mistle 
mlstle'-'t, '' ' An obsolete I'lirm of HIU.-/I '. 
mistlethrush ( mis '1- thrush), H. (_Als<> 
monly missel-thrush; formerly also inisi-ltlinisli. 
misui'l-tritxli ; so called because it is fond of the 
berries of the mistle or mistletoe ; < mistle 1 + 
thrush 1 . Cf. equiv. (j. mis/i l<lros.n-l ( ilfnsscl = E. 
tlirnstlr) and mistier.] A. species of thrush, the 
Turdus viscininis, common in uiost parts of Eu- 
-.11 
Like ooin rare Fruit- Tree over-iopt uitlt 
of Briers and Hushes . . . 
Till clioakt wlthall, It dies as they do growe, 
And bcareth nought but MOM and SluteUae. 
Syleater, tr. of Du BarUs's Weeki, II., The Vocation. 
The mistletoe hung In the castle hall, 
The holly branch hliom- -n tin- old oak-wall. 
T. 11. Bayly, The Mistletoe Bough. 
2. A plant of some other species of Visrum. m- 
of one of the genera Lvrantltiix, I'linrit<li-H(lroii, 
and Arceulli'iiiiiuii. their species almost all hav- 
ing the same parasitic lial.it. The mistletoe (Ku- 
citin) mentioned by Latin writers in their account of tin- 
Druids is thought by some to have been Lomnthus Kvrtt- 
Itonu of southern Europe, said to grow ou a species of o*k 
In the south of France. The mistletoe of the eastern United 
States is Phoradendronjlatxsceiu, common on various trees, 
especially the tupelo and red maple. See nod-bush. 
mistlike (mist'lik), adv. [< mist 1 4- like*.] In 
the manner of a mist. 
Mtstk-tlirush , Turtt 
rope, and some parts of western Asia and north- 
ern Africa. Like the fieldfare, mavis, redwing, black- 
bird, and ring-ouzel, it is an abundant and well-known Eng- 
lish thrush. It ia the largest European bird of its kind, 
measuring from 11 to 1 1 '. inches in length and about In'. 
In extent of wings. The form is stout, and the coloration 
most like that of the song-thrush, T. musicug. The upper 
parts are grayish-brown, grayer on the head, and of a yel- 
lowish tinge on the rump ; there is a whitish streak from 
the bill over the eye, aim the under parts are whitish, pro- 
fusely spotted with black. Also called, locally, alarm-cock, 
thrice-cock, fwltnthriish, screechthrush. 
We meet in Aristotle with one kind of thrush called the 
iin.~-'-l thrush, or feeder upon miseltoe. 
Sir T. Brotrne, Vulg. Err., ii. ti. 
mistletoe (miz'- or mis'l-to), . [Formerly also 
misseltve, misletoc, miseltoe, misleto, var. missel- 
ili'n, ntisseldiite, miseleden; < ME. "mistelton (f ), < 
AS. misteltdn, mix til tan (= Icel. mistilteinn = Dan. 
mistelten), mistletoe, < mistel, bird-lime, also 
mistletoe, and basil, + tan, a twig: see mistle 1 
and Utn't. The second element, having passed 
out of common use as a separate word, suffered 
alteration to -toe, the radical final n being ap- 
par. taken as the old plural suffix -.] 1. A Eu- 
ropean plant, Viscum album, of the natural order 
Lorauthatxte, growing parasitically on various 
trees. It is a jointed dichotomous shrub, with sessile, 
oblong, entire leaves, and small yellowish-green flowers, 
the whole forming a pendent bush, which is covered in 
Branch of Mistletoe (^itcum allmm ). with fruits. 
ii, longitudinal -section through the male dower ; i*, the fem.ilc in6o- 
rescence. 
winter with small white berries containing a glutinous 
substance. The shrub is said to be disseminated by birds, 
which eat the berries and disperse the undigested seeds in 
their droppings It is found on a great variety of trees, 
especially the apple-tree, but seldom on tlm oak. The 
mistletoe (compare def. 2) was consecrated to religious 
pnr|M>sfS by the ancient Celtic nations of Europe, and 
was held in peculiar veneration by the Druids, especially 
u lit n ('omul u'rm\ inn on tile oak. Traces of this old super- 
stitious regard fur the mistletoe still survive in European 
countries, as in the custom of kissing under it at Christ- 
iu:is It was formerly highly esteemed as an .antispas* 
modic, but is not now so used. It seems, however, to 
have some pharmaco-dynamic properties. 
-[ike, infold me from the search of eyes. 
Shot., R, and J., IIL 3. 78. 
mistradltion (mis-tra-dish'pu), . [< mi'*- 1 + 
tradition.] A wrong or false tradition; mis- 
applied tradition. 
The huge corruptions of the Church, 
Monsters of mutraaititm. 
Tennyson, tjueen Mar]', IT. 2. 
mistrain (mis-tran'), r. t. [< mis- 1 + train.'] 
To train or educate amiss. 
With uorruptfull brybes Is to untruth mis-traynal. 
Spenter, F. (J., V. xL M. 
mistral (mis'tral), n. [< F. mistral = Sp. mis- 
tral, < Pr. mistral, OPr. maestral, lit. 'the mas- 
ter-wind,' < maestrc, master, < L. magister, mas- 
ter: see master 1 .'] In southern France and vi- 
cinity, a cold and dry northwest wind which 
blows infurious gusts from time to time in much 
of that region, notably in winter. The mistral 
derives Its peculiar properties from the character of the 
country over which ft blows; it extends from the mouth 
of the Ebro to the liulf of Genoa, but is strongest and 
most frequent over Provence, and especially In the delta 
of the Rhone. Also written waegtral. 
When the Mistral blows, the sky is almost always blue 
and cloudless, and the air very dry ; the contrast between 
the prevailing sunshine and the piercing cold of the wind 
is very striking. In the Khone valley every second day is 
a Mitral day : in Marseilles it blows 175 days In the year. 
Fischer. 
It is only truth to say, however, that the mistral, an odi- 
ous, cold, cutting northeast wind, blows here in the winter, 
and gives Avignon a bad name. 
C. Z>. Warui-r, Roundabout Journey, i. 
mistranscription (mis-tran-skrip'shou), . [< 
mis- 1 + transcription.'] A wrong or imperfect 
transcription ; a faulty copy. 
A mistake arising from the mistranscription of the title. 
Encye. Brit., XV. 218. 
mistranslate (mis-trans-laf), r. t. ; pret. and 
pp. mistranslated, ppr. mistranslating. [< mis- 1 
+ translate.'] To translate erroneously. 
Eusebius by them missc-traiislatftt. 
Bp. Hall, Honour of Married Clergy. 1. 9 -X. 
mistranslation (mis-trans-la'shon), n. [< mis- 1 
+ translation.] An erroneous translation or 
version. 
mistransportt (mis-trans-port'), v. t. [< mis- 1 
+ transport.] To mislead by passion or strong 
feeling. 
And can ye then with patience think that any ingenuous 
Christian should be so farre mis-transported as to condemn 
a good prayer because, as it Is in his heart, so Is it in his 
book too? Bp. Hall, An Humble Remonstrance. 
mistreadingt (mis-tred'ing), n. [< mis- 1 + 
treading.] A wrong treading or going; hence, 
a false step; an evil course. 
But thou dost in thy passages of life 
Make me believe that tbou art only mark'd 
For the hot vengeance and the rod of heaven 
To punish my inigtreadinnt. 
Skat., 1 Hen. IV., Ill 2. IL 
mistreat (mis-tret'), v. t. [< mis- 1 + treat, r.J 
To treat badly ; maltreat; abuse. [Kare.] 
A poor mistreated democratic beast. 
Southey, Nondescripts, iv. (Dames.) 
mistreatment (mis-tret'ment), n. [< mis- 1 
+ treatment.] Wrong or unkind treatment; 
abuse. 
mistress (mis'tres), n. [Formerly also mistres, 
niistris, misteris; < ME. tnaistresse, mastresse, < 
OF. maistresse, F. maitresse = It. maestressa, < 
ML. magistressa. magistrissa, magistrix (for L. 
magistra), fern, of L. magister, master, chief: 
see mister 1 , master 1 . In familiar use the word 
has been contracted to missis or missus, a form 
regarded as vulgar except when written Mrs. 
and used as a title, correlated to Mr. : see missis. 
The term is also abbreviated Miss, esp. as a title, 
now of different signification from Mm. : see 
IMI.S---.] 1. A woman who has authority or pow- 
er of control, as over a house or over other per- 
sons; n female head, chief, or director; a wo- 
mistrial 
man who i> -.T\CC| liy or has tin- ordering of 
others: the t'einiiiine correliitive of miisti-r: an, 
the iiit.iti-i ..< of a family nr of a school. It is 
also extended to things which lire -poken of UH 
feminine. 
The tame seruauntes do werke not to the only vw of hi- 
uld Hantrrm; but to his or their nwne use. 
KngHtk Oilds(f.. E. T. s.\ p. SW. 
Vertne once made that coutrle Mulrn ouer all tlu- 
worlde. Anfliam. The >t.-boleuuuter, p. 7-,'. 
That prudent Pallas, Alblons Mitteru, 
That tiri-at Kliia. 
4rr, tr. of Du llartas's Weeks, II., Babylon. 
The maids ofHcioui round their writtrea wall. 
Iliad, ill. 5-.M. 
At 7 the children are set to work ; 20 under a JHttrtm 
to spin Wool and Flai, to Knit Stockings, 
ijuiitcd In AtMuit't Social Life In Reign of Queen Anne, 
(ILZSi. 
2. A title of address or term of courtesy near- 
ly equivalent to iiiiidinii, formerly applied to 
any woman or girl, bnt now chiefly and peciti - 
cally to married women, written in the abbre- 
viated form Mm. (now pronounced mis'ez), ami 
used before personal names. In English law 
it is the proper style of the wife of an esquire 
or gentleman. See /'--'. 
Tis well, mistress; your choice agrees with mine. 
Skat., Pericles, IL 5. 18. 
If Mr. Bickerstatf marries a child of any of his old com- 
panions, 1 hope mine shall have the preference : there is 
Mr*. Mary is now sixteen. Steele, Tatler. 
Now mi*tress (illuin (careful soul ' i 
Had two stone bottles found. 
Cotrper, John Gilpln. 
In 1834, Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Mr*. 
Hannah More [unmarried) . . . were published. 
Chambrrt, Eng. Literature (ed. Carruthers), VI. 3SS>. 
Mi*. Browning's later poems chiefly concerned public 
affaire. Diet. Xat. Biug., VII. 81. 
3. A woman who has mastered any art or 
branch of study: used also of things. 
Rest, then, assur'd, 
I am the inurfrrx* of my art, and fear not. 
Fletcher (and another :\ Prophetess, IL 1. 
The mind of man is in the duties of religion so little 
tnittrea of strict attention, so unable to fix Itself steadily 
even on (iod. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, II. xix. 
A letter desires all young wives to make themselves 
mistresses of Wlngate's Arithmetic. Adilimu, Spectator. 
4. A woman who is beloved and courted; a 
woman who has command over a lover's heart ; 
a sweetheart : now used only in poetic language 
or as an archaism. 
U ! mistress mine, where are you roaming? 
O ! stay and hear ; your true love 's coming. 
Skat., T. N., IL 3. 40. 
5. A woman who illicitly occupies the place of 
a wife. 
Ay, go, you cruel man ! go to your mistresses, and leave 
your poor wife to her miseries. Colinan, Jealous Wife, i. 
But soon, his wrath being o'er, he took 
Another mistress, or new book. 
Byron, Mazeppa, Iv. 
6f. In the game of bowls, the small ball at which 
the players aim; the jack. 
Zelmane vsing her owne byas. to bowl neer the mistresse 
of her owne thoughts. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, UL 
There 's three rubs gone, I 've a clear way to the mistress. 
Hiddletan, No Wit Like a Woman's, IL 3. 
mistress (mis'tres), r. [< mistress, n.] I.f IH- 
triins. To attend as a lover upon a mistress; 
pay court to women. 
The Idleness, which yet thou canst not file 
By dressing, mistressing, and complement. 
O. Herbert, Church Porch, st. 14. 
II, trans. To become mistress of. [Rare.] 
This one Is a nrst-rate gilder, she mittrtmed It entirely 
in three days. 
C. Reatle, Never too Late to Mend, xlii. (Danes) 
mistresslyt (mis'tres-li), a. [< mistress + -ly 1 -] 
Of or pertaining to a mistresses of a household. 
Will he take from me the mulressly management, which 
I had not faultily discharged? 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, I. 298. (Danes.) 
mistress-ship (mis'tres-ship), M. [< mistress 
+ -shi/>.] 1. Rule or dominion of one who is 
mistress; authority exercised by a woman. 
If any of them shall usurp a mittresuMp over the rest, 
or make herself a queen over them. 
Bp. Hall, Resolutions for Religion, 1 11. 
2f. Ladyship : a style of address, preceded by 
a possessive pronoun: as, vour mistress-skip. 
mistrial (mis-tri'al), n. [( mis- 1 -t- /ri<i/.] In 
late: (a) A trial the result of which is vitiated 
by errors, as by disqualification in a juror or 
in the judge. 
The law here grants a mistrial for Inebriety among the 
jurors, bnt sees no extenuating circumstance In the alco- 
holic Insanity of the accused. 
Alirit. ami -VrwrW . VIII. 270. 
