Michaelmas 
+ miinxi; IIK-.IXI-, mass: see i/m.v.v'.J 1. A fes- 
tivul celebrated by the Koman Catholic ( 'him-li, 
the Anglican, and some other churches on 
September L'Oth, in honor of the archangel 
Michael. The festival is called in full the Festival or 
Foot of St. Hic/mrl ami All Angdt. It appears to have 
I i -mat ! I iii ;i lorn! cclclinttinn >r cfU-hrationa, and seems 
to have already existed in the fifth century. The <;tv> k 
Church dedicates November 6th to St. Michael, St. Gabriel, 
and All Angels; the Armenian and Coptic churchei alio 
o)>serve this day. 
h'ur turtles and lorelles luthcre and goode, 
VroMyhel-moMte to Mithel-masseich fyndcniete anddrynke. 
fieri MoMMM (C), xvl. 215. 
2. September the 29th as one of the four quar- 
ter-days in England on which rents are paid. 
And when the tenants come to pay their quarter's rent. 
They bring some fowl at Midsummer, a dish of tlsh in Lent, 
At Christinas a capon, at Michaelma* a goose. 
Oatcoiync (1575), quoted in chambers's Book of D.i\ -. 
III. 390. 
All this, though perchance you read it not till Michael- 
nuu, was told you at Mlcham, 1 >t li August, 1007. 
Donne, Letters, x. 
Michaelmas daisy. See daiu. Michaelmas head- 
court. See head-court. Michaelmas moon, the harvest, 
moon. JatnieitoH. [Scotch.] 
michaelsonite(mik'el-sqn-it). . [Named after 
C. A. Mii'liin-lxoii, a Swedish chemist.] In min- 
eral., a rare mineral found in the zireonsyenite 
of Norway : it is related to allanite. 
miche' (mieh),r. . [Formerly also ntycli, nn/cln : 
also meech, match, and mooch, mouch; < ME. 
miclien, moochen, moiichcn, < OF. muchier, mu- 
cier, miuiier, mucer, musser, F. muaser, hide, con- 
ceal oneself, skulk.] 1. To shrink from view ; 
lie hidden ; skulk ; sneak. 
Straggle up and downe the countrey, or miche in cor- 
ners amongest theyr frendes idlye, as Carooghs, Bardes. 
Jesters. Spenser, State of Ireland. 
Yon, sir, that are miching about my golden mines here. 
Chapman, Mask of Middle Temple and Lincoln's Inn. 
I never look'd for better of that rascall 
Since he came miching first Into onr house. 
Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness. 
2. To be guilty of anything sly, skulking, or 
mean, such as carrying on an illicit amour, or 
pilfering in a sneaking way. See michcr. 
What made the Gods so often to trewant from Heaucn, 
and m/tch hcere on earth, but beautie ? 
I. !il/i. Euphues and his England, p. 279. 
miche'-'t, and n. A Middle English form of 
nuii-li. 
miche 3 t, See miteli. 
michelt, a. and n. See mickle. 
Michelangelesque (ml-kel-an-jel-esk'), a. [< 
Mii-lii linii/iio (see def.) + -m/w.] Pertaining 
to Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), a fa- 
mous Italian sculptor, painter, and architect; 
resembling the style of Michelangelo, or be- 
longing to his school. 
Michelangelism (mi-kel-an'jel-izm), . [< 
Michelaiiyelo (see def.) +-;).] The manner or 
tendencies in art of Michelangelo Buonarroti. 
See Michelangclesqiit, 
It shuns the Scylla of nullity and bad taste only to fall 
Into the Charybdis of MichelanifeH^nn. 
C. C. Perkiiu, Italian Sculpture, p. 850. 
Michelia (ml-ke'li-ii), . [NL. (Linnaeus, 1774), 
named after Micheli, a Florentine botanist of 
the early part of the 18th century.] A genus of 
plants of the natural order Magnoliacece and 
the tribe Magnoliew, characterized by introrse 
anthers, by having the cluster of pistils raised 
on a stalk, and by the many-seeded carpels. 
They are trees having much the appearance of magnolias, 
but with the flowers usually smaller and (with one ex- 
ception) axillary, whereas magnolia-flowers are terminal. 
Alxmt 12 species are known, natives of tropical and moun- 
tainous Asia. The most noteworthy species are M. exctlxa, 
the champ, and Jf. Champaca, the champak, both valu- 
able economically, the latter a sacred tree in India. See 
champ* and ch<iniitk. 
michellevyite (me-shel-lev'i-it), n. [Named 
after M. Michel Li'ry, a French mineralogist.] 
A mineral having the composition of barite, 
barium sulphate, and probably that species, 
but believed by the describer to belong to the 
monoclinic system. It is found In a massive cleav- 
able form occurring In a crystalline limestone near Per- 
kins Mill, Templeton, Province of Quebec, Canada. 
michert, . [Also mwlici; mracher; < ME. nii/rli- 
er, mechcr; < michel + -ei-1.] One who skulks 
or sneaks; a truant; a mean thief. 
Chyld, be thou Iyer nother no theffe ; 
Be thou no infchrr for myschetfe. 
Knbm fioor(E. E. T. S.), p. 401. 
Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a mifher, and eat 
blackberries? Shale., 1 Hen. IV., ii. 4. 4M. 
micheryt (mich'er-i), . [< MK. miclicrii; < OF. 
*mueheric,(. miirhin; inm-lii r, etc.. hide, skulk: 
see mic/ie 1 .] Theft; pilfering; cheating. 
% Nowe thou shalt full sore able 
That like stelthe of mirherir. 
ll'iii'-f, Conf. V niant . V. 
miching (mich'ing), . [Also meechiiig, meach- 
ii'ij; < ME. michytige; verbal u. of miche^, r.] 
The act of skulking or sneaking; the act of pil- 
fering or cheating. 
For no man of his counsaile knoweth 
What he male gette of hi* michynye- 
Ooteer, Conf. Annul , v. 
Oph. What means this, my lord'/ 
Ham. Marry, this is michimj mallecho; It mean* nils- 
chief. Shot., Hamlet, III. 2. 149. 
We never, Incur whole school course, once played truant ; 
but other boys did, and the proces* was freely talked of 
among us. We called It muhiny, pronouncing the i in 
mich long, as in mile. P. H. Gone, Longman's Mag. 
miching (mich'ing), p. a. [Also meeching,wimli- 
iin.i: ppr. of mirAcl, .] Skulking; sneaking; 
dodging; pilfering; mean. 
Sure she has some meechinj rascal In her house. 
H'-iiii. and PI., Scomful Lady, IT. 1. 
A cat ... grown fat 
With eating many a mii-hiiKj mouse. 
Herrick, His Orange, or Private Wealth. 
But I ain't o' the meechin' kind, thet sets an' thinks fer 
weeks 
The bottom '* out o' th' univarse coz their own gillpot 
leaks. l.inr?lt, Blglow Papers, ?d ser., p. i ::. 
"How came the ship to run up a tailor's bill t " "Why. 
them's mine," said the cap'n, very nieaehin;i. 
S. 0. Jevett, Deeph uvcn, p. I.W. 
micken (mik'en), n. [Origin obscure.] The 
herb spignel : also called Highland mickeii. See 
Meum*. [Scotch.] 
mickle (mik'l), a. and H. [I. a. Also dial, muckle, 
meikle ; < ME. mikel, mekel, mukel, mykel (also 
assibilated m itltcl, mechel, muehcl, moehel, >ult. 
E. much), < AS. micel, mycel = OS. mikil = OLG. 
mikil, MLG. michel = OHG. c/ii7, mihltil, MHG. 
michel = Icel. mikill, mykill = Goth, mil.-i/x. great, 
= GT.fiiyaf (^tja/-), great, akin to L. magnux, 
great (OL. majux, great), compar. major: see 
main 2 , magnitude, etc., major, mayor, etc. II. 
. < ME. mikel.ete., mochct,etc.; partly (in sense 
of 'size') < AS. "micelu, mycelu, size (= OHG. 
mii-luli, greatness, size, = Goth. mikiH, great- 
ness), < micel, mycel, great; and partly the adj. 
used as a noun: see I. Mickle is a more orip. 
form, now obs. or dial., of the word which by 
assibilation and loss of the final syllable has 
become much: see much.] I, a. 1. Great; 
large. 
A ! ini-rc) full maker, full mrklll es thi inighte. 
York Playt, p. 3. 
He has tane up a meikle stane. 
And Hang 't aa far as I cold see. 
The Wee Wee Man (Child's Ballads, I. !>>). 
O mickle is the powerful grace that lies 
In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities. 
Mink., R. and .1 . , II. a. 15. 
2. Much; abundant. 
cruell Boy. alas, how mickle gall 
Thy baenfull shaft mingles thy Mell withall ' 
Sylvetter, tr. of Du Bartaa's Weeks, ii., The Magnificence. 
There was never sae meikle siller clinked in his purse 
either before or since. Scott, Waverley, xriii. 
Let me laugh awhile, I've mickle time to grieve. 
Keatt, Eve of St. Agnes, xiv. 
II. . If. Size; magnitude; bigness. 
A wonder wel-farynge knyght, . . . 
Of good mnchrl, and ryght yonge therto. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 454. 
2. A great deal; a large quantity: as, many 
littles make a mickle. 
micklet, ''. t. [< ME. mikelen. iiiHclrn, nnn-lii-n, 
also assibilated muchelen, < AS. micelian, mic- 
lian, micelian, also gemiclian (= OHG. milihilim 
= Icel. mikla = Goth, mikiljan), become great, 
make great, magnify, < micel. great : see mickle, 
n. Cf. much, r.] "fo magnify. 
micklenesst (mik'1-nes), . [^ ME. mekilnesse, < 
AS. mirelneg, myeelnen, < micel, great: see mickle 
and -wess.] Bigness; great size. 
After this ther com apone thame thane a grete multi- 
tude of swyne, that ware alle of a wonderfulle mekilnette , 
with tuskes of a cubett lenthe. 
MS. Lincoln A. i. 17, f. 28. (IlaUiireU.) 
micky (mik'i), n.; pi. mickies (-iz). [A dim. of 
Mike, a familiar abbreviation of Michael, a, favor- 
ite name among Irishmen, from that of St. Mi- 
chael. Cf. I'(it, I'addi/. similarly derived from 
the name of St. Patrick.'] 1. An Irish boy. 
[Slang, U. S.] 2. A young wild bull. [Aus- 
tralian.] 
There were two or three Mifkiee and wild heifers, who 
determined to have their owner's heart's blood. 
A. C. Grant, Bush-life in Queensland, L 227. 
mico (me'ko), H. [S. Amer.] 1 . A small squir- 
rel-like monkey of South America, one of the 
marmosets or oustitis, of the genus Hn/mlf or 
micro- 
Jnci-hux. II. iirgi-nliitiin is white, with black 
tail and flesh-colored face and hands. 2. 
['"/'.] A genus of marmosets based on this 
species. 
Miconia (mi-ko'ni-ii), n. [NL. (Ruiz and Pa- 
von, 1798), named after D. Micon, a Spanish 
botanist.] A large genus of South American 
plants of the natural order Melastomace<F and 
type of the tribe Micon ietr. it Is characterized by 
terminal Inflorescence, 4- or g-pvted flowers with <>htn*e 
petal*, and a calyx which ha* a cylindrical tnlu- and usu- 
ally a 4- to t) lotted limb. They are tree* or shrubs, with 
very variable foliage, and white, rose-colored, purple, or 
yellowish flowers, which are small, and grow In terminal 
or very rarely lateral clusters. About 400 specie* have 
been enumerated, all confined to tropical America. Quite 
a number are cultivated for ornament. They aomeibnet 
receive the name of Went Indian furrant-lnah. 
Miconieae (ml-ko-ni'e-e), n. pi. [NL. (A. P. 
de Candolle, 1828), < Miconia + -ea:~\ A tribe 
of New World plants, belonging to the natural 
order Melastomacea; typified by the genus Mi- 
conia. It I* characterized by a berry-like or coriaceous 
fruit, which breaks open Irregularly ; by the leave* not 
being grooved between the primary nerve* ; and by the 
anthers opening by one or two pore* or silts, with the 
connective usually having no ap]>endages. The tribe In- 
cludes 25 genera and nearly 1,000 species, all of which 
are Indigenous to tropical America. 
micostalis (mi-kos-ta'lis), .; pi. micostalen 
(lez). [NL. (Wilder and Gage), < F. micostal 
(Straus-Durckheim), supposed to stand for 
microcontal, < Gr. fitn/ric, small, + L. conta, rib : 
see cental.] A muscle of the fore leg of some 
animals, as the cat, corresponding to the hu- 
man teres minor. 
micrander (mik-ran'der). . [< Gr. jimpk, small, 
+ avi/p (avip-), male.] A dwarf male plant 
produced by certain confervoid alga>. The an- 
drospores, which are peculiar zoospore* produced non- 
sexually in special cells of the parent plant, fix themselves 
(after swarming) upon the female plant and produce these 
very small male plant*. 
MicrastUT (mik-ras'ter), n. [NL., < Gr. fttnp6(, 
small, + LL. astur, a species of hawk: iteeAs- 
tur.~\ A genus of hawks of the family f'alconi- 
<Ue and subfamily Acciiiitriiice, established by 
G. R. Gray in 1841, having the tarsus reticulated 
behind and the nostrils circular with a centric 
tubercle. It is peculiar to America, the species 
ranging from southern Mexico to Bolivia and 
Peru. 
Micrathene (mik-ra-the'ne), H. [NL., < Gr. fti- 
cpof, small, +'\0i/vti, Athene: see Athene.'] A 
genus of Strigidte established by Coues in 1866 ; 
the elf-owls. It includes the most diminutive of owl*, 
with small weak bill and feet, relatively long rounded 
wings, square tail with broad rectrices. tarsi feathered only 
above, the feet elsewhere covered with bristles, and middle 
toe with claw as long a* the tarsus. The type and only 
species Is Jf. irhitneyi, an insectivorous owl of arboreal 
habits, found in the southwestern United States and part* 
of Mexico. It Is only about six Inches long. Alao called 
micraulic (mik-ra'lik), n. [< NL. micraulicwx, 
< Qt.uixp&c, small, + NL. tiulu, aula: see aula, 
2.] Having the aula small ; specifically, of or 
pertaining to micraulica. 
micraulica (mik-ra'li-ka), . pi. [NL. : see 
niii-fiiiilii'.} Animals wtiose aula is small and 
whose cerebral hemispheres are vertically ex- 
panded. They are amphibians, dipnoans, rep- 
tiles, birds, and mammals. Wilder, Amer. Nat., 
Oct., 1887, p. 914. 
Micrembryese (mik-rem-bri'e-e), . pi. [NL. 
(Bentham and Hooker, 1880). < Gr. /j/xoof , small, 
+ l/i,-lpvov, a germ : see embryo.'] A series of 
dicotyledonous apetalous plants. It I* charac- 
terized by an ovary consisting of a single carpel or of sev- 
eral united or distinct carpels, by the ovules being solitary 
or rarely several in each carpel, and by the seed baring 
copious fleshy or starchy albumen and a very small em- 
bryo. It includes 4 orders (Piprrarea, Chfarantharrir, 
MyrUieta, and Mnnimiacea\ : genera, nd nearly 1,300 
-I- i--. 
micrencephalous (mik-ren-sef'a-lus), a. [< Gr. 
puip6(, small, + f j'^a/oc, the brain.] Small- 
brained; having a small brain. 
micristologV (mik-ris-tol'cVji), w. [< Gr. funpof, 
small. + K. liistoliii/y.] The science which 
treats of the minutest organic fibers. Thomas, 
Med. Diet. 
micro (mi'kro), . [< micro-, as used in Micro- 
cnleoptcra, etc.] In entom., any small insect. 
Thus, Microcolcoptfra are small beetles, Microdiptm are 
small flies, etc.: and in familiar language, when the mean- 
ing Is sufficiently determined by the connection, such 
word* are abbreviated to micro, when not so determined, 
micro always means one of the Microlepidopltra. 
micro- (usually mi'kro. but also, better, mik'ro). 
[ I,., etc.. )///</./-, < Gr. fwsptf, also Ofuicp6c, small, 
little.] An element of Greek origin, meaning 
'small, little'; specifically, in physics, a prefix 
indicating a unit one millionth part of the unit 
it is prefixed to: as, microfarad, microhm, etc. : 
