MET 



465 



MET 



tion. The primary stratified rocks are all 

 mctamorphic. 



METAMOR'PHOSIS, fi.tTatfM>^aafi(. 1. 



Transformation. 2. A term for the 



change which some insects undergo pre- 

 viously to their arriving at their state of 

 perfection. 



MET'APHOR, from pttrottft^ta, to transfer. 

 A short similitude expressed hy a single 

 word, without comparison ; as when a 

 hero is called a lion, a shrewd individual 

 a fox, &c. 



METAPH'RASIS, f&tretQ^x/rit- A literal 

 translation out of one language into 

 another. 



METAPHYS'ICS, from f&irot, beyond and 

 Cvfixri, physics. The science of mind : 

 thus named, the science of natural bodies 

 or physics being regarded as the first in 

 the order of studies ; and the science of 

 mind, or intelligence, to be the second. 

 Metaphysics comprehends ontology, or the 

 science which treats of the nature, es- 

 sence, and qualities or attributes of being ; 

 cosmology, the science of the world, which 

 treats of the nature and laws of matter 

 and motion ; anthroposophy, which treats 

 of man and the motions by which life is 

 produced ; psychology, which treats of the 

 intellectual soul ; pneumatology, the sci- 

 ence of spirits. Metaphysical theology treats 

 of the existence of God, his essence, and 

 attributes ; called by Leibnitz and others 

 theodicy. These divisions of metaphysics 

 are now little regarded. The natural di- 

 vision of things that exist is into body 

 and mind, things material and imma- 

 terial : the former belong to physics, the 

 latter to metaphysics. 



MET'APLASM, fjt,iTot,x\aur[M>s- Trans- 

 formation. A term in grammar for any 

 change made in a word, by transposing 

 or retrenching a syllable or letter. 



METAS'TASIS, fjt,iroc.irra.ffi;. Translation. 

 Transition of a disease from one part of 

 the body to another. 



METATAR'SCS, from utr, beyond, and 

 ratios , the tarsus. That part of the foot 

 bet'ween the tarsus and the toes. 



MET'ATOME, from f^trtx., change, and 

 T'.iAvv, I cut. A space, in architecture, 

 between one dentil and the next. 



META'YER. In F ranee and Italy, a farmer 

 holding land on condition of yielding 

 half the produce to the proprietor, who 

 furnishes tools and stock. 



METEMPSTCHO'SIS, f^m^'j^iuffis . 

 Transmigration. The passing of the soul 

 of man, after death, into some other ani- 

 mal ; a doctrine which still prevails in 

 some parts of Asia. 



METEMPTO'SIS, fAin/jLTrafftf , from 

 ftira, after, and wrrv, to fall. A term 

 in chronology for the equation necessary 



to prevent the new moon from happening 

 a day too late, or the suppression of the 

 bissextile once in 134 years. The opposite 

 is the proemptosis, or the addition of one 

 day every 300 years, and another every 

 2400 years. 



ME'TEOR, from fti-nu^ts, sublime. A 

 term used by some to comprehend all the 

 visible phenomena of meteorology ; but 

 commonly restricted to such luminous 

 bodies as appear suddenly at uncertain 

 times, and with more or less motion in 

 the atmosphere. These are reducible to 

 three classes ; (1.) Igneous or fiery meteors, 

 including fire-balls, falling stars, &c. (2.) 

 Luminous meteors, as the aurora borealis, 

 zodiacal light, parhelia, &c. (3.) Aqueous 

 meteors. 



ME'TEORIC STONES. A8rolites. Peculiar 

 solid compounds of earthy and metallic 

 matters, of singular aspect and compo- 

 sition, which occasionally descend from 

 the atmosphere, usually from a luminous 

 meteor. Aerolites are of various sizes 

 from a few ounces to several cwts. Their 

 composition is remarkably uniform, con- 

 sisting of oxide of iron, metallic iron, py- 

 rites, chromium, nickel, magnesia, and 

 silex ; and they are uniformly covered 

 with a deep black crust, without gloss, 

 and roughened with small asperities. The 

 origin of these stones is not ascertained. 



ME'TEOROLITES. Meteoric stones, from 

 meteor, and faQof , a stone. See METEOKIC 

 STONES. 



METEOROL'OOT, from f^t-naifotet, a me- 

 teor, and \oyot, science. The science 

 which treats of the atmosphere, and its 

 phenomena, particularly in its relation to 

 heat and moisture, and its changes with 

 respect to weight and electricity, giving 

 rise to winds, rains, snow, hail, dew, and 

 variation of season, thunder, &c. 



ME'TEOROMANCT, from [AiTituqoiot, me- 

 teor, and [tavTitct, divination. Divination 

 by meteors, especially by thunder and 

 lightning : held in high estimation by the 

 Romans. 



METEOROS'COPY, from /u,tTttu%of , lofty, 

 and irxoiTiti, to view. That part of astro- 

 nomy which treats of the distance of the 

 fixed stars, &c. 



METHE'GLIN, "Welch meddyglyn. A drink 

 prepared from, honey by fermentation. 



METH'OD, from /AITIX, beyond, ande;, 

 a way; literally a path from one object to 

 another. The first idea of method is a 

 progressive transition from one step in any 

 course to another; and, when the word 

 method is used with reference to many 

 such transitions in continuity, it necessa- 

 rily implies a principle of unity with pro- 

 gression. 2. Arrangement of natural 



bodies according to their common charac- 

 teristics. In natural arrangements, a 



2 H 





