The Downy Mildew 
of the Grape (Ptrono 
spora -viticola), mag 
nificil. 
mildew 
militott, MHG. miltou, G. mehlthau = Sw. mjol- 
(lagg = Dan. meldttg the form mele-, D. meet-, 
etc., simulating mclu, etc., = E. meafl), honey- 
dew, < *mile (= Goth, milith = L. mel = Gr. pc'Ai, 
IteTjr-'), honey ( > milisc, mylisc, milsc, mylsc, melsc, 
honeyed, sweet, mellow, = Icel. milska, a hon- 
eyed drink), + dedw, dew. The first element 
is disputed, the word having early perished in 
independent use ; but no other explanation than 
that here given is plausible.] 1. A minute 
parasitic fungus which frequently appears on 
the leaves, stems, and various other parts of 
plants or other decaying organic substances as 
a white frost-like down, or in 
spots or with various discolora- 
tions. The name is more properly 
restricted to the Erysiphece, or pow- 
dery mildews, and the Peronosporete, 
or downy mildews. The Uredinece, of 
which Puccinia graminis, the corn- 
mildew of England, is the type, are 
more properly rusts. (See rugt, Ure- 
dinece.) The mildews are among the 
most destructive fungi known. Pero- 
nospora vilicoia is the very destructive 
American downy mildew of the grape, 
and Uncinula ampelopgidis, of which 
the so-called Oidium Tuckeri is the 
conidial form, is the powdery mildew 
of the grape. Phytophthom infestans 
is the downy mildew of the potato, 
causing the disease known as potato- 
rot. Eryeiphe annmunis is a very 
common mildew on various Legumnwsae, Ranunmlaceas, 
etc. The so-called mildew of linen is produced by a spe- 
cies of Cladosporium. See Cladosporium, Erysiphece, Pero- 
nosporeix. 
2. A state of decay produced in living and dead 
vegetable matter, and in some manufactured 
products of vegetable matter, such as cloth and 
paper, by the ravages of very minute parasiti- 
cal fungi. 
The Lord shall smite thee . . . with mildew. 
Deut. xxviii. 22. 
One talks of mildew and of frost. 
Coivper, Yearly Distress. 
Mildew mortification, gangrenous ergotism, 
mildew (mil'du), . [< mildew, .] I. trans. 
To taint with mildew. 
He ... mildews the white wheat, and hurts the poor 
creature of earth. Shak., Lear, iii. 4. 123. 
It detains . . . books at the Custom House till the 
pages are mildewed. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xxi. 
II, intrans. To become affected with mil- 
dew. 
mildew-bronze (mil'du-bronz), . Bronze in 
which is imitated the effect of aging on bronzes 
lone buried in the ground. 
mildewy (mil'du-i), a. [< mildew + -y 1 .] Af- 
fected by or abounding in mildew; moldy. 
mildly (mild'li), adv. [< ME. mildlich, milde- 
liche, < AS. mildeliee (= D. mildlijk = MLG. 
mildelik = MHG. milticliche, G. mildlich = Icel. 
mildliga = Sw. mildeligen = Dan. mildelig), < 
milde, mild : see mild and -ly 2 .'] In a mild man- 
ner or degree; softly; gently; tenderly; not 
roughly or violently; moderately. 
mildness (mild'ues), n. [< ME. mildews, < AS. 
"mildenes (= OHG. miltnissa), < milde, mild: see 
mild and -ness.'] The state or quality of being 
mild, in any sense of that word; gentleness of 
disposition, manner, action, or effect ; moder- 
ateness of quality or character ; placidity; soft- 
ness; yieldingness. 
mild-spoken (mild'spo"kn), . Mild in speech. 
[Colloq.] 
mile (mil), n. [< ME. mile, myle, < AS. mil = 
D. mijl = MLG. mile, LG. mile = OHG. mila, 
milia, MHG. mile, G. meile = Icel. mila = Sw. 
Dan. mil = OF. mille, mile, F. mille = Pr. Sp. 
mitta = Pg. milha = It. miglio, < ML. milia, 
millia, fern, sing., a mile, < L. mille, sc. passuum, 
a mile, lit. a thousand steps: mille, pi. milia, 
millia, a thousand; passuum, gen. pi. of pas- 
stts, a step: (MjMOA.1 An itinerary measure, 
formerly in use in most European countries, and 
modified from that of the Romans, which was 
equal to 1,617 English yards. The ordinary or statute 
mile is equal to 8 furlongs = 320 perches or poles = 1 760 
yards = 5,280 feet; it was rendered legal by a statute of 
the thirty-fifth year of Elizabeth's reign, which pro- 
hibited building within three miles of London. This mile 
was probably intended to be about the length of a min- 
ute on the earth's surface, but the perch, of which it is an 
exact multiple, already existed. The square mile Is 6,400 
square chains, or 640 acres. The nautical or geographical 
mile has been variously defined : see phrase below. The 
medieval English mile (divided into 10 furlongs) was equal 
to 6,610 feet or 2,015 meters. The old London mile was 
5,000 feet. The miles of continental Europe were of the 
most various lengths, and mostly represented, as it would 
seem, multiples of some modified Roman mile. The an- 
cient Scottish mile was 1,976 yards = 1.128 English miles ; 
the Irish mile, 2,240 yards = 1.273 English miles (11 Irish 
miles being 14 English miles). The Welsh mile was nearly 
3760 
4 miles English. The following table shows the values 
of some of the principal miles in meters : 
Italian Miles. German Miles continued. 
Meters. Meters. 
Eeggio 1593 Hanover 7419 
Modena 1569 Saxony 9062 
Genoa 1488 Brunswick 7419 
Lombardy 1785 Baden 8889 
Naples 2228 Austria 7587 
Rome 1489 
Tuscany 1652 Other Mile:. 
Sicily 1858 ,,,,, , 
x n i rn ino Castile 139Z 
" Portugal 2058 
German Mile,. Greece 1292 
Holland 5847 
.Geographical 7420 Denmark 7538 
Prussia 7632 England 1609 
I nold for al the god that euer God made, 
Abide gou in a brod weie bi a large mile. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.X 1. 1732. 
A merry heart goes all the day, 
Your sad tires in a mite-a. 
Shak., W. T., IT. 2 (song). 
He had ridden five Staffordshire miles. 
RoUn Hoods Birth (Child's Ballads, V. 349). 
Geographical or nautical mile, a mile variously defined 
as : (1) the mean length of a minute of latitude = 6,082.66 
feet ; (2) the length of a minute of the meridian correspond- 
ing to the radius of curvature of the particular latitude, 
varying from 6,045.95 feet at the equator to 6,107.85 feet at 
the poles ; and (3) the length of a minute of longitude on 
the equator = 6,087.15 feet. To remove all uncertainty, the 
United States Coast Survey has adopted the value of the 
nautical mile as equal to one sixtieth part of the length of 
a degree on the great circle of a sphere whose surface is 
equal to the surface of the earth. This value gives one 
nautical mile = 6,080.27feet, which is very nearly the value 
of the Admiralty knot (6,080 feet) adopted by the British 
Hydrographic Office. Three-mile limit, belt, or zone 
(also called the marine belt), in international law, that 
part of the margin of the high seas which is within the 
jurisdiction of the nation possessing the coast, originally 
determined by the circumstance that, at the time this 
limit became generally recognized, a marine league ap- 
proximated fairly to the distance at which cannon on the 
shore would serve to command the water. 1 Whart. Dig. 
Int. Law, 114, 82. 
mileage (mi'laj), n. [Formerly also milage; < 
mile -r -age.~\ 1. Length, extent, or distance in 
miles ; the total or aggregate number of miles of 
way made, used, or traversed : as, the mileage of 
highways or waterways in a country ; the mile- 
age of a railroad-line; the mileage of a year's 
traffic on a railroad, or of travel through a 
country. 2. An allowance or compensation 
for travel or conveyance reckoned by the mile ; 
especially, payment allowed to a public func- 
tionary for the expenses of travel in the dis- 
charge of his duties according to the number 
of miles passed over: as, the mileage of a sheriff, 
circuit judge, or member of Congress or of a 
legislature. 
Private travellers can obtain permission to make use of 
[post-horses] on payment of small mileage-Hues. 
H. 0. Forbes, Eastern Archipelago, p. 52. 
mile-post (mil'post), . A post set up to mark 
distance by miles along a highway or other line 
of travel. 
Milesia (ml-le'si-a), n. [NL.] A genus of 
dipterous insects of the family Syrphidce, found- 
ed by Latreille in 
1805. It Is composed 
of large, robust, nearly 
naked species, black or 
yellowish-brown, with 
yellowish thoracic and 
abdominal markings. 
The genus is mostly de- 
veloped in southeast- 
ern Asia and -the East 
Indian archipelago ; 
but two European spe- 
cies are known, and 
one, M. i. f nuiii is North 
American. Ornate Syrphid (Milesia ornata). 
Milesian 1 (mi-le'- 
shian), a. and n. [< L. Milesius, < Gr. ttldfatot, 
of or pertaining to Miletus, < M</tj?rof, > L. Mi- 
letus, Miletus : see def.] I. a. Pertaining to 
Miletus, an ancient city of Caria, on the Ionic 
coast of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants. 
II. n. A native or an inhabitant of the ancient 
Ionic city of Miletus in Asia Minor. 
Milesian 2 (mi-le'shian or -zhan), a. and n. 
[After Milesian! , < Milesius, a fabulous king 
of Spain.] I. a. Pertaining to Ireland or the 
Irish race. See n. 
II. . A native of Ireland ; a member of the 
Irish race : so called from the tradition of an 
ancient conquest and reorganization of the 
country by two sons of Milesius, a fabulous king 
of Spain. It is supposed that the legendary race of Mile- 
sians were the same as the Scots who conquered Ireland 
in prehistoric times. 
mile-stone (mil'ston), n. A stone or pillar set 
up along a highway or other line of travel to 
mark distance in miles. 
The second mile-stone fronts the garden gate. 
Cmeper, Retirement, 1 
490. 
militancy 
milewayt (mil'wa), . 1. A measure of time: 
the third part of an hour, or twenty minutes. 
2. Five degrees of angular measurement. 
As I have said, 5 of thise degrees maken a m&ewey, A 3 
mttewey maken an howre. Chaucer, Astrolabe, i. 16. 
milfoil (mil'foil), n. [< ME. milfoil, < OF. mil- 
foil, mirfuel, mierfuel, millefueil, m., millefueille, 
F. millefeuille, f., = Pg. milfolhas = It. millefo- 
glie, millefoglio, <. L. millefolium, neut., millefo- 
lia, f., milfoil, lit. (like Gr. ^(o^D/./of, milfoil), 
' thousand leaves,' so called from the abundance 
of its leaves, < mille, a thousand, + folium, leaf: 
see ?nB 2 and foil 1 . Cf . trefoil, quatrefoil, cinque- 
foil, etc.] A composite herb, Acliillea Millefo- 
lium, also called yarrow, it is distributed through- 
out the northern hemisphere, and is found on roadsides, 
in dry pastures, etc. It is a grayish-green plant, a foot or 
two high, the leaves biplnnate and very finely divided, 
the heads in a crowded corymb, their short rays white, 
sometimes rose-colored. Medicinally the milfoil is a mild 
aromatic tonic and astringent. A. moschala, the musk- 
milfoil, a native of the mountains of central and southern 
Europe, is cultivated in Switzerland as a food for cattle. 
The name is sometimes extended to other plants of the 
genus. Water-milfoil, one of various water-plants with 
finely dissected leaves, chiefly of the genus MyriophyUuin. 
The hooded water-milfoil is the bladderwort, Utrieularia 
vulgaris. 
miliat, [L., pi. of milium: see Milium.] Mil- 
let; milleseed. 
They stamp their milia as we do spice, . . . temper with 
fresh water and salt, and make rolls thereof. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 650. 
miliart, [<' ME. miliaire, < L. miliarium (see 
def.).] In Bom. antiq. and later, a tall narrow 
vessel for drawing and warming water: used in 
baths. 
A myliair of lede, the bothom brasse 
Anende the feetes sette it so withoute 
The fourneis, and the fire ther undre passe. 
PaUadms, Husbondrie (E. E. T. 8.), p. 40. 
miliaria (mil-i-a'ri-a), n. [NL., < L. miliaria, 
f em. of miliariiis, belonging to millet : see milia- 
ry.~\ 1. In pathol.,miliary fever. 2. Inornith., 
an old name of the corn-bunting, Emoeriza mili- 
aria, as that of a bird which feeds upon millet. 
It is taken by some authors as a generic name 
of this bunting and its near relatives. 
miliary (mil'i-a-ri), a. [= F. miliaire = Sp. Pg. 
miliar = It. mitiare, < L. miliarius, of or belong- 
ing to mille t, < milium, millet: see millet."] Ee- 
sembling millet-seeds, especially in size (about 
one or two millimeters in diameter) ; accom- 
panied by formations of this size : as, miliary 
glands; miliary tuberculosis; miliary fever. 
See gland, tuberculosis, fever. 
milicet (mi-les'), M. [< F. milice, militia: see 
militia.'] Militia, in a general sense. 
The two-and-twentieth of the prince's age is the time 
assigned by their constitutions for his entering upon the 
publick charges of their milice. 
Sir W. Temple, War in the Low Countries. 
Miliobatis, n. See Myliobatis. 
Miliola(mi-li'o-la), n. [NL., < L. milium, millet : 
see Milium."] A'genus of imperforate foramin- 
ifers, typical of the family Miliolidce. The minute 
fossil tests or shells occur in immense numbers in some 
strata, being the chief constituent of the miliolite lime- 
stone of the Paris basin, for example. 
Miliolidae (mil-i-ol'i-de), n.pl. [NL., < Miliola 
f -idee.] A family of f oraminif erous rhizopods, 
typified by the genus Miliola. They have the test 
imperforate, normally calcareous and porcelaneous, some- 
times incrusted with sand, under starved conditions (for 
example hi brackish water) becoming chitinous or chiti- 
no-arenaceous, and at abyssal depths occasionally consist- 
ing of a thin, homogenous, imperforate silicious film. 
milioliform (mil-i-ol'i-f6rm), a. [< NL. Miliolii 
+ L. forma, form.] Same as milioline. 
milioline (mil'i-o-lin), a. [< NL. Miliola + 
-me 2 .] Pertaining to, characteristic of, or re- 
sembling the Miliolidat or a subfamily Miliolina: : 
as, a milioline chamber or character. 
Abounding near the shores of almost every sea are some 
forms of the Milioline type, so named from the resem- 
blance of some of their minute 
fossilized forms to millet-seeds. 
W. B. Carpenter, Micros., 462. 
miliolite (mil'i-o-lit), a. 
and . [< NL. Miliola + 
-tfe 2 .] I. a. Miliolitic. 
II. n. A fossil milioliiie 
foraminifer. 
miliolitic (miFi-o-lit'ik), a. 
[< miliolite + -ic."] Of or 
pertaining to miliolites; 
containing or consisting 
of miliolites: as, miliolitic 
chalk. 
milit. An abbreviation of military. 
militancy (mil'i-tan-si), . [< militan(t) + -cy.] 
The condition of being militant ; a state of war- 
fare or conflict. 
