MAB 



MAC 



M. 



MOr m, the twelfth letter and ninth 

 9 consonant of our alphabet : it is a 

 liquid and labial consonant, pronounced 

 by striking or moving the under lip 

 against the upper one : its sound is al- 

 ways the same in English, and it admits 

 no consonant after it in the beginning of 

 words and syllables, except in some Greek 

 words, nor does it come after any in that 

 case. It suffers not the sound of n, com- 

 ing after it, to be heard, as in autumn, 

 solemn, &c. 



As a numeral, M stands for mille, a 

 thousand ; and with a dash over it thus, 

 M~, for a thousand times a thousand, or, 

 1,000,000. M. A. magister artium ; M. D. 

 medicinz doctor ; MS. manuscript ; and 

 MSS. manuscripts, in the plural. In the 

 prescription of physicians, M. stands for 

 manipulus, a handful ; and sometimes for 

 misce, or mixtura : thus M. F. Jupalium, 

 signifies mix and make into a julap. In 

 astronomy, &c. M is used for meridian or 

 meridional. 



MAB A, in botany, a genus of the Dioe- 

 cia Triandria class and order. Essential 

 character : calyx trifid ; male, corolla 

 trifid ; female, drupe superior, two-celled. 

 There is but one species, viz. M. elliptica. 

 This is a smooth tree, with the twigs and 

 young leaves hairy ; leaves alternate, on 

 short petioles, elliptic, and veined; pe- 

 duncles axillary, short, often three-flow- 

 ered ; flowers small, and remarkable for 

 having the outside of the calyx and corolla 

 more villose than the rest of the plant. 

 There is another species, or variety, 

 which Foster calls maba major ; for this 

 reason, the drupe, or fruit, is three times 

 the size of the other, having three-sided 

 kernels in the cells, which are tough and 

 insipid ; they art,, however, eaten by the 

 inhabitants : in all the Friendly Islands 

 they plant this tree about their houses. 



MABEA, in botany, a genus of the Mo- 

 noecia Polyandria class and order. Natu- 

 ral order of Tricoccse. Euphorbias, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character : calyx one- 

 leafed, five-toothed ; corolla none : male, 

 filaments nine to twelve, inserted into the 

 bottom of the calyx : female, germ and 

 style one ; stigma three, revolute ; cap- 

 sule covered with a thick bark, three- 

 celled, three-seeded. There are two 

 species, viz. M. piriri, and M. tarquari, 

 both shrubs, yielding a milky juice ; the 



Negroes use the smaller branches for 

 pipes, for which reason the trees are 

 called pipe wood, or bois a calumet. 



MACAO, or MACAW, in ornithology, a 

 name given to the larger species of par- 

 rots with very long tails. See PTISSACUS. 



MACARONIC, or MACARONIAN, an ap- 

 pellation given to a burlesque kind of 

 poetry, made up of a jumble of words of 

 different languages, and words of the vul- 

 gar tongue latinized. 



The Italians are said to have been the 

 inventors of it. The Germans, French, 

 Spaniards, See. have also had their maca- 

 ronic poets ; nor is Great Britain outdone 

 in this respect, witness Drummond of 

 Hauthornden's poem called Polemo Mid- 

 dinia, which begins thus : 



Nymphs, qux colitis highissima monta 

 Fifxa, 



Seu vos Pittemveema tenet, seu Crella 

 crofta, &c. 



MACE, the second coat or covering of 

 the kernel of the nutmeg, is a thin and 

 membranaceous substance, of an oleagi- 

 nous nature, and a yellowish colour; 

 being met with in flakes of an inch and 

 more in length, which are divided into a 

 multitude of ramifications. It is of an ex- 

 tremely fragrant, aromatic, and agreeable 

 flavour, and of a pleasant, but acrid and 

 oleaginous taste. See NUTMEG. 



MACERATION, in pharmacy, is an in- 

 fusion of or soaking ingredients in water, 

 or any other fluid, in order either to 

 soften them, or draw out their virtues. 



MACHINE, in general, whatever hath 

 force sufficient to raise or stop the motion 

 of a heavy body. 



Machines are either simple or com- 

 pound: the simple ones are the seven 

 mechanical powers, viz. lever, balance, 

 pully, axis and wheel, wedge, screw, and 

 inclined plane. 



From these the compound ones are 

 formed by various combinations, and serve 

 for different purposes ; in all which, the 

 same general laws take place, viz. that 

 the power and weight sustain each other, 

 when they are in the inverse proportion 

 of the velocities they would have in the 

 directions wherein they act, if they were 

 put in motion. Now, to apply this law to 

 any compound machine, there are four 

 things to be considered : 1. The moving 

 power, or the force that puts the machine 

 m motion ; which may be eitiker men or 



