea. maid-pale (mad'pal), a. Having the delicate white complexion of a maid or girl. [Rare.] Change the complexion of her [England's] maid-pale peace To scarlet indignation. Shak., Rich. II., iii. 3. 98. maid-servant (mād ́servant), n. A female servant. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, ... nor thy maid servant. Ex. xx. 10. maieutic (ma-u'tik), a. and n. [< Gr. palevTIKóç, of or for midwifery (fem. μalevrikh, sc. τέχνη, the art of midwifery), < μαιεύεσθαι, act as a midwife, <uaia, an old woman, a nurse, midwife.] I. a. Serving to assist or facilitate childbirth; hence, in the Socratic method (see II.), aiding in bringing forth, in a metaphorical sense; serving to educe or elicit. [Rare.] II. n. The art of midwifery: applied by Socrates to the method he pursued in investigating and imparting truth; intellectual midwifery. It consisted in eliciting from a person interrogated such answers as lead by successive stages to the conclusion desired by the interrogator. This positive side of the Socratic method is the maieutic (that is, maieutic or obstetric art). Socrates likened himself, namely, to his mother Phænarete, who was a midwife, because, if no longer able to bear thoughts himself, he was still quite able to help others to bear them, as well as to distinguish those that were sound from those that were unsound. J. H. Stirling. maieutical (mā-ū'ti-kal), a. [< maieutic + -al.] Same as maieutic. maigniet, n. Same as meiny. maigre (mā ́gėr), a. and n. [< F. maigre, lean, spare, meager; as a noun, lean meat, food other mail. See def. 3. Of his auantaile wyth that stroke carf wel many a maylle. Sir Ferumbras, 1, 624. Squamæ (L.), mayles or lytle plates in an haberieon or coate of fense. Cooper, 1584. 3. A fabric of meshes, especially and almost exclusively of metal, used as a defense against weapons; a kind of armor, specifically called chain-mail, composed of rings of metal, interlinked as in a chain, but extended in width as well as in length. Chain-mail seems to have been in troduced into the Roman army in imitation of the Gauls, and was much worn under the later empire. It was the favorite armor in Europe dur ing the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but was slow of fabrication and expensive. It was of three kinds: (1) that in which the rings kept their shape by their stiffness alone, and which was therefore very heavy; (2) that in which the links were riv. eted and forged; (3) that in which each link was braced across by a small bar- a rare form. See hauberk, chausses, banded mail (under banded2), gusset, and camail. Coat of Chain-mail (Hauberk), and detail of same. He put a silk cote on his backe, And mail of manye a fold. A male tweyfold on his croper lay; It semede that he cariede lyt array; Al light for somer rood this worthy man. Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 13. See that my mails, with my vestments, be sent to the Scott, Monastery, xxii. Specifically-2. A bag for the conveyance of letters, papers, etc., particularly letters forwarded from one post-office to another under governmental authority and care; a mail-bag. -3. A mass or assemblage of mail-matter; collectively, the letters, papers, etc., conveyed by post; the matter sent in any way through the post-office.-4. The person by whom or the conveyance by which the mail is carried; hence, the system of transmission by public post; postal conveyance: as, to send a package by mail; news received through the mail. In the west of England particularly, the mail (coach] acts as a regulator, just as the sun on the hills acts as a thermometer. Quoted in First Year of a Silken Reign, p. 124. Mail axle. See axle. mail2 (māl), v. t. [< mail2, n.] To put in the mail; send by mail; put into the post-office for transmission by mail; post: as, to mail a letter. mail3+ (māl), n. [< ME. maile, maille, < OF. maille, maaille, meaille (F. maille), f., mail, m., a coin, a halfpenny (see def.), medaille, a coin (medal): see medal. In def. 2 a particular use, like penny in a similar sense, for money paid,' 'tax,' hence rent.'] 1. A small coin of billon or silver current in France from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. It had half the value of the denier. Sometimes called obole.-2. rent or annual payment formerly extorted by the border robbers. Compare blackmail. [Old Scotch.] Old Robin of Portingale (Child's Ballads, III. 38). Rent; hence, payment at a fixed rate, as the than mail! Whittier, Brown of Ossawatomie. Hence-5. Any defensive covering, as the shell of a lobster or a tortoise. His clouded Mail the Tortoise shall resign, And round the Rivet pearly Circles shine. Gay, The Fan, iii. 157. 6. Naut., a square utensil composed of rings interwoven like network, formerly used for rubbing off the loose hemp on lines and white cordage.-7. In weaving, a small metal eye or guide-ring in a heddle, through which the warp is threaded. The essential features of the heddle are the eyes, loops, or mails through which the warp is threaded. Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 464. 8. That part of a clasp which receives the spring. Halliwell.-Banded mail. See banded. I'll pay you for my lodging maill, When first we meet on the Border side. Kinmont Willie (Child's Ballads, VI. 65). Mail noble, an English gold coin of the reign of Edward III., current for 38. 4d. Also called half-noble. Mails and duties, the rents of real estate due from the tenant to the lord, whether in money or grain. mail4 (mal), n. [< OF. mail, maill, mal, maul, F. mail, L. malleus, a mall, mallet: see mall1.] 1. A mall or mallet. After the flax has been bruised by the mail, and crushed by the braque, it is ready for the scutching process. Ure, Dict., II. 415. 2. A French game similar to chicane. mail5 (mal), n. A weight equal to about 105 pounds avoirdupois. [Orkney.] mailable (ma'la-bl), a. [< mail? + -able.] Capable of being mailed; such that it can be sent by mail in accordance with the regulations governing the post-office. mailaid mailaidt, n. [< Gael, maileid, a bag, ‹ mala, a bag: see mail2.] A hunting-bag. [Scotch.] mail-bag (mal'bag), n. A bag in which the public mail is carried. In the United States postal service the canvas bags used for papers and parcels are called mail-sacks, the locked leather bags mail-pouches. Mail-bag receiver and discharger. See mail catcher. mail-box (mal'boks), n. A box placed in some public place, as at a street corner, for the deposit of letters to be gathered by the postman. mail-car (mal'kär), n. A railroad-car for carrying the mails. When fitted up with post-office facilities for distributing and stamping letters, etc., on the journey, such a car is called a postal car, post-office car, or railroad post-office. mail-carrier (mal'kar'i-èr), n. A person employed in carrying the mail between post-offices, or over a specified mail-route. mail-cart (mālʼkärt), n. A cart in which the public mail is carried. In another minute mail-carts are seen rushing along from the Post Office and sidling up to the different mails with their reeking horses. Quoted in First Year of a Silken Reign, p. 135. mail-catcher (mal'kach ̋er), n. A device attached to a mail-car, designed to catch up mailbags while the train is in motion. It consists of a hinged iron bar fixed at the door of the car, in such a way as to catch the bag, which is suspended by hooks or light strings from a gallows-frame beside the track. The catcher engages the middle of the bag, just where it is tied into the smallest possible compass, and holds it securely until it is drawn in at the door. mail-cheeked (mal'chēkt), a. Having the cheeks mailed, as a fish, by the extension of certain suborbital bones, especially the third suborbital, to articulate with the preopercle; sclerogenous specifically said of the cottoids. mail-clad (māl'klad), a. 1. Clad with a coat of mail. The peer of our day. . . is in less danger going about weaponless than was the mail-clad knight with lance and sword. H. Spencer, Study of Sociol., p. 257. 2. By extension, in modern usage, defensively armed; clad in armor. mail-coach (māl ́kōch), n. A coach that conveys the public mails. Mail-coaches, which come to others, come not to me. mail-coif (mal'koif), n. Same as coif, 3 (a). mailed (mäld), a. [< mail1 + -ed2.] 1+. Spotted; speckled. As for these our Hawkes, they bee not white, but white and mayled. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 303. 2. In zool., loricate; lepidote; cataphracted; provided with scales, plates, shields, bucklers, or the like, which serve for defensive armor like a coat of mail. See lorica, loricate, Loricata. -Mailed bullheads, the fishes of the family Agonida. mailed-cheeks (māld'chēks), n. pl. In ichth., the gurnards or cottoids: a term translating Sclerogenida and joues cuirassées. mailer (ma'ler), n. Same as addressing-machine. mail-guard (mālʼgärd), n. An officer having charge of mail under conveyance. mail-hood (māl'hud), n. In armor, a hood like the camail, attached to the hauberk and drawn at pleasure over the head and steel cap, worn by the Persians during the third and fourth centuries after Christ. A similar hood was worn by the Circassians up to the time of their subjugation by the Russians. mail-hose (māl'hōz), n. pl. Chausses of mail. mailing1 (ma'ling), n. [<mail1 + -ing1.] 1. Linked mail in general.-2. The conventional device adopted, as in early monuments of art, to give the idea of a garment of mail. mailing2 (ma'ling), n. [< mail3, 2, + -ing.] A piece of land for which rent or feu-duty is paid; a farm. [Scotch.] mailing-machine (ma'ling-ma-shen"), n. Same as addressing-machine. mailing-table (mãʼling-tā ̋bl), n. A table used in a post-office in sorting or distributing letters for various routes or stations. It is fitted with tiers of boxes, each box being provided with facilities for attaching a mail-bag to the rear so that letters will fall from the box into the bag. maillt, maillet, n. Mailly (ma'lyế), n. [F.] A still wine made from a very black grape, of the quality of the so-called gray wine of Champagne, resembling the still Sillery. mail-master (māl'mas tėr), n. An officer who has charge of the mail. mail-matter (mal'mat"èr), n. Matter, as letters and packages of various kinds, carried in the mail; such material as may be transmitted through the post-office. See mail3. mail-net (mälʼnet), n. A form of loom-made net. It is a combination in the same fabric of common 3582 gauze and whip-net, and presents the appearance of a continuous succession of right-angled triangles. E. H. Knight. A stuffed leamail-pillion+ (mal pil yon), n. his master in a journey, to carry luggage upon; thern cushion behind a servant who attended also, a mail-saddle, or saddle for carrying luggage upon. Halliwell. mail-pouch (mal'pouch), n. See mail-bag. mail-quilt (mal'kwilt), n. A garment of fence made of textile material, stuffed and quilted. Compare gambeson and coat-of-fence. = Here clasping greaves, and plated mail-quilts strong, The long-bows here, and rattling quivers hung. Mickle, tr. of Camoëns's Lusiad, i. mail-route (mālʼröt), n. A route over which mails are regularly conveyed. mail-sack (māl'sak), n. See mail-bag. mail-shell (mal'shel), n. A kind of mollusk: same as chiton, 2 (b). mail-stage (mál'stāj), n. A mail-coach. [U.S.] mail-train (māl'trān), n. A railroad-train by which mails are carried. maim (mām), v. t. [Also, obs. or dial., main; ME. maimen, maymen, mayhemen, mainen, maynen, < OF. mehaigner, mahaigner Pr. maganhar It. magagnare (ML. mahemiare, mahanare, mahennare, mehaignare), maim; cf. Bret. machaña, mutilate, machan, mutilation, prob. from the OF.; ulterior origin uncertain.] To disable by wounding or mutilation; deprive of, or of the use of, a necessary constituent part, as of the body, or, figuratively, of anything; in old law, to deprive of the use of a limb, so as to render a person less able to defend himself in fighting, or to annoy his adversary; mutilate. See mayhem. The pore and the maymot for to clothe and fede. Chron. Vilodun, p. 31. (Halliwell.) You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops. Shak., Hen. VIII., iii. 2. 312. By the ancient law of England, he that maimed any man, whereby he lost any part of his body, was sentenced to lose the like part. Blackstone, Com., IV. xv. main Icel. strength (=OS. megin OHG. megin megin, magn, power, might, the main part of a also main2, to which some of the uses commonly thing), <mag, pret. pres. of *magan, have power: see may1. Cf. might1, from the same source. Cf. referred to main1 (defs. 2, 3, etc.) are in part due.] 1. Strength; force; violent effort: now used chiefly in the phrase with might and main. God schulde be worschipide ouer al thing; do riztwijsnes with merci with al thi mayn. Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S), p. 37. But th' Adamantine shield which he did beare So well was tempred, that for all his maine It would no passage yeeld unto his purpose vaine. Spenser, F. Q., V. xi. 10. 2. That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the gross; the bulk; the greater part. [Obsolete or archaic.] He himself with the main of his Army was entered far Milton, Hist. Eng., v. into the Country. Main of my studies. Bp. Parker, Platonick Philos., p. 2. The main of them may be reduced to language, and an improvement in wisdom. Locke. Hence-3+. The principal point; that which is of most importance; the chief or principal object, aim, or effort. Let's make haste away, and look unto the main. Shak., 2 Hen. VI., i. 1. 208. Let it therefore be the maine of our assembly to survay our old lawes, and punish their transgressions. Marston, The Fawne, v. 4. A broad expanse, as of space or light; unbroken extent; full sweep or stretch. [Rare in this general sense.] Nativity, once in the main of light, Shak., Sonnets, lx. Milton, P. L., x. 256. Now, specifically (a) The expanse of ocean; the open ocean; the high sea. I cannot, 'twixt the heaven and the main, Descry a sail. Shak., Othello, ii. 1. 3. (b) A continental stretch of land; a continent; the mainland, as distinguished from islands. he came =Syn. Mangle, etc. See mutilate. Travelling the maine of poore Slavonia, Your father's sickness is a maim to us-- 2. Bacon, Charge concerning Duels, 1613, Works, XI. 406. See the quotation, and mayhem. The word maim is not, according to the better use, a synonym for mayhem, which is a particular sort of aggravated maim. But, like mayhem, it implies a permanent injury or crippling, certainly when employed with reference to cattle. And such appears to be its general legal meaning. Bishop. Hence-3. A hurt or wound in general; an injury. [Now rare.] Now God vs deffende fro deth this day and fro mayme, ffor now I se well that we be alle in pereile of deth, for I se yonder comynge the baner of the man that most is dredde of his enmyes thourgh the worlde. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 161. Shrewd maims! your clothes are wounded desperately! B. Jonson, Magnetick Lady, iii. 3. 4t. A defect or blemish. A noble author esteems it to be a maim in history that the acts of parliament should not be recited. Sir J. Hayward. In a minister, ignorance and disability to teach is a maim; nor is it held a thing allowable to ordain such. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, vii. 24. maimedly (mā'med-li), adv. In a maimed or defective manner. I rather leaue it out altogether then presume to doe it maymedly. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 614. The condition maimedness (mā'med-nes), n. of being maimed. Maimonidean (mi-mon-i-de'an), a. [< Maimonides (see def.) +-an.] Relating to Maimonides (1135-1204), a Spanish-Hebrew theologian and philosopher, noted as a reformer of Jewish traditions, or to his opinions. The Maimonidean controversy. Encyc. Brit., XX. 283. Maimonist (mi'mon-ist), n. [< Maimon(ides) (see Maimonidean) + ist.] An adherent of Maimonides. main1 (man), n. [Early mod. E. also maine, mayne; ME. main, mayn, < AS. mægen, power, discovered the western continent. 5. A principal duct, channel, pipe, or electrical conductor, as a water- or gas-pipe running along a street in a town, or the largest conductor in a system of electric lights. = The fillet should be at least 2 inches wide in the case of the mains. Elect. Rev. (Amer.), II. 2. 6. The thick part of meat. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.]-For the main, in the main, for the most part; in the greatest part; on the whole.- Hydraulic main. See hydraulic.-With might and main. See might1. main2 (mān), a. [<ME.*main, mayn, (a) partly < Icel. meginn, megn, main, strong, mighty (= Dan. megen, much), associated with the noun megin, might, main, AS. mægen E. main1 (there is no like adj. in AS.) (see main1); (b) partly< OF. maine, maigne, magne, chief, great, Sp. magno Pg. magno, manho It. magno, great, L. magnus, great, akin to Gr. uéyas (μɛyah-), great, AS. micel, great, E. mickle, much: see mickle, much. From L. magnus are also E. magnum, magnify, magnitude, etc.] 1t. Great in size or degree; vast; hence, strong; powerful; important. = Thes Messangers met with a mayn knight, At first to make a main offence in manners. Fletcher and Rowley, Maid in the Mill, iii. 2. Lastly, the use of all unlawful arts is maine abuse. Lord Brooke, Human Learning. Themselves invaded next, and on their heads Main promontories flung. Milton, P. L., vi. 654. 2. Principal; prime; chief; leading; of chief or principal importance: as, his main effort was to please. To maintaine the maine chance, they use the benefits of their wives or friends. Greene, Conny Catching (1591). Count Olivares is the main Man who sways all. Howell, Letters, I. iii. 11. Men who set their Minds on main Matters, and sufficiently urge them, in these most difficult times, I find not many. Milton, Free Commonwealth. The extinction of his [the king's] influence in Parliament was the main end to be attained. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., xv. main 3. Principal or chief in size or extent; largest; consisting of the largest part; most important by reason of size or strength: as, the main timbers of a building; the main branch of a river; the main body of an army. This was a main Blow to Prince Lewis, and the last of Baker, Chronicles, p. 78. his Battels in England. The main Battel was led by the King himself. Baker, Chronicles, p. 170. To glean the broken ears after the man That the main harvest reaps. Shak., As you Like it, iii. 5. 103. 4. Full; undivided; sheer: now used chiefly in the phrases main strength, main force. But I hope with my hond & my hard strokes, Thurgh might of oure mykell goddes, & of mayn strenght, Thy body to britton vnto bale dethe. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), l. 7965. A man of my lord cardinal's, by commission and main power, took 'em from me. Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 2. 7. By the main assent Of all these learned men she was divorced. Shak., Hen. VIII., iv. 1. 81. They did put the wars likewise upon main force and valour. Bacon, Vicissitude of Things (ed. 1887). 5. Naut., belonging to or connected with the principal mast in a vessel.-6. "Big"; angry. [Prov. Eng.] Observing Dick look'd main and blue. Collins's Miscellanies (1762), p. 13. (Halliwell.) Main chance. See chance.-Main course. See course1, 18.-Main deck. See deck, 2.-Main guard, a body of soldiers told off for the guard-mounting of the day or night, from which sentinels and pickets are taken.-Main sea. See sea. main2 (man), adv. [< main2, a. Cf. mighty, powerful, similarly used.] Mightily; exceedingly; extremely. [Prov. Eng.] Why, it's main jolly, to be sure. Sheridan (?), The Camp, i. 2. A draught of ale, friend; for I'm main dry. Foote. main3 (man), n. [< ME. mayne, < OF. main, the hand, F. main, the hand, a hand at cards, the lead at cards, also hand (lit. and in various derived senses), = Pr. man= Sp, mano = Pg. mão =It.mano=Ir. man, mana,< L. manus, the hand, also a stake at dice (and in many other derived senses): prob. ‹ √ ma, measure. The derivatives of L. manus are very many: manacle, manage, manège, manifest, maniple, manipulate, manner, manual, manufacture, manumit, manuscript, etc., manure, manœuver, mainor, amanuensis, etc., mainprise, mainpernor, maintain, etc.] 1. A hand. Saynt Elyn hit made with noble mayne. Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 130. 2+. A hand at dice; a throw of the dice at hazard. Were it good To set the exact wealth of all our states 3. A match at cock-fighting. The Welch main, which was the most sanguinary form of the amusement, appears to have been exclusively Eng. lish, and of modern origin. In this game as many as sixteen cocks were sometimes matched against each other at The victors were then divided and fought, and the process each side, and they fought till all on one side were killed. was repeated till but a single cock remained. Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., iv. 600. 4. A banker's shovel for coin. main4+ (mãn), v. t. [By apheresis for amain2.] To furl: said of sails. Thanne he made vs to mayne, that ys to sey stryk Downe ower sayles. Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 59. When it is a tempest almost intolerable for other ships, and maketh them main all their sails, these [carackes] hoist up theirs, and sail excellently well. T. Stevens (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 132). mainɔ̃t, v. t. An obsolete variant of maim. maina (mā'nä), n. [< Hind. maina, a starling.] 1. A kind of bird. See mina2 and Eulabes.-2. [cap.] A genus of birds: same as Eulabes. B. R. Hodgson, 1836. Also Mainatus (R. P. Lesson, 1831). main-beam (mān'bēm), n. Naut., the deckbeam under the forward side of the main-hatch, on which the official tonnage and number of the vessel are by the United States statute required to be marked. On river-steamers it is considered to be the beam under the after side of the starboard forward hatch. main-boom (mānʼböm), n. The spar which extends the foot of a fore-and-aft mainsail. main-brace (man'bras), n. Naut., the brace attached to the main-yard. See brace1, 9.-To splice the main-brace, în naut. slang, to serve out an 3583 allowance of spirits to a ship's company; indulge in drinking spirits. main-chocks (man'choks), n. pl. The first set of chocks or strips of wood at the head of a whale-boat, nailed to the upper strake, forming the groove through which the line passes. main-couple (man'kup'l), n. In arch., the principal truss in a roof. In merchant ships, main-deck (man'dek), n. that part of the upper deck which lies between the forecastle and the poop; in men-of-war, the deck next below the spar-deck; the gun-deck. See deck, 2. main-de-fer (man-dé-fer'), n. [F.: main, hand; de, of; fer, iron.] A defensive appliance for the hand and arm used in the tournaments and tilting-matches of the sixteenth century. Especially(a) A solid piece of iron extending from the elbow joint to the tips of the fingers of the left arm, Main-de-fer. like a shield, to protect that part of the arm which was not covered by the tilting-shield. The hand behind it was free to hold the reins, being clothed in a simple glove of leather or similar material. (b) A gauntlet for the right hand, fastening with hook and staple or the like, so that the hand could not be opened, nor the weapon grasped in it be dislodged. Maine law. See law1. maine-portt (mān'pōrt), n. In old Eng. law, a small duty or tribute, commonly of loaves of bread, which in some places the parishioners brought to the rector in lieu of small tithes. mainfult (mān'fùl), a. [< ME. maynful, meinful; < main1 + -ful.] Powerful. main-hatch (man'hach), n. Naut., a hatch just forward of the mainmast. main-hold (man'hōld), n. Naut., that part of a ship's hold which lies near the main-hatch. mainland (man'land), n. The continent; the principal land, as distinguished from islands. It is in Grece, and the Turkes mayne lande lyeth within .ij. or .iij. myle of theym. Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 11. They landed on the mainland north of the haven. E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 124. mainlander (mänʼlan-dèr), n. One who dwells on the mainland. Rare.] The mainlanders and the islanders could not take the preliminary step of agreeing upon a place where they should meet. Palfrey, Hist. New Eng., II. 359. main-link (man'lingk), n. In mach., in the usual parallel motion, the link that connects the end of the beam of a steam-engine to the piston-rod. mainly (manʼli), adv. [< main2, a., + -ly2.] 1+. By main strength; strongly; forcibly; firmly. Such breadth of shoulders as might mainly bear Old Atlas' burthen. Marlowe, Tamburlaine, I., ii. 1. 24. Greatly; to a great degree; mightily. When a suspect doth catch once, it burns mainly. Middleton, The Witch, iv. 2. Still she eyes him mainly. Fletcher, Mad Lover, iii. 4. 3. Chiefly; principally: as, he is mainly occupied with domestic concerns. Moos'lims of Arabian origin have, for many centuries, mainly composed the population of Egypt. E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, I. 29. They are Spaniards mainly in their love of revolt. Lathrop, Spanish Vistas, p. 181. mainmast (man'måst or -mast), n. Naut., the principal mast in a ship or other vessel. In three-masted vessels it is the middle mast; in a vessel carrying two masts it is the one toward the stern, except in the yawl, galiot, and ketch, where it is the mast toward the prow; in four-masted ships it is the second mast from the bow.- Mainmastman, a seaman stationed to attend to and keep in order the ropes about the mainmast. mainort, mainourt (ma'nor), n. [Also manour, manner, maner; < ME. mainoure, meinoure, maynure, AF. mainoure, meinoure, OF. maineuvre, manoeuvre, manovre, work of the hand: see manæuver, manure, manners.] 1. Act or fact: used of the commission of theft.-2. That which is stolen; evidence of guilt found on an offender, as stolen goods.-To be taken in the mainor, to be taken or caught in the act, as of theft. main-sheet How like a sheep-biting rogue, taken the manner, To be taken with the mainor, to be taken or caught with the stolen property in hand. The manner of it is, I was taken with the manner. Shak., L. L. I, i. 1. 204. Even as a theife that is taken with the manner that he stealeth. Latimer, Sermons, p. 110. (Nares.) A thief taken with the mainour, that is with the thing stolen upon him in manu, might, when so detected flagrante delicto, be brought into court, arraigned, and tried Blackstone, Com., IV. xxiii. without indictment. main-pendant (man'pen'dant), n. Naut., a piece of stout rope fixed to the top of the mainmast under the shrouds on each side, and having an iron thimble spliced into an eye at the lower end to receive the hooks of the pendant-tackle. mainpernablet (manper-na-bl), a. [< OF. (AF) mainprenable, < mainprendre, take surety: see mainprise, mainpernor.] In law, capable of being admitted to give surety by mainpernors; proper to be mainprised; bailable. mainpernort, mainpernourt (man'pèr-nor), n. [Early mod. E. also mayneperner; ME. mainpernour, meinpernour, maynpurnour,<OF. (AF.) mainpernour, mainparnour, mainprenor, mainpreneur,mainprendre, take surety: see mainprise.] In law, a surety for a prisoner's appearance in court at a future day; one who gives mainprise for another: differing from bail in that the mainpernor could not imprison or surrender the prisoner before the day appointed. See mainprise. Whan Cryste schall schewe his woundys wete, MS. Cantab. Ff. ii. 38, f. 5. (Halliwell.) To compel them to find surety of their good bearing, by sufficient mainpernors, of such as be distrainable, if any default be found in such Feitors and Vagabonds, Laws of Richard II., quoted in Ribton-Turner's Vagrants (and Vagrancy, p. 59. Thou knowest well ynough that I am thy pledge, borowe, and mayneperner. Hall's Union, 1548, Hen. IV., fol. 12. (Nares.) main-pin (man'pin), n. A pin upon which the fore axle of a wagon turns in locking. [Prov. Eng.] main-post (mānʼpōst), n. The stern-post of a ship. mainpriset, mainprizet (man'priz), n. [< ME. mainprise, meynprise, OF. (AF.) mainprise, meinprise, surety, bail, < mainprendre, take surety,<main, hand, + prendre, take: see prize1.] In law: (a) Surety; bail. He shall, for his offence, pay the sum of two shillings, or else be utterly excluded for ever, without bail or mainprize. English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 291. They are not bailable, They stand committed without bail or mainprise. B. Jonson, Staple of News, v. 2. (b) Deliverance of a prisoner on security for his appearance at a future day. "God wot," quath Wisdam, "that weore not the beste; And he amendes make let meynprise him haue; And beo borw of his bale and buggen him bote." Piers Plowman (A), iv. 75. (c) A writ formerly directed to the sheriff, commanding him to take sureties (called mainpernors) for a prisoner's appearance, and to let him go at large. This writ is now generally superseded by bail and habeas corpus. mainpriset, mainprizet (mān'prīz), v. t. [< mainprise, n.] To suffer to go at large, as a prisoner, on his finding sureties or mainpernors for his appearance at a future day. mainprisert, mainprizert (mān’prī-zėr), n. A surety; a main pernor. There was the Earle of Ulster enlarged, who tooke his oath, and found mainprisers or sureties to answer the writs of law and to pursue the Kings enemies. Holland, tr. of Camden, ii. 176. (Davies.) main-rigging (mān'rig'ing), n. Naut., the rigging of the mainmast. mainroyal (man'roi'al), n. Naut., the uppermost sail ordinarily carried on the mainmast, next above the topgallantsail, and used only in a light breeze.-Mainroyalmast, the upper part of the maintopgallantmast, sometimes fitted separately. mains (manz), n. [A dial. var. of manse2.] The farm or fields attached to a mansion-house; the home farm. [Scotch and North. Eng.] mainsail (man'sal or -sl), n. In a square-rigged vessel, the sail bent to the main-yard; the main course; in a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, the large sail set on the after part of the mainmast. main-sheet (man'shet), n. The sheet or rope used for securing the mainsail when set. See sheet. With a square mainsail it holds in place the lee clue of the sail, and with a fore-and-aft mainsail it is a tackle on the main-boom. |