monster 
By heaven, he echoes me, 
As if there wen . in his thought, 
Too hideous to be shewn. Shot., Othello, lit :!. 107. 
7f. An example; a pattern. 
Trewly she 
Was hlr chefe patrone of beallte 
And chufe cnsamplc of all Mr werke 
Allll llll>llll*lrr. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 912. 
Gila monster. [Sucallcd fnun the <fila river In Arizona.) 
A larse lizard, Iltloitt'rni'i M/>-/ ,-luiti, nf the family lleln- 
i In-, of rliiniMy tlKurc mid niont repulsive aspect, not. 
:itil.- :IH tin: uiily member of the order Lai-rrinitt known 
tu In- vriiiummH, except the very similar //. hnrridum, 
the mutt lizard, found in Mexico. The name is also given 
t" //. AorruJutn. Many-headed monster. See many- 
headed. 
II. a. Of inordinate size or numbers: as, a 
iiionxtfi- gun ; a monster meeting, 
monster (mon'ster), t'. t. [< ME. monxli'i-ii. 
< OF. nioHstrer, < L. monstrare, show: see nion- 
ster, ., and monish. Cf. muster, t'.] 1. To ex- 
hibit; show: muster. See muster. Halliwell. 
[Prov. Kng.] 2f. To make monstrous; exag- 
gerate or magnify extravagantly. 
Men. Pray now, sit down. 
Cor. I had rather have one scratch my head i' the sun 
When the alarum were struck, than idly sit 
To hear my nothings mowter'd. Shale., Cor., it 2. 81. 
Monstera (mou'ste-rft), n. [NL. (Adanson, 
1763); origin unknown.] A genus of mono- 
cotyledonous climbing shrubs of the natural 
order Aracece, type of the tribe Monsteroidea; 
and the subtribe Monstereie, characterized by 
four ovules in a two-celled ovary. There are 12 
species, natives of tropical America. They have large 
3847 
. show: see monster, r., 
and cf. MHstrance.] In the Hum. I'ulli. <'h., ori- 
ginally, any receptacle in which sacred relics 
were held up to view; after the fourteenth i-en- 
tiiry. restricted to the trnii>piirent or glass- 
fuc'cil shrine in which the conseeruled Imsl is 
presented for the adoration of the people, cit her 
while being carried in procession or when ex- 
posed on the altar. It 1s placed in a stand, generally 
made of precious metal, and sometimes richly j.-. I. .1 
SIT tun, II:', 11. Also called expolitvrium, otteniry, re- 
monstrance, and theotheca. 
monstration (mon-stra'shon), w. [< L. <- 
lrntii>(n-), a showing, < monstrare, pp. monstra- 
tiix, show, point out, indicate, ordain, indiet. 
also advise : see monster, v.] A showing; dem- 
onstration; proof. 
The blood bunt Incontinent out of the nose of the dead 
king at the commlng of his sonne, geuing thereby u a cer- 
talne moiatracion howe he was the author of his death. 
Orafton, Hen. II., an. S3. 
monstrator (mon'stra-tor), n. [< L. monstrator, 
< monstrare, pp. monstratus, show: see monstra- 
tion.'} An exhibitor; a demonstrator. [Rare.] 
This exhibition a university ought to supply : and M the 
aame time, u a necessary concomitant, a competent mau- 
gtrator. Sir W. llamilttm. 
monstricide (mon'stri-sid), n. [< L. monstriim, 
a monster, + -cidium, < ccedere, kill.] The 
slaughter of a monster. [Humorous.] 
If Perseus had cut the latter's cruel head off, he would 
have committed not unjustifiable momtriddc. 
Thackeray, Virginians, xxv. 
monstriferoust (mon-strif 'e-rus), a. [< L. mon- 
Montanistic 
\\lirrethiill, JH'rhltpR, iln.l' I DM wlli-llninK ti.li, 
Vlslfst the bottom nf the uviiulrinu muld. 
M./l. I I f |.| .-. 
Syn. 1. At.ii"iin:il 2. i'p>'hi:i.>uH. vast, colossal, tu- 
IH-II.II.IIB. 3. Wickfd, Atritciitun, etc. (see atrocvnu). 
monstrous (num'striis), inlr. [< MOMfTMM,*.] 
l')xi'eedini;ly: extremely; wonderfully: as, mon- 
strous difficult. [Now vulgar or colloquial.] 
An I may hide my face, let me play Thlsby t. 
peak In a monrfnmi little voice. ,</./.'. M V i >.. I. i M. 
\ .MI are angry, 
Mniutnna angry now, grievously angry. 
Fletchrr, Wildgooae Chan-, 111. I. 
It U such moMtrvtu rainy weather that there U no doing 
ul, it SvVX Journal to HtelU, i. 
monstrously (mon'strus-li), iitlr. In a mon- 
strous manner, (a) In a manner out of the common 
order of nature ; hence, shockingly ; hideously ; horribly : 
as, a man nunutrotuly wicked. 
They melted down their stoln ear-rings Into a calf, and 
nwnflrotisly cryed out: These are thy gods, O Israel! 
.Sir T. Brmnu, vnlg. Err., I. 2. 
(b) Exceedingly ; Inordinately ; enormously. 
These truths with his example yon disprove, 
Who with his wife Is momtrtnuly In love. 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, vl. 
monstrousness (mon'strus-nes), n. The state 
or quality of being monstrous, in any sense 
of that word ; especially, enormity ; exceeding 
wickedness. 
The statelinesee of the bulldlnges and the monjCrouaroeat 
of the sepulchres. 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1677), p. 20. 
O, see the monftrotunea of man 
When he looks out In an ungrateful shape ! 
Shalt., T. of A., lit 2. 79. 
ete. Obsolete 
sters. 
This monttnferuuK empire of women . . . to most de- 
testable and damnable. Knox, first Blast, Pref., p. 5. 
monstrosity (mon-stros'i-ti), n.; pi. monstrosi- 
ties (-tiz). [Also formerly monstrosity; < P. 
monstruosite' = Sp. monstruosidad = Pg. mon- 
strttosidade = It. mostruositd, mostrosita, < LL. 
monstrosita(t-)s, monstruosita(t-)s, monstrous- 
ness, < monstrosus, monstruosus, monstrous: 
see monstrous.] 1. The state or character of 
being monstrous, or formed out of the com- 
mon order of nature; the character of being 
Montacuta (mon-ta-ku'ta), n. [NL. (Turton, 
1819), named after 'George Montagu, an English 
naturalist (died 1815); later also Montagua.] 
A genus of bivalve mollusks referred either to 
the family Kelliida or to the family Erycinida-, 
or made type of the Montacutida: The shell U 
oblique, with the cartilage In a pit between two strong 
teeth, and there is no anterior tube. M.ferruyiuea is a 
small shell found on the northern coast of Europe. 
Montacutidae (mon-ta-ku'ti-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Montacuta + -idee.'] A family of bivalves 
named from the genus Montacuta, now gener- 
Itfonstera delicvaa. 
a, the spadix within the spathe ; f>, the flower. 
firm two-ranked leaves, often with a row of large ellip- 
tical holes. Their flowers are small, without calyx or co- 
rolla, crowded upon a spadix, with a boat-shaped spathe, 
often yellow. The succulent fruit of coherent berries is, 
in the case of the Mexican )/ deliciosa, an article of food. 
Several species are cultivated under glass for their singn- 
lar foliage. 
Monsterese (mon-ste're-e), n. pi. [NL. (Eng- 
ler, 1887), < Monstera '+ -e<e.] A subtribe of 
plants of the order Aracea, embracing 9 genera, 
Monstera being the type, and about 59 species, 
confined to tropical regions. 
monster-mastert (mon'ster-mas'ter), n. A 
tamer of brutes. [Rare.] 
This mounter master stout [Nlmrod], 
This Hercules, this hammer-Ill. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, It., Babylon. 
Monsteroideae (mon-ste- 
roi'de-e), n. pi. [NL. 
(Engfer, 1887). < Mon- 
stera + -oMetr.] A tribe 
of plants of the natural 
order Aracece (Aroiilm). 
It embraces the subtrlbes Mon- 
tterrce, Spatluphylleat, and .S>/m- 
plocarpete, with 14 genera, M on- 
ttera being the type, and about 
SI species, 
monstership (mon'ster- 
ship), M. [< monster + 
-.ih i/).] The state of being 
a monster: in the quota- 
tion used humorously as 
a title. 
Cash. It [humor] is a gentle- 
man-like monster. . . . 
Cob. I'll none on It; humour, 
avaunt, 1 know you not, begone. 
Let who will make hungry meals 
for your mowtter-*hip, it shall 
not be I. /i. ./"">"//, I'.very Man 
[in his Humour, iii. 2. 
monstrance (mou'strans), 
n. [< OF. motixtmiK'f = 
It. moxtriinza, < ML. IIIUH- 
xtrantill. ll monstrance. < Monstrance.-Ftench work 
T of the end of the I4tn centur> f . 
Ll. mOllxtrnn(l-)H. ppr. OI iFrom"L'ArtpourTous.") 
., T. 
In either case, It 1s a deviation from the normal type, 
and, as such, is analogous to the matutrutitie*, both of ani- 
mals and of vegetable*. 
'i', Civilization, II. vi. (Latham.) 
food, deviations of structure so strongly pronounced as to 
deserve to be called monntroeitiet arise ; but mnngtrogititt 
cannot be separated by any distinct line from slighter vari- 
ations. Daririn, Origin of Species, p. 23. 
2. An unnatural production; a monster, 
monstrous (mon strus), a. [Formerly also 
monstriioits, < F. monstrueux = Sp. Pg. monstrti- 
oso = It. monstruoso, mostruoso, < LL. monstru- 
osus, monstrosus, preternatural, strange, < L. 
inonstrum, a portent, monster: see monster.] 1 . 
Of unnatural formation; deviating greatly from 
the natural form or structure ; out of the com- 
mon course of nature: as, a monstrous birth or 
production. 
His Diadem was neither brasa nor rust, 
But monstrmu metal 
In manttrotu plants we often get direct evidence of the 
possibility of one organ being transformed into another. 
Darvrin, Origin of Species, p. 392. 
2. Enormous; huge; prodigious; unparalleled. 
And euen whole families of these mmutrmit men are 
found at this day in America, both neere to Virginia, as 
Captain Smith reporteth, and . . . about the Straits of 
Magellan, neere which he found Qiants. 
Purchat, Pilgrimage, p. 38. 
What a minttrvut tail our cat has got t 
Carey, Dragon of Wantley, II. 1. 
Sown In a wrinkle of the monttrmtt hill, 
The city sparkles like a grain of salt. 
Tennyton. Will. 
3. Shocking; hateful; horrible: as, a /<- 
strong delusion. 
How wowtrou 
It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain 
To kill their gracious father ! 
Shalt., Macbeth, ill. 6. 8. 
They err who write no Wolves in England range; 
Here Men are all turn'd Wolves ; monitrmu change ! 
Htneell. Letters, I. vt 88. 
What a monitrmu Catalogue of sins do we meet with in 
the first chapter to the Romans ! 
fHiUinjffft, Sermons, II. Iii. 
4f. Full of monsters or strange creatures. 
2. [cap.] One of the extreme democratic 
party m the legislatures of the first French 
revolution ; hence, in general, a member of the 
radical or extreme liberal party. See The Moun- 
tain, under mountain. 
montainet, ". A Middle English form of moun- 
tain. 
montana (mon-tan'yii), n. [Sp.: see mountain.] 
See in ' i ul' . 1. 
In the Peruvian Andes " montana " has a peculiar mean- 
Ing. It is the densely forested region on the eastern slope 
"f the range, this country being divided Into three longi- 
tudinal belts the "Coast," "Sierra," and "Jfon/af]a,"the 
"Sierra " being the region of the Andes proper. 
J. D. Whitney, Names and I'laccs, p. 99. 
montancet, " A Middle English form of moun- 
tance. 
montane (mon'tan), a. [= F. montane, OF. 
HKiiilniii = Sp. Pg. It. montano, < L. montanus, 
belonging to a mountain: see mountain.] Moun- 
tainous; belonging or relating to mountains: 
as, a montane fauna. 
montanic (mon-tan'ik), a. [< montane + -ic.] 
Pertaining to mountains; consisting of moun- 
tains. 
Montanism (mon'ta-nizm), . [< Montanus 
(see def.) + -i*m.] The tenets of a sect of the 
Christian church, now extinct, founded during 
the second century by Montanus of Phrygia. 
The Montantsto believed In the divine and prophetic 
Inspiration of Mi ml anus, tin- continuance of the miracu- 
lous gifts of the apostolic church, the immediate approach 
of the second advent of Christ, and the establishment of 
the heavenly Jerusalem at Pepuza in 1'hrygia ; they prac- 
tised rigorous asceticism. 
All the ascetic, rigorous, and chlllastic elements of the 
ancient church combined In Montanim. 
Schaf, Hist. Christian Church, II. 417. 
Montanist (mon'ta-nist), n. f< LGr. MmTo- 
vurrtK, a follower ot Montanus, < MoiTardf. LL. 
Montanus: see Montanism.] A believer in the 
tenets of Montanism. 
These lealota hailed the appearance o the Paraclete in 
Phrygia, and surrendered themselves to hts guidance. In 
so doing, however, they had to withdraw from the church, 
to be known as JfontesrfsK. or " Kataphrygians. 1 and thus 
to assume the character of a sect Sncyc. Brit., XV I. 7i5. 
Montanistic i iiidii-ta-m-'tik), a. [< Montanist 
-r- -if.] Pertaining to the doctrines, customs, 
or character of the Montni 
