Magosphsera 
of protozoans of Haeckel's group CataUarta, 
characterised by a ciliate globular body consist- 
ing of a single layer of simple pyriform nucleat- 
ed cells bound together by gelatinous processes 
converging to a common center, the animal hav- 
ing the form-value of a vesicular morula or pla- 
nula . M. jilanula is the Norwegian dimmer-ball. 
magotH, A Middle English form of maggot. 
magot 2 (mag'ot or ma-go' ), . [< F. magot, the 
Barbary ape.] 1 . The Barbary ape, Inuus ecatt- 
ilntiis, which has a small tubercle in place of a 
tail. It is natural- 
ized on the rock of 
Gibraltar, and is re- 
markable for docil- 
ity and attachment 
to its young. See 
cut under ape. 
2. A small gro- 
tesque figure ; 
especially, one 
of the crouching 
or cross-legged 
figures common 
in Chinese or 
other Oriental 
art as knobs on 
the covers of large vases, and in similar uses. 
magot-piet, maggot-piet (mag'ot-pi), n. [Also 
maggoty-pie, maygaty-pie, magaty-pie, magot-a- 
pie, magot o' pie, etc.; < "magot, *taggot, < F. 
margot, a magpie, a dim. of Marguerite, Mar- 
garet, a common fern, name (< L. margarita, 
< Gr. papyapirTif, a pearl : see margarite), + pie 2 . 
Cf. equiv. mag 1 , madge 1 , magpie.] A magpie. 
Augurs and understood relations have, 
By magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth 
The secret'st man of blood. Shak., Macbeth, iii. 4. 125. 
He calls her magot o' pie. 
Middleton, More Dissemblers besides Women. 
magpie (mag'pi), n. [< mag 1 + pie' 2 , or abbr. 
of magot-pie. Cf. mag 1 , madge 1 , etc.] 1. A 
well-known bird of Europe, Asia, and Amer- 
ica, of the genus Pica and family Corvidce; the 
Pica pica. P. rustica, P. caudata,OT P. hudsonica. 
This pie is lustrous-black, with green, purple, violet, and 
golden iridescence ; the under parts from breast to cris- 
sum, the scapulars, and a great part of the inner webs 
of the primaries are white ; the bill and feet are black. 
The bird is from 15 to 20 inches long, according to the de- 
velopment of the tail, which is 12 inches or less in length, 
extremely graduated ; the stretch of wings is about 2 feet. 
Magpies are omnivorous, like most corvine and garrulinc 
birds, and noted for their craftiness, kleptomania, and 
mimicry. They nest in trees and shrubs, building a very 
Magpie (Pica caitciata'l. 
bulky structure, and lay from 6 to 9 pale-drab eggs, dotted, 
dashed, and blotched with brown. As a book-name, mag- 
pie is extended to all the species of Pica and some few 
related pies or jays with long tails. The yellow-billed 
magpie of California is P. nuttalli. Blue magpies are cer- 
tain long-tailed jays of the genus Cyanopoliwi, as C. cyanus 
of eastern Asia and Japan, or C. cooH of Spain ; also of the 
genus Urocissa, as U. erythrorhyncha, the red-billed blue 
magpie of the Orient. The bird called French, magpie is 
the red-backed shrike, Lanius edlv.no. The name mag- 
pie, or magpie-pigeon, is given to a strain of domestic 
pigeons bred to colors resembling those of the magpie. 
Magpie is often used adjectively with reference to some 
characteristic of the bird. 
2. The magpie-shrike. 
Below us in the Valley a mob of Jackasses were shout- 
ing and laughing uproariously, and a magpie was chanting 
his noble vesper hymn from a lofty tree. 
II, Kinffsley, Geoffry Hamlyn, p. 167. 
3. A halfpenny. [Slang, Eiig.] 
I'm at low-water-mark myself only one bob and a 
mai/pie; but as far as it goes I'll fork out and stump. 
Dickens, Oliver Twist, viii. 
3578 
4. A bishop: so called from the black and 
white of his robes. [Old slang. Eng.] 
Let not those silk-worms and magpie* have dominion 
over us. Tom Brown, Works, 1. 107. (Dames.) 
5. Among British marksmen, a shot striking 
that division of the target which is next to the 
outermost when the target is divided into four 
sections: so called because the markers indi- 
cate this hit by means of a black and white disk. 
magpie-diver (mag'pi-di y ver), . The smew 
or white nun, Mergellus albellus. [Prov. Eng. 
and Irish.] 
magpie-finch (mag'pi-finch), n . Any one of the 
smaller spotted or otherwise varied birds of the 
genus Spermestes. 
magpie-maki (mag'pi-ma''ki), . The ruffed 
lemur, Lemur macaco, having black and white 
spots. 
magpie-moth (mag'pl-m6th), . Amoth of the 
genus Abraxas, A. grossulariata. Its color is white 
with black and orange spots, and the same colors appear 
on it in its larval and pupal states. The larva feeds on 
currant- and gooseberry-leaves,and where abundant is very 
destructive. See Abraxas, 3. Also called gooseberry -moth. 
magpie-robin (mag'pi-rob"in), . Adayal; any 
bird of the genus Copsichus, as C. saularis of 
India. See cut under Copsichus. 
magpie-shrike (mag'pi-shrik), n. 1. A South 
American tanagrine bird, Laniiis picatus of La- 
tham, now known as Cissopis leverianus, about 
10 inches long, glossy black and white in color, 
with a long graduated tail, thus resembling a 
magpie. It inhabits Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecua- 
dor, Peru, and Bolivia, and in some parts of Brazil is re- 
placed by an allied larger species or variety, C. major, Hi 
inches long. 
2. The pied piping-shrike of Australia, some- 
what resembling the English magpie, having a 
rich bell-like warble. This bird is apparently 
Orececa cristata. Commonly called magpie by 
the English residents. 
magret, magreet, prep. Middle English forms 
of maugre. 
magsman (magz'man), n.; pi. magsmen (-men). 
[< mag 5 (as if poss. mag's) + man.] A street 
swindler who preys on countrymen and simple 
persons. [Slang, Eng.] 
maguari (ma-gwa'ri), n. [S. Amer.] A South 
American stork, Euxenura maguari. it resembles 
the European stork in size and plumage, but has a black 
bill and a peculiar formation of the tail, which is forked 
and black, with long white under-coverts. It is found on 
plains as well as in swamps, feeds on small mammals, 
reptiles, insects, and birds' eggs, and is sometimes tamed. 
maguey (ma-gwa'), n. [Mex. maguei.] The 
American aloe, Agave americana. Gum maguey. 
See gmnZ. 
MagUS (ma'gus), .; pi. Magi (ma'ji). [L., < 
Gr. Mdyoj: see mage.'] 1. One of the members 
of the learned and priestly caste in ancient 
Persia, who had official charge of the sacred 
rites, practised interpretation of dreams, pro- 
fessed supernatural arts, and were distin- 
guished by peculiarities of dress and insignia. 
Their origin may be traced to the Accadians, a Turanian 
race, the earliest settlers of the lower Euphrates valley. 
The first historical reference to the Magi occurs in Jer. 
xxxix. 3, 13, where a Babylonian rab-mag, or chief of the 
Magi, is mentioned in connection with the siege, capture, 
and rule of Jerusalem. 
2. In Christian history, one of the "wise men " 
who, according to the Gospel of Matthew (ii. 
1, 2), came from the East to Jerusalem to do 
homage to the new-born King of the Jews. A 
tradition as old as the second century (resting on Ps. Ixxii. 
10; Isa. xlix. 7) makes them kings, and at a later period 
the names Melchior, Kaspar, and Balthasar become at- 
tached to them. As the first of the pagans to whom the 
birth of the Messiah was announced, they are honored at 
the feastof Epiphany; in the calendar, however, the three 
days immediately following the first of the new year are 
called after them. In works of art the youngest of them 
is represented as a Moor. 
Magyar (ma-jar'), n. [Hung., > Turk. majai:~\ 
1. A member of a race, of the Finno-Ugrian 
stock, which invaded Hungary about the end 
of the ninth century, and, settled there, where 
it still forms the predominant element of the 
population. 2. The native tongue of Hun- 
gary. It belongs to the TJgrian branch of the 
Ural-Altaic or Scythian tongues. 
magydaret (maj'i-dar), . [< L. magydttrix. 
miii/iiiliirix, magitderis, < Gr. /layvdap/c, the seed 
or stalk of the laserpitium, also another plant.] 
Laserwort, a plant of the genus Laserpitium. 
Mahabharata (ma-ha-bha'ra-ta), n. [Skt., < 
mahd-, great, T Bharata, a descendant of a 
king or a tribe named Eharata, < / lhar = Gr. 
(j>speiv = E. bear 1 .} The name of one of the two 
great epic poems of ancient India, the other 
being the Ramayana. It contains a history of the 
contest for supremacy between the two great regal fami- 
lies of northern India, the Pandavas and the Kurus or 
mahlstick 
Kauravas, ending in the victory of the former and the 
establishment of their rule. In reality, this narrative oc- 
ciljiies but a fourth of the poem, the other three fourths 
being episodical and added at various times. The Maha- 
liharata thus became a sort of encyclopedia, embracing 
everything that it concerned a cultivated Hindu to 
know. 
Mahadeva (ma-ha-da'va), n. [Skt. miiliddeva, 
< iiiahd-, great,"+ dcra, god: see deity.'] A name 
of Siva, the third deity of the great Hindu triad. 
mahalath (ma'ha-lath), n. A Hebrew word 
of disputed meaning, occurring in the titles of 
Psalms liii. and Ixxxviii. (in the last of which 
the qualification leaiinoth is added) : accord- 
ing to Gesenius, a lyre or cithara; according 
to others, autiphonal singing or a direction to 
sing in an antiphonal inanner. 
mahaleb (mii'ha-leb), n. [Ar. malileb.] A spe- 
cies of cherry (Prunits Mahaleb) whose fruit af- 
fords a violet dye and a fermented liquor re- 
sembling kirschwasser. It is found in the middle 
and south of Europe. Its flowers and leaves are used by 
perfumers, and its wood by cabinet-makers. Tubes for 
tobacco-pipes, called cherry -sticks or -items, are made of 
its young stems, sometimes several feet long and perfect- 
ly straight. See cherryl, 1. 
mahaly, [Amer. Ind.] A female salmon. 
[California.] 
Maharaja, Maharajah (ma-ha-ra'ja), n. [Skt. 
maharaja, < mahd-, great, + raja, a prince or 
king: see rajah.'] The title borne by some 
Indian princes whose sovereignty is extensive. 
Mahdi (ma'de), . [Also sometimes Mehdee (< 
Turk, mehdi); < Ar. mahdi, a guide, leader, 
esp. a spiritual director, lit. ' the guided or di- 
rected one,' < ma-, a formative prefix, + ehdi, 
guide (> hedi, a guide in religion, spiritual di- 
rector, hidaya, guidance).] According to Mo- 
hammedan belief, a spiritual and temporal 
ruler destined to appear on earth during the 
last days. Some sects hold that the Mahdi has ap- 
peared, and in concealment awaits the time of his mani- 
festation. There have been a number of pretended Mah- 
dis, of whom the latest of importance was the chief whose 
armed followers resisted the advance of the British troops 
into the Sudan in 1884-85, and overthrew the Egyptian 
power in that region, which they continued to hold. The 
belief apparently grew out of the Jewish belief in the 
coming of the Messiah. 
It is from the descendants of 'Alee that the more de- 
vout Moslems expect the Mehdee, who is to reappear on 
earth in company with the Prophet Ellas, on the second 
coming of Christ. J. P. Brmni, The Dervishes, p. 74. 
Mahdi, or 'the well-guided,' is the name given by the 
Shfites to that member of the family of 'All who, accord- 
ing to their belief, is one day to gain possession of the 
whole world, and set up the reign of righteousness in it. 
Encyc. Brit., XVI. 570. 
Mahdian (ma'di-an), n. [< Mahdi + -an.] One 
who holds that tne Mahdi whose coming was 
foretold by Mohammed has already appeared ; 
specifically, one who holds that the Mahdi has 
already appeared in the person of Mohammed 
Abu el-Qasim, the twelfth Imam, who is sup- 
posed to be concealed in some secret place 
awaiting the hour of his manifestation. The 
Shiahs in general hold this view. Also Mahdist. 
Mahdiism (ma'di-izm), 11. [< Mahdi + -ixm.] 
The doctrine of, or belief in, the coming of the 
Mahdi. 
I pass on to consider the influence which an intensely 
bigoted religious enthusiasm has exercised and still exer- 
cises over the Soudan negro. The strength of Mahdiism 
lies in this feeling. Fortnightly Ken. XLIII. 701. 
Mahdism (ma'dizm), 11. [< Mahdi + -ixm.] 
Same as Mahdiism. 
In '83, when his book begins, Mahdism had become a 
fact. The Academy, Oct. 20, 1888, p. 249. 
Mahdist (ma'dist), . [< Mahdi + -ist.~] 1. 
Same as Mahdian. 2. A follower of the pre- 
tended Mahdi of the Sudan in Africa. See 
Mahd!. 
Another body of Mahdists coming round on our right re- 
inforced them. Daily Telegraph (London), March 21, 1885. 
Mahernia (ma-her'ni-a) n. [NL. (Linnaeus, 
1767), an anagram of Hcni/finiii//, a closely al- 
lied genus.] A genus of dicotyledonous poly- 
petalous plants of the natural order Sterciilincni' 
and the tribe Htrnmntiieie, characterized by the 
indefinite number of ovules and the reniform 
seeds with a curved embryo, and differing from 
Hermannia in having the filaments dilated at 
the middle. It includes 33 species of undershrubs or 
perennial herbs of southern Africa, many of which are 
cultivated in conservatories. 
maheymt, . An obsolete form of mayhem. 
Chaucer. 
mahlstick (mal'stik), n. [Also maulstick, ma/- 
stick; < G. maMstock, nialstwk, < malen, paint, + 
stock, stick, staff.] A staff, from three to four 
feet long, iised by painters as a rest for the right 
hand, and held in the left. It tapers toward the up- 
per end, which is surmounted by a onll of cotton-wool 
