Mniotilta 
one species 37. varia, the common black-and- white creeper 
of the United States. The bill and feet are black. The 
entire plumage is streaked and spotted with black and 
white. This bird abounds in woodland, and has the habits 
Black-and-white Creeper (Mniatilta varia). 
of a creeper rather than of a warbler. The nest, placed 
on the ground or on a stump or log, is built of moss, bark 
strips, grass, leaves, hair, etc. ; the eggs are 4 or 5 in num- 
ber and white in color, profusely speckled with reddish. 
Mniotilteae (ni-o-til'te-e), n. pi. [NL., < Mnio- 
tilta + -eie.~\ A restricted section of Sylvicolidw; 
the creeping warblers proper of the genera Mni- 
otilta, I'arula, and Protonotaria. S. F. Baird, 
1858. 
Mniotiltidas (m-o-tii'ti-de), u. pi. [NL., < 
Mniotilta + -idee.] An extensive family of os- 
cine passerine birds, named from the genus Mni- 
otilta, formerly ofteiier called Sylvicolida.' ; the 
American warblers. They have 8 primaries, 12 rec- 
trices, scutellate tarsi, and a moderate bill usually notched 
and furnished with rictal vibrissa;. There are many genera 
and upward of 100 species, all confined to America. They 
are small and usually prettily colored birds of the wood- 
land, all insectivorous and in temperate and cold regions 
migratory. They abound in species and individuals in east- 
ern portions of the United States, where they form a very 
characteristic feature of the avifauna. Leading genera 
in that country are Dendrceca, Mniotilta, Panda (or Comp- 
gothlypis), Protonotaria, Helmintherus, Helminthophila, 
Qeothlypis, Icteria, Myiodiocten, and Setopha/ja. The fam- 
ily is usually divided into 8 subfamilies: MniotUtinte (or 
SylmcolintK), Icteriince (or Qeothlypince), and Setophayinoe, 
or the woodrwarblers, ground-warblers, and fly-catching 
warblers respectively. Also called Dendroecidce. 
mo, moe 1 (mo), a. and adc. [= So. mae, < ME. 
mo, ma, < AS. ma (= OFries. md = MHG. me), 
more (in number), a reduced compar. form con- 
nected with the adj. mdra, more: see more 1 .] 
More . The form mo is often used by Shakspere, Spenser, 
etc., and sometimes archaically by more recent writers; 
but the tno which is common in the vulgar speech of the 
southern United States is a negro pronunciation of io?v 
(properly written mo'). 
His Ave Maria he lerid hym alswa, 
And other prayers many ma. 
MS. Lincoln A. i. 17, f. 142. (Hattiwell.) 
There were wont to ben 5 Soudans : but now there is no 
ma but he of Egypt. Mandeettle, Travels, p. 36. 
I sawe Calliope with Muses moe. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., June. 
The children of Israel are mo and mightier than we. 
Ex. i. 9 (Oxf., 1717). (Nares.) 
Mo. In chem., the symbol for molybdenum. 
mo. An abbreviation of month. 
moa (mo'a), n. [New Zealand.] A gigantic 
extinct bird of the family Itiiiornithidcv. See 
cut under Dinornis. 
Moabite (mo'a-bit), . and u. [< LL. Moubites, 
< Gr. M(ja/3(TT/f, < Mwd/i, also M<ia/3of (> LL. 
Moab), < Heb. Md'abh, Moab.] I. n. One of a 
tribe of people descended from Moab, one of the 
sons of Lot (Gen. xix. 36, 37), anciently inhabit- 
ing the mountainous region lying to the east of 
the Dead Sea and of the lower part of the river 
Jordan. 
II. a. Pertaining to Moab or the Moabites. 
Moabite stone, a slab of black basalt bearing an in- 
scription of thirty-four lines in Hebrew-Phenician char- 
acters, the oldest monument of the Semitic alphabet It 
was found in 1868 at the ancient Dibon of Moab. Before 
it could be removed it was broken in many pieces, through 
the jealousies of Arab tribes, but a squeeze of the inscrip- 
tion had been previously taken, and the chief fragments 
are now in the Louvre Museum. The stone is the most 
important surviving relic of Moabite civilization, and is 
believed to date from about 900 B. c. The inscription re- 
cords the victories of King Mesha over the Israelites. 
Moabitess (mo'a-bi-tes), n. [< Moabite + -ess.'] 
A female Moabite. 
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daugh- 
ter in law, with her. Ruth i. 22. 
Moabitic (mo-a-bit'ik), a. [< Moabite + -ic.~] 
Relating or pertaining to the Moabites ; Moa- 
bite : as, the Moabitic prophecies. 
moan 1 (mon), v. [Early mod. E. mone; < ME. 
monen, moonen, also meneit, < AS. mceiian, moan, 
3808 
lament: see mean 4 .] I. intraiis. 1. To utter a 
low dull sound expressive of physical or mental 
suffering ; lament inarticulately or with mourn- 
ful utterance. 
Let there bechance him pitiful mischances 
To make him moan. Shak., Lucrece, 1. 977. 
A sound as though one moaned in bitter need. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 155. 
2. To give forth a saddening or gloomy sound, 
like one in distress; sound like a low cry of 
distress. 
And listens to a heavy sound, 
That moans the mossy turrets round. 
Scott, L. of L. M., i. 12. 
Though the harbour bar be moaning. 
Kingdey, Three Fishers. 
3f. To murmur; complain; protest. 
Than they of the towne began to mone, and sayd, this 
dede ought nat to be sutfred. 
Berners, tr. of Froissart's Chron., I. cccxlviii. 
II. trans. 1. To lament; deplore; bewail. 
Much seemed he to mone her haplesse chaunce. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. iii. 25. 
Moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight 
Shak., Sonnets, xxx. 
2t. To cause to make lamentation; afflict; dis- 
tress: as, "which infinitely moans me," Beau, 
and Fl. 
moan 1 (mon), . [Early mod. E. mone; < ME. 
mone, moyne; from the verb.] 1. A low dull 
sound expressing grief or pain; a sound of 
lamentation not so deep as a groan; audible 
expression of sorrow ; grief expressed in words 
or cries. 
Sullen moans, 
Hollow groans, 
And cries of tortured ghosts ! 
Pope, St. Cecilia's Day, 1. 60. 
Hence 2. A low dull sound resembling that 
made by a person moaning. 
Rippling waters made a pleasant moan. Byron. 
St. Lament; lamentation; complaint: espe- 
cially in the phrase to make one's moan. 
At-after dinner gonne they to daunce, 
And synge also, save Dorigene alone, 
Which made alway hire compleint and hire mone. 
Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 192. 
They make their moan that they can get no money. 
Latimer, 2d Sermon bet Edw. VI., 1550 
Oh, here 's my friend ! 1 11 make my moan to him. 
Beau, and Fl., Wit at Several Weapons, iii. 1. 
moan' 2 (mo'an). a. [< moa + -an.] Moa-like; 
of or pertaining to a moa. 
moanfult (mon'ful), o. [Formerly also motit- 
ftil; < moan 1 + -ful.] Sorrowful; mournful. 
At last, in moanful march, they went towards the other 
shepherds. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iv. 
He saw a monefvle sort 
Of people. Warner, Albion's England, i. 4. 
moanfullyt (mon'ful-i), adc. In a moanful 
manner; with moans or lamentation. 
This our poets are ever moanfutty singing. 
Barrow, Works, III. viii. 
Moaria (mo-a'ri-a), . [NL., < moa, q. v.] In 
zoogeog., a hypothetical South Pacific continent 
of which only New Zealand and other Oceanian 
or Polynesian islands remain : so called from 
the supposed former range of the moas. Its as- 
sumed existence accounts for many features of the present 
geographical distribution of animals and plants. The name 
was proposed by Dr. Mantel). 
Moarian(mo-a'ri-an),. [< Moaria + -OH.] Of 
or pertaining to Moaria. 
moat 1 (mot), n. [Early mod. E. mote; < ME. 
mote, < OF. mote, an embankment, motte, a little 
hill, butt, clod, lump, turf, = Pr. mota, an em- 
bankment, = Sp. Pg. mota, a mound, =It. inotta, 
a mound, a moat, < ML. mota, a mound, hill, a 
hill on which a castle is built, a castle, an em- 
bankment, a ditch, also turf; prob. of Teut. 
origin: cf. G. dial. (Bav.) mott, peat, (Swiss) 
mntte, turf, = D. mot, dust of turf. Cf. also IT. 
mota, a hill. For the inclusion of the two senses 
'embankment' and 'ditch,' cf. dike and ditch.'] 
It. A mound; a hill. 
I lyken it tylle a cete [city] that war wroght 
Of gold, of precyouse stones sere, 
Opon a mote, sett of berylle clere, 
With walles, and wardes, and turrettes, 
And entre", and yhates, and garrettes. 
Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1. 8898. 
2. In fort., a ditch or deep trench dug round 
the rampart of a castle or other fortified place, 
and often filled with water. 
Or as a moat defensive to a house, 
Against the envy of less happier lands. 
Shak., Rich. II., U. 1. 48. 
The Citadell is moted round about with a broade mote of 
tine running water. Conjat, Crudities, I. 124. 
3t. A building; dwelling; abode. 
mobbify 
By-jonde the broke by slente other slade, 
1 hoped that mote merked wore. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), i 142. 
moat 1 (mot), r. t. [Early mod. E. mote; < moat 1 , 
>i.] To surround with a ditch for defense; 
also, to make or serve as a moat for. 
He paints, he carves, he builds, he fortifies, 
Makes citadels of curious fowl and nsh. 
Some he dry-dishes, some moats round with broths. 
B. Jonson, Staple of > T ews, iv. 1. 
The first Europeans who settled here were the Portu- 
guese. They also built the great Fort : but whether they 
moted round the Hill, and made an Island of that spot of 
ground, I know not. Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 161. 
moat-t, a. An obsolete spelling of mote 1 . 
moatet, '. A variant of mute 3 . 
moated (mo'ted), a. [< moat 1 + -cd?.] Fur- 
nished with a moat. 
There, at the moated grange, resides this dejected Mari- 
ana. Shalt., M. for M., iii. 1. 277. 
A great castle near Valladolid, 
Moated and high and by fair woodlands hid. 
Longfellow, Wayside Inn, Theologian's Tale. 
moat-hen (mot'hen), . Same as marsh-Tien (e). 
An earlier name [for the moor-hen] was Moat-hen, which 
was appropriate in the days when a moat was the ordi- 
nary adjunct of most considerable houses in the country. 
A. Newton, Encyc. Brit., XVI. S08. 
mob 1 (mob), ii. [< MD. mop, a woman's cap 
(D. mop-mitts, a night-cap, < mop + mitts, a cap: 
see mutch). Cf. wjo/J 1 .] A mob-cap. 
Went in our mobs to the dumb man (Duncan Campbell], 
according to appointment. Addison, Spectator, Xo. 323. 
Some pretty young ladies in mobs popped in here and 
there. Steele, Guardian, 
mob 1 (mob), v. t. ; pret. and pp. mobbed, ppr. 
inobbi>i(/. [( mob 1 , .] 1. To conceal or cover, 
as the face, by a cap or hood. 
Having most of them chins as smooth as women's, and 
their faces mob'd In hoods and long coats like petticoats. 
Dr. H. More, Epistles to the Seven Churches, Pref. to ii. 
I have known her for two months take possession of our 
easy chair, mobbed up in flannel night-caps. 
Goldsmith, To the Printer. 
2. To dress awkwardly. Halliieell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
mob 2 (mob), n. [Abbr. of mobile, orig. mobile 
vulgus, the fickle crowd: see mobile^, n.~\ 1. 
The common mass of people ; the multitude ; 
hence, a promiscuous aggregation of people in 
any rank of life; an incoherent, rude, or dis- 
orderly crowd ; rabble. 
I may note that the rabble flrst changed their title, and 
were called the mob, in the assemblies of this club [Green 
Ribbon Club]. Roger North, Examen, p. 574. (Davien.) 
A mob of cobblers and a court of kings. 
Dryden, Cock and Fox, 1. 328. 
The mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. i. 108. 
Though he [William IV.] has trotted about both town 
and country for sixty -four years, and nobody ever turned 
round to look at him, he cannot stir now without a mob, 
patrician as well as plebeian, at his heels. 
GremUe, Memoirs, July 18, 1830. 
2. A riotous assemblage ; a crowd of persons 
gathered for mischief or attack ; a promiscuous 
multitude of rioters. 
He shrunk from the dangers that threatened him, and 
sacrificed his conscience and his duty to the menaces of a 
mob. Bp. Portew, Works, V. xxii. 
Fire-engines were no longer needed to wet down huge 
mobs that threatened to demolish the Caroudelet Street 
brokers' shops or the Cuban cigar-stores. 
G. W. Cable, Creoles of Louisiana, p. 261. 
3. A herd, as of horses or cattle; a flock, as of 
sheep. [Australian.] 
They suggested a romantic turn of mind, whereas she 
was only thinking "I wonder whether there will be a mob 
of fat cattle ready for the butcher next month." 
Mrs. Campbell Praed, The Head Station, p. -i. 
Swell mob. Seesweli-mob. = Syn. Rabble, etc. Seepopu- 
lace. 
mob 2 (mob), . t.: pret. and pp. mobbed, ppr. 
mobbing. [< mob*, .] 1. To attack in a dis- 
orderly crowd; crowd round and annoy; beset 
tumultuously, whether from curiosity or with 
hostile intent : as, to mob a person in the street. 
The fair Mrs. Pitt has been mobbed in the park, and with 
difficulty rescued by some gentlemen. 
Walpole, Letters (1749), I. 213. 
George Thompson was mobbed from this platform. 
W. Phillips, Speeches, p. 58. 
2. To scold. HaUiwcll. [Prov. Eng.] 
mobbardt, . [ME. mobburd, mobard; origin 
obscure.] A clown. 
Nay, such mobardis schall neuere man vs make, 
Erste schuldc we dye all at onys. York Plays, p. 246. 
mobbifyt(mob'i-f!),r. t. [< io62 + -/-/'/.] To 
mob ; beset or surround in crowds. 
Mobbify out at elections conformable loyal gentlemen. 
Koi/er yorth, Examen, p. 846. (Dames.) 
