mere 
2f. Absolute; unqualified; utter; whole; in the 
fullest sense. ' 
Those who, being in mere misery, continually do call 
on God. Munday (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 204). 
Certain tidings now arrived, importing the mere perdi- 
tion of the Turkish fleet. Shak., Othello, ii. 2. a. 
Signer Francisco, whose mere object now 
Is woman at these years, that's the eye-saint, 1 know, 
Amongst young gallants. Middletan, The Widow, v. 1. 
Although there is such plenty oi nsh and fowle and wild 
beasts, yet are they so lasie they will not take paines to 
catch it till meere hunger constraine them. 
Capt. John Smith, Works, II. 228. 
3. Sheer; simple; nothing but (the thing men- 
tioned); only: as, it is mere folly to do so; 
this is the merest trash. 
Tis a mere toy to you, sir; candle- rents. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, v. 4. 
Forc'd of meer Necessity to eat, 
He conies to pawn his Dish, to buy his Meat. 
Congreve, tr. of Satires of Juvenal, xi. 
A mere courtier, a mere soldier, a mere scholar, a mere 
anything, Is an insipid pedantic character. 
Addiion, The Man of the Town. 
Mere right, in law, the right of property without posses- 
sion. =Syn. Mere, Bare. Mere is much oftener used than 
bare. Bare is positive ; mere essentially negative. Strict- 
ly, bare means only without other things, or no mare than: 
as, the bare mention of a name. Mere seems to imply de- 
ficiency: as, mere conjecture; mere folly. In implying 
smallness of amount it is sometimes the same as bare. In 
Shatepere, Hamlet, iii. 1, "a bare bodkin" might be ex- 
pressed by "Amere bodkin." 
mere 3 t (mer), adv. [< mere 3 , a.] Absolutely; 
wholly. 
On my faith, your highness 
Is mere mistaken in me. 
Fletcher, Mad Lover, iii. 4. 
I know I shall produce things meere devine. 
Xarston, The Fawne, ii. 1. 
merest ( m er), a. [ME., also meere, mare, < AS. 
mare, mere = OS. mdri = OHG. mdri, MHG. 
meere = Icel. mcerr = Goth, mers (in comp. waila- 
mers), famous ; akin to L. memor, mindful, re- 
membering, Skt. i/smar, Zend mar, remember: 
see memory.'} Famous. 
mere 5 !, n. A Middle English form of mare^. 
meregoutte (mar'gb't), n. [F. mere-goutte, < L. 
merits, pure, unmixed, + gutta (> F. goutte), a 
drop: see mere 3 and goufl.] The first running 
of must, oil, etc., from the fruit before pressure 
has been applied to it : usually limited to the 
juice of the grape. 
merelst, [Also merelles, merits; < ME. merels, 
< OF. merelle, a game, nine men's morris, F. 
merelle, marelle, hopscotch, < merel (ML. merel- 
lus, merallus), a counter, token, a piece in 
draughts, also a game.] A game also called 
fivepenny or nine men's morris, played with 
.counters or pegs. See morris^-. 
Merelles, or, as it was formerly called in England, nine 
men's morris, and also five-penny morris, is a game of 
some antiquity. Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 416. 
merely (mer'li), adv. [Formerly also meerly; 
< ME. merely; < mere 3 + -ly 2 .] If. Absolutely; 
wholly; completely; utterly. 
What goodes, catalles, Jewels, plate, ornamentes, or 
other stuff, do merely belong or apperteyne to all the sayd 
promocions. English Ouds (E. E. T. S.), p. 1U7. 
I wish you all content, and am as happy 
In my friend's good as it were merely mine. 
Beau, and FL, Honest Man's Fortune, v. 3. 
2. Simply; solely; only. 
Excusing his [Mahomet's] sensuall felicities in the life 
to come, as meerly allegoricall, and necessarily fitted to 
rude and vulgar capacities. Sandys, Travailes, p. 46. 
The prayers are commonly performed merely as a mat- 
ter of ceremony. E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, I. 212. 
merenchyma (me-reng'ki-ma), . [NL., < Gr. 
ftepos, a part, + (irap)h/xvua, in mod. sense 'pa- 
renchyma': see parenchyma.] In bot., an imper- 
fect cellular tissue composed of more or less 
rounded cells and abundant in intercellular 
spaces. Cooke. 
merenchymatous (mer-eng-kim'a-tus), a. [< 
merenehyma(t-) + -ous.~] Having the structure 
or appearance of merenchyma. 
meresaucet, >i. [< ME. meresauce; appar. < OF. 
mure (ML. muria), pickle, brine, 4- sauce, 
sauce. Cf. OF. saulmure, pickle.] Brine or 
pickle for flesh or fish. Prompt. Parv., p. 334; 
Palsgrave. 
meresman (merz'man), n. [Formerly also 
mearsman, meersman'- < mere's, poss. of mere 2 , + 
man.'] One who points out boundaries. [Ob- 
solete or local.] 
The use of the word " mere " has been revived in the 
meresmen of an Act of Parliament a few years since for 
ascertaining the boundaries of parishes. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., V. 281. 
mere-stake (mer'stilk), . A pollard or tree 
standing as a mark or boundary for the division 
3716 
of parts or parcels in coppices or woods. Also 
called mere-tree. 
merestead (mer'sted), n. [Formerly also meer- 
stead, mear stead; < mere' 2 ' + stead.] The land 
within a particular mere or boundary; a farm. 
The men were intent on their labours, 
Busy with hewing and building, with garden plot and with 
merestead. 
Longfellow, Courtship of Miles Standish, viii. 
merestone (mer'ston), n. [Formerly also meer- 
stone , meerestone ; < ME. merestone, merestane; 
< mere 2 + stone.] 1. A stone to mark a boun- 
dary. 
The mislaler of a meere stone is to blame. But it is the 
unjust judge that is the capitall remover of land-markes, 
when he defineth amisse of lands and property. 
Bacon, Judicature. 
2. Figuratively, a limit. 
That you contain the jurisdiction of the court within 
the ancient merestones, without removing the mark. 
Bacon, Speech to Button (Works, XIII. 202). 
mereswinet, meerswinet, [ME. mereswyne, 
etc., < OF. marsouin; < mere 1 + swine.] A dol- 
phin or porpoise. 
Grassede as a mereswyne with corkes f ulle huge. 
Morte Artlmre (E. E. T. S.X L. 1091. 
mere-tree (mer'tre), n. Same as mere-stake. 
A meere tree, a tree which is for some bound or limit of 
land. Xomenclator (1585). (N. and Q., 7th ser. , V. 191.) 
meretrician (mer-e-trish'an), a. [= OF. mere- 
triciien, < L. meretrix (-trie-), a prostitute, + -ia n. ] 
Of or pertaining to prostitutes ; meretricious. 
Take from human commerce Meretrician amours. 
Tom Brown, Works, III. 26S. (Dames.) 
meretricious (mer-f-trish'us), . [= Sp. Pg. 
It. meretricio,<.'L. meretriciits, of or pertaining to 
prostitutes, < meretrix, a prostitute : see mere- 
trix.] 1. Of or pertaining to prostitutes; wan- 
ton; libidinous. 
The meretricious world claps our cheeks, and fondles us 
unto failings. Feltham, Resolves, i. S6. 
Her deceitful and meretricious traflick with all the na- 
tions of the world. Sp. Hatt, Hard Texts, Is. xxiii. 17. 
2. Alluring by false attractions; having a gaudy 
but deceitful appearance; tawdry; showy: as, 
meretricious dress or ornaments. 
Pride and artificial gluttonies do but adulterate nature, 
making our diet healthless, our appetites impatient and 
unsatisflable, and the taste mixed, fantastical, and mere- 
tricious. Jer. Taylor, Holy Living, ii. (i. 
A tawdry carpet, all beflowered and befruited such a 
meretricious blur of colors as a hotel offers for vulgar feet 
to tread upon. T. Winthrop, Cecil Dreeme, xzxviil. 
meretriciously (mer-e-trish'us-li), adv. In a 
meretricious manner; with false allurement; 
tawdrily ; with vulgar show. 
meretriciousness (mer-e-trish'us-nes), n. The 
quality of being meretricious; false show or 
allurement ; vulgar finery. 
meretrix (mer'e-triks), n. [L., a prostitute, < 
merere, earn, gain, serve for pay: see merit.] 
1. A prostitute; a harlot. 
A beautiful piece, 
Hight Aspasia, the meretrix. 
B. Jonson, Volpone, i. 1. 
That she [Cynthia] was a meretrix is clear from many 
indications her accomplishments, her house in the Sub- 
ura. Encyc. BrU,., XIX. 813. 
2. [cop.] [NL.] A genus of bivalves : same as 
Cyfherea. Lamarclc, 1799. 
Merganetta (mer-ga-net'a), . [NL., < Mergus 
+ Gr. VJJTTO, a duck.'] A remarkable genus of 
Anatidce, combining characters of mergansers 
with those of ordinary ducks, and having fur- 
thermore a sharp spur on the bend of the wing ; 
the torrent-ducks. See torrent-duck. 
Merganettinse (mer"ga-ne-ti'ne), n. pi. [NL., 
< Merganetta + -itne.] A subfamily of Anati- 
dce constituted by the genus Merganetta. 
merganser (mer-gan'ser), n. [NL. (> Sp. mer- 
gansar), < L. merguy, a diver (water-fowl), + 
anser, goose : see Mergus and Aiiser.] 1 . A bird 
Hooded Merganser (Lophalytts cucallatus). 
of the genus Mergus or subfamily Mergince, fam- 
ily Anatidce; a sawbill, garbill, or fishing-duck. 
Meriania 
A merganser resembles aduck. but has a cylindrical instead 
of a depressed bill, with a hooked nail at the end, and a ser- 
ration of very prominent buck-set teeth. Several species 
are among the common water-fowls of the northern hemi- 
sphere. The common merganser or goosander, Meryug mer- 
ganser or Merganser castor, is about 2 feet long, and nearly 
y in extent of wings. In the male the upper parts are glossy- 
black varied with white on the wings, the lower part s white 
tinged with salmon-color, the head and neck glossy dark- 
green like a drake's, amUheliill and feet coral- or vermilion- 
red. The head is slightly crested. The red-breasted mer- 
ganser, M. serrator, is a similar but somewhat smallei 
bird, with a reddish breast and the head more decidedly 
crested. The hooded merganser, Lophodytes cucuUatus, is 
still smaller, black and white, with a beautiful erect semi- 
circular crest. A South American species, distinct from 
any of the foregoing, is Mergus brasuiensis. 
2. [cap.] A genus of Mergince : same as Mer- 
gus. 
merge (merj), v. ; pret. and pp. merged, ppr. 
merging. [< OF. merger, mergir = It. mergere, < 
L. mergere, dive, dip, immerse, sink in, = Skt. 
/ majj, dip, bathe. Hence emerge, immerge, sub- 
merge, immerse, etc.] I. intrans. To sink or 
disappear in something else ; be swallowed up ; 
lose identity or individuality: with in. 
He is to take care, undoubtedly, that the ecclesiastic 
shall not merge in the farmer. Scott, Speech, April, 1802. 
Fear, doubt, thought, life itself, ere long 
Merged, in one feeling deep and strong. 
Whittier, Mogg Megone, ii. 
II. trans. To cause to be absorbed or en- 
grossed ; sink the identity or individuality of ; 
make to disappear in something else : follow- 
ed by in (sometimes by into) : as, all fear was 
merged in curiosity. 
The plaintiff became the purchaser and merged his term 
in the fee. Chancellor Kent. 
The names of Castilian and Aragonese were meryed in 
the comprehensive one of Spaniard. 
Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 26. 
merger 1 (mer'jfer), n. [< merge + -er 1 .] One 
who or that which merges. 
merger 2 (mer'jer), n. [< OF. merger, inf. as 
noun, a merging: see merge.] 1. In the law of 
conveyancing, the sinking or obliteration of a 
lesser estate in lands, etc., resulting when it is 
transferred without qualification to the owner 
of a greater estate in the same property (or the 
like transfer of the greater estate to the owner 
of the lesser), if there be no intermediate estate. 
At common law the lesser estate was not deemed to be add- 
ed to the greater, but to be extinguished, so as to free the 
greater estate from the qualification or impairment which 
the existence of the lesser estate had constituted. Thus, 
if an owner of the fee of land on which there was an out- 
standing lease, owned by another person, acquired the 
lease, the lease was thereby annulled, and he thereafter 
held simply as owner of the fee. It resulted sometimes 
that, if his title to the fee proved defective, he could not 
avail himself of any claim under the lease. 
Merger is the act of law, and Is the annihilation of one 
estate in another. Its effect is to consolidate two estates, 
and to conform them into one estate. 
Mayhew, On Merger, I. i. 
2. In the law of contracts, the extinguishment 
of a security for a debt by the creditor's accep- 
tance of a higher security, such as a bond in lieu 
of a note, or a judgment in lieu of either: so 
called because such acceptance, by operation 
of law, and without intention of the parties, 
merges the lower security. 
inergh, n. An obsolete or dialectal form of mar- 
rowl. 
Merginae (mer-ji'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Mergus + 
-inw.] A subfamily of Anatidce, typified by the 
genus Mergus ; the mergansers. See merganser. 
Mergulus(mer'gu-lus), H. [NL. (Vieillot, 1816), 
dim. of Mergus, q. v.] A genus of small three- 
toed web-footed marine birds of the auk family, 
Alcidos; the dovekies. There is but one spe- 
cies, M. alle. Also called Alle. See cut under 
dovekie. 
MergUS (mer'gus), n. [NL., < L. mergus, a 
diver (water-fowl), < mergere, dive : see merge] 
The typical genus of Merginve, formerly coex- 
tensive with the subfamily, now restricted to 
such species as the goosander, M. merganser, 
and the red-breasted merganser, M. serrator. 
See merganser. 
meri (ma'ri), . A war-ax or war-club used by 
the natives of New Zealand, it is seldom less than 
a foot or more than 18 inches long, and is made of wood, 
bone, basaltic stone, or green jade. 
meriaeum (me-ri-e'um), .; pi. merimi (-a). 
[NL.. < Gr. lajpialov, neut. of fujpiaio^, belonging 
to the thigh, < /?prff, the thigh : see tncros.] In 
entom., a posterior inflected part of the meta- 
sternum of beetles, forming the anterior sur- 
face of the socket of the hind leg. Knocli. 
Meriania (mer-i-an'i-a), n. [NL. (Swartz, 1800), 
named after M. S. Merian, a Dutch artist.] A 
genus of plants of the natural order MeJnstoma- 
ri-ir. type of the tribe Mrriaiiiefi: There are about 37 
