menymeeting 
merrymeeting (mor'i-mf-'ting), n. A meeting 
for mirth or sport; a merrymaking; n festival. 
The studious man prefers a book before a revel, the rig- 
ours of contemplation before mfrry-mtstiny* and jolly 
rnnipany. South, Bermons, VIII. 408. 
merry-night i mor'i-nlt), n. A rural festival 
licld in the- north of England, where young 
people meet in the evening for the purpose of 
dancing. 
Ho hears a sound, and sees the light, 
And In a moment calls to mind 
That 'tis the village U erry- Sight ! 
Wardtworth, The Waggoner. 
merrythought (mer 'i- that), n. The furcula 
or wishbone of a fowl's breast: so called from 
the sport of breaking it between two persons 
of whom each pulls at one of the two ends, to 
determine which is to be married first, or which 
is to have a wish gratified that has been mentally 
formed for the occasion, the winner being the 
one who gets the longer fragment. 
I have known the shooting of a star spoil a night's rest; 
and have seen a roan In love grow pale, and lose his appe- 
tite, upon the plucking of a merry-thought. 
Addition, Omens. 
merry-tottert (mer'i-tot'er), M. [< ME. mcry- 
to/i/r, mcrytoytir, mcry totyr, myry totyr ; < mer- 
ry! + totter, a swing.] A swing for children. 
PHUyt, 1'iirr., p. 518; Cath. Ang., pp. 235, 390. 
merry-trotter (mer'i-trot'er), n. A variant of 
mfrry-totter. Halliwcll. [Prov. Eng.] 
merrywing (mer ' i - wing), n. The whistle- 
wing or common goldeneye of Europe and Amer- 
ica, Clangula clangula ; also, the buffle, Buee- 
phala albeolo. G. Trumbull, 1888. See cut un- 
der buffle 1 . [Connecticut.] 
merse (mers), v. t. [< L. mersare, dip, freq. 
of mcrgere, pp. mersus, dip: see merge.] To 
dip or plunge into or under a liquid. 
In all cases where the simple envelopment of the object, 
only, Is concerned, no word, probably, Is more unexcep- 
tionable than merte. (1) This word is of common use in 
cases where an object is placed in a fluid, semi-fluid, or 
any easily penetrable material. (2) It depends upon no 
form of act. (3) It is without limit of duration. 
J. W. Dale, Classic Baptism, p. 131. 
mersementt, n. See mercement. Gesta Ro- 
nuinorum, p. 288. (Hallitcell.) 
Mersenne's laws. See law*. 
mersht, . An obsolete form of marsh. 
mersion (mer 'shop), n. [= F. mersion, < L. 
mcmo(n-), a dipping, < mcrgere, pp. mersus, 
dip : see merse, merge. Cf . emersion, immersion, 
submersion.'} The act of dipping or plunging 
under a liquid; immersion. 
The mersion also in water, and the emersion thence, doth 
figure our death to the former, and reviving to a new life. 
Barrow, Baptism. 
merswinet, . See mereswine. 
Mertensia (mer-ten'si-S), . [NL. (Both, 
1797), named after F. C." Mertens, a German 
botanist.] A genus of boraginaceous plants 
of the tribe Borageie and the subtribe Litlio- 
licrme<e, characterized by having bractless or 
very slightly bracted flower-clusters, an almost 
naked corolla of bell-funnel shape, and oblique- 
ly attached nutlets. There are about 15 species, na- 
tives of eastern Europe, extratropical Asia, and North 
America. They are perennial herbs, with alternate entire 
leaves and handsome blue or purplish flowers in corymbs 
composed of loose raceme-like clusters. The plants are 
called tmooth lungwort. M. Virginiea, the Virginian cow- 
slip or lungwort, is a flne spring wild Mower of the eastern 
rutted states, also in gardens. M. maritima. the sea-lung- 
wort, with smaller flowers, Is a sea-coast plant of both 
hemispheres in northern latitudes, also called tea-bttglogt, 
and locally oyster-plant. See lungwort, 2. 
merthet, An obsolete form of mirth. 
Mem (mer'o), n. In Hind, mi/th., the central 
mountain of the earth, of prodigious size and 
precious material, having on its summit the 
abode of the gods. 
Merula (merij-ia), . [NL., < L. merula, a 
blackbird : see merle 1 .] A genus of thrushes, of 
the family Turtliilir, giving to that family the 
alternative name Mrniliilir. The genus, in the 
sense in which it is at present used, was Irnsed in 1816 by 
W. E. Leach upon the European blackbird, Tvrdut meru- 
la, or Aferulti vultjari*. (See cut under blackbird.) It also 
includes such species as the ring-ouzel, M. torquata, and 
the American robin, M. mirjratnria. By many naturalists 
it is used as a subgenus or mere synonym of Turdua. 
Copsichus in one sense is a synonym. 
Merulidae (ine-ro'li-de), n. /il. [XL., < Mi-ruin + 
-trf<r.] A family of deutirostral oscine passer- 
ine birds, typified by the genus ^ferula, now 
usually culloil Tunliilir: the thrushes. In the 
classification of Sw.iinsmi (is:i7) it was differently i-onsti- 
tuted from Titr<fi<l,r proper, and divided into Brach<i/""li- 
nee, Mi/nthcriiur, Merulina, Crattropodince, and OnMfcM 
meruline (im-i-'o-Un), . Of or pertaining to 
the genus Mi ruin, or a subfamily Merulina: 
merus, . See meros. 
3721 
mcrvailest, . A Middle English variant of 
mtirrrhius. 
mervaillet, mervailet, etc., n. and r. Obsolete 
fiirnis of iitni-fi I. 
merveil-du-jour (mer-valy'dU-zhiJr'), n. [F. 
iiiri-i-iilli-fli<-jtiHr. lit. 'marvel of the day': mer- 
veille, man-el ; du for de le, gen. of def . art., of 
the; jour, day.] An English collectors' name 
for certain noctuid moths. The common mer- 
veil-du-jour is Agriopis ajtrilina; another is 
Ilijilillii rii ill-inn. 
merveillet, merveilet, etc., n. and v. Obsolete 
forms of marvel. 
merveilleuse (mer-va-lyez'), it. [F., fern, 
of merveilleux, marvelous: see marvelous.] A 
fashionable woman under the Directory in 
France at the close of the eighteenth century, 
at which time ultra-fashionable people affected 
extraordinary innovations in costume, especial- 
ly in a fancied revival of the feminine dress of 
the ancient Greeks and Romans, and even of 
their mythology. See ineroyable. 
mervelet, merveilet, and v. Obsolete forms 
of marvel. 
merveloust, mervelyoust, a. Middle English 
forms of marvelous. 
merwoman (mer'wum'an), n.; pi. merwomen 
(-wim'en). [< mer-, as in mermatd, + teaman.] 
A fabled sea-creature with the body of a woman 
and the tail of a fish; a mermaid. T. Gill. 
meryt, a. An obsolete form of merry 1 . 
Merychippus (mer-i-kip'us), . [NL., < Gr. 
uf/pv!- (ftnavK-), a ruminating animal (applied to 
a fish) (> unpviufctv, uripvua^etv, ruminate: see 
merycism), + Zmrof, horse.] A genus of fossil 
horses, of the family Equidir, founded by Leidv 
in 1856 upon remains from the Pliocene of North 
America. It is one of the more recent extinct 
forms, related to Hipparion and to I'rotohiji- 
pus. 
merycism (mer'i-sizm), n. [< Gr. tinpvuiauAq, 
chewing the cud, rumination, < ut/pvuifciv, chew 
the cud, ruminate.] The abnormal habit or 
act of raising the food from the stomach to the 
mouth, and remasticating it ; rumination in the 
human species. It occurs in healthy persons, 
but is more frequent in association with mental 
defect or disease. 
Merycopotamidae (mer'i-ko-po-tam'i-de), n. 
pi. [NL.,< Merycopotfimm + -4a<c.] An extinct 
family of omnivorous artiodactyl ungulates, 
typified by the genus Merycopotamn.i. The near- 
est relatives of these animals are the existing hippopota- 
muses,wlth which they agree in the massive obese body with 
phalangigrade feet of four digits each, the obtuse rounded 
snout with superolateral nostrils, and the two inguinal 
mammae. Theydlfferinsomedentslcharacters.as the com- 
paratively small cylindroconic canines, and the inequality 
of the upperand lower molars, the former of which simulate 
those of ruminants in the detail of their structure. 
Merycopotamoidea(mer*i-ko-pot-a-moi'd(>-a), 
. pi. [NL., < Merycopottimux + -oidca.] A 
superfamily founded by Gill in 1872 for the re- 
ception of the family Mcrycopotamidte. 
Merycopotamus (mer'i-ko-pot'a-mus), 11. 
[NL., < Gr. ufipvi- (ftnpvK-), a ruminating animal 
(> uripwclfctv, /aipvita^civ, ruminate), + K&ra/ios, 
river. Cf. hippopotamus.] Thfe typical and only 
genus of the family Merycopotamidtt, founded 
by Falconer and Cantleroy upon remains from 
the Sivalik hills of India. 
mest, ". An obsolete form of mess 1 . 
mes-t. An obsolete form of the prefix mis- 2 . 
mesa (ma'sa), n. [Sp., < L. mensa, a table : see 
mensal 1 .] A table-land; a broad and flat river- 
terrace ; a level or gently sloping region. This 
Spanish word Is in common use throughout the southwest- 
ern part of the United States, where large areas, especial- 
ly on the Colorado river and its branches, are table-lands, 
deeply intersected by valleys (canons) of erosion, which are 
often 1,000 or 2,000 feet deep, and occasionally much more. 
mesad (me'sad), adv. [< mcs(on) + -ad 3 .] To- 
ward the meson ; in a mesal direction. B. G. 
Wilder. 
mesail, mezail, n. [OF. T] The vizor of a hel- 
met, especially of the armet, or any headpiece 
having the face-opening covered by two sepa- 
rate movable parts, the upper one of which 
contained the reillere, or sight-opening. See 
cut in next column. 
mesal (mes'al), a. [< meson + -at.] Middle; 
median ; relating to the meson ormiddle length- 
wise vertical plane of the body between the 
right side and the left. Also mesian and (He- 
mesalliance (ma-zal-li-ons'), . [F.] Same as 
meseise 
o parts. 9pnWi. rich century. 
mesamoeboid (mes-a-me'boid), n. [< Gr. / 
middle, + NL. amceoa, q. v., + Gr. eMoc, form.] 
One of the free amo?biform cells of the meso- 
1 1< Tin or middle germ-layer of the embryo ; also, 
a leucocyte or wandering cell of the adult. 
mesaralc(me8-a-ra'ik), a.andn. [<Gr. *ueaa- 
pa"m6f, pertaining to the mesentery, < /iraapaiov 
(so. iepua), the mesentery, < /ifaof. middle (see 
meson), + apaiA, the flank, belly, < a/xu6f, thin, 
lean. . Cf. mesentery.] I. a. In anat., of or per- 
taining to the mesentery; meseuteric: chiefly 
in the compound ompluiloinesaratc. 
II. n. Same as mesentery. 
mesaraical (mes-a-ra'i-kal), a. [< mesaraic + 
-al.] Same as riiesaraic. Also, erroneously, 
mcseraical. 
Vena ports is a vein coming from the concave of the 
liver, and receiving those mtjieraieal veins by whom he 
takes the chylus from the stomach and guts, and conveys 
It to the liver. Burton, Anat of Mel., p. 97. 
mesally (mes'al-i ), ndr. In the meson or median 
plane of the body: as, to cut mcxally : to be situ- 
ated iiifsulli/. Also niesialli/. 
mesarteritis (mes-ar-te-ri'tis), n. [< Gr. , 
middle, -I- aprr/pla, an artery, + -ids.] Inpathol., 
inflammation of the middle coat of an artery. 
mesatlcephali (mes'a-ti-sef 'a-li), n. pi. [NL.: 
see mexatirrphalic.] Persons whose skulls are 
mesaticephalic. 
mesaticephalic (mes^a-ti-se-fal'ik or -sef'a- 
lik), a. [< Gr. /itoaaTot;',' Attic /ifaaTof, midmost 
(poet, superl. otufaof, middle), + Kr<tm'/>/, head: 
see cephalic.] Having an index of breadth 
from 75 to 80 (Topinard): applied to skulls. 
Skulls are classified according to their cephalic indices 
into three groups dolichocephalic, tnexaticfphalic, and 
brachycephallc. Katun, XXXIII. 4. 
mesayenturet, mesaiinturet, " Middle Eng- 
lish forms of misadventure. 
mescal (mes-kal'), [< 8p. mezcal, < Mex. 
meicalli.] A strong intoxicating spirit distilled 
from pulque, the fermented juice of the Agare 
Americana of Mexico. Also meical, mescal. 
meschauncet, A Middle English form of 
mischance. 
meschieft, meschefet, meschevet, . and r. 
Middle English forms of mischief. 
meschitt, " A form of mesquit. 
mesdames, . Plural of madamt. 
mesdemoiselles. n. Plural of mademoiselle. 
mese 1 !) " [ME., also nices, mes, < AS. mete, 
meose, mise, myse, a table, also what is on the 
table, = OHG. mias, meat = Goth. mes. a table ; 
cf. L. nit 1 H*n. a table: see mensal 1 .] A dinner; 
meal. 
My lorde es serucde at ylk a mete, 
\\'ii)i thritty knytlitlis falre and free. 
Thamat of Emeldoune (Child's Ballads, I. 106). 
mese'^t, '' ' [ME. mesen, moderate, subdue; 
prob. of Scand. origin, orig. refl. form, corre- 
sponding to melee, r.: see meek.] To moderate ; 
subdue; abate ^ mollify. 
Wylt thou mete thy mode (atiate thy anger] and menddyng 
abyde? AUOeratirt />omu(ed. MorrUX U. 764. 
Mae youre hart and mend youre mode. 
TmrntUy MyHeriet, p. 175. 
mese 3 (mes). . A dialectal form of moss 1 . 
meseems(me-gemz'), r. imprrx. ; pret.meseemed. 
[Orig. and prop, two words me seems (pret. me 
seemed) : me, dat. of / (see me 1 ) ; seem, appear : 
see seem 1 . Cf. methinks.] It seems to me. See 
And when In Combat these fell Monsters cross, 
Me teem some Tempest all the seas doth toss. 
Sylmtrr. tr. of Da Bsrtas's Weeks, L 5. 
Tlie knave that doth thee service as full knight 
Is all as good, metetmt, as any knight. 
Tennutcm,' 
meseiset, . 
ease. 
nylon, Osreth and Lynette. 
A Middle English form of mis- 
