mottle 
mottle (raot'l), i 1 . t.; prel. and pp. Hu>ttlril,pnr. 
iiiitttUtii/. \ < iHiittvy, taken us "mottlt/.'] To 
mark with spots or blotches of different colors 
or shades of color ; blotch; variegate; cloud. 
u grotesque 
Mottle with mazy .shades the orchard's slupe. 
Southey, Roderick, xv. 
mottle (mot'l), w. [< mottle, .] The pattern 
or arrangement of spots and cloudings forming 
a mottled surface, especially in marble or in 
the natural veining of wood. 
mottled (mot'ld), p. a, 1. Spotted; variegated; 
marked with blotches of color, of unequal in- 
tensity, passing insensibly into one another. 
The strong peculiarity of Harvey's style : . . . thought 
pressed on thought, sparkling with imagery, mottled with 
learned allusions, and didactic with subtle criticism. 
/. D'lnraeli, Amen, of Lit, II. 111. 
Bless the mottled little legs of that there precious child 
(like Canterbury brawn, his own dear father says). 
Dicker*, Martin Chuzzfewit, \li\. 
Specifically 2. In entom., marked with irreg- 
ular spots, generally formed of hairs of a dif- 
ferent color from the ground ; having two or 
more colors irregularly mingled in spots, but 
not running into one another. 3. In metal., 
an epithet noting the appearance of pig-iron 
when in a stage intermediate between the 
stages designated as the white and the gray. 
In mottled iron the whiter parts of the metal are dissemi- 
nated through the grayer, so that the whole has a spotted 
or mottled appearance. The grayest iron contains the lar- 
gest amount of graphitic carbon ; the whitest iron the least 
graphitic and the moat combined carbon. Mottled calf. 
mottle-faced (mot ' 1 - fast), a. Having a mot- 
tled face. 
The mottle-faced gentleman spoke with great energy 
and determination. Dickens, Pickwick, xliii. 
mottling (mpt'ling), n. [Verbal n. of mottie, v."] 
1 . Variegation of a surface by irregular spots. 
2. pi. In entom., the marks of a mottled sur- 
face. 
motto (mot'6), n.; pi. motto* or mottoes (-oz). 
[< It. motto (= F. mot), a saying, motto: see 
mot 2 ."] 1. A short pithy sentence or phrase, 
sometimes a single wordj used to indicate the 
tenor of that to which it is attached (as an es- 
say or a treatise), or adopted as expressive of 
one's guiding idea or principle, or appended to 
a device or a coat of arms. In heraldry the motto is 
carried on a scroll, alluding to the bearing or to the name 
of the bearer, or expressing some principle or tenet. The 
heraldic motto, strictly considered, is not hereditary, but 
personal ; but it is frequently used by successive bearers of 
the escutcheon to which it belongs, especially when, as is 
often the case, it refers to some part of the achievement. 
2. The poetry or verse contained in a motto- 
kiss or paper cracker. 
Then we let off paper crackers, each of which contained 
a motto. W. S. tiillvrt, Ferdinand and Elvira. 
3. A motto-kiss. [U. S.] Motto indention. See 
indention^. 
mottoed (mot'od), a. [< motto + -ed 2 .] Hav- 
ing a motto ; bearing a motto : as, a mottoed 
scroll. 
motto-kiss (mpt'6-kis), H. A candy or sweet- 
meat wrapped in fancy paper and having a scrap 
of love-poetry or a motto inclosed with it. used 
for the amusement of children. In the United 
States called motto simply. 
mottramite (mot'ram-it), n. [< Mottram (see 
def . ) + -ite 2 .] A hydrous vanadate of lead and 
copper occurring as a crystalline incrustation 
of a velvet-black color on sandstone at Mottram 
in Cheshire, England. 
motty (mot'i), a. [< mot 1 , mote 1 , + -y l .~\ Con- 
taining motes. [Scotch.] 
The motty dust-reek raised by the workmen. //. MiUer. 
mou (mO), n. A Scotch form of mouth. 
mouch (mouch), v. i. [Also mooch; var. of 
Michel, q. v.] 1. To skulk; sneak; move 
slowly and stupidly. See miehe 1 . [Slang.] 
These hedge fellows are slow and dull ; they go mouth- 
ing along as if they were croaking themselves. 
Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, I. 472. 
2. To live a sort of semi-vagabond life, without 
a fixed place of abode, selling water-cresses 
and other wild produce. See moucher. [Slang.] 
moucharaby (mS-shar'a-bi), n. [F.] In 
itrch.: (a) A balcony inclosed with latticework 
in a customary Oriental fashion, in such a man- 
ner that a person upon it can see the street 
without being seen. Also called la ttice-window. 
See cut under lut'iei-u-iiulow. (6) A balcony 
with a parapet and with machicolations, often 
embattled, projecting from the face of a wall 
over a gate, to contribute to the defense of 
the entrance. See cut in next column. 
Moucharaby. Carfebrooke Castle, Isle of Wight. 
mouchard (mS-shar'), n. [P., a police-spy, < 
mouehe, a fly, spy, esp. a police-spy: see 
mouehe.'] In France, a police-spy. 
mouehe (m6sh), . [P., fit. a fly, < L. musca, fly : 
see Musca."] A patch worn as an ornament. 
moucher (mou'cher), n. [Var. of micher. ~] 1. 
One who mouches: same as micher. 2. One 
who lives a semi-vagabond life, selling water- 
cresses, wild flowers, blackberries, and other 
things that may be obtained in country places 
for the gathering. [Slang.] 
The moucher sells the nests and eggs of small birds to 
townsfolk who cannot themselves wander among the 
fields, but who love to see something that reminds them 
of the green meadows. As the season advances and the 
summer comes he gathers vast quantities of dandelion 
leaves, parsley, sow-thistle, clover, and so forth, as food 
for the thousands of tame rabbits kept in towns. 
1'iiU Mall Gazette. 
mouchoir (mB-shwor'), n. [P. (= Sp. mocador 
= It. moccatore (see moccador, muckender), < 
moucher, < ML. muccare, blow the nose, < L. 
muccus, mucus, mucus (of the nose): see mucus.'] 
A pocket-handkerchief. 
Whenever the dear girl expected his Lordship, hertnou- 
choirs, aprons, scarfs, little morocco slippers, and other 
female gimcracks were arranged. 
Thackeray, Vanity Fair, xlviiL 
moudiwarpt, moudiwartt, Obsolete vari- 
ants of moldwarp. 
mouflet, An obsolete form of muffle 1 . 
mouflon, moufflon (m8f 'Ion), n. [Also mufflon ; 
< P. mouflon (see def.), prob. < G. muffel, a dog 
or other animal with large hanging lips: see 
muff 1 , muffle 1 ."] A wild sheep; an animal of 
the genus Otis, particularly the musimon, 0. 
musimon. This Is a species inhabiting the mountains 
of southern Europe, as in Greece, Sardinia, and Corsica. 
Though the fleece is not woolly, the animal is closely re- 
lated to the common sheep, 0. aries, with which it breeds 
freely, and to various other kinds, as the argall, the big- 
horn, etc. Ruffed mouflon. Same as aoudad. 
mought 1 (mout). An obsolete or dialectal form 
of might*, preterit of may 1 . 
mought 2 , n. An obsolete or dialectal variant 
of moth 1 . 
mouhairt, n. An obsolete form of mohair. 
mouiik, . Same as muzhik. 
mould, mouldability, etc. See mold, etc. 
moulet, v. An obsolete form of mold 2 . 
mpulin (mo-Ian'), n. [< F. moulin, a mill, = 
Sp. molino = Pg. moinho sc It. molino, < LL. 
molinum, molina, a 
mill: see mill 1 '} 
A nearly vertical 
shaft or cavity 
worn in a glacier by 
the running down 
of water, which 
sometimes in the 
hot days of sum- 
mer, on the large 
glaciers, forms con- 
siderable rivulets 
on the surface of 
the ice. These run 
until they reach a crev- 
ice, down which they 
descend and gradually 
wear a more or lew 
cylindrical cavity, 
through which the wa- 
ter pours in a subgla- 
cial cascade. 
A remarkable phe- 
nomenon, seen only on 
the greater glaciers, is 
that presented by the 
mound 
throw, < m<iiiliii, a mill: see iinniliii.\ The op- 
eration of reeling off, twisting, ana doubling 
raw silk. 
moulinet ( mo'li-net ), n. [< P. mouliiu-t, a mill- 
stonc, drum, capstan, dim. of moulin, a mill: 
see iiiniilin.} 1. The drum or roller of a e;ip- 
stan, crane, etc. 2. A form of windlass used 
for bending the great crossbow. See cranequin, 
and cut in preceding column. 3. A kind of 
turnstile. 4. A circular swing of a sword or 
saber. 
moult 1 , moultent, etc. See molt 2 , etc. 
moult'-', a. [< P. moult, much, < L. multus, much : 
see mii/titiiilf.] Much; many. [Rare.] 
On the eve we went to the Franciscans' Church to hear 
the academical exercises ; there were moult and mtiult 
clergy. Walpole, Letters (1789), I. 89. 
moun 1 1, >. . [< ME. mown, mowen, pi. pres. ind. 
of in, ni : see //"///'.I To be able; may; must. 
See moic 3 . 
Moun ye drynke the cuppe whiche I schal drlnke? . . . 
Thel seyu to him, we moun. Wyclif, Mat. xx. 22. 
Cnsbow,A,baH,0. ami Moulinet fo, 
bending the bow, I 4 lh and 15 th centu- 
riej. 
m/\tiljnacra fmK'Mn , arbalist with moultnet in place and 
mouiinage (mo nn- ad , ust< . d , rMd , , bend the bow; , 
arhalist without the moulinet, ride 
view: e, rooultnet on a larger scale, as 
it looks when the bow is bint. 
,,1 
MB, ATOM Guide, 
[Introd., Ixiv. 
), II. [r .. \ niOII- 
.ill 'll 
1 1 III r. mill Silk, 
un), v. i. [Sc. also maun; < ME. moic- 
nen, mpunen, < Icel. munu, will, shall, must; a 
preterit-present verb.] Must. [North. Eng. 
and Scotch.] 
mouncelt, [ME., < OF. moncrl, mmuel, man- 
eel, etc., a little hill, a heap, < LL. monticellus, 
dim. of mniiHi-iilii.i. a little hill or mountain, 
dim. of mon(t-)s, a hill, mountain: see mount 1 . 
Cf. monticle, monticule.'] A heap; a pile. 
Thel lepe to fight with the crowned lyon that badde hi* 
bestes departed in to xvilj mounceh. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.\ lit 413. 
mouncht, v. An obsolete form of munch. 
mound 1 (mound), n. [< ME. mound, a protec- 
tion, a helmet, might, < AS. mund, the hand, a 
hand (as a measure), hence (like the e<juiv. L. 
mm tun. hand) power, protection, guardianship, 
esp. in comp., in legal use; not found in sense 
of 'hillj' but cf. muiid-beorh, a protecting hill; 
= OFries. mund, mond = OHG. munt = Icel. 
mund, protection; perhaps ult. related to L. 
mon(t-)s, a hill, mountain, > E. mount 1 , with 
which mound 1 has been somewhat confused: see 
mount 1 ."] If. A protection; restraint; curb. 
Such as broke through all mound* of law. 
Sunlit, Sermons. 
2f. A helmet. Weber, Metr. Rom., L 3f. 
Might; size. 
Fourti thousand men thai founde, 
To bataile men of grete mounde. 
Arthour and Merlin, p. 138. (JlaUiutll.) 
4. An artificial elevation of earth, as one raised 
as a fortification or part of a fortification, or 
as a funeral monument ; a bank of earth ; 
hence, a bulwark ; a rampart or fence. 
This great gardln compast with a mound. 
Speruer, F. Q., II. vii. 66. 
God. had thrown 
That mountain as his garden mound high raised. 
Milton, r. L., IT. 226. 
I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn, 
Where a little headstone stood. 
Loirrll, First Snow-fall. 
6. A natural elevation presenting the appear- 
ance of having been raised artificially; a hil- 
lock; a knoll. 
He pointed to the field, 
Where, huddled here and there on mound and knoll, 
Were men and women staring and aghast. 
Tennyson, Geraint. 
6. In ci/ engin., in excavations, a piece of the 
original ground left at intervals to show the 
depth. Indian mounds, earthworks erected by the ab- 
origines of North America, the so-called mound-builders. 
They are especially numerous in that part of the United 
States which lies between the Great Lakes on the north and 
the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and is bounded on the 
west by the States lining the western bank of the M ississip- 
pi river, and on the east by a line drawn through the mid- 
dle of the States of New York and Pennsylvania and ex- 
tending southward so as to include the greater part of the 
two Carollnas and the whole of Georgia and Florida. Some 
of these works are very extensive and of varied character, 
consistingof moundsortumuli, either conical ortruncated, 
together with embankments or walls of earth or stone, 
which Inclose areas of great size, and not infrequently are 
accompanied by wide and deep ditches. Thus the work 
at Newark, Ohio, covers an area of two square miles and 
consists of a network of hillocks and lines of circumval- 
lation. So far as is known, some of these works were used 
as burial-places, and as the sites of rude dwellings and 
cabins ; others were Intended, no doubt, for purposes of 
defense, and others, again, may have been connected in 
some way with religious rites and ceremonies. Many of 
them were situated In the river-valleys ; and not a few of 
the most prosperous cities in the Mississippi valley oc- 
cupy sites once taken up by them. 
I venture the assertion that not only has there not, as 
yet, been anything taken from the moundt indicating a 
higher stage of development than the red Indian is known 
to have reached, but that even the moundt themselves, 
