meliorist 
I am not, however, a pessimist I am, I trust, n rational 
optimist, or at least a meliorist. 
Dr. J. Brown, Spare Hours, 3d ser., p. 27. 
In her general attitude toward life, George Eliot was 
neither optimist nor pessimist. She held to the middle 
term, which she invented for herself, of meliorist. She 
was cheered by the hope and by the belief in gradual im- 
provement of the mass. 
Cross, Life of George Eliot, III. 309. 
I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the word 
mdiariit except myself. 
Oeorge Eliot, Letter to James Sully, Jan. 17, 1877. 
II. rt. Of or pertaining to meliorism or melio- 
rists. 
If we adopt either the optimist view or the meliorist 
view if we say that life on the whole brings more plea- 
sure than pain, or that it is on the way to become such 
that it will yield more pleasure than pain, then these ac- 
tions by which life is maintained are justified, and there 
results a warrant for the freedom to perform them. 
H. Spencer, Man vs. State, p. 9. 
melioristic (me-lyo-ris'tik), a. [< meliorist + 
-<).] Of or pertaining to meliorism: corre- 
lated with optimistic and pessimistic. 
Too scientifically meliorislic for the common herd. 
The Academy, March 3, 1888, p. 148. 
meliority (me-lyor'i-ti), n. [< NL. meliori- 
ta(t-)s, < L. melior, better: see meliorate."] The 
state of being better; betterness. [Rare.] 
Aristotle ascribeth the cause of this meliority or better- 
ness unto the aire. Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 613. 
This colour of meliority and preeminence is a signe of 
enervation and weakness. 
Bacon, Colours of Good and Evil. 
Meliphaga (me-lif'a-ga), n. [NL., also, erro- 
neously, Melliphaga; neut. pi. of "mclipJiagns : 
see meliphagous.~\ The typical genus of Meli- 
phagidai. The term has been used with great latitude 
and little discrimination for all the family and some other 
birds, but is now restricted to a single species, M. phry- 
yia of Australia, known as the black-and-yettoiv honey-eater. 
See hoiiey-eater. 
meliphagan (me-lif'a-gan), n. A bird of the 
genus Meliphaga; a 'honey-eater. Also, erro- 
neously, melliphagan. 
Meliphagidse (me'l-i-faj'i-de), n.pl. [NL., also 
Melliphagida' ; < Meliphaga + -idce.~\ A fam- 
ily of tenuirostral oscine passerine birds, typi- 
fied by the genus Meliphaga, belonging to the 
group Cinnyrimorplue of the order Passeres; the 
honey-eaters or honey-suckers. They are closely 
related to the Nectariniidce, with which they share the 
character of the protractile, bind, and penciled tongue. 
The bill is of variable length and degree of slenderness, 
but is always curved, with a prominent culmen; the nos- 
trils are basal, and situated in a large membranous nasal 
fossa, never entirely covered with feathers; anil they are 
linear or oval in shape, with or without an operculuru. 
The first primary (except in Zosterops and Entonufhtta) is 
about half as long as the second. The wings, tail, and feet 
vary in character with the genera; the anterior toes and 
their claws are short, the former much united at base, and 
the hallux is large and strong. The plumage inclines to 
green and yellow colors ; it is never blue, and is red only 
in one group, the Myzomeliiice. Parts of the head and 
neck are often bare, and variously wattled or carunculate. 
The family is confined to the Old World, and is specially 
characteristic of the Australasian and Polynesian regions, 
though the range of the Melithrcptince is much more ex- 
tensive. The species number nearly 200, referable to about 
25 genera. The family is now usually divided into 8 sub- 
families ; Meliphayince, MyzamelimK, and Melithrcptinoz. 
meliphagidan (mel-i-faj'i-dan), a. and n. I. 
a. Of or pertaining to the family Meliphagido!. 
II. H. A meliphagan or honey-eater. 
Meliphaginae (mel"i-fa-ji'ne), n. pi. [Also 
Melliphagiiue; NL., < MelipJiaga + -inai.~\ The 
typical subfamily of Meliphagida?. With few 
exceptions, the group is characteristic of the 
Australasian and Polynesian regions. 
meliphagine (mf-lif 'a-jin), a. and n. I. a. Of 
or pertaining to the" subfamily Meliplutgiuee ; 
less strictly, same as meliphagidan. 
II. n. A meliphagan or honey-eater of the 
subfamily Meliphaginas. 
meliphagous (me-lif'a-gus), a. [Also melUplia- 
gous; < NL. 'melipJiagus, < Gr. /teAi, honey, + 
<jmytiv, eat.] Feeding upon honey; mellivorous. 
meliphanite (me-lif Vnit), n. [< Gr. fieki, honey, 
+ -0aw?f, appearing, clear, + -ite 2 .] See melino- 
phane. 
melipultt, n. [< Gr. /w'JU, honey, + L. pellere, 
pp. pulstis, drive out. Cf. catapult.'] A honey- 
extractor. Pliin, Diet. Apiculture, p. 48. 
melisma (me-lis'ma), .. [NL. (> It.), < Gr. //e- 
/U<r//a, a song, < (leMfctv. sing, warble, < /it/tof, 
song.] In music: (a) A song, melody, or air, 
as contrasted with a recitative or declamatory 
passage, (ft) A melodic decoration, grace, fiori- 
tura, or roulade, (c) A cadenza. 
melismatic (mel-is-mat'ik), a. [= It. melis- 
matico; as melisma(t-) + -ic.~\ In music: (a) 
Melodious. (6) Ornamented; adorned Mel- 
ismatic singing or playing, a style of vocal or instru- 
mental performance in which a great number of orna- 
ments, as trills, mordents, runs, etc., are introduced. 
3608 
Melismatic song, vocal music in which there is more 
than one note to a syllable : opposed to syllabic song, In 
which there is only one note to each syllable. 
melismatics (mel-is-mat'iks), n. [PI. of inelis- 
n/titic: see -icx.] In music, the art of florid or 
decorated vocalization. 
Melissa (me-lis'a), n. [NL. (Tournefort, 1700), 
< Gr. fjc^irraa, Attic jickirra, a bee, < p&i (//e/Ur-), 
honey: see melfi.] 1 . A genus of plants of the 
natural order Labiata;, the tribe Satweinece, and 
the subtribe Melissea;. It Is distinguished by a calyx 
which is distinctly two-lipped, by an exserted corolla-tube, 
which is recurved-ascending below the middle, and by 
the divergent anther-cells. They are herbs, with dentate 
leaves and loose axillary clusters of white or yellowish 
flowers. Three or four species are known, from Europe 
and central and western Asia. M. officinalis, from south- 
ern Europe, is the common lemon-balm of the gardens. 
2. In sool., same as Andrena. 
melissa-oil (me-lis'a-oil), w. A volatile oil ob- 
tained from balm, Melissa officinalis, which gives 
to the plant its aromatic, lemon-like odor. 
Indian melissa-Oil, a fragrant oil distilled in India from 
a species of Andropogon. See Andropogon and lemon- 
grass. Also called verbena-oil. 
Melisseae (me-lis'e-e), n. pi. [NL. (Lindley, 
1846), < Melissa + -eai.] A subtribe of labiate 
plants of the tribe Satureinea:. The calyx has al- 
most always thirteen quite prominent nerves; the corolla 
is two-lipped, with the tube usually exserted, and the sta- 
mens are ascending at the base and divergent above. It 
embraces 14 genera, Melissa being the type, and about 200 
species. They are usually strong-scented aromatic herbs. 
The genus Hedeoma, the American pennyroyal, belongs to 
this subtribe. 
melissyl (me-lis'il), n. [< Gr. [itTuaaa, a bee, + 
iifai, matter.} A hypothetical radical (CsoHg) 
which occurs in many compounds derived from 
wax. The more difficultly soluble part of bees- 
wax consists of melissyl palmitate. Also called 
myricyl. 
Melisuga, Melisugae, etc. See Mellisuga, etc. 
Melitaea (mel-i-te'a), . [NL., < Gr. /tftt(r-), 
honey.] 1. In eniom., a genus of nymphalid 
butterflies allied to Argynnis, containing about 
50 species, chiefly European and North Amer- 
ican, checkered with brown, yellow, and white, 
and not silvered on the under side, which has 
bands of white and yellow. M. phaeton is a com- 
mon and characteristic species of North America ; its 
larvce feed on Chelone, and hibernate gregariously in a 
web. The British species, like those of Argynnis, are 
known to English collectors aafritillaries. 
2. A genus of alcypnarians or sea-fans of the 
family Isidida;, or giving name to a family Me- 
litiridce. The polypary is branched as in the gorgonians 
or true sea fans, and composed of alternating hard and 
soft or calcareous and coriaceous joints, the latter much 
larger than the former, which form bead-like nodes along 
the stem. M. ochracea is a yellowish coral from the In- 
dian and Pacific oceans. Also Melitcea, Melithcea, Melithea, 
Melitea. 
Melitaeidse (mel-i-te'i-de), . pi. [NL., < Meli- 
tcea + -idee.] A family of isidaceous alcyo- 
narian corals, typified by the genus Melita-a, 
having porous or corky nodes. Also Melithte- 
ida'. 
melitaemia (mel-i-te'mi-a), n. [NL., irreg. for 
*ielitJi<emia, < Gr. ul'Ai(T-), honey, + alfia, 
blood.] In pathol., the presence of an abnor- 
mal quantity of sugar in the blood. 
Melitophili (mel-i-tpf'i-U), n. pi. [NL., < Gr. 
/IC'AI(T-), honey, + <pi%o(, loving.] In Latreille's 
system, the sixth and last section of Scara- 
boeidte, composed of the old genera Trichim, 
Goliathiis, and Cetonia. It corresponds more 
or less exactly with the modern family Ceto- 
niidce. Also, erroneously, Mellitophili. 
melitophiline (mel-i-tof 'i-lin), a. Pertaining to 
the Melitophili, or having their characters; ce- 
tonian. Also mellitophiline. 
melitose (mel'i-tos), n. [< Gr. fje/.i(r-), honey, 
+ -ose.] A sugar (CigH^Ou) obtained from 
the manna which falls in opaque drops from 
various species of Eucalyptus growing in Tas- 
mania. It is a crystalline solid, dextrorotatory, and di- 
rectly fermentable. It is probably a compound of rafflnose 
and cucalin. 
Melitta (me-lit'a), n. Same as Andrena. 
Melitteae (me-lit'e-e), n. pi. [NL. (Eudlicher, 
1836), < Meliitis +' -e<e.~\ A subtribe of labiate 
plants of the tribe Stachydea>, characterized by 
a broad calyx and a much-exserted corolla- 
tube, with the posterior lip broad arid some- 
what concave. It embraces 5 genera, Melittvi being 
the type, and 8 species, found principally in the temperate 
regions of the northern hemisphere. 
Melittis (me-lit'is), n. [NL. (Linnieus), < Gr. 
/J(AITTU, Attic form of /-ic^taaa, a bee: see Me- 
lissa."] A genus of labiate plants of the tribe 
Stacliydea;, type of the subtribe Melittea;, char- 
acterized by a three-lobed calyx, by having the 
cells of the anther divergent, and by the flower- 
cluster usually consisting of six flowers. M. 
mell 
mflissophyllti'm is the only species. See balm, 7, 
and tioitey-balm. 
melituria (mel-i-tu'ri-a), n. [NL.,< Gr. iJ.i~M(r-), 
honey, + ovpov, urine.] In pathol., glucosuria. 
Also, erroneously, mellittirid. 
melituric (mel-i-tu'rik), a. [Also melHturic; 
< melituria + -ic.] Glucosuric. 
Melivora, Melivorinae, etc. Erroneous forms 
of Mellirora, etc. 
meliza (me-li'zii), n. [NL., prop, "melizea, < 
Gr. fii'M, honey, 4- ?z, spelt (NL. zea, maize).] 
Maize or Indian corn. See the quotation from 
Smollett under hasty-pudding. 
Melizophilus (mel-i-zof'i-lus), n. [NL., < me- 
lisa + Gr. 0//.of, loving.] A genus of Old World 
oscine passerine birds of the family Sylviida, 
founded by W. E. Leach in 1816 upon the Dart- 
ford warbler, Motacilla undata of Boddaert, now 
Dartford Warbler (Mtlizophilus tindatus). 
ca\\e&Melizop1iilu8undatus,provincialis,QTdart- 
fordiensis. 
mell 1 (mel), r. [< ME. mellen, < OF. meller, 
meslcr, etc., mix: see meddle, of which mell is 
a contracted form.] I. trans. To mix ; blend. 
[Obsolete or provincial.] 
All hor colouris to ken were of clene yalow, 
Withouteu more in the niene, or mellit with other. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 6462. 
Th' aduerse Cloud, which first recelueth thus 
Apollo's raies, the same direct repells 
On the next Cloud, and with his gold it mftts 
Her various colours. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, L 21. 
Oft began . . . wintry storms to swell, 
As heaven and earth they would together mell. 
Thomson, Castle of Indolence, L 43. 
II. intrans. 1. To mix; mingle. [Obsolete 
or archaic.] 
With men of myght can I not mell. 
York Plays, p. 187. 
Alas, our society 
Mells not with piety. 
B. Jonson, Gipsies Metamorphosed. 
2f. To meddle ; intermeddle or interfere. 
Vn-callyd go thou to no counselle ; 
That longes to the, with that thow melle. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 19. 
She would it eeke, and make much worse by telling, 
And take great joy to publish it to many, 
That every matter worse was for her milling. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. xii. 35. 
3f. To busy one's self : used reflexively. 
Sche metted hire Meliors ferst to grelthe. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.X 1. 1719. 
4. To contend in fight. [Obsolete or prov. 
Eng.] 
Mony fallyn were fey of the fell Grekes, 
Bnt mo of the meny, that mellit horn with. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.X 1. 5243. 
5f. To copulate. 
Like certeyn birdes called vultures, 
Withouten mellyng conceyven by nature. 
Lydgate. (Battiwett.) 
meH 2 t (mel), ti. [= F. miel = Pr. mel = Sp. 
miel = Pg. mel = It. melc, miele, < L. mel (mell-) 
= Gr. /t?.t (fte/j.r-) = Goth, militli, honey; not 
found elsewhere in Teut., except as in mildew, 
q. v. There is an accidentally similar Ha- 
waiian meli, honey.] Honey. 
That mouth of hirs, which seemde to flow with mell. 
Gascoigne, Dan Bartholomew of Bath. 
mell 3 (mel), a. [A var. of mall 1 .'] A mallet; 
hence, derisively, the head. [Scotch.] 
Her teeth was a' like teather stakes, 
Her nose like club or mell. 
King Henri/ (Child's Ballads, 1. 148). 
There stood a fause lord him behin', 
Who thrust him thro' body and mell, 0. 
The Braes o' Yarrow (Child's Ballads, III. 70). 
