Chapter 982

1. Of or pertaining to ministry or service; serving; attendant.

Enlightening spirits and ministerial flames. Prior.

2. Of or pertaining to the office of a minister or to the ministry as a body, whether civil or sacerdotal. " Ministerial offices." Bacon . "A ministerial measure." Junius . " Ministerial garments."

Hooker.

3. Tending to advance or promote; contributive. " Ministerial to intellectual culture."

De Quincey.

The ministerial benches , the benches in the House of Commons occupied by members of the cabinet and their supporters; -- also, the persons occupying them. "Very solid and very brilliant talents distinguish the ministerial benches ."

Burke.

Syn. -- Official; priestly; sacerdotal; ecclesiastical.

Ministerialist <Xpage=926>

Min`is*te"ri*al*ist , n. A supporter of the ministers, or the party in power.

Ministerially <Xpage=926>

Min`is*te"ri*al*ly , adv. In a ministerial manner; in the character or capacity of a minister.

Ministery <Xpage=926>

Min"is*ter*y (?) , n. See Ministry .

Milton.

Ministracy <Xpage=926>

Min"is*tra*cy (?) , n. Ministration. [Obs.]

Ministral <Xpage=926>

Min"is*tral (?) , a. Ministerial. [Obs.]

Johnson.

<page="927"> Page 927

Ministrant <Xpage=927>

Min"is*trant (?) , a. [L. ministrans , -antis , of ministrare to minister.] Performing service as a minister; attendant on service; acting under command; subordinate. "Princedoms and dominations ministrant ." Milton . -- n. One who ministers.

Ministration <Xpage=927>

Min`is*tra"tion (?) , n. [L. ministratio , fr. ministrare .] The act of ministering; service; ministry. "The days of his ministration ."

Luke i. 23.

Ministrative <Xpage=927>

Min"is*tra*tive (?) , a. Serving to aid; ministering.

Ministress <Xpage=927>

Min"is*tress (?) , n. [Cf. L. ministrix .] A woman who ministers.

Akenside.

Ministry <Xpage=927>

Min"is*try (?) , n. ; pl. Ministries (#) . [L. ministerium . See Minister , n. , and cf. Mystery a trade.]

1. The act of ministering; ministration; service. "With tender ministry ."

Thomson.

2. Hence: Agency; instrumentality.

The ordinary ministry of second causes. Atterbury.

The wicked ministry of arms. Dryden.

3. The office, duties, or functions of a minister, servant, or agent; ecclesiastical, executive, or ambassadorial function or profession.

4. The body of ministers of state; also, the clergy, as a body.

5. Administration; rule; term in power; as, the ministry of Pitt .

Ministryship <Xpage=927>

Min"is*try*ship , n. The office of a minister.

Swift.

Minium <Xpage=927>

Min"i*um (?; 277) , n. [L. minium , an Iberian word, the Romans getting all their cinnabar from Spain; cf. Basque armine\'a0 .] (Chem.) A heavy, brilliant red pigment, consisting of an oxide of lead, Pb3O4 , obtained by exposing lead or massicot to a gentle and continued heat in the air. It is used as a cement, as a paint, and in the manufacture of flint glass. Called also red lead . <-- also called lead tetroxide, lead orthoplumbate, mineral oange, mineral red, Paris red, Saturn red, and less definitively, lead oxide -->

Miniver <Xpage=927>

Min"i*ver (?) , n. [See Meniver .] A fur esteemed in the Middle Ages as a part of costume. It is uncertain whether it was the fur of one animal only or of different animals.

Minivet <Xpage=927>

Min"i*vet (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A singing bird of India of the family Campephagid\'91 .

Mink <Xpage=927>

Mink (?) , n. [Cf. 2d Minx .] (Zo\'94l.) A carnivorous mammal of the genus Putorius , allied to the weasel. The European mink is Putorius lutreola . The common American mink ( P. vison ) varies from yellowish brown to black. Its fur is highly valued. Called also minx , nurik , and vison . <-- together with sable, one of the most expensive furs not taken from endangerd species. From animals grown on a farm, called ranch mink -->

Minnesinger <Xpage=927>

Min"ne*sing`er (?) , n. [G., fr. minne love + singen to sing.] A love-singer; specifically, one of a class of German poets and musicians who flourished from about the middle of the twelfth to the middle of the fourteenth century. They were chiefly of noble birth, and made love and beauty the subjects of their verses.

Minnow <Xpage=927>

Min"now , n. [OE. menow , cf. AS. myne ; also OE. menuse , OF. menuise small fish; akin to E. minish , minute .] [Written also minow .]

1. (Zo\'94l.) A small European fresh-water cyprinoid fish ( Phoxinus l\'91vis , formerly Leuciscus phoxinus ); sometimes applied also to the young of larger kinds; -- called also minim and minny . The name is also applied to several allied American species, of the genera Phoxinus , Notropis , or Minnilus , and Rhinichthys .

2. (Zo\'94l.) Any of numerous small American cyprinodont fishes of the genus Fundulus , and related genera. They live both in fresh and in salt water. Called also killifish , minny , and mummichog . <-- see mummichog -->

Minny <Xpage=927>

Min"ny (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A minnow.

Mino bird <Xpage=927>

Mi"no bird" (?) . [Hind. main\'be .] (Zo\'94l.) An Asiatic bird ( Gracula musica ), allied to the starlings. It is black, with a white spot on the wings, and a pair of flat yellow wattles on the head. It is often tamed and taught to pronounce words.

Minor <Xpage=927>

Mi"nor (?) , a. [L., a comparative with no positive; akin to AS. min small, G. minder less, OHG. minniro , a., min , adv., Icel. minni , a., minnr , adv., Goth. minniza , a., mins , adv., Ir. & Gael. min small, tender, L. minuere to lessen, Gr. <?/, Skr. mi to damage. Cf. Minish , Minister , Minus , Minute .]

1. Inferior in bulk, degree, importance, etc.; less; smaller; of little account; as, minor divisions of a body .

2. (Mus.) Less by a semitone in interval or difference of pitch; as, a minor third .

Asia Minor (Geog.) , the Lesser Asia; that part of Asia which lies between the Euxine, or Black Sea, on the north, and the Mediterranean on the south. -- Minor mode (Mus.) , that mode, or scale, in which the third and sixth are minor, -- much used for mournful and solemn subjects. -- Minor orders (Eccl.) , the rank of persons employed in ecclesiastical offices who are not in holy orders, as doorkeepers, acolytes, etc. -- Minor scale (Mus.) The form of the minor scale is various. The strictly correct form has the third and sixth minor, with a semitone between the seventh and eighth, which involves an augmented second interval, or three semitones, between the sixth and seventh, as, 6/F , 7/G&sharp; , 8/A . But, for melodic purposes, both the sixth and the seventh are sometimes made major in the ascending, and minor in the descending, scale, thus: --

<-- Comm: an illustration of a bar with ascending and descending notes on a minor scale -->

See Major . -- Minor term of syllogism (Logic) , the subject of the conclusion.

Minor <Xpage=927>

Mi"nor (?) , n. 1. A person of either sex who has not attained the age at which full civil rights are accorded; an infant; in England and the United States, one under twenty-one years of age.

&hand; In hereditary monarchies, the minority of a sovereign ends at an earlier age than of a subject. The minority of a sovereign of Great Britain ends upon the completion of the eighteenth year of his age.

2. (Logic) The minor term, that is, the subject of the conclusion; also, the minor premise, that is, that premise which contains the minor term; in hypothetical syllogisms, the categorical premise. It is the second proposition of a regular syllogism, as in the following: Every act of injustice partakes of meanness; to take money from another by gaming is an act of injustice; therefore, the taking of money from another by gaming partakes of meanness.

3. A Minorite; a Franciscan friar.

Minorate <Xpage=927>

Mi"nor*ate (?) , v. t. [L. minoratus ; p. p. of minorare to diminish, fr. minor , a. See 1st Minor .] To diminish. [R.]

Sir T. Browne.

Minoration <Xpage=927>

Mi`nor*a"tion (?) , n. [L. minoratio : cf. F. minoration .] A diminution. [R.]

Sir T. Browne.

Minoress <Xpage=927>

Mi"nor*ess (?) , n. See Franciscan Nuns , under Franciscan , a.

Minorite <Xpage=927>

Mi"nor*ite (?) , n. [L. minor less. Cf. 2d Minor , 3.] A Franciscan friar.

Minority <Xpage=927>

Mi*nor"i*ty (?) , n. ; pl. Minorities (#) . [Cf. F. minorit\'82 . See Minor , a. & n. ]

1. The state of being a minor, or under age.

2. State of being less or small. [Obs.]

Sir T. Browne.

3. The smaller number; -- opposed to majority ; as, the minority must be ruled by the majority .

Minos <Xpage=927>

Mi"nos (?) , n. [Gr. <?/.] (Class. Myth.) A king and lawgiver of Crete, fabled to be the son of Jupiter and Europa. After death he was made a judge in the Lower Regions.

Minotaur <Xpage=927>

Min"o*taur (?) , n. [L. Minotaurus , Gr. <?/; Mi`nos , the husband of Pasipha\'89 + tay^ros a bull, the Minotaur being the offspring of Pasipha\'89 and a bull: cf. F. minotaure .] (Class. Myth.) A fabled monster, half man and half bull, confined in the labyrinth constructed by D\'91dalus in Crete.

Minow <Xpage=927>

Min"ow (?) , n. See Minnow .

Minster <Xpage=927>

Min"ster (?) , n. [AS. mynster , fr. L. monasterium . See Monastery .] (Arch.) A church of a monastery. The name is often retained and applied to the church after the monastery has ceased to exist ( as Beverly Minster , Southwell Minster , etc. ), and is also improperly used for any large church.

Minster house , the official house in which the canons of a cathedral live in common or in rotation.

Shipley.

Minstrel <Xpage=927>

Min"strel (?) , n. [OE. minstrel , menestral , OF. menestrel , fr. LL. ministerialis servant, workman (cf. ministrellus harpist), fr. L. ministerium service. See Ministry , and cf. Ministerial .] In the Middle Ages, one of an order of men who subsisted by the arts of poetry and music, and sang verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other instrument; in modern times, a poet; a bard; a singer and harper; a musician.

Chaucer.

Minstrelsy <Xpage=927>

Min"strel*sy (?) , n. 1. The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.

2. Musical instruments. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

3. A collective body of minstrels, or musicians; also, a collective body of minstrels' songs. Chaucer . "The minstrelsy of heaven." Milton .

Mint <Xpage=927>

Mint (?) , n. [AS. minte , fr. L. mentha , Gr. <?/, <?/.] (Bot.) The name of several aromatic labiate plants, mostly of the genus Mentha , yielding odoriferous essential oils by distillation. See Mentha .

<-- each of the following types can also be labeled as subtypes --> &hand; Corn mint is Mentha arvensis . -- Horsemint is M. sylvestris , and in the United States Monarda punctata , which differs from the true mints in several respects. -- Mountain mint is any species of the related genus Pycnanthemum , common in North America. -- Peppermint is M. piperita . -- Spearmint is M. viridis . -- Water mint is M. aquatica .

Mint camphor . (Chem.) See Menthol . -- Mint julep . See Julep . -- Mint sauce , a sauce flavored with spearmint, for meats.

Mint <Xpage=927>

Mint , n. [AS. mynet money, coin, fr. L. moneta the mint, coined money, fr. Moneta , a surname of Juno, in whose at Rome money was coined; akin to monere to warn, admonish, AS. manian , and to E. mind . See Mind , and cf. Money , Monition .] 1. A place where money is coined by public authority.

2. Hence: Any place regarded as a source of unlimited supply; the supply itself.

A mint of phrases in his brain. Shak.

Mint <Xpage=927>

Mint , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Minted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Minting .] [AS. mynetian .]

1. To make by stamping, as money; to coin; to make and stamp into money.

2. To invent; to forge; to fabricate; to fashion.

Titles... of such natures as may be easily minted . Bacon.

Minting mill , a coining press.

Mintage <Xpage=927>

Mint"age (?) , n. 1. The coin, or other production, made in a mint.

Stamped in clay, a heavenly mintage . Sterling.

2. The duty paid to the mint for coining.

Minter <Xpage=927>

Mint"er (?) , n. One who mints.

Mintman <Xpage=927>

Mint"man (?) , n. ; pl. Mintmen (<?/) . One skilled in coining, or in coins; a coiner.

Mint-master <Xpage=927>

Mint"-mas`ter (?) , n. The master or superintendent of a mint. Also used figuratively.

Minuend <Xpage=927>

Min"u*end (?) , n. [L. minuendus to be diminished, fr. minuere to lessen, diminish. See Minish .] (Arith.) The number from which another number is to be subtracted.

Minuet <Xpage=927>

Min"u*et (?) , n. [F., fr. menu small, L. minutus small. So called on account of the short steps of the dance. See 4th Minute .]

1. A slow graceful dance consisting of a coupee, a high step, and a balance.

2. (Mus.) A tune or air to regulate the movements of the dance so called; a movement in suites, sonatas, symphonies, etc., having the dance form, and commonly in 3-4, sometimes 3-8, measure.

Minum <Xpage=927>

Min"um (?) , n. [See 2d Minion , Minum , 6.] [Obs.]

1. A small kind of printing type; minion.

2. (Mus.) A minim.

Minus <Xpage=927>

Mi"nus (?) , a. [L. See Minor , and cf. Mis- pref. from the French.] (Math.) Less; requiring to be subtracted; negative; as, a minus quantity .

Minus sign (Math.) , the sign [-] denoting minus , or less , prefixed to negative quantities, or quantities to be subtracted. See Negative sign , under Negative .

Minuscule <Xpage=927>

Mi*nus"cule (?) , n. [L. minusculus rather small, fr. minus less: cf. F. minuscule .]

1. Any very small, minute object.

2. A small Roman letter which is neither capital nor uncial; a manuscript written in such letters. -- a. Of the size and style of minuscules; written in minuscules.

These minuscule letters are cursive forms of the earlier uncials. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).

Minutary <Xpage=927>

Min"u*ta*ry (?) , a. Pertaining to, or consisting of, minutes. [Obs.]

Fuller.

Minute <Xpage=927>

Min"ute (?; 277) , n. [LL. minuta a small portion, small coin, fr. L. minutus small: cf. F. minute . See 4th Minute .]

1. The sixtieth part of an hour; sixty seconds. (Abbrev. m. ; as, 4 h. 30 m. )

Four minutes , that is to say, minutes of an hour. Chaucer.

2. The sixtieth part of a degree; sixty seconds (Marked thus (\'bf); as, 10&deg; 20\'bf .)

3. A nautical or a geographic mile.

4. A coin; a half farthing. [Obs.]

Wyclif (Mark xii. 42)

5. A very small part of anything, or anything very small; a jot; a tittle. [Obs.]

Minutes and circumstances of his passion. Jer. Taylor.

6. A point of time; a moment.

I go this minute to attend the king. Dryden.

7. The memorandum; a record; a note to preserve the memory of anything; as, to take minutes of a contract; to take minutes of a conversation or debate.

8. (Arch.) A fixed part of a module. See Module .

&hand; Different writers take as the minute one twelfth, one eighteenth, one thirtieth, or one sixtieth part of the module.

Minute <Xpage=927>

Min"ute , a. Of or pertaining to a minute or minutes; occurring at or marking successive minutes.

Minute bell , a bell tolled at intervals of a minute, as to give notice of a death or a funeral. -- Minute book , a book in which written minutes are entered. -- Minute glass , a glass measuring a minute or minutes by the running of sand. -- Minute gun , a discharge of a cannon repeated every minute as a sign of distress or mourning. -- Minute hand , the long hand of a watch or clock, which makes the circuit of the dial in an hour, and marks the minutes.

Minute <Xpage=927>

Min"ute , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Minuted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Minuting .] To set down a short sketch or note of; to jot down; to make a minute or a brief summary of.

The Empress of Russia, with her own hand, minuted an edict for universal tolerance. Bancroft.

Minute <Xpage=927>

Mi*nute" (?) , a. [L. minutus , p. p. of minuere to lessen. See Minish , Minor , and cf. Menu , Minuet .]

1. Very small; little; tiny; fine; slight; slender; inconsiderable. " Minute drops."

Milton.

2. Attentive to small things; paying attention to details; critical; particular; precise; as, a minute observer; minute observation.

Syn. -- Little; diminutive; fine; critical; exact; circumstantial; particular; detailed. -- Minute , Circumstantial , Particular . A circumstantial account embraces all the leading events; a particular account includes each event and movement, though of but little importance; a minute account goes further still, and omits nothing as to person, time, place, adjuncts, etc.

Minute-jack <Xpage=927>

Mi*nute"-jack` (?) , n. 1. A figure which strikes the hour on the bell of some fanciful clocks; -- called also jack of the clock house .

2. A timeserver; an inconstant person.

Shak.

Minutely <Xpage=927>

Mi*nute"ly (?) , adv. [From 4th Minute .] In a minute manner; with minuteness; exactly; nicely.

Minutely <Xpage=927>

Min"ute*ly (?) , a. [From 1st Minute .] Happening every minute; continuing; unceasing. [Obs.]