MINUTE 



221 



MOHR 



Minute, (min'it). [The French word.] 1. 

 ^ part of an hour=60 seconds. 2. ^ part 

 of a degree. 3. Nautical mile, q.v. 



Minx, (mingks). Mustela vison = Mink= 

 =Minx-otter: a weasel-like animal belonging 

 to Mustelidfe. 



Miocene, (mi o-sen). [Gk. meion, less; Tcainos, 

 recent. ]=Middle Tertiary: rocks, not found 

 in Britain, excepting in the beds of Hemp- 

 stead and Bovey-Tracy and in the Isle of 

 Mull, extending from Iceland to Italy; named 

 from the shells of recent testacess being less 

 numerous than those of older and extinct 

 forms. Upper M. of France Faluns. 



Mira=0 Ceti: a variable star, changing from 

 second magnitude to being totally invisible 

 for 5 months out of every 331 days. 



Mirabilite, (mi-rab'il-i-te). [L. mirable, 

 wonderful. ]=Glauber salt: a white vitreous 

 mineral, chiefly hydrated sulphate of sodium. 



Mirach, (ml'rak). [The Arabic name.]=/3 

 Andromedae; the second star in the constel- 

 lation Andromeda. 



Mirage, (mi-razh'). [The French word.] An 

 optical delusion, owing 

 to refraction, by which i .,-*" 



objects appear to be in /^ ' '- 



the air or beneath the /faW>sfc:*r 

 surface of the ground. 



Mrrbane, (mir'ban). Es- 

 sence of M. = Nitro- 

 benzol, q.v. 



Mirror, (mii-'ror). [Mi- 

 roir, the French word.] 

 Any polished surface 

 from which rays of 

 light are regularly re- 

 flected, so that the image 

 is still distinguishable. 

 Burning M.: by which hen.t rays are con- 

 verged to the focus. Conjugate M.; one 

 having its axis in a line with that of another, 

 so that light or heat in the focus of one is 

 reflected to the focus of the other. Parabolic 

 M.. one of which the section is a portion of 

 a parabola. Spherical M.; one of which the 

 surface is a portion of a sphere. 



Mishmees, An Asiatic people. 



Mispickel, (mis'pik-1). [Mupucklt, the Ger- 

 man word. ]= Arsenical pyrites =rFeS As: the 

 common ore of arsenic ; a white brittle 

 mineral of the iron group crystallising in 

 rhombs. 



Mirfak, (mir'fak). [The Arabic name.]=a 

 Persei; the chief star of the constellation 

 Perseus. 



Mississaga. An Ameri- 

 can people. 



Mistletoe, (mizl'tS). 

 [Mistelta, the A.-S. 

 name.]=Viscum album: 

 an evergreen plant, pa- 

 rasitic on trees, belong- 

 ing to Loranthacete. 



Mistral, (mis'tral). [The 

 French word.] A steady 

 N.W. wind blowing 

 from France across the 

 Mediterranean. Mistletoe. 



Mirage. 



Mites, (raits). [The A.-S. name.] A division 

 of Acarina, q.v. Garden M. r=Trombididse. 

 Water M=Hydrachnid8e, q.v. 



Mitre, (mi'tr). [Mitra, the Latin word.] M. 

 wheels: two wheels re- 

 volving in contact, but 

 in different planes, so as 

 to transfer motion from 

 one plane to another. 

 M. mushroom = Mor- 

 chella mushroom. 



Mitral valve, (mi'tral). 

 Mitre, q.v.} A valve 

 closing the opening be- 

 tween the left auricle 

 and ventricle of the 

 heart; shaped like a 

 mitre. Mitre-wheels. 



Mixolydian key=Key of G. v. Keys. 



Mizar, (ml'zar). [The Arabic name.]=: Ursas- 

 majoris: a star in the Constellation Ursa- 

 major 



Moa, (rno'a). [The na- 

 tive name.]=Dinornis, 



Mobility, (mo-bil'i-ti). 



[Mobilitas, the Latin j 



word.] Capacity for 



being moved. 

 Mocha stone. [Mocha, in 



Arabia.] = Moss-agate, 



Mocking-bird = Mimus, 

 q.v. 



Modillion, (mo-dil'yon). 

 [Modillon, the French Mocking-bird. 

 word.] A small ornamented console, used 

 to support a Cor- 

 inthian cornice. 



Modulation, (rnod- 

 u-la'shun). [Mod- 

 ulatio, the Latin 

 word.] The ar- 

 rangement of a 

 piece of music in 

 a variety of keys, 

 so that the transitions are harmonious. 



Modulus, (mod'u-lus). [The Latin word.] 1. 

 An arbitrary measure in architecture: usu- 

 ally the half diameter of a column. 2. In 

 mathematics: a constant co-efficient. 



Moenas, (nie'nas). M. cam'/u<s=Sbore-crab: 

 when young = Me- 

 galopa ; when very 

 young=Zoea. 



Mohair, (moTiar). 

 [Moire, the French 

 word.] 1. The hair 

 of the Angora goat, 

 resembling alpaca. 

 2. A textile fabric 

 made of the hair. 



Mohoh, (mo'ho-li).; 

 =Galago moholi : 

 a small animal be- 

 longing to Lemu-i 

 ridse, found in S. Moholi. 



Africa. 



Mohr, (mor) = Gazella mohr: an animal re- 



Modillion. 



