The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 1002
2. Lascivious; brooding over evil thoughts. [Obs.]
Syn. -- Sullen; gruff; severe; austere; gloomy; crabbed; crusty; churlish; surly; ill-humored.
Morosely <Xpage=945>
Mo*rose"ly (?) , adv. Sourly; with sullen austerity.
Moroseness <Xpage=945>
Mo*rose"ness , n. Sourness of temper; sulenness.
Learn good humor, never to oppose without just reason; abate some degrees of pride and moroseness . I. Watts.
&hand; Moroseness is not precisely peevishness or fretfulness , though often accompained with it. It denotes more of silence and severity, or ill-humor, than the irritability or irritation which characterizes peevishness .
Morosis <Xpage=945>
Mo*ro"sis (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/, fr. <?/ silly, foolish.] (Med.) Idiocy; fatuity; stupidity.
Morosity <Xpage=945>
Mo*ros"i*ty (?) , n. [L. morositas : cf. F. morosit\'82 .] Moroseness. [R.]
Jer. Taylor.
Moroshop <Xpage=945>
Mo"ro*shop (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ foolish + <?/ wise.] A philosophical or learned fool. [Obs.]
Morosous <Xpage=945>
Mo*ro"sous (?) , a. Morose. [Obs.]
Sheldon.
Moroxite <Xpage=945>
Mo*rox"ite (?) , n. [Cf. Gr. <?/, <?/, a sort of pipe clay.] (Min.) A variety of apatite of a greenish blue color.
Moroxylate <Xpage=945>
Mo*rox"y*late (?) , n. (Chem.) A morate.
Moroxylic <Xpage=945>
Mor`ox*yl"ic (?) , a. [L. morus a mulberry tree + Gr. <?/ wood.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, the mulberry; moric.
Morphean <Xpage=945>
Mor"phe*an (?) , a. Of or relating to Morpheus, to dreams, or to sleep.
Keats.
Morpheus <Xpage=945>
Mor"pheus (?) , n. [L., fr. Gr. <?/ prop., the fashioner or molder, because of the shapes he calls up before the sleeper, fr. <?/ form, shape.] (Class. Myth.) The god of dreams.
Morphew <Xpage=945>
Mor"phew (?) , n. [F. morphe\'82 , LL. morphea ; cf. It. morfea .] A scurfy eruption. [Obs.]
Drayton.
Morphew <Xpage=945>
Mor"phew , v. t. To cover with a morphew. [Obs.]
Morphia <Xpage=945>
Mor"phi*a (?) , n. [NL.] (Chem.) Morphine.
Morphine <Xpage=945>
Mor"phine (?) , n. [From Morpheus: cf. F. morphine .] (Chem.) A bitter white crystalline alkaloid found in opium, possessing strong narcotic properties, and much used as an anodyne; -- called also morphia , and morphina .
Morphinism <Xpage=945>
Mor"phin*ism (?) , n. (Med.) A morbid condition produced by the excessive or prolonged use of morphine.
Morpho <Xpage=945>
Mor"pho (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/, an epithet of Venus.] (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of large, handsome, tropical American butterflies, of the genus Morpho . They are noted for the very brilliant metallic luster and bright colors (often blue) of the upper surface of the wings. The lower surface is usually brown or gray, with eyelike spots.
Morphogeny <Xpage=945>
Mor*phog"e*ny (?) , n. [ form + root of <?/ to be born.] (Biol.) History of the evolution of forms; that part of ontogeny that deals with the germ history of forms; -- distinguished from physiogeny .
Haeckel.
Morphologic, Morphological <Xpage=945>
Mor`pho*log"ic (?) , Mor`pho*log"ic*al (?) , a. [Cf. F. morphologique .] (Biol.) Of, pertaining to, or according to, the principles of morphology. -- Mor`pho*log"ic*al*ly , adv.
Morphologist <Xpage=945>
Mor*phol"o*gist (?) , n. (Biol.) One who is versed in the science of morphology.
Morphology <Xpage=945>
Mor*phol"o*gy (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ form + -logy : cf. F. morphologie .] (Biol.) That branch of biology which deals with the structure of animals and plants, treating of the forms of organs and describing their varieties, homologies, and metamorphoses. See Tectology , and Promorphology .
Morphon <Xpage=945>
Mor"phon (?) , n. [Gr. <?/, p.pr. of <?/ to form.] (Biol.) A morphological individual, characterized by definiteness of form bion , a physiological individual. See Tectology .
Haeckel.
&hand; Of morphons there are six orders or categories: 1. Plastids or elementary organisms. 2. Organs, homoplastic or heteroplastic. 3. Antimeres (opposite or symmetrical or homotypic parts). 4. Metameres (successive or homodynamous parts). 5. Person\'91 (shoots or buds of plants, individuals in the narrowest sense among the higher animals). 6. Corms (stocks or colonies). For orders 2, 3, and 4 the term idorgan has been recently substituted. See Idorgan .
Morphonomy <Xpage=945>
Mor*phon"o*my (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ form + <?/ a law.] (Biol.) The laws of organic formation.
Morphophyly <Xpage=945>
Mor"pho*phy`ly (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ form + <?/ a clan.] (Biol.) The tribal history of forms; that part of phylogeny which treats of the tribal history of forms, in distinction from the tribal history of functions.
Haeckel.
Morphosis <Xpage=945>
Mor*pho"sis (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ form, fr. <?/ form.] (Biol.) The order or mode of development of an organ or part.
Morphotic <Xpage=945>
Mor*phot"ic (?) , a. [Gr. <?/ fit for forming.] (Physiol.) Connected with, or becoming an integral part of, a living unit or of the morphological framework; as, morphotic , or tissue, proteids .
Foster.
-morphous <Xpage=945>
-mor"phous (?) . [Gr. <?/ form.] A combining form denoting form , shape ; as, iso morphous .
Morpion <Xpage=945>
Mor"pi*on (?) , n. [F., fr. mordre to bite + L. pedis louse.] (Zo\'94l.) A louse.
Hudibras.
Morrice <Xpage=945>
Mor"rice (?) , n. Same as 1st Morris .
Morrice <Xpage=945>
Mor"rice , a. Dancing the morrice; dancing.
In shoals and bands, a morrice train. Wordsworth.
Morricer <Xpage=945>
Mor"ri*cer (?) , n. A morris dancer. [Obs.]
Morrimal <Xpage=945>
Mor"ri*mal (?) , n. & a. See Mormal .
Morris <Xpage=945>
Mor"ris (?) , n. [Sp. morisco Moorish, fr. Moro a Moor: cf. F. moresque , It. moresca .] 1. A Moorish dance, usually performed by a single dancer, who accompanies the dance with castanets.
2. A dance formerly common in England, often performed in pagenats, processions, and May games. The dancers, grotesquely dressed and ornamented, took the parts of Robin Hood, Maidmarian, and other fictious characters.
3. An old game played with counters, or men, which are placed angles of a figure drawn on a board or on the ground; also, the board or ground on which the game is played.
The nine-men's morris is filled up with mud. Shak.
&hand; The figure consists of three concentric squares, with lines from the angles of the outer one to those of the inner, and from the middle of each side of the outer square to that of the inner. The game is played by two persons with nine or twelve pieces each (hence called nine-men's morris or twelve-men's morris ). The pieces are placed alternately, and each player endeavors to prevent his opponent from making a straight row of three. Should either succeed in making a row, he may take up one of his opponent's pieces, and he who takes off all of his opponent's pieces wins the game.
Morris <Xpage=945>
Mor"ris (?) , n. [So called from its discoverer.] (Zo\'94l.) A marine fish having a very slender, flat, transparent body. It is now generally believed to be the young of the conger eel or some allied fish.
Morris-pike <Xpage=945>
Mor"ris-pike` (?) , n. A Moorish pike. [Obs.]
Morrot <Xpage=945>
Mor"rot (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) See Marrot .
Morrow <Xpage=945>
Mor"row (?) , n. [OE. morwe , morwen , AS. morgen . See Morn .] 1. Morning. [Obs.] "White as morrow's milk."
Bp. Hall.
We loved he by the morwe a sop in wine. Chaucer.
2. The next following day; the day subsequent to any day specified or understood.
Lev. vii. 16.
Till this stormy night is gone, And the eternal morrow dawn. Crashaw.
3. The day following the present; to-morrow.
Good morrow , good morning; -- a form of salutation. -- To morrow . See To-morrow in the Vocabulary.
Morse <Xpage=945>
Morse (?) , n. [F. morse , Russ. morj' ; perh. akin to E. mere lake; cf. Russ. more sea.] (Zo\'94l.) The walrus. See Walrus .
Morse <Xpage=945>
Morse , n. [L. morsus a biting, a clasp, fr. mordere to bite.] A clasp for fastening garments in front.
Fairholt.
Morse alphabet <Xpage=945>
Morse" al"pha*bet (?) . A telegraphic alphabet in very general use, inventing by Samuel F.B.Morse, the inventor of Morse's telegraph. The letters are represented by dots and dashes impressed or printed on paper, as, .- (A), -... (B), -.. (D), . (E), .. (O), ... (R), -- (T), etc., or by sounds, flashes of light, etc., with greater or less intervals between them.
Morsel <Xpage=945>
Mor"sel (?) , n. [OF. morsel , F. morceau , LL. morsellus , a dim. fr. L. morsus a biting, bite, fr. mordere to bite; prob. akin to E. smart . See Smart , and cf. Morceau , Mordant , Muse , v. , Muzzle , n. ] 1. A little bite or bit of food.
Chaucer.
Every morsel to a satisfied hunger is only a new labor to a tired digestion. South.
2. A small quantity; a little piece; a fragment.
Morsing horn <Xpage=945>
Mor"sing horn` (?) . A horn or flask for holding powder, as for priming. [Scot.]
Sir W. Scott.
Morsitation <Xpage=945>
Mor`si*ta"tion (?) , n. The act of biting or gnawing. [Obs.]
Morsure <Xpage=945>
Mor"sure (?) , n. [F., fr. L. mordere , morsum , to bite.] The act of biting.
Swift.
Mort <Xpage=945>
Mort (?) , n. [Cf. Icel. margt , neut. of margr many.] A great quantity or number. [Prov. Eng.]
There was a mort of merrymaking. Dickens.
Mort <Xpage=945>
Mort , n. [Etym. uncert.] A woman; a female. [Cant]
Male gypsies all, not a mort among them. B. Jonson.
Mort <Xpage=945>
Mort , n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zo\'94l.) A salmon in its third year. [Prov. Eng.]
Mort <Xpage=945>
Mort , n. [F., death, fr. L. mors , mortis .] 1. Death; esp., the death of game in the chase.
2. A note or series of notes sounded on a horn at the death of game.
The sportsman then sounded a treble mort . Sir W. Scott.
3. The skin of a sheep or lamb that has died of disease. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Mort cloth , the pall spread over a coffin; black cloth indicative or mourning; funeral hangings. Carlyle . -- Mort stone , a large stone by the wayside on which the bearers rest a coffin. [Eng.] H. Taylor .
Mortal <Xpage=945>
Mor"tal (?) , a. [F. mortel , L. mortalis , from mors , mortis , death, fr. moriri 8die; akin to E. murder . See Murder , and cf. Filemot , Mere a lake, Mortgage .] 1. Subject to death; destined to die; as, man is mortal .
2. Destructive to life; causing or occasioning death; terminating life; exposing to or deserving death; deadly; as, a mortal wound; a mortal sin.
3. Fatally vulnerable; vital.
Last of all, against himself he turns his sword, but missing the mortal place, with his poniard finishes the work. Milton.
4. Of or pertaining to the time of death.
Safe in the hand of one disposing Power, Or in the natal or the mortal hour. Pope.
5. Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly.
The nymph grew pale, and in a mortal fright. Dryden.
6. Human; belonging to man, who is mortal; as, mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power .
The voice of God To mortal ear is dreadful. Milton.
7. Very painful or tedious; wearisome; as, a sermon lasting two mortal hours . [Colloq.]
Sir W. Scott.
Mortal foe , Mortal enemy , an inveterate, desperate, or implacable enemy; a foe bent on one's destruction.
Mortal <Xpage=945>
Mor"tal , n. A being subject to death; a human being; man. "Warn poor mortals left behind."
Tickell.
Mortality <Xpage=945>
Mor*tal"i*ty (?) , n. [L. mortalitas : cf. F. mortalit\'82 .] 1. The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying.
When I saw her die, I then did think on your mortality . Carew.
2. Human life; the life of a mortal being.
From this instant There 's nothing serious in mortality . Shak.
3. Those who are, or that which is, mortal; the human cace; humanity; human nature.
Take these tears, mortality's relief. Pope.
4. Death; destruction.
Shak.
5. The whole sum or number of deaths in a given time or a given community; also, the proportion of deaths to population, or to a specific number of the population; death rate; as, a time of great, or low, mortality ; the mortality among the settlers was alarming.
Bill of mortality . See under Bill . -- Law of mortality , a mathematical relation between the numbers living at different ages, so that from a given large number of persons alive at one age, it can be computed what number are likely to survive a given number of years. -- Table of mortality , a table exhibiting the average relative number of persons who survive, or who have died, at the end of each year of life, out of a given number supposed to have been born at the same time.
<page="946"> Page 946
Mortalize <Xpage=946>
Mor"tal*ize (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mortalized (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Mortalizing (?) .] To make mortal. [R.]
Mortally <Xpage=946>
Mor"tal*ly , adv. 1. In a mortal manner; so as to cause death; as, mortally wounded .
2. In the manner of a mortal or of mortal beings.
I was mortally brought forth. Shak.
3. In an extreme degree; to the point of dying or causing death; desperately; as, mortally jealous .
Adrian mortally envied poets, painters, and artificers, in works wherein he had a vein to excel. Bacon.
Mortalness <Xpage=946>
Mor"tal*ness , n. Quality of being mortal; mortality.
Mortar <Xpage=946>
Mor"tar (?) , n. [OE. morter , AS. mort\'c7re , L. mortarium : cf. F. mortier mortar. Cf. sense 2 (below), also 2d Mortar , Martel , Morter .] 1. A strong vessel, commonly in form of an inverted bell, in which substances are pounded or rubbed with a pestle.
2. [F. mortier , fr. L. mortarium mortar (for trituarating).] (Mil.) A short piece of ordnance, used for throwing bombs, carcasses, shells, etc., at high angles of elevation, as 45°, and even higher; -- so named from its resemblance in shape to the utensil above described.
Mortar bed (Mil.) , a framework of wood and iron, suitably hollowed out to receive the breech and trunnions of a mortar. -- Mortar boat ∨ vessel (Naut.) , a boat strongly built and adapted to carrying a mortar or mortars for bombarding; a bomb ketch. -- Mortar piece , a mortar. [Obs.] Shak .
Mortar <Xpage=946>
Mor"tar , n. [OE. mortier , F. mortier , L. mortarium mortar, a large basin or trough in which mortar is made, a mortar (in sense 1, above). See 1st Mortar .] (Arch.) A building material made by mixing lime, cement, or plaster of Paris, with sand, water, and sometimes other materials; -- used in masonry for joining stones, bricks, etc., also for plastering, and in other ways.
Mortar bed , a shallow box or receptacle in which mortar is mixed. -- Mortar board . (a) A small square board with a handle beneath, for holding mortar; a hawk . (b) A cap with a broad, projecting, square top; -- worn by students in some colleges . [Slang] <-- now worn usually only at graduation time -->
Mortar <Xpage=946>
Mor"tar , v. t. To plaster or make fast with mortar.
Mortar <Xpage=946>
Mor"tar (?) , n. [F. mortier . See Mortar a vessel.] A chamber lamp or light. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Mortgage <Xpage=946>
Mort"gage (?) , n. [F. mort-gage ; mort dead (L. mortuus ) + gage pledge. See Mortal , and Gage .] 1. (Law) A conveyance of property, upon condition, as security for the payment of a debt or the preformance of a duty, and to become void upon payment or performance according to the stipulated terms; also, the written instrument by which the conveyance is made.
&hand; It was called a mortgage (or dead pledge ) because, whatever profit it might yield, it did not thereby redeem itself, but became lost or dead to the mortgager upon breach of the condition. But in equity a right of redemption is an inseparable incident of a mortgage until the mortgager is debarred by his own laches, or by judicial decree.
Cowell. Kent.
2. State of being pledged; as, lands given in mortgage .
Chattel mortgage . See under Chattel . -- To foreclose a mortgage . See under Foreclose . -- Mortgage deed (Law) , a deed given by way of mortgage.
Mortgage <Xpage=946>
Mort"gage , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mortgaged (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Mortgaging (?) .] 1. (Law) To grant or convey, as property, for the security of a debt, or other engagement, upon a condition that if the debt or engagement shall be discharged according to the contract, the conveyance shall be void, otherwise to become absolute, subject, however, to the right of redemption.
2. Hence: To pledge, either literally or figuratively; to make subject to a claim or obligation.
Mortgaging their lives to covetise. Spenser.
I myself an mortgaged to thy will. Shak.
Mortgagee <Xpage=946>
Mort`ga*gee" (?) , n. (Law) The person to whom property is mortgaged, or to whom a mortgage is made or given.
Mortgageor, Mortgagor <Xpage=946>
Mort"gage*or , Mort"ga*gor (?) , n. (Law) One who gives a mortgage.