Chapter 1018

My"sis (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ a closing of the lips or eyes.] (Zo\'94l.) A genus of small schizopod shrimps found both in fresh and salt water; the opossum shrimps. One species inhabits the Great Lakes of North America, and is largely eaten by the whitefish. The marine species form part of the food of right whales.

Mystacal <Xpage=960>

Mys"ta*cal (?) , a. [Gr. <?/ mustache.] (Zo\'94l.) Of or pertaining to the upper lip, or mustache.

Mystagogic, Mystagogical <Xpage=960>

Mys`ta*gog"ic (?) , Mys`ta*gog"ic*al (?) , a. Of or pertaining to interpretation of mysteries or to mystagogue; of the nature of mystagogy.

Mystagogue <Xpage=960>

Mys"ta*gogue (?) , n. [L. mystagogus , Gr. <?/; <?/ one initiated in mysteries + <?/ leading, n., a leader, fr. <?/ to lead: cf. F. mystagogue . See 1st Mystery .] 1. interprets mysteries, especially of a religious kind.

2. One who keeps and shows church relics.

Mystagogy <Xpage=960>

Mys"ta*go`gy (?) , n. The doctrines, principles, or practice of a mystagogue; interpretation of mysteries.

Mysterial <Xpage=960>

Mys*te"ri*al (?) , a. Mysterious. [Obs.]

Mysteriarch <Xpage=960>

Mys*te"ri*arch (?) , n. [L. mysteriarches , Gr. <?/; <?/ mystery + <?/ chief.] One presiding over mysteries. [Obs.]

Mysterious <Xpage=960>

Mys*te"ri*ous (?) , a. [F. myst\'8arieux . See 1st Mystery .] Of or pertaining to mystery; containing a mystery; difficult or impossible to understand; obscure not revealed or explained; enigmatical; incomprehensible.

God at last To Satan, first in sin, his doom applied, Thought in mysterious terms. Milton.

Syn. -- Obscure; secret; occult; dark; mystic; cabalistic; enigmatical; unintelligible; incomprehensible.

Mysteriously <Xpage=960>

Mys*te"ri*ous*ly , adv. In a mysterious manner.

Mysteriousness <Xpage=960>

Mys*te"ri*ous*ness , n. 1. The state or quality of being mysterious.

2. Something mysterious; a mystery. [R.]

Jer. Taylor.

Mysterize <Xpage=960>

Mys"ter*ize (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mysterized (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Mysterizing (?) .] To make mysterious; to make a mystery of.

Mystery <Xpage=960>

Mys"ter*y (?) , n. ; pl. Mysteries (#) . [L. mysterium , Gr. <?/, fr. <?/ one initiated in mysteries; cf. <?/ to initiate into the mysteries, fr. <?/ to shut the eyes. Cf. Mute , a. ] 1. A profound secret; something wholly unknown, or something kept cautiously concealed, and therefore exciting curiosity or wonder; something which has not been or can not be explained; hence, specifically, that which is beyond human comprehension.

We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery . 1 Cor. ii. 7.

If God should please to reveal unto us this great mystery of the Trinity, or some other mysteries in our holy religion, we should not be able to understand them, unless he would bestow on us some new faculties of the mind. Swift.

2. A kind of secret religious celebration, to which none were admitted except those who had been initiated by certain preparatory ceremonies; -- usually plural; as, the Eleusinian mysteries .

3. pl. The consecrated elements in the eucharist.

4. Anything artfully made difficult; an enigma.

Mystery <Xpage=960>

Mys"ter*y , n. ; pl. Mysteries . [OE. mistere , OF. mestier , F. m\'82tier , L. ministerium . See Ministry .] 1. A trade; a handicraft; hence, any business with which one is usually occupied.

Fie upon him, he will discredit our mystery . Shak.

And that which is the noblest mystery Brings to reproach and common infamy. Spenser.

2. A dramatic representation of a Scriptural subject, often some event in the life of Christ; a dramatic composition of this character; as, the Chester Mysteries , consisting of dramas acted by various craft associations in that city in the early part of the 14th century .

" Mystery plays," so called because acted by craftsmen. Skeat.

Mystic, Mystical <Xpage=960>

Mys"tic (?) , Mys"tic*al (?) , a. [L. mysticus , Gr. <?/ belonging to secretrites, from <?/ one initiated: cf. F. mystique . See 1st Mystery , Misty .] 1. Remote from or beyond human comprehension; baffling human understanding; unknowable; obscure; mysterious.

Heaven's numerous hierarchy span The mystic gulf from God to man. Emerson.

God hath revealed a way mystical and supernatural. Hooker.

2. Importing or implying mysticism; involving some secret meaning; allegorical; emblematical; as, a mystic dance; mystic Babylon.

Thus, then, did the spirit of unity and meekness inspire every joint and sinew of the mystical body. Milton.

-- Mys"tic*al*ly , adv. -- Mys"tic*al*ness , n.

Mystic <Xpage=960>

Mys"tic (?) , n. One given to mysticism; one who holds mystical views, interpretations, etc.; especially, in ecclesiastical history, one who professed mysticism. See Mysticism .

Mysticete <Xpage=960>

Mys"ti*cete (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ the upper lip, also, the mustache + $ a whale.] (Zo\'94l.) Any right whale, or whalebone whale. See Cetacea .

Mysticism <Xpage=960>

Mys"ti*cism (?) , n. [Cf. F. mysticisme .] 1. Obscurity of doctrine.

2. (Eccl. Hist.) The doctrine of the Mystics, who professed a pure, sublime, and wholly disinterested devotion, and maintained that they had direct intercourse with the divine Spirit, and aquired a knowledge of God and of spiritual things unattainable by the natural intellect, and such as can not be analyzed or explained.

3. (Philos.) The doctrine that the ultimate elements or principles of knowledge or belief are gained by an act or process akin to feeling or faith.

Mystification <Xpage=960>

Mys`ti*fi*ca"tion (?) , n. [Cf. F. mystification .] The act of mystifying, or the state of being mystied; also, something designed to, or that does, mystify.

The reply of Pope seems very much as though he had been playing off a mystification on his Grace. De Quincey.

Mystificator <Xpage=960>

Mys"ti*fi*ca`tor (?) , n. One who mystifies.

Mystify <Xpage=960>

Mys"ti*fy (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mystified (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Mystifying (?) .] [F. mystifier , fr. Gr. <?/ + L. -ficare (in comp.) to make. See 1st Mystery , and -fy .] 1. To involve in mystery; to make obscure or difficult to understand; as, to mystify a passage of Scripture .

2. To perplex the mind of; to puzzle; to impose upon the credulity of ; as, to mystify an opponent .

He took undue advantage of his credulity and mystified him exceedingly. Ld. Campbell.

Mytacism <Xpage=960>

My"ta*cism (?) , n. [Gr. <?/. Cf. Metacism .] Too frequent use of the letter m , or of the sound represented by it.

Myth <Xpage=960>

Myth (?) , n. [Written also mythe .] [Gr. <?/ myth, fable, tale, talk, speech: cf. F. mythe .] 1. A story of great but unknown age which originally embodied a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; an ancient legend of a god, a hero, the origin of a race, etc.; a wonder story of prehistoric origin; a popular fable which is, or has been, received as historical.

2. A person or thing existing only in imagination, or whose actual existence is not verifiable.

As for Mrs. Primmins's bones, they had been myths these twenty years. Ld. Lytton.

Myth history , history made of, or mixed with, myths.

Mythe <Xpage=960>

Mythe (?) , n. See Myth .

Grote.

Mythic, Mythical <Xpage=960>

Myth"ic (?) , Myth"ic*al (?) , a. [L. mythicus , Gr. <?/. See Myth .] Of or relating to myths; described in a myth; of the nature of a myth; fabulous; imaginary; fanciful. -- Myth"ic*al*ly , adv.

The mythic turf where danced the nymphs. Mrs. Browning.

Hengist and Horsa, Vortigern and Rowena, Arthur and Mordred, are mythical persons, whose very existence may be questioned. Macaulay.

Mythographer <Xpage=960>

My*thog"ra*pher (?) , n. [Gr. <?/; <?/ + <?/ to write.] A composer of fables.

Mythologer <Xpage=960>

My*thol"o*ger (?) , n. A mythologist.

Mythologian <Xpage=960>

Myth`o*lo"gi*an (?) , n. A mythologist.

Mythologic, Mythological <Xpage=960>

Myth`o*log"ic (?) , Myth`o*log"ic*al (?) , a. [L. mythologicus : cf. F. mytholigique .] Of or pertaining to mythology or to myths; mythical; fabulous. -- Myth`o*log"ic*al*ly , adv.

Mythologist <Xpage=960>

My*thol"o*gist (?) , n. [Cf. F. mythologiste .] One versed in, or who writes on, mythology or myths.

Mythologize <Xpage=960>

My*thol"o*gize (?) , v. i. [Cf. F. mythologiser .] 1. To relate, classify, and explain, or attempt to explain, myths; to write upon myths.

2. To construct and propagate myths.

Mythologizer <Xpage=960>

My*thol"o*gi`zer (?) , n. One who, or that which, mythologizes.

Imagination has always been, and still is, in a narrower sense, the great mythologizer . Lowell.

Mythologue <Xpage=960>

Myth"o*logue (?) , n. [See Mythology .] A fabulous narrative; a myth. [R.]

May we not ... consider his history of the fall as an excellent mythologue , to account for the origin of human evil? Geddes.

Mythology <Xpage=960>

My*thol"o*gy (?) , n. ; pl. Mythologies (#) . [F. mythologie , L. mythologia , Gr. <?/, <?/, fable, myth + <?/ speech, discourse.] 1. The science which treats of myths; a treatise on myths.

2. A body of myths; esp., the collective myths which describe the gods of a heathen people; as, the mythology of the Greeks .

Mythoplasm <Xpage=960>

Myth"o*plasm (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ myth + <?/ to form.] A narration of mere fable.

Mythop\'d2ic <Xpage=960>

Myth`o*p\'d2"ic (?) , a. [Gr. <?/ making myths; <?/ myth + <?/ to make.] Making or producing myths; giving rise to mythical narratives.

The mythop\'d2ic fertility of the Greeks. Grote.

Mythopoetic <Xpage=960>

Myth`o*po*et"ic (?) , a. [Gr. <?/ myth + <?/ able to make, producing, fr. <?/ to make.] Making or producing myths or mythical tales.

Mytiloid <Xpage=960>

Myt"i*loid (?) , a. [ Mytilus + -oid .] (Zo\'94l.) Like, or pertaining to, the genus Mytilus, or family Mytilid\'91 .

Mytilotoxine <Xpage=960>

Myt`i*lo*tox"ine (?) , n. [ Mytilus + toxic .] (Physiol. Chem.) A poisonous base (leucomaine) found in the common mussel. It either causes paralysis of the muscles, or gives rise to convulsions, including death by an accumulation of carbonic acid in the blood.

Mytilus <Xpage=960>

Myt"i*lus (?) , n. [L., a sea mussel, Gr. <?/.] (Zo\'94l.) A genus of marine bivalve shells, including the common mussel. See Illust . under Byssus .

Myxa <Xpage=960>

Myx"a (?) , n. [L., a lamp nozzle, Gr. <?/.] (Zo\'94l.) The distal end of the mandibles of a bird.

Myxine <Xpage=960>

Myx"ine (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A genus of marsipobranchs, including the hagfish. See Hag , 4.

Myxinoid <Xpage=960>

Myx"i*noid (?) , a. (Zo\'94l.) Like, or pertaining to, the genus Myxine. -- n. A hagfish.

Myxocystodea <Xpage=960>

Myx`o*cys*to"de*a (?) , n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ mucus + <?/ a bladder.] (Zo\'94l.) A division of Infusoria including the Noctiluca. See Noctiluca .

Myxoma <Xpage=960>

Myx*o"ma (?) , n. ; pl. Myxomata (#) . [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ mucus + -oma .] (Med.) A tumor made up of a gelatinous tissue resembling that found in the umbilical cord.

Myxopod <Xpage=960>

Myx"o*pod (?) , n. [Gr. <?/ mucus, slime + -pod .] (Zo\'94l.) A rhizopod or moneran. Also used adjectively; as, a myxopod state .

Myzontes <Xpage=960>

My*zon"tes (?) , n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/ to suck.] (Zo\'94l.) The Marsipobranchiata.

Myzostomata <Xpage=960>

My`zo*stom"a*ta (?) , n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. my`zein to suck + sto`ma , -atos , mouth.] (Zo\'94l.) An order of curious parasitic worms found on crinoids. The body is short and disklike, with four pairs of suckers and five pairs of hook-bearing parapodia on the under side.

<page="961"> Page 961

N.

N <Xpage=961>

N (?) , the fourteenth letter of English alphabet, is a vocal consonent, and, in allusion to its mode of formation, is called the dentinasal or linguanasal consonent. Its commoner sound is that heard in ran , done ; but when immediately followed in the same word by the sound of g hard or k (as in single , sink , conquer ), it usually represents the same sound as the digraph ng in sing , bring , etc. This is a simple but related sound, and is called the gutturo-nasal consonent. See Guide to Pronunciation , &sect;&sect; 243-246.

The letter N came into English through the Latin and Greek from the Ph\'d2nician, which probably derived it from the Egyptian as the ultimate origin. It is etymologically most closely related to M. See M .

N <Xpage=961>

N , n. (Print.) A measure of space equal to half an M (or em); an en.

Na <Xpage=961>

Na (?) , a. & adv. No, not. See No . [Obs.] Chaucer .

Nab <Xpage=961>

Nab (?) , n. [Cf. Knap , Knop , Knob .] 1. The summit of an eminence. [Prov. Eng.]

Halliwell.

2. (Firearms) The cock of a gunlock.

Knight.

3. (Locksmithing) The keeper, or box into which the lock is shot.

Knight.

Nab <Xpage=961>

Nab , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Nabbed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Nabbing .] [Dan nappe , or Sw. nappa .] To catch or seize suddenly or unexpectedly. [Colloq.]

Smollett .

Nabit <Xpage=961>

Na"bit (?) , n. Pulverized sugar candy.

Crabb.

Nabk <Xpage=961>

Nabk (?) , n. [Ar. nabiqa , nibqa .] (Bot.) The edible berries of the Zizyphys Lotus , a tree of Northern Africa, and Southwestern Europe. [Written also nubk .] See Lotus (b) , and Sadr .

Nabob <Xpage=961>

Na"bob (?) , n. [Hind. naw\'beb , from Ar. naw\'beb , pl. of n\'be\'8bb a vicegerent, governor. Cf Nawab .] 1. A deputy or viceroy in India; a governor of a province of the ancient Mogul empire.

2. One who returns to Europe from the East with immense riches: hence, any man of great wealth. " A bilious old nabob ."

Macaulay .

Nacarat <Xpage=961>

Nac"a*rat (?) , n. [F. nacarat , fr. Sp. or Pg. nacarado , fr. n\'a0car mother-of-pearl. See Nacre .] 1. A pale red color, with a cast of orange.

Ure .

2. Fine linen or crape dyed of this color.

Ure .

Nacker <Xpage=961>

Nack"er (?) , n. See Nacre .

Johnson .

Nacre <Xpage=961>

Na"cre (?) , n. [F., cf. Sp. n\'a0cara , n\'a0car , It. nacchera , naccaro , LL. nacara , nacrum ; of Oriental origin, cf. Ar. nak\'c6r hollowed.] (Zo\'94l.) A pearly substance which lines the interior of many shells, and is most perfect in the mother-of-pearl. [Written also nacker and naker .] See Pearl , and Mother-of-pearl .

Nacre-ous <Xpage=961>

Na"cre-ous (?) , a. [See Nacre .] (Zo\'94l.) Consisting of, or resembling, nacre; pearly.

Nad, Nadde <Xpage=961>

Nad (?) , Nad"de (?) . [Contr. fr. ne hadde .] Had not. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Nadder <Xpage=961>

Nad"der (?) , n. [AS. n\'91dre . See Adder .] An adder. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Nadir <Xpage=961>

Na"dir (?) , n. [F., Sp., & It. nadir ; all fr. Ar. nas\'c6ru's samt nadir, prop., the point opposite the zenith ( as samt ), in which nas\'c6r means alike, corresponding to. Cf. Azimuth , Zenith .] 1. That point of the heavens, or lower hemisphere, directly opposite the zenith; the inferior pole of the horizon; the point of the celestial sphere directly under the place where we stand.

2. The lowest point; the time of greatest depression.

The seventh century is the nadir of the human mind in Europe. Hallam.

Nadir of the sun (Astron.) , the axis of the conical shadow projected by the earth.

Crabb.

N\'91nia <Xpage=961>

N\'91"ni*a (?) , n. See Nenia .

N\'91ve <Xpage=961>

N\'91ve (?) , n. [L. naevus .] A n\'91vus. [Obs.]

Dryden.

N\'91void <Xpage=961>

N\'91"void (?) , a. [ N\'91vus + -oid .] Resembling a n\'91vus or n\'91vi; as, n\'91void elephantiasis .

Dunglison.

N\'91vose <Xpage=961>

N\'91"vose` (?) , a. Spotted; frecled.

Navus <Xpage=961>

Na"vus (?) , n. ; pl. N\'91vi (-v\'c6) . [L.] (Med.) A spot or mark on the skin of children when born; a birthmark; -- usually applied to vascular tumors, i. e., those consisting mainly of blood vessels, as dilated arteries, veins, or capillaries.

Nag <Xpage=961>

Nag (?) , n. [OE. nagge , D. negge ; akin to E. neigh .] 1. A small horse; a pony; hence, any horse.

2. A paramour; -- in contempt. [Obs.]

Shak.

Nag <Xpage=961>

Nag , v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Nagged (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Nagging (?) .] [Cf. Sw. nagga to nibble, peck, Dan. nage to gnaw, Icel. naga , gnaga , G. nagen , & E. gnaw .] To tease in a petty way; to scold habitually; to annoy; to fret pertinaciously. [Colloq.] "She never nagged ."

J. Ingelow.

Nagging <Xpage=961>

Nag"ging (?) , a. Fault-finding; teasing; persistently annoying; as, a nagging toothache . [Colloq.]

Naggy <Xpage=961>