maiden-nut 
maiden-nut (ma'dn-nut), . In mrrlt., the in- 
ner of two nuts on the same screw. The outer 
nut is called the Jmii-iiiil. K. II, h'nii/hl. 
maiden-pink(imVdn-pingk), . Akimlof ]>ink, 
nianllmn 1/1 llniilen. Sometimes called meatlotr- 
//.. 
maiden-plum (ma'dn-plum), n. A West In- 
tliiin plant, ('niniii'/inliii iii/ri/rifoliii or I'. </<- 
tata, of the natural order Anacardiaceee. It 
yields u viscid juice, which on exposure to air 
becomes an indelible black dye. 
maiden's-blush (ma'dnz-blush), n. 1. A deli- 
cate pink variety of rose. 
Maydeia-blwth commixt with jessimine. 
Uerrick, The Invitation. 
2. A small goometrid moth, Ejihyra punetaria. 
maidenshipt (ma'dn-ship), . [< maiden + 
-.-/I//;.] Maidenhood. Fuller. 
maiden's-honesty (ma'dnz-on'es-ti), n. The 
virgin's-bower, Clematis Vitaltm. Britten and 
Holland, Eng. Plant Names. [Some have sup- 
posed the plant honesty to be meant. See hon- 
i-Khj, 5.] 
About Michaelmass all the hedge* about Thlckwood (in 
the parfBh Colerne) are (as it were) hung with mayden's 
huiwxt,y which lookes very ftno. 
Aubrey's Wilts, MS. Royal Sac., p. 120. (aalKmll.) 
maiden-skate (ina'du-skat), n. Same as maid, 
5(6). 
maiden-tongued (ma'dn-tungd), a. Sweet- 
voiced and gentle in speech as a girl. 
His qualities were beauteous as his form, 
For maiden-tonijued he was. 
Shale., Lover's Complaint, 1. 100. 
maiden-widowed (ma'dn-wid'od), . Widow- 
ed while still a virgin. [Rare.] 
But I, a maid, die maiden-undoieed. 
Shot., R. and J., 111. 2. 136. 
maidhood (mad'hud), . [< maid + -hood.] 
Maidenhood ; virginity. 
Cesario, by the roses of the spring, 
By maidhood, honour, truth, and everything, 
Ilovethee. Shot., T. N., ill. 1. 182. 
maidkint, . A little maid. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
maidlyt,". [<aW + -/yi.] Liksa maidorgirl. 
O cowards all, and maydly men, 
Of courage faynt and weake. 
Gooye, Epitaphe on M. Shelley. (Domes.) 
Maid Mariant, Maid-mariant (mad-mar'i-an), 
. 1. Originally, the queen of the May, one of 
the characters in the old morris-dance, often a 
man in woman's clothes. 
In the English Morris she Is called simply The Lady, or 
more frequently Maid Marian, a name which, to our ap- 
prehension, means Lady of the May, and nothing more. 
Child's Ballads, Int., p. \\viii. 
2. A kind of dance; a morris-dance or Moor- 
ish dance. 
A set of tnorrice-dancers danced a maid-marian with a 
tabor and pipe. Sir W. Temj&e. 
maid-of-the-meadow (mad'ov-the-med'6), . 
A plant, Hpira.ii Ulmaria, of the natural order 
Koxacete. 
maid-pale (mad'pal), a. Having the delicate 
white complexion of a maid or girl. [Bare.] 
Change the complexion of her [England's] maid-pale peace 
To scarlet indignation. Shale., Rich. II., ill. 8. 98. 
maid-servant (mad'ser'vant), n. A female ser- 
vant. 
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God : 
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, . . . nor thy maid- 
tenant. Ex. ex. 10. 
maieutic (ma-ii'tik), a. and n. [< Gr. fuuev- 
riKof, of or for midwifery (fern, fuuevriio/, so. 
T^X\>TI. the art of midwifery), (. patei'eaOat, act as 
a midwife, < //a/a, an old woman, a nurse, mid- 
wife.] I. o. Serving to assist or facilitate 
childbirth; hence, in the Socratic method (see 
II.), aiding in bringing forth, in a metaphori- 
cal sense; serving to educe or elicit. [Rare.] 
II. H. The art of midwifery: applied by Socra- 
tes to the method he pursued in investigating 
and imparting truth; intellectual midwifery. 
It consisted In eliciting from a person interrogated such 
answers as lead by successive stages io the conclusion de- 
sirnl by the interrogator. 
This positive side of the Socratic method is the maieutic 
(that is, nmuMitir or obstetric art). Socrates likened him- 
self, namely, to his mother I'luenurete, who was a mid- 
wife, because, if no longer able to bear thoughts himself, 
he was still quite able to help others to bear them, as well 
as to distinguish those that were sound from those that 
were unsound. J. U. Stirling. 
maicutical (raa-u'ti-kal), a. [< maieutic + -al.] 
S:ime as iiiaiciitii: 
maigniet, Same as ( -iiiy. 
maigre (raa'ger), . and H. [< P. maitjre, lean. 
spare, meager; as a noun, lean meat, food other 
3581 
than meat (fain- umit/rr, abstain from meat): 
see meager, the E. form of the word.] I. a. 1. 
Made neither of flesh-meat nor with the gravy 
of flesh-moat: applied to the dishes used by 
Roman Catholics during Lent and on the days 
on which abstinence from flesh-meat is enjoin- 
ed. 2. Of or pertaining to a fast or fast-day. 
Maigre day, in the AV/m. Cath. Ch. t one of the days on 
whlchthe use of llesh-nicat, or of food prepared with the 
juirr of flesh-meat, is disallowed. 
It happened to be a maiyre-day. 
Walpole, To Mann, July 31, 1743. 
II. n. An acanthopterygian fish of the genus 
NciVi'wa, specifically S. aquila, a large and very 
powerful fish common in the Mediterranean 
and occasionally taken on the British coasts. 
It is remarkable for making a whirring noise u It moves 
through the water. The name is sometimes extended to 
the Scioenidte. Also meager, xhade-Jieh, bar, and ItttftMrr. 
inaihemt, See mayhem. 
Maiidae (raa'yi-de), n. pi. [NL., < Main + -id<e.] 
A family or short-tailed, stalk-eyed, decapod 
crustaceans, typified by the genus Main, and cor- 
responding more or less exactly to Milne-Ed- 
wards's tribe Maiens of his family Oxyrhyncho; 
the spider-crabs. These maiolda have long legs the 
spiny carapace nearly always longer than broad, and the 
rostrum usually two-horned. The common sea-spider, 
Maia gquinado, is a characteristic example. The genera 
are numerous, and the limits of the family vary with dif- 
ferent writers. See cut at Maia. Also Maidte, Maiadae. 
maik 1 , n. A Scotch spelling of make*. 
maik'-', make (mak), n. [Cf. mag 3 .] A half- 
penny. [Scotch and Eng. slang.] 
mail 1 (mal), n. [< ME. maile, male, maille, 
maylle, < OF. maile, maille, a link of mail, a 
mesh of a net, 'P. maille, link of mail, a mesh, 
stitch, = Pr. malha = Sp. malla = Pg. malha 
= It. maglia, link of mail, mail, stitch, < L. 
macula, a spot, speck, hole, mesh of a net: 
see macle, mackle, macula. In def. 1, the orig. 
sense, the E. word may possibly be in part due 
to AS. mal, mail, a spot : see mote 1 .] If. A spot; 
especially, a spot or speck on a bird's feather ; 
hence, a spotted or speckled feather. 
The moorish-fly : made with the body of duskish wool ; 
and the wings made of the blackish mail of the drake. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 101. 
~t. In armor, a ring, link, or scale on a coat of 
mail. See def. 3. 
Of his auantaile wyth that stroke carf wel many a maylle. 
Sir Ferumbras, 1. 624. 
Squama [I,.], tnayles or lytle plates in an habcrieon or 
coate of fense. Cooper, 1584. 
3. A fabric of meshes, especially and almost 
exclusively of metal, used as a defense against 
weapons; a kind of armor, specifically called 
chain-mail, composed of rings of metal, inter- 
linked as in a chain, but extended in width as 
well as in length. Chain-mall seems to have been In- 
troduced into the Roman 
army in imitation of the 
Gauls, and was much 
worn wider the later em- 
pire. It was the favor- 
ite armor in Europe dur- 
ing the twelfth and thir- 
teenth centuries, but was 
slow of fabrication and 
expensive. Itwasofthree 
kfnds : (1) that in which 
the rings kept their shape 
by their stiffness alone, 
and which was therefore 
very heavy, (2) that in 
which the links were riv- 
eted and forged ; (3) that in which each link was braced 
across by a small bar a rare form. See hauberk, chaustett, 
banded mail (under banded?), gusset, and camail. 
He put a silk cote on his backe, 
And mail of manye a fold. 
Old Robin of Portingale (Child's Ballads, m. 88). 
Some wore coat armour, imitating scale : 
And next their skins were stubborn shirts of nmil. 
TJryden, Pal and Arc., IU. 27. 
4. By extension, armor of any sort. 
To teach that right is more than might, and justice more 
than mail ! Whittier, Brown of Osaawatomle. 
Hence 6. Any defensive covering, as the 
shell of a lobster or a tortoise. 
His clouded Mail the Tortoise shall resign, 
And round the Rivet pearly Circles shine. 
Gay, The Fan, lit 157. 
6. Naut., a square utensil composed of rings 
interwoven like network, formerly used for 
nibbing off the loose hemp on lines and white 
cordage. 7. In wearing, a small metal eye or 
guide-ring in a heddle, through which the warp 
is threaded. 
The essential features of the heddle are the eyes, loops, 
or iniiilg through which the warp is threaded. 
Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 464. 
8. That part of a clasp which receives the 
spring. Hallivell.- Banded mft'1 See banded?.- 
Coat of Chain-mail (Hauberk), and 
detail of same. 
mailable 
Cap Of mall. Same as coif of mail. Coat of mall. 
See coat?. Coif of malL See coif. Edgewise mall. 
Same as edge-mail. Glove Of mall. Same ugai 
1. Hose of mail. SamcacAaue,. House of mall. 
See AouxS. Interlinked m.H Same as chain-mail. 
See def. 8. 
mail 1 (mal), r. t. [< maiH, n.] 1. To spot or 
stain. [Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
Mailed wi' the bluld of a hit skirling wean that was hurt 
some gate. Scott, Ueart of Mid Lothian, xvil. 
2. To put mail upon; dress in mail; by ex- 
tension, to protect with armor of any kind (sec 
mail 1 , n., 4): hardly used except in the past par- 
ticiple. See mailed. 
The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit, 
Up to the ears in blood. 
Shot., 1 Hen. IV., IT. 1. 116. 
Methinks I should not thus he led along, 
Mail'd up in shame, with papers on my back. 
Shot., 2 Hen. VI., ii. 4. 31. 
Whereas those warlike lords 
Lay mail'd In armour, girt with ireful swords. 
Draytun, Barons' Wan, it 4. 
Hence 3. To pinion or fasten down, as the 
wings of a hawk. 
Prince, by your leave, 111 have a clrcingle. 
And mail you, like a hawk. 
Beau, and Fl., Philaster, v. 
mail 2 (mal), n. [< ME. male = MD. maele, D. 
maal = G. maile, < OP. male, maile, a bag, wal- 
let, portmanteau, P. matte, a peddler's basket, a 
trunk, mail (post), mail-coach, = Sp. Pg. mala, 
a bag, trunk, < ML. mala, a bag; prob. of Cel- 
tic origin, < Ir. and Gael, mala = Bret, mal, a 
bag, sack; but the Rom. and Celtic forms may 
be from the Teut.; cf. OHG. malaha, malha, 
MHG. malhe, a saddle-bag, a wallet ; Icel. malr, 
a knapsack. The ult. origin is undetermined.] 
It. A bag, sack, or other receptacle for the con- 
veyance or keeping of small articles of personal 
property or merchandise, especially the cloth- 
ing or other baggage of a traveler, the equip- 
ments of a soldier, etc. 
A male tweyfold on his croper lay ; 
It semede that he cariede lyt array ; 
Al light for somer rood this worthy man. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 13. 
See that my mail*, with my vestments, be sent to the 
monastery of Saint Mary's. Scott, Monastery, xxil. 
Specifically 2. A bag for the conveyance of 
letters, papers, etc., particularly letters for- 
warded from one post-office to another under 
governmental authority and care ; a mail-bag. 
3. A mass or assemblage of mail-matter; 
collectively, the letters, papers, etc., conveyed 
by post ; the matter sent in any way through 
the post-office. 4. The person by whom or the 
conveyance by which the mail is carried; hence, 
the system of transmission by public post; pos- 
tal conveyance : as, to send a package by mini; 
news received through the mail. 
In the west of England particularly, the mat? [coach] acts 
as a regulator. Just as the sun on the hills acts as a ther- 
mometer. Quoted in Firgt Year of a Silken Reign, p. 124. 
Mall axle. Seeozfe. 
mail 2 (mal), v. t. [< mip, n.] To put in the 
mail; send by mail; put into the post-office for 
transmission by mail ; post : as, to mail a letter. 
mai! 3 t (mal), n. [< ME. maile, maille, < OP. 
maille, maaille, meaille (P. maille), t., mail, m., 
a coin, a halfpenny (see def.), medaille, a coin 
(medal): see medal. In def. 2 a particular use, 
like penny in a similar sense, for 'money paid,' 
' tax,' hence ' rent.'] 1. A small coin of billon 
or silver current in France from the thirteenth 
to the fifteenth century. It had half the value 
of the denier. Sometimes called obole. 2. 
Rent; hence, payment at a fixed rate, as the 
rent or annual payment formerly extorted by 
the border robbers. Compare blackmail. [Old 
Scotch.] 
I'll pay yon for my lodging maill, 
When first we meet on the Border side. 
Kimiumt WiUie (Child's Ballads, VI. 66), 
Hall noble, an English gold coin of the reign of Ed- 
ward III., current for 3. 4d. Also called half-noble. 
Malls and duties, the rents of real estate due from the 
tenant to the lord, whether in money or grain. 
mail 4 (mal), . [< OF. mail, maill, mal, maul, 
P. mail, < L. malleus, a mall, mallet : see mall 1 .'] 
1. A mall or mallet. 
After the flax has been bruised by the mail, and crushed 
by the braque, it is ready for the scutching process. 
Un, Wet., U. 415. 
2. A French game similar to chicane. 
mail 5 (mal), . A weight equal to about 105 
pounds avoirdupois. [OrkneyJ 
mailable (nia'la-bl), . [< ma'itf + -able.] Ca- 
pable of being mailed; such that it can be sent 
by mail in accordance with the regulations gov- 
erning the post-office. 
