mother-land 
mother-land (mimi'er-land), . The land of 
one's origin; fatherland; the land whence a 
people originally sprang. 
Their effect upon the poets of our motherland across the 
sea. The Century, XXIX. 607. 
motherless (muTH'er-les), . [< ME. moderles; 
< mother* + -less.} Destitute of a mother; 
having lost a mother: as, motherless children. 
motherliness (rnulH'er-li-nes), re. The quality 
of being motherly. Bailey, 1727. 
mother-liquor (muTH'er-lik"or), n. Same as 
mother-water. 
mother-lode (muTH'er-lod), n. [Translation of 
Mex. veto, madre.] A certain very important 
metalliferous vein in Mexico. The name is also 
sometimes used in California as a designation of what is 
more commonly called the "Great Quartz Vein," a vein- 
like mass oJ quartz which has a very conspicuous outcrop 
and has been traced nearly continuously for a distance of 
fully 80 miles from Mariposa to Amador county. 
mother-love (muTH'er-luv), re. Such affection 
as is shown by a mother. 
motherly (muTH'er-li), a. [< ME. moderlich, 
< AS. moderlic, < moder, mother, + -lie = E. -ly 1 ."] 
1. Pertaining to a mother: as, motherly power 
or authority. 2. Becoming or characteristic 
of a mother; tender; parental; affectionate: 
as, motherly love or care. 
The motherly airs of my little daughters. 
Addison, Spectator. 
3. Like a mother. 
She was what is called a motherly woman, large and ca- 
ressing, and really kind. 
Mrs. Oliphant, Poor Gentleman, xxxi. 
= Syn. Motherly, Maternal, Parental. The same distinc- 
tion holds between the Anglo-Saxon word and the Latin 
ones in this list that is found in the words compared un- 
der brotherly and under fatherly. 
motherlyt (muTH'er-li). adv. [< motherly, a.] 
In the manner of a mother. 
She casteth the rod into the fire, and colleth the child, 
giveth it an apple, and dandleth it most motherly. 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 1853), II. 87. 
mother-lye (muTH'er-lS), re. Same as mother- 
water. 
mother-maid (muTH'er-mad), n. The Virgin 
Mary. 
Thou shalt see the blessed mothermaid 
. . . exalted more for being good 
Than for her interest of motherhood. 
Donne, Progress of the Soul, ii. 
mother-naked (muTH'er-na // ked), a. [X ME. 
modirnakid (= G. mutter-naclct) ; < mother^ + 
naked.'] Naked as at birth ; stark naked. [Ar- 
chaic.] 
I saw a child madir nakid, 
New born the modir fro. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 58. 
mother-of-COal(muTH'er-ov-kol'), n. See coal. 
mother-of-pearl (muTH'er-ov-perl'), n. The 
nacreous inner layer of the shell of various 
bivalve mollusks, as of the pearl-oyster, when 
hard, silvery, iridescent, or otherwise sufficient- 
ly beautiful to have commercial value ; nacre. 
It is the substance of which pearls consist, a pearl being a 
mass of it instead of a layer. The large oysters of the In- 
dian seas secrete this nacreous layer of sufficient thickness 
to render their shells available for purposes of trade. The 
genus Meleagrina furnishes the finest pearls as well as 
mother-of-pearl. These shells are found in the greatest 
perfection round the coasts of Ceylon, near Ormuz in 
the Persian Gulf, and in the Australian seas. Mother-of- 
pearl is procured from many different shells, univalve as 
well as bivalve, and is extensively used in the arts, particu- 
larly in inlaid work, and in the manufacture of knife- 
handles, buttons, toys, snuff-boxes, etc. Mother-of- 
pearl work, a kind of embroidery in which many small 
pieces of mother-of-pearl are sewed to the background, 
small holes being bored in them for the purpose. The 
outlines of the flowers, leaves, etc., made by the thin 
mother-of-pearl are indicated by silk or gold thread, in 
which material are also made the light sprays, stems, etc. 
mother-of -thousands (muTH ' er - ov - thou '- 
zaiidz), n. The Kenilworth or Colosseum ivy. 
See ivyl. The name is less frequently applied to a few 
other plants, especially Saxifraga mrmentosa, the straw- 
berry-geranium, of similar habit. [Prov. Eng.] 
mqther-of-thyme (muTH'er-ov-tim'), . The 
wild thyme, Thymus Serpyllum. See thyme. 
mother-of-vinegar (muTH'er-ov-vin'e-gar), n. 
See mother 2 , 2. 
mother-pearlt, Same as mother-of-pearl. 
mother-queen (muiH'er-kwen), n. The mother 
of a reigning sovereign ; a queen-mother. 
With him along is come the mother-queen, 
An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife. 
Shale., K. John, ii. 1. 62. 
mothers (muTH'erz), n. Same as mother-water. 
mothershipt, n. [ME. "moderschipe, moderchep; 
< mother* + -ship.] Motherhood. 
He hathe seyde as myche ther ageyns as he dar do to 
have hyr gode moderchep. Paston Letters, I. 258. 
3872 
mothersome (muiH'er-sum), u. [< mother + 
-some.] Careful or anxious, as a mother is. 
Mrs. Trollope, Michael Armstrong, xv. 
mother-spot (muTH'er-spot), n. A congenital 
spot and discoloration of the skin; a birth-mark. 
See ncevus. 
mother-tongue (muTH'er-tung'), n. 1. One's 
native language. 2. A tongue or language to 
which other languages owe their origin, 
mother-vessel (muTH'er-ves'el), n. A souring- 
vat used in the manufacture of wine-vinegar, 
mother-water (muTH'er-wa"ter), n. In cheni. 
and phar., and in chemical industries, water 
which has contained dissolved substances, and 
which remains after a part or the whole of these 
substances has crystallized or has been precip- 
itated in an amorphous condition. Also called 
mother-liquor, mother-lye, and mothers. 
mother- wit (muTH'er-wit'), re. Native wit; 
common sense. 
For whatsoever mother-wit or arte 
Could worke, he put in proofe. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 1138. 
Kath. Where did you study all this goodly speech? 
Pet. It is extempore, from my mother-wit. 
Shak., T. of the S., ii. 1. 265. 
motherwort (muTH'er-wert), n. 1. A labiate 
plant, Leonurus Cardiaca, which grows in waste 
places. It has sometimes been used in amen- 
orrhea. 2f. The mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, 
formerly used for uterine affections. 
mothery (mu?H'er-i), a. [< mother 2 + -i/ 1 .] 
Containing or of the consistence of mother (see 
mother^); resembling or partaking of the nature 
of mother : as, the mothery substance in liquors. 
Is it not enough to make the clearest liquid in the world 
both feculent and mothery ? Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ii. 19. 
moth-gnat (mdth'nat), H. A dipterous insect 
of the family Psychodidce. 
moth-hawk (mdth'hak), re. The nightjar, 
moth-hunter (mdth'hun'ter), . 1. Alepidop- 
terist. 2. A goatsucker or moth-hawk; any 
bird of the family Caprimulgid<e. See cut under 
goatsucker. 
mothing (moth'ing), re. [<w*A 1 + -#!.] The 
catching of moths. [Rare.] 
He [the entomologist] need not relax his endeavors day 
or night. Mothing is night employment. 
A. S. Packard, Study of Insects, p. 84. 
moth-mullen (inoth'muFen), n. See mullen. 
moth-Orchid (moth'6r"kid), re. Same as moth- 
plant. 
moth-patch (moth'pach), re. A term loosely 
applied to various patches of increased pig- 
mentation in the skin. 
moth-plant (moth'plant), re. A plant of the 
genus Phalcenopsis. 
moth-sphinx (moth'sfingks), re. A moth of the 
family CastniicUe. 
moth-trap (moth'trap), re. In bee-keeping, a de- 
vice to capture the moths whose larvae prey 
upon the bees in the hive, or to capture the 
larvse themselves. 
mothy (m6th'i), a. [< moth^ + -J/ 1 .] Contain- 
ing moths ; eaten by moths. 
An old mothy saddle. Shak., T. of the S., iii. 2. 49. 
motif (F. pron. mo-tef), n. If. A Middle Eng- 
lish form of motive. 
Freres fele sithes to the folke that thei prechen 
Meuen mottfs meny tymes insolibles and fallaces, 
That both lered and lewed of here byleyue douten. 
Piers Plowman (C), xvii. 230. 
2. [F.] A datum, theme, or ground for intel- 
lectual action: used as French. 
The motifs or data which give to the mind its guidance 
in achieving its more difficult tasks are the spatial series of 
muscular and tactual sensations which are caused by the 
motions of the eye for parallel turning, for accommodation, 
and for convergence in near vision. 
G. T. Ladd, Physiol. Psychology, p. 463. 
3. [F.] In music: (a) A figure. (6) A subject 
or theme, particularly one that recurs often in 
a dramatic work as a leading subject. 
motific (mo-tif'ik), a. [< L. motus, motion (see 
mote&), +'facere, make.] Producing or indu- 
cing motion ; motor or mot orial. Good. [Rare.] 
motile (mo'til), a. and n. [< L. as if *motilis, < 
movere, pp. motus, move : see move.] I. a. Ca- 
pable of spontaneous motion; executing auto- 
matic or apparently voluntary movements: as, 
a motile flagellum ; motile^ cilia, spores, etc. 
II. n. One in whose mind motor images are 
predominant or especially distinct. 
This division of men into visuals, audiles, root-ties, . . . 
[i. e., cases where motor representations are the favorite 
furniture of the mind]. Mind, XI. 415. 
motility (mo-til'i-ti), n. [= F. motilite = Pg. 
motilidade, < L. as if *motilita(t-)s, < "motilis, 
motion 
motile : see motile.] The quality of being mo- 
tile ; capability of moving ; capability of auto- 
matic or spontaneous motion : the opposite of 
stability. 
motion (mo'shon), n. [< ME. motion, mocion, < 
OF. motion, F. motion = Sp. mocion = Pg. mo- 
cao = It. mozione, < L. motio(n-), a moving, an 
emotion, < movere, pp. motus, move : see move.] 
1. Change of place; transition from one point 
or position in space to another ; continuous va- 
riation of position: used both concretely, for a 
single change of position, and abstractly, to 
denote such change considered as a character 
belonging to the moving body, and also gener- 
ally for a class of phenomena. 
There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st 
But in his motion like an angel sings, 
Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins. 
Shak., M. of V., v. 1. 61. 
Encouraged thus, she brought her younglings nigh, 
Watching the motions of her patron's eye. 
Dryden, Hind and Panther, i. 533. 
The atomists, who define motion to be a passage from 
cue place to another, what do they more than put one sy- 
nonymous word for another? For what is passage other 
than motion? Locke, Human Understanding, III. iv. 3. 
All that we know about motion is that it is a name for 
certain changes in the relations of our visual, tactile, and 
muscular sensations. 
Huxley, Sensation and Sensiferous Organs. 
Consider for a moment a number of passengers walking 
on the deck of a steamer. Their relative motions with re- 
gard to the deck are what we immediately observe, but if 
we compound with these the velocity of the steamer itself 
we get evidently their actual motion relatively to the earth. 
Thomson and Tail, Nat. Philos., 45. 
2f. The power of moving; ability to change 
one's position. 
As long as there is motion in my body, 
And life to give me words, I'll cry for justice ! 
Fletcher, Valentinian, iii. 1. 
Swallow'd up and lost 
In the wide womb of uncreated night, 
Devoid of sense and motion. Milton, P. L., ii. 151. 
3. Style or manner of moving; carriage. 
[Rare.] 
A true-bred English Beau has, indeed, the Powder, the 
Essences, the Tooth-pick, and the Snuff-box, and is as 
Idle ; but the fault is in the Flesh, he has not the motion, 
and looks stiff under all this. 
C. Burnaby, The Reform'd Wife (1700), p. 32, quoted in 
[N. andQ., 7th ser., V. 334. 
4. In astron., angular velocity; amount of an- 
gular movement, especially the rate of move- 
. ment of a heavenly body in longitude : as, the 
mean daily motion of the sun is 3548". 5. In 
mech., any mechanism for modifying the move- 
ment in a machine, or for making certain parts 
change their positions in certain ways; also, the 
action of such mechanism: as, the slide-valve 
motion of an engine ; heart-moiiox in spinning- 
machines, etc. 6f. A puppet, or a similar figure 
mechanically moved ; also, a puppet-show. 
Like dead motions moving upon wires. 
Beau, and Ft., Woman-Hater, iii. 1. 
They say there is a new motion of the city of Nineveh, 
with Jonas and the whale, to be seen at Fleet-bridge. 
B. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, ii. 3. 
Like the masters of a puppet-show, they despise those 
motions which fill common spectators with wonder and 
delight. Stcifft, Change in Queen's Ministry. 
7. In philos., any change: a translation of KI- 
vr/atf. There are four kinds of motion, according to Aris- 
totelians generation and corruption, alteration, augmen- 
tation and diminution, and change of place. Bacon distin- 
guishes nineteen kinds of simple motions, which seem to 
be something like elementary forces. 
8. A natural impulse, as of the senses, but es- 
pecially of the mind or soul ; tendency of de- 
sires or passions ; mental agitation. 
When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which 
were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth 
fruit unto death. Rom. vii. 5. 
Hee found more motions of Religion in him than could 
be imagined. Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, II. 59. 
The people, exorbitant and excessive in all thir motions, 
are prone oftimes not to a religious onely, but to a civil 
kind of Idolatry in Idolizing thir Kings. 
Milton, Eikonoklastes, Pref. 
Catch, in the pauses of their keenest play, 
Motions of thought which elevate the will. 
Wordsicorth, Sonnets, iii. 40. 
Woman's pleasure, woman's pain 
Nature made them blinder motions bounded in a shallower 
brain. Tennyson, Locksley Hall. 
9f. Animal life; the faculty of automatic move- 
ment and sensation or feeling; the exercise 
of such faculty ; something which usually be- 
longs equally to soul and body, though occa- 
sionally confined to one or the other. 
Ay, but to die and go we know not where ; 
To lie in eold obstruction and to rot ; 
This sensible warm motion to become 
A kneaded clod. Shak., M. for M., iii. 1. 120. 
