MERGANSER 



216 



METACETONE 



Merganser, (mer-gan'ser). 

 anser, goose.] v. Mer- 



[L. mergus, diver; 



Merionea. 



Mergus, (mer'gus). [L. ^ 

 mergus, diver. ] A duck- p ^ 1 1 

 like bird belonging to^ 

 Natatores. M. mergan- " 

 ser= Goosander. 



Meridian, (me-rid'i-an). 

 fL. meridies, mid-day.] 

 The meridian of any Merganser 



given place is the great circle passing through 

 that place and the two poles; in English 

 maps the distance of the meridian of a 

 place from that of Greenwich is its longi- 

 tude; all places on any given meridian have 

 noon at the same time, whence the name. 

 Magnetic M.: a plane passing through a 

 given point and the N. and S. magnetic 

 poles is the magnetic meridian of that 

 point. 



Merino, (me-re'no). 

 [The Spanish name] 

 1. A variety of the 

 sheep, remarkable 

 for the fineness of 

 its wool. 2. The 

 wool itself. 



Meriones. Jumping- 

 mouse : a rat-like 

 animal belonging to 

 Muridw. 



Merlangus, (mer-lan'gus)=Whiting : 

 like fish belonging 

 to Gadidae. 



Merlin,(mei-'lin). [L. 

 merula, black.] A 

 small hawk-like 

 bird. 



Merlucius, (mer-lu'"- 

 si-us). Hake: a 

 cod-like fish. 



Merope, (merVpe). 

 [Classical.] One of 

 Pleiades, q.v.: the 

 smallest and least 

 bright. 



Merops, (mer'ops). [The Latin uame.]i= Bee- 

 eater: a bird, the type 

 of Meropidae, living 

 chiefly upon bees and 

 wasps. 



Meropidae, (me-rop'i-de). 

 [Merops, q.v.~] = Bee- 

 eaters : a family of 

 birds, belonging to In- 

 sessores, including the 

 king -fisher, laughing- 

 jackass, &c. 



Merostomata, (me-ro- 

 sto'ma-ta). [Gk. meron, Merops. 



thigh; stoma, mouth.] = Xiphosura: crus- 

 tacean animals, such as the king-crab, with 

 sessile eyes, and several pairs of articulated 

 limbs, some belonging to the head. 



Merry- thought Furculum, q.v. 



Merycotherium, (me-ri-ko-thO'ri-um). [Gk. 

 merykao, I chew; therion, beast ] A camel- 

 like animal, known only by fossil remains, 



erlin. 



found in pleistocene rocks of Europe and 

 Asia. 



Mesaconic, ( mez-a-kon'ik ). [Aconitic, q.v.'] 

 M. acid, belongs to the Fumaric acid 

 series. 



Mesembryaceae, (mez-cm-bri-ii'se-e.) [Mesem- 

 bryanthemum, q.v.] = Ficoids : herbs and 

 shrubs, with succulent leaves, belonging 

 to Ficoidales. 



Me sembry anth emum , (mez - em - bri - an' th e - 

 mum). [Gk. mescmbria, noon; anthos flower.] 

 = Fig-marigold: a plant, the type of Mesem- 

 bryacese, q.v. M. crystallinum=Ice--pla.nt. 



Mesencephalic, (mez-en-se-fal'ik). [Gk. mesos, 

 middle; kephale, head .]= Parietal: belonging 

 to the side of the cranium. 



Mesenteric glands, (mez-en-ter'ik). [Mesen- 

 tery, q.v.] Through which the lymphatic 

 capillaries pass, in the folds of the mesentery. 



Mesentery, ( mez'en-ter-i ). [Gk. mcsos, be- 

 tween; enteron, intestine.] The membrane 

 attaching the intestines to the abdomen. 



Meseraic, ( mez-er-a'ik ). [Gk. mesaraion, 

 mesentery.] Mesenteric, q.v. 



Meso, (mez'6). [The Greek word.] A prefix 

 implying an intermediate position. 



Mesopithecus, (mez-6-pith-e'kus). [Gk. mesas, 

 middle; pithekos, ape.] An intermediate 

 variety of the ape tribe, known only by 

 fossil remains; supposed to connect the 

 tailed and tailless varieties of apes. 



Mesopodium, (mez-o-pd'di-um). [Gk. mesos, 

 middle; pous, foot.] The middle portion of 

 the foot of a molluscous animal, v. Mollusca. 

 cf. Propodium and Metapodium. 



Mesosternum, (mez-o-ster'num). [Gk. mesos, 

 middle; Sternum, q.v.] The middle portion 

 of the sternum. 



Mesotype, (mez'6-tlp). [Gk. mesas, middle; 

 typos, form.]=Natrolite, q.v.: a mineral of 

 the zeolite group. 



Mesoxalurea, (mez-oks-a-lu're-a). [Mesoxalyl 

 and Urea, q.v.]=AUox.a.n: urea in which 

 some of the hydrogen has been replaced by 

 mesoxalyl. 



Mesoxalyl, (mez-oks'a-lil). C 3 O 3 : a radicle 

 found in alloxan. 



Mesozoic, (mez-6-zo'ik). [Gk. mesos, middle; 

 zoe, life.]=Secondary, q.v.: the second great 

 division of stratified rocks, intermediate be- 

 tween Palaeozoic and Cainozoic. 



Mestizo, (mez-te'zo). [The Spanish name.] 

 The offspring of white and red men. 



Meta, (met'a). [The Greek word.] A prefix 

 implying beyond. 



Metacarpal, (met-a-kar'pal). [Gk. meta, be- 

 yond; karpos, wrist.] M. bones: five small 

 bones, forming the palm of the hand. 



Metacarpus, (met-a-kar'pus). [Gk. meta, be- 

 yond; karpos, wrist.] The bones forming 

 the body of the hand. 



Metacentre, (met-a-sen'ter). [Gk. meta, be- 

 yond; kentron, centre.] The point of inter- 

 section between the lines of the axis of a 

 floating body and of the resulting upward 

 fluid pressure; equilibrium is stable only 

 when this point is above the centre of 

 gravity of the floating body. 



Metacetone, (met-a-se'ton). [Meta & Acetone , 



