magnify 
The least error in a small quantity, as In a small circle, 
will, in a gn-ut mir, ;i.s in the circles of the heavenly orbs, 
In: proiMjrtionally wayidjitd. 
N. Grru', ( 'oHmulogia Sacra, ii. 5. 
Speak, e'er my Fancy maynifie my Fears. 
Coiujreve, To Cynthia. 
2. To cause to appear greater ; increase the ap- 
parent dimensions of; enlarge or augment to 
the eye: as, a convex lens magnifies the bulk of 
a body to the eye. 
Since the shorter the focus of the lens the more closely 
may the object be approximated tu the eye, the retinal pic- 
tore is enlarged, causing the object to appear magnified in 
the same proportion. Encyc. Brit., XIV. -2.VJ. 
3. To exalt the power, glory, or greatness of; 
sound the praises of; extol; glorify. 
O, iini : iiiifii the Lord with mo, and let us exalt his name 
together. Pa. xxxlv. 3. 
Those highly magnify him whose judicious inquiry into 
his acts, and deliberate research into his creatures, return 
the duty of a devout and learned admiration. 
Sir T. Browne, Kellgio Medici, L 13. 
4. To represent as greater than the reality; ex- 
aggerate: as, to magnify a person's deeds; to 
HI ni/ H ifn the evils of one's lot. 
My wife . . . used every art to magnify the merit of her 
daughter. Goldsmith, Vicar, xvi. 
Magnifying power of a microscope, the ratio of the 
length upon the retina of any part of the image of the 
object looked at with the microscope to the length of 
the retinal image of the same object looked at without 
the microscope at a standard distance of 10 inches. In 
regard to the magnifying power of eye-glasses compli- 
cated considerations have to be introduced. Magnify- 
ing power Of a telescope, the ratio in which the angle 
subtended by any linear dimensions of the object looked 
at is increased by the telescope. It is always equal to the 
3577 
piece. For a distant object the focal length of the object- 
glass is that for parallel rays that is, Its principal focal 
length ; for nearer objects the focal length is greater, and 
the magnifying power Is correspondingly increased. 
magnifying-glass (mag'ni-fi-iug-glas), n, In 
optics, a convex lens: so called because objects 
seen through it have their apparent dimensions 
increased. 
magnifying-lens (mag'ni-fi-ing-lenz), n. See 
ll MX. 
magniloquence (mag-nil'o-kwens), n. [< L. 
magniloquentia, a lofty style of strain of lan- 
guage, \*magniloquett(t-)s, magniloquus, speak- 
ing in a lofty style: see magniloquent.] The 
quality of being magniloquent ; a lofty manner 
of speaking or writing ; exaggerated eloquence ; 
grandiloquence; bombast. 
All the sects ridiculed this magniloquence of Epicurus, 
as Inconsistent with his whole system. 
Bentley, Remarks, ( 44. 
There was something surprising and impressive in my 
friend's gushing maynilomtence. 
H. Jama, Jr., Pass. Pilgrim, p. 107. 
magniloquent (mag-nil 'o-kwent), a. [< L. 
*magniloquen(t-)s, equiv. to magniloquus, speak- 
ing in a lofty style, < magnus, great, lofty, + 
loquen(t-)s, ppr. of loqui, speak: see locution.] 
Speaking or writing in a lofty style ; grandilo- 
quent : bombastic. 
magnilqquently(mag-niro-kwent-li), adv. In 
a magniloquent manner; with loftiness or pom- 
posity of language. 
magniloquousr (mag-nil 'o-kwus), a. [< L. 
mat/iiilm/iiHK, speaking in a lofty style, < mag- 
nus, great, lofty, + loqui, speak: see locution.] 
Magniloquent. 
magniloquy (mag-iiil'd-lcwi), n. [< LL. mag- 
niloquium, loftiness of speech, < L. mtujnilo- 
quus, speaking in a lofty style : see magnilo- 
quous.] Magniloquence; high-sounding pedan- 
try. [Rare.] 
Of many anatomical terms the chief characteristics are 
antiquity, inagniloqut/, and mi intelligibility. 
Buck's Uandbooic nf Med. Sciences, VIII. 620. 
magnisonant (mag-nis'o-nant), a. [< L. mag- 
HHH, great, + sonan(t-)s, ppr. of smiare, sound.] 
High-sounding; bombastic. Southey, The Doc- 
tor. [Kare.] 
magnitude (mag'm-tud), . [= F. magnitude 
= Bp. magiiititd = Pg. magnitude = It. magni- 
tntlinc, < L. magnitude, greatness, bulk, size, 
rank, dignity, < magnus, great, large, grand, 
noble, important, etc.'; compar. major (see ma- 
jor), superl. )jvix(see maximum)} with for- 
mative -M, < *mag, akin to Gr. /rfjaf (ueyoA-), 
great, large, = AS. mieel, great, much, Skt. 
ViM, orij;. "inagli, bo great: see mickle, nntrli. 
Ct.main'*.] 1. Greatness; vastness, whether in 
a physical or a moral sense ; grandeur. 
With plain heroick magnitude of mind. 
Mill, .it, S. A., 1. 1279. 
We commonly find in the ambitious man a superiority 
of parts, In some measure proportioned to the magnitude 
of his designs. BmAey, Works, I. if. 
2. Largeness of relation or significance ; im- 
portance ; consequence: as, in affairs of iiuiij- 
iiitude disdain not to take counsel. 3. Sixc. 'li- 
the property of having size ; the extended quan- 
tity of a line, surface, or solid ; length, area, or 
volume. 
And fast by, hanging In a golden chain, 
This pendent world. In bigness as a star 
Of smallest magnitude. Milton, P. L., II. 1053. 
One may learn how the feeling of mayititude varies with 
changes in the absolute magnitude of the object, and so 
reach a more precise and scientific statement of this par- 
ticular aspect of the coexistence between body and miml. 
.'. Sully, Sensation and Intuition, p. 44. 
4. Any kind of continuous quantity which is 
comparable with extended quantity. In this sense 
we speak of the magnitude of a velocity, force, accelera- 
tion, or other vector quantity ; but we do not properly 
speak of a magnitude of heat, energy, temperature, sound, 
etc. The tiso of the word as a synonym of quantity, as In the 
following passage, Is to be deprecated. 
By Intensive magnitude Is meant the strength of a sen- 
sation ; by extensive nutymftufe, its volume, which roughly 
speaking corresponds to the area of the sentient surface 
and the number of nervous elements acted upon. 
J. Sully, Sensation and Intuition, p. 44. 
5. In agtron., the brightness of a star expressed 
according to the numerical system used by as- 
tronomers for that purpose. In this sense magnitude 
translates Greek u* V ( ,< , used in the same sense in the Alma- 
gest, the expression being due to the fact that bright stars, 
by an effect of irradiation, look larger than faint ones. The 
brightest stars are said to be of the first magnitude, while 
those of the sixth magnitude are hardly tint iced by casual 
observers In ordinary states of the sky. Since the bright- 
ness of stars has been measured photometrically, the in- 
terval between successive magnitudes has been defined by 
a constant ratio of brightness, which In the so-called ab- 
solute scale, now generally usedj Is flOO, or 2.61. 
6. In anc. pros., the length of a syllable, foot, 
colon, or meter, expressed in terms of the metri- 
cal unit (primary time, semeion, or mora) : as, 
a foot of trisemic magnitude; a colon of icosa- 
semic magnitude Absolute magnitude. See ofcpo- 
lute. Angular magnitude, the quantity of an angle. 
Apparent magnitude of an object, that magnitude 
which is measured by the optic or visual angle intercept- 
ed between lines drawn from the extreme points of the 
object to the center of the pupil of the eye. This angle 
may be considered to be inversely as the distance of the 
object. [This phrase is used chiefly with reference to the 
heavenly bodies, but is employed also In many branches of 
Magosphaera 
green in the south. It Is variously named matt or laurrl 
maijmilia, tweet-bay or white-bay, u-kite laurel or ncamp- 
laurel; alto beater-tree and ncamp taxnajra*. The genus 
appears very early and very abundantly in the fossil state, 
over 50 species having been described. They range from 
the Middle CYetaceous to the Pliocene, being more numer- 
ous in the Cretaceous than in the Tertiary In both Europe 
and America, and also occurring in Greenland, In Austra- 
lia, In Japan, and In Java. 
2. [I. r.J A plant of this genus. 
Magnoliaceae (mag-no-li-a'se-e), n. pi. [NL. 
(A. P. de Candolle, 1818), < Magnolia + -ace<e.] 
A natural order of dicotyledonous polypotalous 
trees or shrubs, belonging to the cohort Ranales, 
based on the genus Magnolia. It Is characterized 
by having the sepals and petals In from two to an Inden- 
nlte number of rows or series, petals and stamens usually 
very numerous, the receptacle bearing extrone carpels, 
ana the seeds with a minute embryo and no albumen. 
The order embraces 4 tribes, 13 genera, and about 85 spe- 
cies, growing In tropical Asia and North America (a few 
in tropical and South America), In Australia, and in New 
Zealand. 
magnoliaceous (mag-no-li-a'shius), a. [< mag- 
nolia + -aceous.] Of or pertaining to plants of 
the natural order Magnoliacea!; resem tiling the 
magnolia. 
Magnolieae (mag-no-li'e-e), n. jil. [NL. (A. P. 
de Candolle, 1824), < Magnolia + -ece.] A tribe 
of trees and shrubs of the natural order Mag- 
noliacea!, characterized by perfect flowers, im- 
bricate carpels growing in heads or spikes and 
arranged in an indefinite number of series, and 
stipules which are folded about the leaves in 
vernation. 
magnoperatet (mag-nop'e-rat), v. t. [< L. mag- 
nopere, magno opere, greatly: magno, abl. of 
magnus, great; opere, abl. of opus, work, labor: 
see opus, operate.] To cause or effect a great 
increase of. 
Which will not a little magnaperate the splendour of your 
well knowne honour to these succeeding times. 
Ilopton, Bacnlum Geodatticum (1614). (Halliwell.) 
magnosellarian (mag'no-se-la'ri-an), a. [As 
Magiu)sellar(ida:) + -ian.] Having large sad- 
dles, as a goniatite ; of or pertaining to the Mag- 
nosellarida 1 . Hyatt. 
Magnosellaridae(mag'no-se-lar'i-de), n. pi. 
[NL., < L. magnus, great, + sella, a seat, saddle 
See size. 
magnoferrite (mag-no-fer'it), n. See magnesio- 
ferrite. 
Magnolia (mag-no'li-a), n. [NL. (Plumier, 
1703), named after Pierre Magnol, a French bot- 
anist (1638-1715).] 1. A genus of plants, type 
of the natural order Magnoliacea; and the tribe 
Magnoliete, characterized by a sessile cone- 
shaped cluster of pistils, and two-ovuled per- 
sistent carpels which open down the back at 
maturity. They are trees or shrubs with entire alternate 
leaves, often evergreen, condnplicate in the bud, and then 
protected by membranous stipules, and large showy flowers 
which aresolitary and terminal. Thecalyxconsistsof three 
deciduous sepals, and the corolla of six to twelve petals, 
usually white or purplish ; and the stamens and pistils are 
numerous. The flowers are generally fragrant, and the fruit 
is a spike.consistingof a number of follicles, from the open- 
ings of which the scarlet or brown seeds are suspended at 
maturity by long and Blender threads. There are about 15 
Flowering Branch of Magnolia frandijtirra. 
a, one of the stamens ; *. vertical section through one of the pistils, 
showing two ovules ; c , cone of ripe fruits. 
species, indigenous to subtropical Asia and the eastern 
part of North America. They are almost all very orna- 
mental, and are frequently cultivated. If. cmuvKua is 
the yulaii. M. yrandiflr/ra is the big laurel or bull-bay 
of the southern United states, a fine forest-tree, 60 or 
80 feet high, evergreen, with fragrant flowers. II. macro- 
pht/lla is the great-leafed cucumber, a less common trt-c 
of the same region. M. I'mbreUa is the umbrella-tree. 
M. acumitMta, the cucumber-tree or mountain-magnolia, 
extends north to Xew York and Ohio. Another cucninlKr- 
tree is If. cordata, growing in the Southern States. .If. glau- 
ea, a moderate-sized tree, or northward a shrub, grows in 
swamps from Massachusetts to Florida and Texas. It has 
globular fragrant flowers, 2 inches long, the leaves ever- 
tures with undivided ventral lobes, and a very 
large pair of entire lateral saddles, whence the 
name. Hyatt, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 1883, 
p. 318. Preferably called Magnisellidce. 
magnum (mag'num), n. [< L. magnum, neut. 
of 'magnus, great: see magnitude.] 1. A large 
wine-bottle, usually twice the size of the ordi- 
nary bottle used for the same kind of wine. 
2. The quantity of wine contained in such a 
bottle : as, a magnum of port. 
The approbation of much more rational persons than the 
B. club could have mustered even before the discussion of 
the first magnum. Scott, Waverley, x. 
3. PI. magna (-nil). In anat., the largest bone 
of the human carpus, in the distal row, between 
the trapezoid and the uncifonn, in special rela- 
tion with the head of the middle metacarpal 
bone : more fully called os magnum, it Is the third 
ear pale of a typical carpus, and is also known as cajiitatum , 
or os capitatum, from its shape in man. 
magnum-bonum (mag'num-bo'num), n. [L., 
a great good: magnum, neut. of magnus, great; 
6oM, a good thing, neut. of bonus, good: see 
bonus.] A kind of large-sized barrel-pen: a 
trade-name. 
magnust (mag'nus), n. [A corruption of man- 
ganese.] Manganese as used in the decoration 
of enameled pottery. Solon, The Old English 
Potter. [Local Enp.] 
Magnus hitch. See Mtch. 
Magnus's law. In thermo-electricity, the law 
that in circuits of the same metal throughout 
no electromotive 
force is produced 
by variation in 
temperature or of 
section of the 
conductor at dif- 
ferent parts of the 
circuit. In order 
that this law should 
hold, it is necessary 
that the conductor 
should be of uniform 
quality, hardness. 
etc., at all points of 
its length. 
Magosphaera 
(ma-go-sfe'ra),n. 
[NL.,'< Gr./iayof, 
magical, + aijaipa, 
Knll T A ! thread-like process. Each cell ""^Trf 
a ball.] A genUS both a nucleus and a contractile vesicle. 
The Norwegian Flimmer-bal) (. 
sfihara flan la} in section. The pear- 
shaped cells are seen hound together in 
the center of the gelatinous sphere by 
