Chapter 1008

Much of a muchness , much the same. [Colloq.] "Men's men; gentle or simple, they 're much of muchness ."

G. Eliot.

Muchwhat <Xpage=950>

Much"what` (?) , adv. Nearly; almost; much. [Obs.] " Muchwhat after the same manner."

Glanvill.

Mucic <Xpage=950>

Mu"cic (?) , a. [L. mucus mucus: cf. F. mucique .] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, gums and micilaginous substances; specif., denoting an acid obtained by the oxidation of gums, dulcite, etc., as a white crystalline substance isomeric with saccharic acid.

Mucid <Xpage=950>

Mu"cid (?) , a. [L. mucidus , fr. L. mucus mucus. See Mucus , and cf. Moist .] Musty; moldy; slimy; mucous. -- Mu"cid*ness , n.

Mucific <Xpage=950>

Mu*cif"ic (?) , a. [ Mucus + L. -ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy .] 1. (Med.) Inducing or stimulating the secretion of mucus; blennogenous.

2. (Physiol.) Secreting mucus.

Muciform <Xpage=950>

Mu"ci*form (?) , a. [ Mucus + -form .] (Physiol.) Resembling mucus; having the character or appearance of mucus.

Mucigen <Xpage=950>

Mu"ci*gen (?) , n. [ Muc in + -gen .] (Physiol.) A substance which is formed in mucous epithelial cells, and gives rise to mucin.

Mucigenous <Xpage=950>

Mu*cig"e*nous (?) , a. (Physiol.) Connected with the formation of mucin; resembling mucin.

The mucigenous basis is manufactured at the expense of the ordinary protoplasm of the cell. Foster.

Mucilage <Xpage=950>

Mu"ci*lage (?) , n. [F., from L. mucilago a musty juice, fr. mucus mucus, slime. See Mucus .] 1. (Bot. Chem.) A gummy or gelatinous substance produced in certain plants by the action of water on the cell wall, as in the seeds of quinces, of flax, etc.

2. An aqueous solution of gum, or of substances allied to it; as, medicinal mucilage ; mucilage for fastening envelopes.

Mucilaginous <Xpage=950>

Mu`ci*lag"i*nous (?) , a. [Cf. F. mucilagineux . See Mucilage .] 1. Partaking of the nature of, or resembling, mucilage; moist, soft, and viscid; slimy; ropy; as, a mucilaginous liquid .

2. Of, pertaining to, or secreting, mucilage; as, the mucilaginous glands .

3. Soluble in water, but not in alcohol; yielding mucilage; as, mucilaginous gums or plants . -- Mu`ci*lag"i*nous*ness , n.

<page="951"> Page 951

Mucin <Xpage=951>

Mu"cin (?) , n. [From Mucus .] 1. (Bot. Chem.) See Mucedin . [Obs.]

2. (Physiol. Chem.) An albuminoid substance which is contained in mucus, and gives to the latter secretion its peculiar ropy character. It is found in all the secretions from mucous glands, and also between the fibers of connective tissue, as in tendons. See Illust . of Demilune .

Mucinogen <Xpage=951>

Mu*cin"o*gen (?) , n. [ Mucin + -gen .] (Physiol.) Same as Mucigen .

Muciparous <Xpage=951>

Mu*cip"a*rous (?) , a. [ Mucus + L. parere to produce.] (Physiol.) Secreting, or producing, mucus or mucin.

Mucivore <Xpage=951>

Mu"ci*vore (?) , n. [L. mucus slime, mucus + vorare to devour.] (Zo\'94l.) An unsect which feeds on mucus, or the sap of plants, as certain Diptera, of the tribe Mucivora .

Muck <Xpage=951>

Muck (?) , abbreviation of Amuck .

To run a muck . See Amuck .

Muck <Xpage=951>

Muck , n. [Icel. myki ; akin to D. m\'94g . Cf. Midden .] 1. Dung in a moist state; manure.

Bacon.

2. Vegetable mold mixed with earth, as found in low, damp places and swamps.

3. Anything filthy or vile.

Spenser.

4. Money; -- in contempt.

The fatal muck we quarreled for. Beau. & Fl.

Muck bar , bar iron which has been through the rolls only once. -- Muck iron , crude puddled iron ready for the squeezer or rollers. Knight .

Muck <Xpage=951>

Muck , a. Like muck; mucky; also, used in collecting or distributing muck; as, a muck fork .

Muck <Xpage=951>

Muck , v. t. To manure with muck.

Muckender <Xpage=951>

Muck"en*der (?) , n. [Sp. mocador . Cf. Mokadour .] A handkerchief. [Obs.] [Written also muckinder , muckiter , mockadour .]

Mucker <Xpage=951>

Muck"er (?) , n. A term of reproach for a low or vulgar labor person. [Slang]

Mucker <Xpage=951>

Muck"er , v. t. To scrape together, as money, by mean labor or shifts. [Obs.]

Udall.

Muckerer <Xpage=951>

Muck"er*er (?) , n. A miser; a niggard. [Obs.]

Muckiness <Xpage=951>

Muck"i*ness (?) , n. The quality of being mucky.

Muckle <Xpage=951>

Muc"kle (?) , a. [See Mickle .] Much. [Obs.]

Muckmidden <Xpage=951>

Muck"mid`den (?) , n. A dunghill. [Scot.]

Mucksy <Xpage=951>

Muck"sy (?) , a. Somewhat mucky; soft, sticky, and dirty; muxy. [Prov. Eng.]

R. D. Blackmore.

Muckworm <Xpage=951>

Muck"worm` (?) , n. 1. (Zo\'94l.) A larva or grub that lives in muck or manure; -- applied to the larv\'91 of the tumbledung and allied beetles.

2. One who scrapes together money by mean labor and devices; a miser. "Misers are muckworms ."

Pope.

Mucky <Xpage=951>

Muck"y (?) , a. 1. Filthy with muck; miry; as, a mucky road . " Mucky filth."

Spenser.

2. Vile, in a moral sense; sordid. [Obs.]

Spenser.

Mucky money and false felicity. Latimer.

Mucocele <Xpage=951>

Mu"co*cele (?) , n. [ Mucus + Gr. <?/ tumor.] (Med.) An enlargement or protrusion of the mucous membrane of the lachrymal passages, or dropsy of the lachrymal sac, dependent upon catarrhal inflammation of the latter.

Dunglison.

Mucoid <Xpage=951>

Mu"coid (?) , a. [ Mucus + -oid .] Resembling mucus.

Dunglison.

Mucoid degeneration , a form of degeneration in which the tissues are transformed into a semisolid substance resembling mucus.

Quain.

Muconate <Xpage=951>

Mu"co*nate (?) , n. (Chem.) A salt of muconic acid.

Muconic <Xpage=951>

Mu*con"ic (?) , a. [ Mu cic + ita conic .] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an organic acid, obtained indirectly from mucic acid, and somewhat resembling itaconic acid.

Mucopurulent <Xpage=951>

Mu`co*pu"ru*lent (?) , a. [ Mucus + purulent .] (Med.) Having the character or appearance of both mucus and pus.

Dunglison.

Mucor <Xpage=951>

Mu"cor (?) , n. [L., fr. mucere to be moldy or musty.] (Bot.) A genus of minute fungi. The plants consist of slender threads with terminal globular sporangia; mold.

Mucosity <Xpage=951>

Mu*cos"i*ty (?) , n. The quality or state of being mucous or slimy; mucousness.

Mucous <Xpage=951>

Mu"cous (?) , a. [L. mucosus , fr. mucus mucus.] 1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, mucus; slimy, ropy, or stringy, and lubricous; as, a mucous substance .

2. Secreting a slimy or mucigenous substance; as, the mucous membrane .

Mucous membrane . (Anat.) See under Membrane . -- Mucous patches (Med.) , elevated patches found in the mucous membranes of the mouth and anus, usually due to syphilis. -- Mucous tissue (Anat.) , a form of connective tissue in an early stage of development, found in the umbilical cord and in the embryo, and also in certain tumors called myxomata .

Mucousness <Xpage=951>

Mu"cous*ness , n. The quality or state of being mucous; sliminess.

Mucro <Xpage=951>

Mu"cro (?) , n. [L.] (Bot. & Zo\'94l.) A minute abrupt point, as of a leaf; any small, sharp point or process, terminating a larger part or organ.

Mucronate, Mucronated <Xpage=951>

Mu"cro*nate (?) , Mu"cro*na`ted (?) , a. [L. mucronatus , fr. mucro a sharp point: cf. F. mucron\'82 .] Ending abruptly in a sharp point; abruptly tipped with a short and sharp point; as, a mucronate leaf . -- Mu"cro*nate*ly , adv.

Mucronulate <Xpage=951>

Mu*cron"u*late (?) , a. Having, or tipped with, a small point or points.

Muculent <Xpage=951>

Mu"cu*lent (?) , a. [L. muculentus , fr. mucus .] Slimy; moist, and moderately viscous.

Mucus <Xpage=951>

Mu"cus (?) , n. [L. mucus , muccus ; cf. mucere 8be moldy or musty, Gr. <?/ mucus, and Skr. muc to release. Cf. Match for striking fire, Moist , Mucilage .] 1. (Physiol.) A viscid fluid secreted by mucous membranes, which it serves to moisten and protect. It covers the lining membranes of all the cavities which open externally, such as those of the mouth, nose, lungs, intestinal canal, urinary passages, etc.

2. (Physiol.) Any other animal fluid of a viscid quality, as the synovial fluid, which lubricates the cavities of the joints; -- improperly so used.

3. (Bot.) A gelatinous or slimy substance found in certain alg\'91 and other plants.

Mucusin <Xpage=951>

Mu"cus*in (?) , n. (Physiol. Chem.) Mucin. [R.]

Mud <Xpage=951>

Mud (?) , n. [Akin to LG. mudde , D. modder , G. moder mold, OSw. modd mud, Sw. modder mother, Dan. mudder mud. Cf. Mother a scum on liquors.] Earth and water mixed so as to be soft and adhesive.

Mud bass (Zo\'94l.) , a fresh-water fish ( Acantharchum pomotis ) of the Eastern United States. It produces a deep grunting note. -- Mud bath , an immersion of the body, or some part of it, in mud charged with medicinal agents, as a remedy for disease. -- Mud boat , a large flatboat used in deredging. -- Mud cat . See Catfish . -- Mud crab (Zo\'94l.) , any one of several American marine crabs of the genus Panopeus . -- Mud dab (Zo\'94l.) , the winter flounder. See Flounder , and Dab . -- Mud dauber (Zo\'94l.) , a mud wasp. -- Mud devil (Zo\'94l.) , the fellbender. -- Mud drum (Steam Boilers) , a drum beneath a boiler, into which sediment and mud in the water can settle for removal. -- Mud eel (Zo\'94l.) , a long, slender, aquatic amphibian ( Siren lacertina ), found in the Southern United States. It has persistent external gills and only the anterior pair of legs. See Siren . -- Mud frog (Zo\'94l.) , a European frog ( Pelobates fuscus ). -- Mud hen . (Zo\'94l.) (a) The American coot ( Fulica Americana ) . (b) The clapper rail. -- Mud lark , a person who cleans sewers, or delves in mud. [Slang] -- Mud minnow (Zo\'94l.) , any small American fresh-water fish of the genus Umbra , as U. limi . The genus is allied to the pickerels. -- Mud plug , a plug for stopping the mudhole of a boiler. -- Mud puppy (Zo\'94l.) , the menobranchus. -- Mud scow , a heavy scow, used in dredging; a mud boat. [U.S.] -- Mud turtle , Mud tortoise (Zo\'94l.) , any one of numerous species of fresh-water tortoises of the United States. -- Mud wasp (Zo\'94l.) , any one of numerous species of hymenopterous insects belonging to Pep\'91us , and allied genera, which construct groups of mud cells, attached, side by side, to stones or to the woodwork of buildings, etc. The female places an egg in each cell, together with spiders or other insects, paralyzed by a sting, to serve as food for the larva. Called also mud dauber .

Mud <Xpage=951>

Mud , v. t. 1. To bury in mud. [R.]

Shak.

2. To make muddy or turbid.

Shak.

Mudar <Xpage=951>

Mu"dar (?) , n. [Hind. mad\'ber .] (Bot.) Either one of two asclepiadaceous shrubs ( Calotropis gigantea , and C. procera ), which furnish a strong and valuable fiber. The acrid milky juice is used medicinally.

Mudarin <Xpage=951>

Mu"da*rin (?) , n. (Chem.) A brown, amorphous, bitter substance having a strong emetic action, extracted from the root of the mudar.

Muddily <Xpage=951>

Mud"di*ly (?) , In a muddy manner; turbidly; without mixture; cloudily; obscurely; confusedly.

Muddiness <Xpage=951>

Mud"di*ness , n. 1. The condition or quality of being muddy; turbidness; foulness casued by mud, dirt, or sediment; as, the muddiness of a stream .

2. Obscurity or confusion, as in treatment of a subject; intellectual dullness.

Muddle <Xpage=951>

Mud"dle (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Muddled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Muddling (?) .] [From Mud .] 1. To make turbid, or muddy, as water. [Obs.]

He did ill to muddle the water. L'Estrange.

2. To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid with liquor; to intoxicate partially.

Epicurus seems to have had brains so muddled and confounded, that he scarce ever kept in the right way. Bentley.

Often drunk, always muddled . Arbuthnot.

3. To waste or misuse, as one does who is stupid or intoxicated. [R.]

They muddle it [money] away without method or object, and without having anything to show for it. Hazlitt.

4. To mix confusedly; to confuse; to make a mess of; as, to muddle matters ; also, to perplex; to mystify.

F. W. Newman.

Muddle <Xpage=951>

Mud"dle , v. i. 1. To dabble in mud. [Obs.]

Swift.

2. To think and act in a confused, aimless way.

Muddle <Xpage=951>

Mud"dle , n. A state of being turbid or confused; hence, intellectual cloudiness or dullness.

We both grub on in a muddle . Dickens.

Muddlehead <Xpage=951>

Mud"dle*head` (?) , n. A stupid person. [Colloq.] C. Reade . -- Mud"dle-head`ed , a. [Colloq.] Dickens.

Muddler <Xpage=951>

Mud"dler (?) , n. One who, or that which, muddles.

Muddy <Xpage=951>

Mud"dy (?) , a. [ Compar. Muddier (?) ; superl. Muddiest .] 1. Abounding in mud; besmeared or dashed with mud; as, a muddy road or path; muddy boots.

2. Turbid with mud; as, muddy water .

3. Consisting of mud or earth; gross; impure.

This muddy vesture of decay. Shak.

4. Confused, as if turbid with mud; cloudy in mind; dull; stupid; also, immethodical; incoherent; vague.

Cold hearts and muddy understandings. Burke.

Dost think I am so muddy , so unsettled. Shak.

5. Not clear or bright.

Swift.

Muddy <Xpage=951>

Mud"dy , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Muddied (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Muddying (?) .] 1. To soil with mud; to dirty; to render turbid.

2. Fig.: To cloud; to make dull or heavy.

Grew.

Muddy-headed <Xpage=951>

Mud"dy-head`ed (?) , a. Dull; stupid.

Muddy-mettled <Xpage=951>

Mud"dy-met`tled (?) , a. Dull-spirited.

Shak.

Mudfish <Xpage=951>

Mud"fish` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) (a) The European loach. (b) The bowfin. (c) The South American lipedosiren, and the allied African species ( Protopterus annectens ). See Lipedosiren . (d) The mud minnow.

Mudhole <Xpage=951>

Mud"hole` (?) , n. 1. A hole, or hollow place, containing mud, as in a road.

2. (Steam Boilers) A hole near the bottom, through which the sediment is withdrawn.

Mudir <Xpage=951>

Mu"dir (?) , n. Same as Moodir .

Mudsill <Xpage=951>

Mud"sill` (?) , n. The lowest sill of a structure, usually embedded in the soil; the lowest timber of a house; also, that sill or timber of a bridge which is laid at the bottom of the water. See Sill .

Mudsucker <Xpage=951>

Mud"suck`er (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A woodcock.

Mudwall <Xpage=951>

Mud"wall` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) The European bee-eater. See Bee-eater . [Written also modwall .]

Mudwort <Xpage=951>

Mud"wort` (?) , n. (Bot.) A small herbaceous plant growing on muddy shores ( Limosella aquatica ).

Mue <Xpage=951>

Mue (?) , v. i. To mew; to molt. [Obs.]

Quarles.

Muezzin <Xpage=951>

Mu*ez"zin (?) , n. [Ar.] A Mohammedan crier of the hour of prayer. [Written also mouezzin , mueddin , and muwazzin .]

Muff <Xpage=951>

Muff (?) , n. [Cf. LG. muff , D. mof , G., Dan., & Sw. muff , F. moufle mitten, LL. muffula , MHG. mouwe sleeve, D. mouw , and E. muffle , v.] 1. A soft cover of cylindrical form, usually of fur, worn by women to shield the hands from cold.

2. (Mech.) A short hollow cylinder surrounding an object, as a pipe.

3. (Glass Manuf.) A blown cylinder of glass which is afterward flattened out to make a sheet.

4. [Perhaps a different word; cf. Prov. E. maffle to slammer.] A stupid fellow; a poor-spirited person. [Colloq.] "A muff of a curate."

Thackeray.

5. [See 4.] (Baseball) A failure to hold a ball when once in the hands.

6. (Zo\'94l.) The whitethroat. [Prov. Eng.]

Muff <Xpage=951>

Muff , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Muffed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Muffing .] To handle awkwardly; to fumble; to fail to hold, as a ball, in catching it.

Muffetee <Xpage=951>

Muf`fe*tee" (?) , n. A small muff worn over the wrist. [Prov. Eng.]

Halliwell.

Muffin <Xpage=951>

Muf"fin (?) , n. [From Muff .] A light, spongy, cylindrical cake, used for breakfast and tea.

Muffineer <Xpage=951>

Muf`fin*eer" (?) , n. A dish for keeping muffins hot.

Muffish <Xpage=951>