MUS 



497 



MYO 



ducisg melody and harmony by the due 

 combination and arrangement of sounds. 

 According to Hermes, /Aovtrizyi compre- 

 hends the general knowledge of order 

 and this was also the doctrine of Plato 

 who taught that everything in the uni 

 verse is music. Hence among the au 

 cients, music had a much wider significa 

 tion than we are inclined to give it. 



MUSICAL GLASSES. A musical instru- 

 ment, consisting of a number of glass 

 goblets, tuned by pouring more or less 

 water into them, and played upon with 

 the end of a finger damped. 



MUSK. 1. In zoology, see MOSCHUS. 



2. An odoriferous substance, obtained 

 from the Moschtis moschiferus, or Thibet 

 musk, which inhabits the Alpine moun- 

 tains of the east of Asia. The musk is 

 found in a little bag under the belly. It is 



imported from China. 3. The substance 



called artificial musk, is a tincture, pre- 

 pared by the action of nitric acid on rec- 

 tified oil of amber, and dissolving the pro- 

 duct in alcohol. 



MUS'KET. Fr. mousquet. A description 

 of handgun used in war, originally fired 

 by means of a match-lock, but now by a 

 spring-lock fitted with a flint and steel. 



MUSKETOO'X, Fr. mousqueton. A short 

 thick musket, carrying 7ioz. of lead: the 

 shortest description of blunderbuss. 



MUSK-OX. A bovine quadruped of 

 North America, the Has moschatus, Gm. 

 Considerably smaller than the common 

 x. The legs are very short and thick, 

 *id the hair is very long and matted. 



MUSK-ROSE. A species of rose, from 

 irhich an odorous oil is extracted at 

 Tunis. 



MUS'LIN. A fine thin cotton fabric, 

 originally imported from the East, but 

 now manufactured in Britain in vast 

 quantity. The name is Indian, mouseln, 

 Anglicised. 



MUSOPH'AGA. The Plantain- eater. A 

 genus of birds. Order Scansorice. Name 

 from musa, the plantain-tree, and $aiy<u, to 

 eat ; because its principal food is the fruit 

 of the plantain and banana. One species 

 is known, the M.violacea, Viell. Guinea 

 and Senegal. 



ML-S'SCLMAN. A Mahommedan. The 

 term signifies " resigned to God," and is 

 the dual number of Moslem. 



MCS'TARD. In botany, a name common 

 to all the plants of the genus Sinnpis, of 

 which Don enumerates twenty-seven 

 species ; of which four are indigenous in 



"Britain. 2. The ground seeds of the 



black-seeded (3f. nigra), or white-seeded 

 (Jf. alba), which are indigenous, and 

 much cultivated in England, both for 

 medicinal and culinary purposes. The 

 black mustard is the most pungent. 



. The name given by Linnaeua 



to a genus of carnivorous mammalia, of 

 the digitigrade tribe, now subdivided Into 

 four subgcnera ; the polecats (PectoriM, 

 Cuv.), the true weasel (Miistela, Cuv.), the 

 skunks (Mephitis, Cuv.), and the white- 

 tailed skunk (Hydace, F. Cuv.). The Mus- 

 tela, Cuv., comprehends the marten (M. 

 martes, Lin.), the sable (M. zibellina, 

 Pall.), so highly valued for its fur, and 

 several North American martens, indi- 

 cated by travellers under the indefinite 

 names of Pekan, Vision, Mink, &c. See 

 MARTEN. 



MUTE. 1. In grammar, a letter which 

 represents no sound: k, p, and t are mutes. 

 2. In music, a little utensil of wood or 

 brass, used on a violin, to deaden or soften 



the sounds. 3. Among undertakers, 



mutes are persons employed to stand at 

 the door of the deceased until the body is 

 can-led out. 1. In law, it is said of a per- 

 son who refuses to plead to an indictment 

 for felony, &c. 



MU'TULE. In architecture, a projecting 

 ornament of the Doric cornice, which oc- 

 cupies the place of the modillion in the 

 other orders, and supposed to represent 

 the ends of rafters. 



MDZ'AR.US. Christians under the Moor- 

 ish government in Spain. 



MUZ'ZLE-LASH'IHG. The act of securing 

 the muzzle of a gun, on board a ship, to the 

 upper part of the port. 



MV'A. The Gaper. The name given by 

 Linnaeus to a genus of Mollusca ; family 

 Inclusa, Cuv. The shell is bivalvularand 

 oblong, but the hinge varies, which cir- 

 cumstance has caused the genus to be 

 variously subdivided. Name u.vt, fe\~- 

 ftae, Plin. ix. 3d. 



MYO'ALE. A genus of aquatic insecti- 

 vorous mammalia ; the Desmans, of which 

 the Russian musk-rat is the best known 

 species, [t is nearly as large as a shrew, 

 inhabits the banks of rivers and lakes of 

 Southern Kussia, where it lives on worms, 

 larva of insects, &c. 



MYOG'RAPHY, from fjMf, a muscle, and 

 y^atCiv,, description. Description of the 

 nuclei of the body. 



MIOL'OGY, from /u.vs, a muscle, and 

 \GytK, discourse. The doctrine of the 

 muscles. 



MY'OPSY. from puia, a fly, and o-^i;, 

 vision. That state of vision in which 

 musi-(B volitantes are seen before the eyes ; 

 clumsily written sometimes myodesopsy. 



MYOTH'ERA. The Ant-catcher. A genus 

 of passerine birds of the dentirostrine 

 family. The species live on insects, chiefly 

 on ants, and are found in both continents. 

 The largest is about the size of a quail. 

 Name from u,uiac, an insect, and (Vftev. 

 a beast. 



MYOT'OMY, from /MJt, a muscle an4 

 2 K 



