Moslem - Motherwort

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Moslem (mŏzlĕm), a. Of or pertaining to the Mohammedans; Mohammedan; as, Moslem lands; the Moslem faith.
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Moslings (?), n. pl. Thin shreds of leather shaved off in dressing skins. Simmonds.
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Mososaurus (?), n. [NL.] (Paleon.) Same as .
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Mosque (mŏsk), n. [F. mosquée, Sp. mezquita, Ar. masjid, from sajada to bend, adore.] A Mohammedan church or place of religious worship. [Written also mosk.]
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Mosquito (mŏskēt�), n.; pl. Mosquitoes (mŏskētōz). [Sp. mosquito, fr. moscafly, L. musca. Cf. .] (Zoöl.) Any one of various species of gnats of the genus Culex and allied genera. The females have a proboscis containing, within the sheathlike labium, six fine, sharp, needlelike organs with which they puncture the skin of man and animals to suck the blood. These bites, when numerous, cause, in many persons, considerable irritation and swelling, with some pain. The larvæ and pupæ, called wigglers, are aquatic. [Written also musquito.]
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Coloq. Mosquito bar , Coloq. Mosquito net , a net or curtain for excluding mosquitoes, -- used for beds and windows. -- Coloq. Mosquito fleet , a fleet of small vessels. -- Coloq. Mosquito hawk (Zoöl.), a dragon fly; -- so called because it captures and feeds upon mosquitoes. -- Coloq. Mosquito netting , a loosely-woven gauzelike fabric for making mosquito bars.
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mosquitofish n. A silvery topminnow (Gambusia affinis) with rows of black spots of tropical North America and West Indies; important in mosquito control.
Syn. -- Gambusia affinis.
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Moss (mŏs; 115), n. [OE. mos; akin to AS. meós, D. mos, G. moos, OHG. mos, mios, Icel. mosi, Dan. mos, Sw. mossa, Russ. mokh', L. muscus. Cf. .] 1. (Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and simple leaves. The fruit is a small capsule usually opening by an apical lid, and so discharging the spores. There are many species, collectively termed Musci, growing on the earth, on rocks, and trunks of trees, etc., and a few in running water.
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☞ The term moss is also popularly applied to many other small cryptogamic plants, particularly lichens, species of which are called tree moss, rock moss, coral moss, etc. Fir moss and club moss are of the genus Lycopodium. See Club moss, under , and .
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2. A bog; a morass; a place containing peat; as, the mosses of the Scottish border.
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☞ Moss is used with participles in the composition of words which need no special explanation; as, moss-capped, moss-clad, moss-covered, moss-grown, etc.
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Coloq. Black moss . See under , and . -- Coloq. Bog moss . See . -- Coloq. Feather moss , any moss branched in a feathery manner, esp. several species of the genus Hypnum. -- Coloq. Florida moss , Coloq. Long moss , or Coloq. Spanish moss . See . -- Coloq. Iceland moss , a lichen. See . -- Coloq. Irish moss , a seaweed. See . -- Coloq. Moss agate (Min.), a variety of agate, containing brown, black, or green mosslike or dendritic markings, due in part to oxide of manganese. Called also Mocha stone. -- Coloq. Moss animal (Zoöl.), a bryozoan. -- Coloq. Moss berry (Bot.), the small cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccus). -- Coloq. Moss campion (Bot.), a kind of mosslike catchfly (Silene acaulis), with mostly purplish flowers, found on the highest mountains of Europe and America, and within the Arctic circle. -- Coloq. Moss land , land produced accumulation of aquatic plants, forming peat bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is grained off or retained in its pores. -- Coloq. Moss pink (Bot.), a plant of the genus Phlox (Phlox subulata), growing in patches on dry rocky hills in the Middle United States, and often cultivated for its handsome flowers. Gray. -- Coloq. Moss rose (Bot.), a variety of rose having a mosslike growth on the stalk and calyx. It is said to be derived from the Provence rose. -- Coloq. Moss rush (Bot.), a rush of the genus Juncus (Juncus squarrosus). -- Coloq. Scale moss . See .
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Moss, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mossed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mossing.] To cover or overgrow with moss.
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An oak whose boughs were mossed with age. Shak.
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Mossback (?), n. A veteran partisan; one who is so conservative in opinion that he may be likened to a stone or old tree covered with moss. [Political Slang, U.S.]
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{ Mossbanker (?), Mossbunker (?), } n. (Zoöl.) The menhaded.
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moss-grown, mossgrown (?), a. Overgrown with moss; mossy.
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Mossiness (?), n. The state of being mossy.
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Mosstrooper (?), n. [Moss + trooper.] One of a class of marauders or bandits that formerly infested the border country between England and Scotland; -- so called in allusion to the mossy or boggy character of much of the border country.
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Mossy (?), a. [Compar. Mossier (?); superl. Mossiest.] 1. Overgrown with moss; abounding with or edged with moss; as, mossy trees; mossy streams.
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Old trees are more mossy far than young. Bacon.
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2. Resembling moss; as, mossy green.
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Most (mōst), a., superl. of . [OE. most, mast, mest, AS. mǣst; akin to D. meest, OS. mēst, G. meist, Icel. mestr, Goth. maists; a superl. corresponding to E. more. √103. See , a.] 1. Consisting of the greatest number or quantity; greater in number or quantity than all the rest; nearly all. “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness.” Prov. xx. 6.
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The cities wherein most of his mighty works were done. Matt. xi. 20.
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2. Greatest in degree; as, he has the most need of it. “In the moste pride.” Chaucer.
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3. Highest in rank; greatest. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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☞ Most is used as a noun, the words part, portion, quantity, etc., being omitted, and has the following meanings: 1. The greatest value, number, or part; preponderating portion; highest or chief part. 2. The utmost; greatest possible amount, degree, or result; especially in the phrases to make the most of, at the most, at most.
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A quarter of a year or some months at the most. Bacon.
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A covetous man makes the most of what he has. L'Estrange.
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Coloq. For the most part , in reference to the larger part of a thing, or to the majority of the persons, instances, or things referred to; as, human beings, for the most part, are superstitious; the view, for the most part, was pleasing. -- Coloq. Most an end , generally. See An end, under , n. [Obs.] “She sleeps most an end.” Massinger.
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Most, adv. [AS. mǣst. See , a.] In the greatest or highest degree.
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Those nearest to this king, and most his favorites, were courtiers and prelates. Milton.
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☞ Placed before an adjective or adverb, most is used to form the superlative degree, being equivalent to the termination -est; as, most vile, most wicked; most illustrious; most rapidly. Formerly, and until after the Elizabethan period of our literature, the use of the double superlative was common. See , adv.
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The most unkindest cut of all. Shak.
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The most straitest sect of our religion. Acts xxvi. 5.
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Mostahiba (?), n. See .
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Moste (?), obs. imp. of . Chaucer.
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Most-favored-nation clause (Diplomacy), A clause, often inserted in treaties, by which each of the contracting nations binds itself to grant to the other in certain stipulated matters the same terms as are then, or may be thereafter, granted to the nation which receives from it the most favorable terms in respect of those matters. It is used most frequently in treaties regarding the terms of trade between countries, as regarding tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade.
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There was a “most-favored-nation” clause with provisions for the good treatment of strangers entering the Republic. James Bryce.
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Steam navigation was secured by the Japanese as far as Chungking, and under the most-favored-nation clause the right accrued to us. A. R. Colquhoun.
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{ Mostic, Mostick } (?), n. [See .] A painter's maul-stick.
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Mostly (?), adv. For the greatest part; for the most part; chiefly; in the main.
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Mostra (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) See , n.
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Mostwhat (?), adv. For the most part. [Obs.] “All the rest do mostwhat far amiss.” Spenser.
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Mot (mōt), v. [Sing. pres. ind. Mot, Mote, Moot (mōt), pl. Mot, Mote, Moote, pres. subj. Mote; imp. Moste.] [See , v.] [Obs.] May; must; might.
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He moot as well say one word as another Chaucer.
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The wordes mote be cousin to the deed. Chaucer.
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Men moot [i.e., one only] give silver to the poore freres. Chaucer.
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Coloq. So mote it be , so be it; amen; -- a phrase in some rituals, as that of the Freemasons.
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Mot (mŏt; m�, def. 2), n. [F. See .] 1. A word; hence, a motto; a device. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
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Tarquin's eye may read the mot afar. Shak.
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2. A pithy or witty saying; a witticism. [A Gallicism]
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Here and there turns up a . . . savage mot. N. Brit. Rev.
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3. A note or brief strain on a bugle. Sir W. Scott.
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Motacil (?), n. [Cf. F. motacille.] (Zoöl.) Any singing bird of the genus Motacilla; a wagtail.
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Motation (?), n. [L. motare, motatum, to keep moving.] The act of moving; motion. [Obs.]
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Mote (?), v. See 1st . [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Mote, n. [See , a meeting.] [Obs., except in a few combinations or phrases.] 1. A meeting of persons for discussion; as, a wardmote in the city of London.
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2. A body of persons who meet for discussion, esp. about the management of affairs; as, a folkmote.
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3. A place of meeting for discussion.
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Coloq. Mote bell , the bell rung to summon to a mote. [Obs.]
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Mote, n. The flourish sounded on a horn by a huntsman. See , n., 3, and . Chaucer.
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Mote, n. [OE. mot, AS. mot.] A small particle, as of floating dust; anything proverbially small; a speck.
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The little motes in the sun do ever stir, though there be no wind. Bacon.
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We are motes in the midst of generations. Landor.
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Moted (?), a. Filled with motes, or fine floating dust; as, the air. “Moted sunbeams.” Tennyson.
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Motet (?), n. [F., a dim. of mot word; cf. It. mottetto, dim. of motto word, device. See , .] (Mus.) A composition adapted to sacred words in the elaborate polyphonic church style; an anthem.
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Moth (mŏth), n. A mote. [Obs.] Shak.
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Moth, n.; pl. Moths (mŏthz). [OE. mothe, AS. moððe; akin to D. mot, G. motte, Icel. motti, and prob. to E. mad an earthworm. Cf. , n., .] 1. (Zoöl.) Any nocturnal lepidopterous insect, or any not included among the butterflies; as, the luna moth; Io moth; hawk moth.
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2. (Zoöl.) Any lepidopterous insect that feeds upon garments, grain, etc.; as, the clothes moth; grain moth; bee moth. See these terms under , , etc.
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3. (Zoöl.) Any one of various other insects that destroy woolen and fur goods, etc., esp. the larvæ of several species of beetles of the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus. Carpet moths are often the larvæ of Anthrenus. See Carpet beetle, under , , .
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4. Anything which gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing.
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Coloq. Moth blight (Zoöl.), any plant louse of the genus Aleurodes, and related genera. They are injurious to various plants. -- Coloq. Moth gnat (Zoöl.), a dipterous insect of the genus Bychoda, having fringed wings. -- Coloq. Moth hunter (Zoöl.), the goatsucker. -- Coloq. Moth miller (Zoöl.), a clothes moth. See , 3, (a). -- Coloq. Moth mullein (Bot.), a common herb of the genus Verbascum (Verbascum Blattaria), having large wheel-shaped yellow or whitish flowers.
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mothball n. A small sphere of camphor or naphthalene used to keep moths away from stored clothing.
Syn. -- camphor ball.
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mothball v. t. To put into long-term storage; as, to mothball the battleships not needed after the war.
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Moth-eat (?), v. t. To eat or prey upon, as a moth eats a garment. [Rarely used except in the form moth-eaten, p. p. or a.]
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Ruin and neglect have so moth-eaten her. Sir T. Herbert.
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Moth-eaten (?), a. having holes due to eating by moths or moth larvae; -- of cloth or clothing.
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Mothen (?), a. Full of moths. [Obs.] Fulke.
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Mother (mŭ�ẽr), n. [OE. moder, AS. mōdor; akin to D. moeder, OS. mōdar, G. mutter, OHG. muotar, Icel. mōðir, Dan. & Sw. moder, OSlav. mati, Russ. mate, Ir. & Gael. mathair, L. mater, Gr. mhthr, Skr. mātṛ; cf. Skr. mā to measure. √268. Cf. , , , .] 1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child.
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2. That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of birth or origin; generatrix.
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Alas! poor country! . . . it can not
Be called our mother, but our grave. Shak.
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I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother of a religion, it is said, that lived two thousand years. Landor.
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3. An old woman or matron. [Familiar]
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4. The female superior or head of a religious house, as an abbess, etc.
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5. Hysterical passion; hysteria. [Obs.] Shak.
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Coloq. Mother Carey's chicken (Zoöl.), any one of several species of small petrels, as the stormy petrel (Procellaria pelagica), and Leach's petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), both of the Atlantic, and Oceanodroma furcata of the North Pacific. -- Coloq. Mother Carey's goose (Zoöl.), the giant fulmar of the Pacific. See . -- Coloq. Mother's mark (Med.), a congenital mark upon the body; a birthmark; a nævus.
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Mother, a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating.
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It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. T. Arnold.
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Coloq. Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. -- Coloq. Mother church , the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. -- Coloq. Mother country , the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. -- Coloq. Mother liquor (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. -- Coloq. Mother queen , the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. -- Coloq. Mother tongue . (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. -- Coloq. Mother water . See Mother liquor (above). -- Coloq. Mother wit , natural or native wit or intelligence.
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Mother, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mothered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mothering.] To adopt as a son or daughter; to perform the duties of a mother to.
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The queen, to have put lady Elizabeth besides the crown, would have mothered another body's child. Howell.
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Mother, n. [Akin to D. modder mud, G. moder mold, mud, Dan. mudder mud, and to E. mud. See .] A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation.
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☞ The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing microörganisms of the genus Mycoderma, and in the mother of vinegar the microörganisms (Mycoderma aceti) composing the film are the active agents in the Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the fluid. See Acetous fermentation, under .
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Mother, v. i. To become like, or full of, mother, or thick matter, as vinegar.
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mother (mŭ�ẽr), n. [Shortened from motherfucker as a euphemism.] 1. Same as . [Vulgar slang]
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2. A person or thing with some exceptional quality, as great size or power; as, a grizzly stuck his nose in my tent and I grabbed my pistol and shot the mother. [Slang]
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motherboard n. (Electronics) The board containing the main circuits of an electronic device, especially computers. The term is used primarily in microcomputer literature, where it designates the board containing the main expansion bus, and usually also the cpu. On motherboards designed with an expansion bus, often all of the circuits not contained on an expansion card are on the motherboard.
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Mothered (?), a. Thick, like mother; viscid.
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They oint their naked limbs with mothered oil. Dryden.
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motherfucker n. 1. A person who is deemed to be worthless or despicable; -- obscene and highly offensive. [vulgar slang]
Syn. -- rotter, rat, skunk, stinker, bum, crumb, lowlife, scum bag, cocksucker, mother.
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2. Any object viewed as annoying or frustrating; -- usually used as an expression of anger. [vulgar slang]
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Mother Goose n. The supposed author of a book of nursery rhymes first published as “Mother Goose's Melodies,” and usually called simply “Mother Goose.” The first English edition is said to have been printed in 1719 in London. The actual persons who composed the rhymes is unknown, and earlier similar rhymes in French are a likely source for some of them. Mother Goose is also used as the title of a book of Mother Goose rhymes.
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Motherhood (?), n. The state of being a mother; the character or office of a mother.
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Mothering, n. A rural custom in England, of visiting one's parents on Midlent Sunday, -- supposed to have been originally visiting the mother church to make offerings at the high altar.
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Mother-in-law (?), n. The mother of one's husband or wife.
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Motherland (?), n. The country of one's ancestors; -- same as fatherland.
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Motherless, a. [AS. mōdorleás.] Destitute of a mother; having lost a mother; as, motherless children.
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motherlike adj. suggestive of or acting like a mother; motherly; maternal.
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Motherliness (?), n. The state or quality of being motherly.
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Motherly, a. [AS. mōdorlic.] Of or pertaining to a mother; like, or suitable for, a mother; tender; maternal; as, motherly authority, love, or care. Hooker.
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Syn. -- Maternal; paternal. -- , . Motherly, being Anglo-Saxon, is the most familiar word of the two when both have the same meaning. Besides this, maternal is confined to the feelings of a mother toward her own children, whereas motherly has a secondary sense, denoting a care like that of a mother for her offspring. There is, perhaps, a growing tendency thus to separate the two, confining motherly to the latter signification. “They termed her the great mother, for her motherly care in cherishing her brethren whilst young.” Sir W. Raleigh.
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Motherly, adv. In a manner of a mother.
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Mother-naked (?), a. Naked as when born; completely naked.
Syn. -- naked as the day one was born, in one's birthday suit.
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Mother-of-pearl (?), n. (Zoöl.) The hard, iridescent, pearly internal layer of several kinds of shells, esp. of pearl oysters, river mussels, and the abalone shells; nacre. See .
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mother-of-thousands n. An East Asiatic saxifrage (Saxifraga stolonifera) with racemes of small red-and-white flowers; spreads by numerous creeping stolons; called also strawberry geranium and strawberry saxifrage.
Syn. -- strawberry geranium, strawberry saxifrage, Saxifraga stolonifera, Saxifraga sarmentosam.
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Mother-of-thyme (?), n. (Bot.) An aromatic plant (Thymus Serphyllum); -- called also wild thyme.
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Mother's Day. A day appointed for the honor and uplift of motherhood by the loving remembrance of each person of his mother through the performance of some act of kindness, visit, tribute, or letter. The founder of the day is Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, who designated the second Sunday in May, or for schools the second Friday, as the time, and a white carnation as the badge.
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Motherwort (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A labiate herb (Leonurus Cardiaca), of a bitter taste, used popularly in medicine; lion's tail. (b) The mugwort. See .
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