miff 
When a little quarrel or miff, as it is vulgarly called, 
arose between them. Fidding, Tom Jones, iii. 6. (Dailies.) 
II. a. Vexed; offended; angry. [Bare.] 
Being mi^with him myself. 
W. Taylor, Mem. by Robberds, I. 477. (Dames.) 
miff (mif), v. t. [< miff, n.] To give a slight 
offense to ; displease : nearly always in the 
past participle : as, she was somewhat miffed. 
[Colloq.] 
might 1 (mit), n. [< ME. mighte, myghte, miht, 
mylit, mygt, also maught, macht, maht, < AS. miht, 
mieht, meht, mceht, mealit = OS. malit = OFries. 
macht = D. magt = MLG. macht = OHG. MHO. 
maht, G. macht = Icel. mdttr (leel. also maht, 
me)ct8w. maJct= Dan. magt, after G.) = Goth. 
mahts, power, might ; with abstract formative 
-t (-U-) (cf. the adj., AS. meaht, maht, power- 
ful, possible, = Goth, mahts, possible), from 
the root of may 1 (AS. magan, ind. maig), be 
able, have power : see may 1 .'] 1. The quality 
of being able; ability to do or act; power; 
active personal force or strength, physical or 
mental: as, a man of might; the might of intel- 
lect. 
Than thei armed hem that were in the Castell with all 
theire myght, and com oute in all haste. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 282. 
Bring him back again to me, 
If it lie in your might. 
Robin Hood and the Beggar (Child's Ballads, V. 194). 
To the measure of his might 
Each fashions his desires. 
Wordsworth, Bob Roy's Grave. 
2. Power of control or compulsion ; ability to 
wield or direct force ; commanding strength : 
as, the might of empire. 
He her unwares attacht, and captive held by might. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. ix. 6. 
Cleopatra . . . submits her to thy might. 
Shak., A. and C., iii. 12. 17. 
3. Physical force; material energy. 
Whirlpools and storms with circling anus invest, 
With all the might of gravitation blest. 
Pope, Dunciad, ii. 318. 
With might and main, with the utmost strength or 
bodily exertion. 
Toward Wircestre he com with myght and mayn. 
JKob. of Brunne, p. 56. 
With might and main they chased the murderous Fox. 
Dryden, Cock and Fox, 1. 749. 
might 2 . Preterit of may 1 . 
mightful (mit'ful), a. [< ME. myghtful, miht- 
ful, migtful, etc. (= G. machtvoll) ; < might 1 + 
-ful.~\ Mighty; powerful. 
Thou mightefull maker that markid vs and made vs. 
York Plays, p. 8. 
My lords, you know, as know the mightful gods. 
Shak., Tit. And., iv. 4. 5. 
mightfulnesst (mit'ful-nes), n. [ME. myghtful- 
nes; < mightful + -ness.] The quality of being 
mighty; strength; power. 
mightily (mi'ti-li), adv. [ME. myghtely, migt- 
ili, < AS. mihtiglice (= OS. mahtiglic = MLG. 
mechtichlik, adj.), < mihtig, powerful : see mighty 
and -ly 2 .] 1. In a mighty manner; by great 
power, force, or strength; vigorously; vehe- 
mently; earnestly. 
Myne enemyes mygttti me assay. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 70. 
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Baby- 
lon the great is fallen. Rev. xviii. 2. 
And do as adversaries do in law, 
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends. 
Shak., T. of the S., i. 2. 279. 
2. Greatly; in or to a great degree ; very much. 
[Now only colloq.] 
To my house, where D. Gauden did talk a little, and he 
do mightily acknowledge my kindness to him. 
Pepyi, Diary, Sept. 26, 1668. 
This gentleman deals mightily in what we call the irony. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 438. 
mightiness (ml'ti-nes), n. 1. The state or 
attribute of being mighty ; power ; greatness ; 
also, high dignity. 
In a moment see 
How soon this mightiness meets misery ! 
Shak., Hen. VIII., Prol., 1. 30. 
2. A title of dignity: particularly in the phrase 
their High Mightinesses the States-General of 
the Netherlands. 
Will 't please your mightiness to wash your hands? 
Shak., T. of the S., Ind., ii. 78. 
A great tract of wild land, granted to him by their High 
Mightinesses the Lords States General. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 179. 
3. Great degree ; great amount. 
To shew the mightinesse of their malice, after his holye 
soule departed, they perced his holye heart with a sharpe 
speare. Sir T. More, Works, p. 1260. 
3758 
mightless (mit'les), a. [= D. magteloos, machte- 
loos = MLG. machtelos, machtlos = MHG. maht- 
los, G. machtlos = Icel. mattlauss = Sw. magtlos 
= Dan. magteslos; < TOM//!* -t- -less.] Powerless. 
The rose is myghtles, the nettille spredis ouer fer. 
Mob. of Brunne, p. 280. 
There is nought more mightless than man. 
The Academy, March 3, 188S, p. 143. 
mightlyt (mlt'li), a. [< ME. myghtly (= Icel. 
mdttuligr) ; < might + -ly 1 .] Mighty. 
He shuld gretter lorde be ; 
More pusaunt, ful myghtly, and ryght gret 
Then any of hys kynred in centre. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 212. 
mighty (mi'ti), a. [< ME. mighty, myghty, mihti, 
magty, etc., < AS. mihtig, mwhtig, meahtig (= OS. 
mahtig = OFries. mechtich, machtich = D. mag- 
tig, machtig = MLG. mechtich = OHG. mahtig, 
mahtic, MHG. mehtic, G. machtig = Icel. mat- 
tigr, contr. mattkar, mattkan, mdttkir = Sw. 
magtig = Dan. magtig = Goth, mahteigs), pow- 
erful, possible, <miht, meaht, might: seemight 1 , 
n.] 1. Possessed of or endowed with might; 
having much ability, strength, or power; emi- 
nently strong, powerful, or great: as, a mighty 
conqueror; a mighty intellect; a man mighty 
in argument. 
The mightie King.of Macedoyne moste was adonted 
Of any wight in the worlde. 
Alisaunder of Macedoine (E. E. T. S.), 1. 400. 
And I will bring you out from the people . . . with a 
mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm. Ezek. xx. 34. 
A certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an 
eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures. Acts xviii. 24. 
He stood, and questioned thus his mighty mind. 
Pope, Iliad, xxii. 137. 
No mightier armament had ever appeared in the British 
Channel. ilacaulny, Hist. Eng., xviii. 
2. Marked by or manifesting might; very 
great, important, or momentous ; of uncommon 
force, consequence, size, number, etc. 
Hire myghty tresses of hire sonnysshe heres, 
tlnbroiden, hangen al aboute hire eeres. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 816. 
If the mighty works which have been done in thee had 
been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this 
day. Mat. xi. 23. 
There arose a mighty famine in that land. Luke xv. 14. 
We were encounter'd by a mighty rock. 
Shak., C. of E., i. 1. 102. 
The greatest News about the Town is of a mighty Prize 
that was taken lately by Peter Van Heyn. 
Howell, Letters, I. vi. 22. 
Stand farther off yet, 
And mingle not with my authority ; 
I am too mighty for your company. 
Fletcher (and another 1 !), Prophetess, v. 2. 
Job and his three Friends . . . had a mighty sense of 
God and Providence and the Dutiesof Religion upon their 
minds. Stttlingfteet, Sermons, II. ix. 
And from his blazon 'd baldric slung 
A mighty silver bugle hung. 
Tennyson, Lady of Shalott, iii. 
High and mighty. See high. = Syn. 1. Sturdy, robust, 
puissant, valiant. 2. Vast, enormous, immense, huge, 
stupendous, monstrous ; violent, vehement, impetuous, 
mighty (mi'ti), adv. [< mighty, a.] In a great 
degree; very; exceedingly: as, mighty wise; 
mighty thoughtful. [Colloq.] 
A lacquer'd Cabinet, some China-ware, 
You have 'em mighty cheap at Pekin Fair. 
Prior, Daphne and Apollo. 
There is a probability of succeeding about that fellow 
that is mighty provoking. Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. 8. 
migniardt, mignardt (min'yard), a. [Also 
miniard; < OF. mignard, F. mignard, with suf- 
fix -ard, equiv. to mignon, delicate, pretty, a 
person beloved: see minion. Cf. mignonette.] 
Delicate; dainty; pretty. 
Love is brought up with those soft migniard handlings, 
His pulse lies in his palm. 
B. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, i. 2. 
migniardiset, migniardizet (min'yar-diz), n. 
[Also miniardize; < OF. mignardise, F. mignar- 
dise, < mignard, delicate: see mignard.] Deli- 
cacy; daintiness; kind usage; fondling; wan- 
tonness. 
Entertain her and her creatures too 
With all the migniardise and quaint caresses 
You can put on them. 
B. Jonson, Staple of News, ii. 1. 
migniardiset, migniardizet (min'yar-diz), v. t. 
[Also miniardize; < migniardise, n., as if < 
migniard + 4ze.] To render migniard or deli- 
cate; soothe. 
Wanton spirits that did migniardise, and make the lan- 
guage more dainty and feminine. Howell, Letters, iv. 19. 
migniont, mignont, . and . See minion 1 . 
mignonette (min-yo-net'), n. [< F. mignonnetle, 
the flower so called, dim. of mignon, delicate, 
migration 
pretty, gracefully pleasing: see million 1 .] 1. A 
well-known plant, Reseda odorata, native in 
northern Africa. Its racemes of small greenish-white 
flowers with prominent brown anthers are not showy, but 
the plant is a universal favorite in gardens on account of 
its fragrance. In ordinary culture it is an annual, but it 
is naturally shrubby, and by proper care can be made to 
thrive for several years in the form of tree-mignonette. 
The perfume is best extracted by enfleurage. 
2. Some other species of the genus Reseda. 
The white mignonette, R. alba, a tall plant with white 
scentless blossoms, has sometimes been cultivated. The 
wild or dyer's mignonette, R. htteola, is better known as 
dyer's-weed or rocketweed. See dyer's- weed. Jamaica 
mignonette. See Lawsonia. Mignonette lace. See 
lace. Mignonette netting, a simple kind of netting 
used for window-curtains. Diet, of Needlework. Migno- 
nette pepper, in cookery, pepper unground, or ground 
very coarse. Mignonette-vine, a plant, Madia elegans, 
from Pacific North America. [Eng.] Tree- mignonette, 
a plant of any common variety of mignonette trained in 
an erect form and prevented from flowering early by hav- 
ing the ends of the shoots pinched off. 
migraine (mi-gran'), . Same as megrim. 
migrainous (mi-gra'nus), a. [< migraine + 
-CMS.] Pertaining to or caused by megrim: as, 
migrainous vertigo. 
The various forms of headache dyspepsic, migrainous, 
neuralgic, cerebral. Lancet, No. 3422, p. 690. 
migramt, n. An obsolete form of megrim. 
migrant (mi'grant), a. and n. [= Pg. migrante, 
(. L. migran(t-^s, ppr. of migrare, migrate, re- 
move: see migrate.] I. a. Changing place; 
migratory. 
For now desire of migrant change holds sway. 
The Century, XXXI. 115. 
II. n. 1. One who migrates ; a wanderer. 
The unhappy migrants may be, if not magnificently, at 
least hospitably, entertained. Foote, The Minor, Ded. 
2. In zool., specifically, a migratory animal, as 
a bird. 
These are true migrants; but a number of other birds 
visit us occasionally, and can only be classed as stragglers. 
A. R. Wallace, Distribution of Animals, 1. 19. 
migrate (mi'grat), v. i. ; pret. and pp. migrated, 
ppr. migrating. [< L. migratus, pp. of migrare, 
(> It. migrare), move from one place to an- 
other, remove, depart, migrate ; perhaps con- 
nected with meare, go. Cf. emigrate, immi- 
grate.] To pass or remove from one place of 
residence or habitat to another at a distance, 
especially from one country or latitude to an- 
other; in a general sense, to wander. 
Those truly home-bred and genuine sons of the soil who 
have never migrated beyond the sound of Bow-bells. 
W. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 379. 
= Syn. Migrate, Emigrate, Immigrate. To migrate is to 
change one's abode, especially to a distance or to another 
country, emphasis being laid: upon the change, but not 
upon the place of departure or that of stopping, and the 
stay being generally not permanent. Emigrate, to migrate 
from, views the person as leaving his previous abode and 
making a new home ; immigrate, to migrate into, views 
him as coming to the new place. The Arab migrates; the 
European coming to America is an emigrant to those whom 
he leaves, and an immigrant to the Americans. Migrate 
is applicable to animals; the other terms are generally 
used of the movements of men. 
migration (ml-gra'shon), n. [< F. migration 
= Pg. migragSo = It. migrazione, < L. migra- 
tio(n-), < migrare, pp. migratus, migrate: see 
migrate.] 1. The act of migrating; change 
of residence or habitat; removal or transit 
from one locality or latitude to another, espe- 
cially at a distance. Among animals, the most exten- 
sive and regular migrations are performed by birds during 
spring and fall, and in a general way along meridians of 
longitude, the vernal migration being northward, the au- 
tumnal southward. This is ordinary or equatorial migra- 
tion. In cold and temperate latitudes of the northern 
hemisphere nearly all insectivorous birds perform migra- 
tion. Some, as sandpipers, which breed only in high lati- 
tudes, may be dispersed during their migration over a 
great part of the world. Others, as swallows, are noted 
not only for the extent but for the rapidity and regularity 
of their movements, their arrival and departure being 
capable of prediction with considerable accuracy. The 
migration of many water-fowls is scarcely less notable in 
the same respects. Migration seems to be determined, 
primarily and chiefly, by conditions of food-supply, but 
this does not fully account for the apparently needless 
extent and the wonderful periodicity of the movement, 
nor for the fact that individuals sometimes return to 
exactly the same spot to breed again, after passing the 
winter perhaps thousands of miles away. Migrations of 
mammals are more irregular than those of birds, less 
definitely related to latitude and longitude, and more ob- 
viously dependent upon food-supply : such are the excur- 
sions, often in enormous hordes, of various arctic ani- 
mals, as lemmings and other rodents, reindeer, musk- 
oxen, foxes, etc. Such movements do not appear to be 
specially related to reproduction. Many fishes migrate 
from and back to the sea, ascending rivers to spawn, as 
is notably the case with anadromous fishes of the salmon 
and herring families ; with eels the case is reversed ; with 
many fishes the catadromous migration is between deeper 
and shallower, or colder and warmer, salt water. Peri- 
odical migration is also marked with certain insects. 
Thus, Anosia plexippus, the milkweed-butterfly, migrates 
southward in the fall to hibernate in the pine woods of 
