GLOSSARY. 



109 



quickness or slowness of musical 

 compositions. 



Mezzotin'to (Italian mezzo, middle or 

 half; tinto, painted). A manner 

 of engraving on copper, in which 

 the lights of the figure represented 

 are obtained by the erasure of dents 

 and furrows previously scratched 

 on the plate. 



Mias'ma (Gr. fj.ia.ivo), miai'no, I taint 

 or pollute). Effluvia floating in 

 the air, often injurious to health. 



Miasmat'ic (Gr. fj.iacrfj.a, mias'ma). 

 Pertaining to or characterised by 

 miasma. 



Mi'ca (Lat. mi'co, I glitter). A soft 

 glistening mineral, chiefly composed 

 of silica, potash, and magnesia; it 

 forms the glistening scaly appear- 

 ance in granite. 



Mica-schist. A slaty rock, of which 

 mica is the principal ingredient, 

 together with quartz. 



Mica'ceous (Mica). Belonging to or 

 resembling mica, or chiefly con- 

 sisting of mica. 



Micro- (Gr. piKpos, mikros, small.) 

 A prefix in compound words, signi- 

 fying smallness. 



Microm'eter (Gr. fJUKpos, mikros, 

 small; fj-erpov, met'ron, a measure). 

 An instrument for measuring small 

 bodies or spheres, or small visual 

 angles formed by remote objects, by 

 means of which the magnitude of 

 bodies seen through the telescope 

 or microscope may be ascertained. 



Mi'cropyle (Gr. /jutcpos, mikros, small ; 

 Tri/Arj, pule, a gate). The opening 

 or foramen in a seed, towards which 

 the radicle is always pointed. 



Mi'croscope (Gr. /it/epos, mikros, 

 small ; ovcoTrew, skop'eo, I look at). 

 An optical instrument formed of 

 lenses which magnify the image of 

 small objects placed in their focus, 

 so as to render them visible or 

 more distinct than before. 



Microscopical (Mi'croscope). Rela- 

 ting to the microscope ; visible by 

 means of the microscope. 



Midrib (Mid and rib). The principal 

 vein of a leaf, which runs from the 

 stem to the point. 



Mil'iary (Lat. mil'ium, millet). Like 



millet-seeds ; applied to an erup- 

 tive disease characterised by the 

 presence of innumerable white 

 pimples. 



Milky Way. An appearance of 

 nebulous light extending over a 

 large extent of the celestial sphere, 

 and found by the telescope to con- 

 sist of countless multitudes of stars, 

 so crowded as to give the place 

 they occupy a whitish appearance. 



Milligramme (Lat. mil'le, a thou- 

 sand ; Fr. gramme). A French 

 weight of a thousandth part of a 

 gramme, or *015 English grain. 



Millime'tre (Lat. mil'le, a thousand ; 

 Fr. metre). A French measure, 

 equal to the thousandth part of a 

 metre, or '03937 English inch. 



Mimetic (Gr. fj.ifj.eo/j.ai, mim'eomai, I 

 imitate). Imitative. 



Min'eral (Mine). A body destitute 

 of organisation, existing naturally 

 within the earth or at its surface. 



Mineral'ogy (Mineral; Gr. \oyos, 

 logos, a description). The science 

 which describes the properties and 

 relations of simple mineral sub- 

 stances. 



Min'imum (Lat. min'imus, least). 

 The least quantity assignable in a 

 given case. 



Min'ium (Lat.) A compound of pro- 

 toxide and deutoxide of lead, of a 

 red colour. 



Min'uend (Lat. min'uo, I diminish). 

 That which is to be diminished ; 

 in arithmetic, the number from 

 which another is to be subtracted 

 or taken. 



Min'ute (Lat. minu'tus, diminished). 

 A sixtieth part of an hour or de- 

 gree. 



Mi'ocene (Gr. peuov, meion, less ; 

 KO.IVOS, kainos, new). A name 

 given in geology to the middle 

 group of the tertiary strata, from 

 its containing a less number of 

 shells identical with existing species 

 than the upper or pliocene group. 



Mira'ge (Fr.) The name given to an 

 atmospheric phenomenon, consist- 

 ing in the appearance in the air of 

 inverted images of distant objects, 

 produced by the rays of light pro- 



