MIL 



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MIL 



MID'DLE LATITT.-DE. Half the sum of 

 two given latitudes of the same hemi- 

 sphere, or half their difference when they 

 are in different hemispheres. In the latter 

 case it is always of the same name as the 

 greater. 



MiD'ni.E RAIL. In architecture, the rail 

 of a door level with the hand, on which 

 the lock is usually fixed. 



MII/DLE TERM (of a syllogism). That 

 with which the extremes of the conclu- 

 ion are compared. 



MID'SHIPMAJJ. A naval cadet, whose 

 business is to second the orders of the 

 superior officers, and assist in the neces- 

 sary business of the ship, particularly in 

 managing the sails, that he may be trained 

 to a knowledge of the machinery, disci- 

 pline, and operations of ships of war, and 

 qualified for naval service. 



MID'SHIPS, properly amidships. In the 

 middle of a ship. 



MIGNONETTE' (Fr.). An annual flower- 

 ing plant, the Reseda odorata. Egypt 



MIL'DEW, Sax. mildeaw, honey dew, 

 from Lat. mel, honey. 1. A thick, clammy, 

 sweet juice found on the leaves of plants. 

 It is said to injure the plants by impe- 

 ding their respiration. 2. Spots on pa- 

 per, cloth, &c., caused by moisture. 



MILE. A measure of length, 1760 yards. 

 From Lat. mille passvs, a thousand paces, 

 passus being dropped in common usage. 

 The Roman mile was 1000 geometrical 

 paces. The Scottish and Irish mile = 

 2200 yards, exactly double a Russian mile, 

 the half of a Polish mile, and the quarter 

 of a Hungarian mile. The Italian mile is 

 1467 yards, the Spanish, 5028 yards, that 

 of Sweden and Denmark is 7233 yards, 

 and the German is 5866 yards.- 



MILIA'P.IA. MiUary fercr. An eruptive 

 disease, characterised by intermittent fe- 

 ver, and so named from the small vesicles 

 upon the skin resembling millet-seed 

 (milium millet). 



MIL'KM A. A genus of microscopic mul- 

 tilocular univalve shells, many specimens 

 of which are obtained from fuci, taken 

 up near the island of Corsica : named from 

 their minute si/e, miliolwit, dim. of mi- 

 hum, millet-seed. 2. Little tumours 



which grow on the eyelids. . 



MIL'IOLITES. Fossil miliola, which form 

 the principal part of the masses of stone 

 in some of the quarries near Paris. 



MILI'TIA, Lat. from miles, a soldier. A 

 body of soldiers regularly enrolled and 

 trained, though not in constant service in 

 time of peace, and thereby distinguished 

 from regular trooj*. 



MII/ICM. Millet-grass. A genns of per- 

 ennial grasses. TriandriaDigynia. There 

 are several species, all hardy ; the common 

 (M. effnsnm) is a native of Britain. Xame 

 from mille, a thousand, in allusion to the 

 great number of its seeds. 2. Millet, 



the seed of the Panicum miliaceum. It ij 

 used for puddings, &c. 



MILK', Sax. melee. The white fluid se- 

 creted by peculiar glands in female ani- 

 mals, of the class mammalia, for the nou- 

 rishment of their young. It differs greatly 

 in different animals, but it has in all the 

 property of separating spontaneously into 

 cream, cheese, and serum. When dis- 

 tilled to dryness it gives out insipid water, 

 and leaves* a whitish brown substance 

 called extract of milk, which, being dis- 

 solved in water, makes a milk of Irss 

 value. When fresh milk is strongly agi- 

 tated for some time in a warm place, it 

 by degrees goes into vinous fermentation, 

 so that alcohol may be drawn off by dis- 

 tillation, which is named spirit of milk. 



MILK'-FEVER. A febrile state sometimes 

 induced when the milk begins to be 

 secreted. 



MILK' TREE. So called from its trunk 

 yielding a milky fluid when wounded. 



MILK' VESSELS. In plants, the anasto- 

 mosing tubes lying in the bark, in which 

 a white fluid is secreted. 



M!LK'Y-WAT. See GALAXY. 



MILL'. A machine employed in pulveri- 

 sing any substance, as grain, whereby it 

 is formed into flour, which is effected by 

 rubbing it between two hard substances, 

 consisting generally of stone, and termed 

 millstones. These are driven by means of 

 machinery. The original purpose of mill* 

 was to comminute grain for food ; but the 

 term mill is now extended to many other 

 engines and machines moved by water, 

 wind, or steam, for carrying on very 

 different operations ; thus we have saw- 

 mills, cotton-mills, flax-mills, silk-mills, 

 flint-mills, oil-mills, slitting-mills, full- 

 ing-mills, bark-mills, coffee-mills, cider- 

 mills, &c. ; and now a mill for grain is 

 very often denominated a grist-mill. All 

 sorts of wheel-work, larger than clock- 

 work , are moreover known by the gene- 

 ral name of mill-work. 



MILLENNIUM, Lat. from mille, & thou- 

 sand, and annus, a year. A thousand 

 years. The word is now used to denote 

 the thousand years mentioned in Refla- 

 tions XX., during which Satan shall be 

 bound, and Christ shall reign on earth 

 with his saints. Those who maintain 

 that literal sense of millennium here 

 given, are denominated Millenarians. 



MII/LEPEDE. A name common to several 

 insects from the great number of their 

 fret: mille, a thousand, and pes, a foot. 

 These are: (1.) The Porcellio scaber, or 

 sclater ; (2.) The Armadillo vulgaris or nf 

 ftcinalis; (3) The Onisctis asellus, or com- 

 mon wood-louse. These insects were 

 formerly used in medicine. 



.MiL'LEpoBE.from mille, a. thousand, and 

 poms, a pore. A genus of Lithophytes of 

 various forms, having the surface per- 



