madrono 
yellow berry, scarcely edible. Its wood is very hard, and 
is much used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Its bark 
is valuable for tanning. Also madrona. 
Even the madro/la, upon these spurs of Mount Saint He- 
lena, comes to a fine bulk, and ranks with forest trees. 
R. L. Stevenson, Silverado Squatters, p. 86. 
madstone (mad'ston), n. A stone popularly re- 
puted to cure hydrophobia, or to prevent it when 
threatened. It is applied to the wound, from which 
it is supposed to draw the poison. The belief in its value 
has no scientific sanction. [U. S.] 
Among the various individuals in Pennsylvania who pro- 
less ability in exorcism and charms, we occasionally find 
one who is reputed to possess a mad-stone. These peb 
bles are of various sizes, and appear to have been selected 
on account of some peculiarity of color or form. A speci- 
men which had a high reputation in the State from which 
it had been brought was described by the present writer 
as consisting of a worn piece of white feldspar, and posses- 
sing none of the properties of absorption attributed to it. 
Proc. Am. Phil. Son., XXVI. (1889), 338. 
madu-nilt (mad'o-nut), n. The seed of Cycag 
Madura foot. A diseased condition of the feet 
and hands, occurring in India, characterized by 
enlargement and distortion of the affected part, 
ensuing suppuration, softening and fracture of 
the bones of the part, and the formation of 
sinuses discharging through frequent openings 
small yellow bodies like fish-roe or dark grains 
like coarse gunpowder, and often larger masses. 
The fungus Chionyphe Carteri is found in the diseased 
parts, and is thought to be the cause of the disease. Also 
caneAfungus-foot,fung_us disease of India, and mycetoma. 
mad/weed (mad'wed), . A species of Scutcl- 
laria, or skullcap (natural order Labiatai), the 
S. lateriflora: so named because it was thought 
to be efficacious in hydrophobia. Also called 
mad-dog skullcap. 
madwort(mad'wert),?). [< mad 1 + wort 1 . Cf. 
Alyssum.] 1. A plant of the genus Alyssum. 
2. [As if a contraction of maddenvort. having 
been used as a substitute for madder.] A 
plant of the borage family, Asperugo procum- 
bens, whose root was used like madder: com- 
monly called German madwort. 
mae (ma), . and adv. A Scotch form of mo. 
maeandert, n. See meander. 
Maeandrina (me-an-dri'na), n. [NL., < L. -mie- 
ander, a winding way (see meander), + -in a 1 .] 
The typical genus of Maiandrinidw, established 
by Lamarck in 1801. M. cerebriformis is an ex- 
ample. Also spelled Meandrina. 
maeandrine, . See meandrine. 
Maeandrinidse (ine-an-driu'i-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Mceandrina + -ida.] A family of madrepo- 
rarian corals of the suborder Astreacea, typified 
by the genus Ma;andrina ; the brain-corals or 
brainstqnes. These corals are of massive form, caused 
by the union of many individual corallites in rows which 
meander or wind about over the surface of the corallum 
in a manner suggesting the convolutions of the brain. 
Also spelled Meandrinidce. 
maeandriniform (me-an-drin'i-form), a. [< 
NL. Ha?andria + L. forma.] Resembling a 
brain-coral; of or pertaining to the Ma^andrini- 
formes. 
Maeandriniformes (me-a.n-driu-i-f6r'mez), . 
pi. [NL.: see masandriniform.'] The brain- 
corals. See Hcea-ndfinida. 
Masandripora (me-an-drip'o-ra),w. [NL., < Gr. 
/taiavtipof, a winding way (see meander), + Trdpof, 
a pore : see pore^.] Same as Fascic-ularia. 
Maeandrospongidae (me-an-dro-spon'ji-de), n. 
pi. [NL., < Gr. [tatavdpos, a meander, + O7r6y- 
yof, a sponge, + -id<x.] A large family of dic- 
tyonine hexactinellid silicious sponges, both 
fossil and recent, in which the body consists 
of winding tubes of uniform caliber with inter- 
stitial vestibular spaces and no uncinate or 
scopuliform spicules. Also spelled Meandro- 
spongida:. 
maelstrom (mal ' strom), . [An erroneous 
spelling (sometimes erroneously explained as 
'mill-stream'); prop. *malestromoT*malstrom; 
formerly malestrand (see quot.), simulating 
strand*; < NoTw.malstninm (little used) (=Dan. 
malstrom), a great whirlpool in the sea, < mala 
(= Dan. male), grind (see meal 1 ), + straum (= 
Dan. strom), stream: see stream.] 1. A cele- 
brated whirlpool or violent current in the Arctic 
ocean, near the western coast of Norway, be- 
tween the islands Moskenaso and Mosken, for- 
merly supposed to suck in and destroy every- 
thing that approached it at any time, but now 
known not to be dangerous except under cer- 
tain conditions. 
He [Osep Napea] reports of a Whirlpool between the 
Itost Islands and Lofoot call'd Malestrantl, which from 
half ebb to half flood is heard to make such a terrible 
noise as shakes the Door-rings of Houses in those Islands 
ten mile off. MUton, Hist. Muscovia 
3570 
Hence 2. Any resistless movement ; any in- 
fluence or passion which makes victims of all 
who come within its power : as, the maelxtrimi 
of fashion or of speculation ; the maelstrom of 
dissipation or of crime. 
Maena (me'nii), . [NL. (Cuvier, 1829), < L. 
nmna,<. Gr. [td'ivti,a small sea-fish, eaten salted.] 
The typical genus of Namidw, chiefly repre- 
sented in the Mediterranean. M. vulgaris is 
an example. Formerly also Mcenas. 
maenad, menad (me ' nad), . [< L. mamas 
(mrenad-), < Gr. itaivas (iiaivaS-), raving, frantic ; 
as a noun, a mad woman, maenad ; < /taivcadai, 
rage, be furious: see mania.] 1. In Gr. myth., 
a female member of the attendant train of 
Bacchus; hence, a priestess of Bacchus; one 
of the women who celebrated the festivals of 
Bacchus with mad songs and dancing and bois- 
magarita 
order Myrsiiiea; characterized by a superior or 
half-superior calyx, a gamopetalous corolla, 
no staminodia, and a many-seeded fruit. The 
tribe includes but one genus, M&w, with about 40 species, 
natives of the tropical and subtropical regions of the Old 
World. 
maestoso (mii-es-to'so), adv. [It., majestic, < 
iiuieatd, majesty: see majesty.] In music, with 
dignity or majesty ; majestically. 
maestral, . A variant of mistral. 
Maestricnt beds. See bed*. 
Maenad. From a Cireek polychrome cup preserved at Munich. 
terous courses in gay companies amid the crags 
of Parnassus and Cithteron, particularly on the 
occasion of the great triennial Bacchic festival. 
The maenads supplied a favorite subject to classic art, and 
are characterized by wearing the nebris, and by the thyrsus 
and other Dionysiac attributes. Compare Bacchante. 
Such illusion as of old 
Through Athens glided mnarf-like. 
Lowett, The Cathedral. 
Hence 2. Any woman under the influence of 
unnatural excitement or frenzy, 
maenadic, menadic (me-nad'ik), a. [< maniad, 
menad, + -ic.] Pertaining to or like the mte- 
nads; furious; raving; bacchantic. 
The rites, by some supposed to be of the menadic sort, 
... are held strictly secret. 
Carlyle, Sartor Resartus (ed. 1831), p. 191. 
msenianum (me-ni-a'num), .; pi. mtrniana 
(-na). [L., a projecting balcony, orig. one in 
the Forum at Rome, erected under the censor 
C. Mrenius, for the convenience of spectators of 
the gladiatorial combats; neut. of Mcenianus, 
of Meenius, < Mwnius, the name of a Roman 
gens.] In Bom. antiq., a balcony or gallery for 
spectators at a public show. The name, originally 
applied to a balcony in the Forum, was extended to bal- 
conies in general, as to the galleries at the circular end of 
a circus, and to the ranges of seats above the podium in an 
amphitheater. 
Maenidae (me'ni-de), . pi. [NL., < Mcena + 
-idee.'} Afamily of acanthopterygian fishes, typi- 
fied by the genus Mtena. They are subfusifornTper- 
coids with very protractile upper jaw, chiefly inhabiting 
warm seas. Several are found in the Mediterranean. Also 
Mcenini, Mcenoidete. 
maenoid (me'noid), . A fish of the family Mce- 
nidte. Sir J. Richardson. 
Maenoidese (me-noi'de-e), n. pi. [NL., < Mama 
+ -oideai.] Same as Mcenida;. Sir J. Richard- 
son, 1836. 
Maenura, n. An erroneous form of Men-lira. 
Maesa (me'sii), n. [NL. (P. Forskal, 1775), < 
maas, given as the Ar. name of one of the spe- 
cies.] A genus of dicotyledonous gamopetalous 
plants, belonging to the natural order Myrsinea; 
type of the tribe Ma-sea;, characterized by the 
two-bracted calyx, the imbricate corolla, and 
flowers growing in racemes. They are shmbs, with 
entiredentateorserrate leaves, often pellucid-dotted small 
white five-parted flowers, and a small dry or fleshy fruit 
with many seeds and a persistent style. About40 species 
are known, natives of tropical and subtropical Asia and 
Africa, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific. The ge- 
nus furnishes some ornamental hothouse-plants. 
Maeseae (me'se-e), n. pi. [NL. (Alphouse de 
Candolle, 1837), < Mesa + -co;.] A tribe of 
dicotyledonous gamopetalous plants of the 
maestro (mii-es'tro), n. [It., = E. WHWterl.q.v.] 
A master ; specifically, an eminent musical com- 
poser, teacher, or conductor. 
mafflet (maf '!), v. i. [< ME. mafflen, < MD. maf- 
felen, moffelen, D. moffelen, move the jaws, 
stammer, = LG. maffeln, prattle, = G. dial, miij- 
feln, muffeln, chew with the mouth full : prob. 
imitative; cf. E. faffle, stammer.] To stam- 
mer. 
And some matflid with the mouth and nyst what they 
mente. Richard the Redden, iv. tti. 
maffled(maf'ld),j>. a. See the quotation. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
She was what they call in the country mailed that is, 
confused in her intellect. 
Southey, Letters, III. 186. (Davies.) 
mafflert (maf'ler), . A stammerer. Holland, 
Plutarch, p. 535. 
maffling (maf'ling), >?. [Cf. maffle.] A simple- 
ton. Halliwell. [North. Eng.] 
maforst, [ML., < MGr. /M<j>6piov: see def.] 
Originally, a woman's mantle or cloak, cover- 
ing the head, neck, and shoulders; later, the 
maphorion or scapular worn by monks in the 
Eastern Church. 
mafurra-tree (ma-fur'a-tre), . [< mafurra, 
mafura, a native name, + E. tree.] A tree, 
TricMlia emetica, of the MeUacece, found in Mo- 
zambique, Madagascar, and the Isle of Reunion . 
Its fruit is a capsule of two or three cells, containing seeds 
of the size of a cacao-bean, which yield when boiled the 
mafurra-tallow. 
mag 1 (mag), n. [Also magg; ult. abbr. of mar- 
garet, like the fern, name Mag, dim. Maggie, 
abbr.of Margaret: see magpie, margaret. Hence 
also madgel.] 1. The madge or magpie. 2. 
The long-tailed titmouse, Acredula rosea, more 
fully called long-tailed mag. [Local, Eng. ] 
mag 2 (mag), p.; pret. and pp. magged, ppr. mag- 
ging. [In allusion to the chatter of the mag- 
pie; < mug 1 , the magpie: see mag 1 .] I. in- 
trans. To chatter; scold. [Prov. Eng.] 
II. trans. To tease or vex. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
mag 2 (mag), n. [< mag 2 , .] Talk; chatter. 
If you have any mag in you, well draw it out. 
Mrs. Thrale, quoted in Mme. D'Arblay's Diary (ed. 1876X 
[1.68. 
mag 3 (mag), n. [Also make, niaik; origin ob- 
scure.] A halfpenny; in Scotland (with plu- 
ral), a gratuity expected by servants. [Eng. 
and Scotch.] 
It can't be worth a mag to him. 
Diclrens, Bleak House, liv. 
mag 4 (mag), n. An. abbreviated form of maga- 
zine, 2. [Colloq.] 
He. . . Is on the staff of I don't know howmany papers 
and mags. Mrs. Alexander, The Freres, p. 45. 
mag 5 (mag), v. t.; pret. and pp. magged, ppr. 
magging. [Also magg; conjectured to be of 
Gipsy origin; cf. Hind, makr, fraud, makkar, a 
cheat, knave (?).] To steal ; carry off clandes- 
tinely. [Low slang.] 
magadis (mag'a-dis), n. [< Gr. fiayaSif (ML. 
magade), a musical instrument, a kind of cith- 
ara, also a Lydian flute (see defs.), prob. of 
Egypt, origin. Cf. magas.] 1. A Greek musi- 
cal instrument resembling the cithara, having 
about twenty strings tuned in octaves two by 
two. 2. A Lydian flute or flageolet. 3. A 
monochord. 
magadize (mag'a-diz), v. i.; pret. and pp. maga- 
dized, ppr. mitf/adizing. [< Gr. [tayaSiCeiv, to play 
on the magadis, play in the octave, < /i&yaitf, 
magadis: see magadis.] In anc. Gr. music: (a) 
To play upon the magadis. (6) To sing in oc- 
taves, as when men and women sing the same 
melody. 
magart, . [Origin obscure.] A large ship. 
Dg/eiet. 
Filling our seas with stately argosies, 
Calvars and tnagars, hulks of burden great. 
Greene, Orlando Furioso, i. 1. 
magarita, magarites (mag-a-ri'ta, -tez), n. 
[ML., < MGr. ftayapinK, renegade, < /layapi^tv, 
befoul, pollute, defile, contaminate.] In the 
middle ages, an apostate from Christianity, 
especially to Mohammedanism. 
