mound 
and under this head are included all the earthworks of the 
Mississippi Valley, were quite within the limits of his ef- 
forts. L. Carr, Mounds of the Mississippi Valley, p. 3. 
mound 1 (mound),!-', t. [< mound 1 , .] To for- 
tify with a mound ; add a barrier, rampart, etc., 
to. 
We will sweep the curled vallies, 
Brush the banks that mound our alleys. 
Drayton, Muses' Elysium, iii. 
A spacious city stood, with firmest walls 
Sure mounded and with numerous turrets crown'd. 
J. Philips, Cider, i. 
A sand-built ridge 
Of heaped hills that mound the sea. 
Tennyson, Ode to Memory, v. 
mound 2 (mound), n. [<F. wod!e = Sp. Pg. mun- 
do = It. mondo, < L. mundus, the 
world, the universe, cosmos, lit. or- 
nament, decoration, dress; hence 
ult. E. mundify, etc., mundane, etc. 
Cf. mappemounde.~] A figure of a 
globe, taken as an emblem of sov- 
ereignty. The emblem is of ancient 
Roman origin, being associated with Jupi- 
ter, as in a Pompeiian wall-painting. It 
often surmounts a crown. Also monde. Mound. 
She willed them to present this crystal 
mound, a note of monarchy and symbol of perfection, to 
thy more worthy deity. B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, v. 3. 
mound-bird (mound'berd), re. A bird of the 
family Megapodiidm, and especially of the genus 
Megapodim. The mound-birds are so called from the 
great mounds or tumuli which they construct for the re- 
ception of their eggs, which are hatched by the heat of de- 
composition of the decaying vegetable substances in which 
they are buried. See cut under Megapodius. 
mound-builder (mound'biFder), n. 1. One of 
a race of people by whom the various earth- 
works called Indian mounds (see mound 1 ) were 
constructed. That these works are not necessarily of 
great antiquity, and that they were built by a race in 
no essential respect different from that found inhabiting 
the region where they occur when this was first settled 
by the whites, is the present opinion of nearly all the 
besWnformed investigators of American archaeology. See 
quotation under Indian mounds, above. 
In districts where the native tribes known in modern 
times do not rank high even as savages, there formerly 
dwelt a race whom ethnologists call the Hound-Builders, 
from the amazing extent of their mounds and enclosures, 
of which there is a single group occupying an area of four 
square miles. E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, I. 50. 
2. A mound-bird. 
mounded (moun'ded), a. [< mound 1 + -erf 2 .] 
Possessing a mound; formed into or shaped 
like a mound. [Poetical.] 
When wealth no more shall rest in mounded heaps. 
Tennyson, Golden Year. 
mound-maker (mound'ma"ker), n. Same as 
mound-bird. 
mounseer (moun-ser'), n. An old Anglicized 
form of monsieur, now used only as ludicrous. 
mount 1 (mount), n. [< ME. mount, mont, munt, 
< AS. munt = OF. mont, mount, munt, F. mont 
= Sp. Pg. It. monte, < L. mons, montis, a hill, 
mountain; from a root seen also in eminere,j>ut 
out: see eminent, prominent. Hence ult. (<TL. 
mon(t-)s) E. mountain, moimt 2 , amount, para- 
mount, surmount, etc., monte, etc.] 1. An eleva- 
tion of land, more or less isolated; a hill; a 
mountain : in this sense chiefly archaic or poet- 
ical, except before a proper name as the par- 
ticular designation of some mountain or hill : 
as, Mount Etna ; Mount Calvary. 
Doun ouer the jnownt of Olyuete, 
Als it fell in thare iornay, 
To ierusalem the redy way, 
Graithly lurth thai held the gate. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 128. 
On the mount 
Of Badon I myself beheld the King 
Charge at the head of all his Table Round. 
Tennyson, Lancelot and Elaine. 
2f. A mound ; a bulwark or breastwork for at- 
tack or defense. 
Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem. 
Jer. vi. 6. 
They raised vp mounts to plant their artillery vpon. 
HoMuyts Voyages, II. 122. 
3. In fort., a cavalier. See cavalier, 5. 4. In 
her., a bearing which occupies the base of the 
shield in the form of a green field curved con- 
vexly upward, except when the summit of the 
escutcheon is occupied by a tree or tower, in 
which case the mountmerely slopes toward this. 
It is not necessary to mention its color, which 
is always vert. 5. In palmistry, a prominence 
or fleshy cushion in the palm of the hand. 
These mounts are seven in number, and surround the 
hollow part In the center of the palm (called the plain of 
Mars), as follows : (a) Mount of Apollo, at the base of the 
third finger ; (6) Mount of Jupiter, at the base of the fore- 
finger ; (c) Mount of Mars, between the Mount of Mercury 
3876 
and that of the moon ; (d) Mount of Mercury, at the base 
of the little finger ; (e) Mount of the Moon, near the wrist 
on the side of the hand furthest from the thumb; (/) 
Mount of Saturn, at the base of the middle finger ; ((?) 
Mount of Venus, the large fleshy base of the thumb. 
Mount grieced or in degrees, in her., a mount terraced 
in the form of steps. 
mount 2 (mount), v. [< ME. mounten, monten, 
miinten, < OF. munter, F. monter (= Sp. Pg. 
montar = It. montare), < ML. montare, mount, 
lit. go up hill, < L. mon(t-)s, a hill: see mount 1 . 
Cf. dismount, surmount.'] I. intrans. 1. To 
rise from, or as from, a lower to a higher po- 
sition; ascend; soar: with or without up. 
Doth the eagle mount up at thy command? 
Job xxxix. 27. 
The Cabalist . . . mounteth with all his Industrie and 
intention from this sensible World vnto that other intel- 
lectual!. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 751. 
As high as we have mounted in delight, 
In our dejection do we sink as low. 
Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence. 
She mustered up courage to look her straight in the 
face, and a trifle of colour mounted to her face. W. Black. 
2. Specifically, to get on horseback: &s,tomount 
and ride away. 
The mony come count, and let me mount. 
Robin Hood and the Butcher (Child's Ballads, V. 34). 
3. To amount ; aggregate : often with up : as, 
the expenses mount up. 
Sir, you know not 
To what a mass the little we get daily 
Mounts in seven years. 
Fletcher, Beggar's Bush, iv. 1. 
II. trans. 1. To raise from, or as if from, a 
lower to a higher place ; exalt ; lift on high. 
That we, down-treading earthly cogitations, 
May mount our thoughts to heav'nly meditations. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 7. 
What power is it which mounts my love so high, 
That makes me see, and cannot feed mine eye? 
Shak., All's Well, i. 1. 235. 
2. To get upon; place or seat one's self upon, 
as that which is higher ; ascend ; reach ; climb : 
as, to mount a horse; to mount a throne. 
So men in rapture think they mount the sky, 
Whilst on the ground th' intranced wretches lie. 
Dryden, Essay on Satire, 1. 118. 
3. To set on horseback; furnish with a horse 
or horses for riding: as, the groom mounted the 
lad on a pony ; also, to seat in a coach or the like 
conveyance. 
Gone ev'ry blush, and silent all reproach, 
Contending princes mount them in their coach. 
Pope, Dunciad, iv. 564. 
Six Moorish scouts, well mounted and well armed, en- 
tered the glen, examining every place that might conceal 
an enemy. Irving, Granada, p. 78. 
He mounted me on a very quiet Arab, and I had a pleas- 
ant excursion. JUacaulay, in Trevelyan, I. 324. 
4. To place in suitable position with adjust- 
ment of parts, so as to render available for use : 
as, to mount a cannon; to mount a loom. 
Let France and England mount 
Their battering cannon charged to the mouths. 
Shak., King John, li. 1. 381. 
On this rampart he mounted his little train of artillery. 
Prescott, Ferd. and Isa,, II. 12. 
Specifically 5. Toprenare for representation 
or exhibition by furnishing and accompanying 
with appropriate appurtenances and accesso- 
ries, as a stage-play or other spectacle. 6. 
To be equipped or furnished with; carry as 
equipment or armament: used specifically of 
anything that carries war material: as, the 
fort mounts fifty guns. 7. To put in shape for 
examination or exhibition by means of neces- 
sary or ornamental supports or accessories; 
furnish, fit up, or set with necessary or appro- 
priate appurtenances: as, to mount a picture 
or a map ; to mount objects for microscopic ob- 
servation; to mount a sword-blade; to mount 
a jewel. To mount guard, to take the station and 
do the duty of a sentinel. To mount the high horse. 
See horsed. 
mount 2 (mount), n. [< mount 2 , .] 1. That 
upon which anything is mounted or fixed for use, 
and by which it is supported and held in place. 
Specifically (a) The paper, cardboard, or other material 
to which an engraving or a drawing is attached in order 
to set it off to advantage. A mount may be a single sheet, 
or two sheets to one of which the print is attached, while 
the other, with a space cut out somewhat larger than the 
print, is placed over it, permitting it to be seen, while 
protecting it from abrasion. 
The crude white mounts wholly or practically destroy 
the value of those " high lights " always so carefully placed 
by Turner, and which were with him so integral a part of 
every composition. Nineteenth Century, XIX. 401. 
(6) The necessary frame, handle, or the like for any deli- 
cate object, as a fan. 
Perforated cedar, sandalwood, nacre, ivory, such is the 
proper mount of an elegant fan. 
Art Journal, N. S., VIII. 90. 
mountain 
(e) The paper, silk, or other material forming the surface 
of a fan. 
A paper mount pasted on a wooden handle. 
Coryat's Crudities, quoted in Art Journal, N. S., XVII. 173. 
To this period belong the fans called "Cabriolet." In 
these the mount is in two parts, the lower and narrower 
mount being half-way up the stick, the second mount in 
the usual place at the top of the stick. 
Harper's Mag., LXXIX. 404. 
(d) Apparatus for the adjustment and attachment of a 
cannon to its carriage. 
The carriages and mounts of the guns are made entirely 
of bronze and steel. The Century, XXXVI. 889. 
(e) pi. The metal ornaments serving as borders, edgings, 
etc., or apparently as guards to the angles and prominent 
parts, as in the decorative furniture of the eighteenth 
century in Europe. (/) The glass slip, with accessories, 
used to preserve objects in suitable form for study with 
the microscope. The object is usually covered with veiy 
thin glass, in squares or circles, and, except in the so-called 
dry mounts, is immersed in a liquid (fluid mounts), such 
as Canada balsam, glycerin, etc. ; a cell, as of varnish, is used 
in some cases. 
2. The means of mounting or of raising one's 
self on or as on horseback, (a) A horse, especially 
in riding or hunting use. 
I have got a capital mount. Dickens. 
(6) A horse-block. Balliwell. [Prov. Eng.] (c) A bicycle. 
mountable (mouu'ta-bl), a. [= F. montable; 
as mount 2 , v., + -aole.'] Capable of being as- 
cended or mounted. Cotgrave. 
mountain (moun'tan), n. and a. [< ME. moun- 
taine, mountein, montatn, montaine, muntaine, 
montaigne, < OF. montaigne, muntaine, F. mon- 
tagne = Pr. montanha, montagna, montayna = 
Sp. montana = Pg. montanha = It. montagna, < 
ML. montanea, also montana, a mountain, a 
mountainous region, < L. montana, neut. pi., 
mountainous regions, < montanus, of or belong- 
ing to a mountain, mountainous, < mon(t-)s, a 
mountain: see mount 1 . Mountain is related to 
mount* &a fountain is to fount 1 .'] I. re. 1. An 
elevation of land of considerable dimensions 
rising more or less abruptly above the surround- 
ing or adjacent region. Ordinarily no elevation is 
called a mountain which does not form a conspicuous 
figure in the landscape ; hence, what is a mountain in one 
region might be regarded as simply a hill in another. A 
region may have great elevation above the sea-level, but 
not be recognized as a mountain. Thus, the Plains, or the 
region between the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, 
have an elevation on their western edge as great as that 
of the highest points of the Appalachian range. Elevated 
regions not mountains are often called plateaus. Eleva- 
tions, although of considerable height, if quite isolated or 
precipitous, are often called rocks: as, the Rock of Gibral- 
tar. Peak is occasionally used in the same way: as, 
Pike's Peak; the Peak of Teneriffe; and in the United 
States, in regions formerly occupied or explored by the 
French, the word butte is employed with a somewhat simi- 
lar meaning, while mound is used over a considerable ex- 
tent of country, especially in Wisconsin, as nearly the 
equivalent of butte or mount. For ranges or connected 
series of mountains, see mountain-chain. 
We retourned towardes Iherusalem by the mountaynes 
of Jude. Sir R. Guylford, Pylgrymage, p. 38. 
Mountains interpos'd 
Make enemies of nations. 
Cowper, Task, ii. 17. 
'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, 
And robes the mountain in its azure hue. 
Campbell, Pleasures of Hope, i. 7. 
2. Something resembling a mountain in being 
large ; something of extraordinary magnitude ; 
a great heap : as, a mountain of rubbish. 
So many hadde thei slayn of men and of horse that the 
mounteins of bodyes were a-boute hem so grete that noon 
myght come. to hem but launchinge. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 333. 
If it can confer anie thinge to the montan of your Ma- 
jesties praise, and it were but a clod use it and the auctour 
as yours. A. Hume, Orthographic (E. E. T. S.), Ded., p. 3. 
See skulking Truth to her old cavern fled, 
Mountains of Casuistry heap'd o'er her head ! 
Pope, Dunciad, iv. 642. 
3. A wine made from grapes grown on high 
ground. See II., 2. 
Very little old Mountain or Malaga sweet wine is grown. 
Redding, Modem Wines (1851), p. 201. 
Old man of the mountain. SeeAssassin,i. The Moun- 
tain. A name given to the extreme revolutionary party 
in the legislatures of the first French revolution. The 
name was derived from the fact that they occupied the 
higher part of the hall. (Compare Montagnard, 2.) Among 
the chief leaders were Robespierre and Danton. The name 
was temporarily revived in the legislatures following the 
revolution of 1848. To make a mountain of a mole- 
hill. See mole-hill. 
II. a. 1. Of or pertaining to mountains; 
found on mountains; growing or living on a 
mountain: as, mountain air; mountain pines; 
mountain goats. 
And ii. thy right hand lead with thee 
The mountain-nymph, sweet Liberty. 
Milton, L' Allegro, 1. 36. 
2. Produced from vines growing on the slopes 
of a mountain, a hill, or any high ground : as, 
