multivocal 
II. H. A word or an expression that is equiv- 
ocal, or susceptible of several meanings. 
Multivocals, as conducing to brevity and expressiveness, 
are unwisely condemned, or deprecated. 
F. Hall, Mod. Eng., p. 170. 
multivoltine (mul-ti-vol'tin), a. [< L. mvltmt, 
many, + It. volta, a turn, winding: see volt 1 .] 
Having several (at least more than two) annual 
broods; generated oftenor than twice a year: 
said of silkworm-moths and their larvee. 
Some [races of silkworms] are multimMine. 
Encyc. Brit., XXII. 68. 
multivorous (rnul-tiv'o-rus), . [< L. multiis, 
much, + vorare, devour.] Voracious. 
multocular (mul-tok'u-lar), a. [< L. in ill tun, 
many, + oculus, eye: see ocular.] Having 
more than two eyes; having two eyes each of 
many facets or ocelli, as a fly. 
Flies . . . are multocular, having as many eyes as there 
are perforations in their cornea. 
Derham, Physico- Theology, viii. 3, note k. 
raultuni (mul'tum), n. [< L. multum, neut. of 
multus, much: see multitude.] In brewing, a 
compound consisting of an extract of quassia 
and licorice, used as an adulterant. 
multum in parvo (mul'tum in pftr'vo). [L. : 
multum, neut. of multus, much; in, in; parvo, 
abl. of pnrvns, small.] Much in small compass. 
Multungulat (mul-tung'gu-la), n. pi. [NL. 
(Blumeubach), < L. multus, many, + ungula, 
hoof.] The seventh order of mammals, con- 
taining hoofed quadrupeds with more than two 
hoofs, as the hog, tapir, rhinoceros, and ele- 
phant: later called Multungulata. 
Multungulata (mul-tung-gu-la'ta), n.pl. [NL., 
neut. pi. of multungiilatus : see multungulate.] 
An order of Mammalia comprising ungulate 
quadrupeds which have more than two func- 
tional hoofs. It is approximately equivalent to the 
Pachydermata of Cuvier and to the suborder Periesodac- 
tylaot modern naturalists, but agrees exactly with no nat- 
ural division. Illiger in 1811 divided it into 6 families : 
Lrnnnunguia (hyrax), Proboscida: (elephants), Nasiwrnia, 
(rhinoceroses), Obern (hippopotamuses), Nasuta (tapirs), 
and Setigera (swine). Earlier Multungula. Compare So- 
lidungutata. 
multungulate (mul-tung'gu-lat), . and n. [< 
NL. multungiilatus, many-hoofed, < L. multus, 
many, + itngiila, a hoof : see ungulate.] I. a. 
Having more than two functional hoofs; spe- 
cifically, of or pertaining to the Multungulata. 
II. n. A multungulate mammal. 
multuplet, a. [Var. of multiple, with term, as 
in duple, quadruple, etc.] Manifold. Roger 
North, Lord Guilford, ii. 78. (Davies.) 
multure (mul'tur), . [Early mod. E. also 
moulturc, mouter, 'monster; < ME. multure, mul- 
ter, < OF. multure, moulture, molture, F. mouture 
= Pr. moldura, moltura, moudura, a grinding, 
toll for grinding, < L. molitura, a grinding, < mo- 
lere, pp. molitus, grind: see mill 1 .] 1. The act 
of grinding grain in a mill. 2. The quantity of 
grain ground at one time ; a grist. 3. In Scots 
law, the toll or fee given, generally in kind, to 
the proprietor of a mill in return for the grind- 
ing of corn. 
Out of one sack he would take two moult urea or feesfor 
grinding. Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, i. 11. (Davies.) 
It is always best to be sure, as I say when I chance to 
take multure twice from the same meal-sack. 
Scott, Monastery. 
multurer (mul'tur-er), n. [< multure + -er 1 .] 
A person who has grain gromid at a certain 
mill. Mnltnrera are or were of two kinds first, such as 
were thirled (thralled) to a certain mill by the conditions 
on which they occupied their land ; and, second, those 
who used the mill without being bound by the tenure to 
do so. The former were termed tnsucken multurerg, the 
latter outsucken multurers. [Scotch.] 
mum 1 (mum), o. [< ME. mum, mom, used inter- 
jeetionally, expressing a low murmuring sound 
made with the lips closed, used at once to attract 
attention and to command silence ; an imitative 
syllable, the basis of the verbs mumble, mump 1 , 
iHunfi, and their numerous cognates; cf. L. mu, 
Gr. uv, a mere murmured syllable ; also murmur, 
and similar ult. imitative words.] Silent. 
Shall we see sacrifice and God's service done to an in- 
animate creature, and be mum? 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 1853), II. 231. 
The citizens are mum, and speak not a word. 
SAni.,Rich. III., iii. 7. 3. 
mum 1 (mum), r. ('. ; pret. and pp. mummed, ppr. 
mumming. [< ME. miimmen = D. mom mem = 
G. mummem, mumble, mutter; imitative of the 
sound: see mum 1 , ,a. Cf. mumble, mump 1 .] To 
be silent ; keep silence. 
Better mumme than meddle ouermuch. 
Gascoigne, Steele Glas(ed. Arber), Epil.,p. 88. 
3896 mummer 
[The imperative is often used as an interjection. mumble-the-peg (mum ' bl-the-peg'), n. [(. 
Mum then, and no more. Shak., Tempest, iii. 2. 59. mumble, r., + the 1 + obj. peg.] A boys' game 
in which each player in turn throws a knife 
from a series of positions, continuing until he 
fails to make the blade stick in the ground. 
The last player to complete the series is compelled to draw 
out of the ground with his teeth a peg which the others 
have driven in with a certain number of blows with the 
handle of the knife. Also mumble-peg, and corruptly 
j/i umljly-peg, muynblety-peg. 
But to his speach he aunswered no whit, . . . 
As one with griefe and anguishe overcum, 
And unto every thing did aunswere mum. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. vii. 44. 
I know what has past between you ; but, mum. 
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, v. ] 
mum' 2 (mum), .'. i. ; pret. and pp. mummed, ppr. 
mumming. [Also mumm; < ME. "mommeii, < 
mummeii), mask, play the mummer, < MD. mom- 
3?S;^^:S$&? closed; an indistinct utterance. 
been used ovig., in connection with the syllable 
mum, by nurses to frighten or amuse children, 
at the same time pretending to cover theirfaces : 
nee mum 1 .] To mask; sport or make diversion 
in a mask: as, to go a m/niniiiiit/. 
Disguised all are coming, 
Right wantonly a-mumming. 
Quoted In Chambers's Book of Days, II. 739. 
mum 3 t (mum), n. [= D. mom = Dan. mumme, < 
G. mumme, a kind of beer, said to be so named 
from Christian Mumme, who first brewed it, in 
1492.] A strong ale popular in the seventeenth 
century and in use down to a later time. It 
seems to have been made from wheat-malt, with a certain 
amount of oat-malt, and flavored with various herbs, with 
sometimes the addition of eggs. 
An honest Yorkshire gentleman . . . used to invite his 
acquaintance at Paris to break their fast with him upon 
cold roast beef and mum. Steele, Guardian, No. 34. 
A sort of beverage called mum, a species of fat ale, brewed 
from wheat and bitter herbs, of which the present genera- 
tion only know the name by its occurrence in revenue 
acts of Parliament, coupled with cider, perry, and other mum-budgett (mum buj'et), interj. [< mum 1 - 
exciseable commodities. Scott, Antiquary, xi. "budget, put for budge, used like mum to com- 
in a low tone or with the vocal organs partly 
These makes hippynge, homerynge, 
Of medles moautiyaaA 
M S. Lincoln A. i. 17, f. 206. (HalUwell.) 
A series of inarticulate though loud mumblings over his 
food. Jthoda Broughton, Ked as a Rose is She, xxxiii. 
mumblingly (mum'bling-li), adr. In a mum- 
bling manner; with a low inarticulate utter- 
ance. 
mumbo-jumbo (mum'bo-jum'bo), n. [Said to 
be a native African name ; but it may be a 
mere loose rendering in E. of African jargon.] 
1. A god whose image is fantastically clothed, 
worshiped by certain negro tribes. 
Worship mighty Mumbo-Jumbo 
In the Mountains of the Moon. 
Bon Gaultier BaMads, Lay of the Lovelorn. 
Hence 2. Any senseless object of popular 
idolatry. 
lie never dreamed of disputing their pretensions, but 
did homage to the miserable Mumbo-Jmnbo they paraded. 
Dicker*, Little Dorrit, i. 18. 
A dialectal variant of 
mum 4 (mum or m'm), n. 
ma'am for madam. 
mumble (mum'bl), r.; pret. and pp. mumbled, 
ppr. mumbling. [< ME. momclen = D. mommelen 
mand silence.] An exclamation enjoining si- 
lence and secrecy. [In the first quotation it is 
resolved into its component parts, and used as 
a kind of masonic sign.] 
= G. miimmeln = Sw. mumla = Dan. mmnle, 
mumble; freq. of mum 1 , v. Cf. mamble.] I. 
intrans. 1. To speak with the vocal organs 
partly closed, so as to render the sounds inar- 
ticulate and imperfect; speak in low tones, 
hesitatingly, or deprecatingly. 
Muttering and mumbling, idiotlike it seem'd. 
Tennyson, Enoch Arden. 
2. To chew or bite softly or with the gums; mumchancet (mum'chans) w. and a. [= G. 
v t* -Britl! thfi mims mi unpmiTit of l?r>lc or mummenschanz; as mum 1 + chance.] I. n. I 
A game of hazard with cards or dice in which 
silence was absolutely necessary. 
In conies the setter with his cards, and asketh at what 
game they shal play. Why, saith the verser, at a new 
game called mum-chance, that hath nopolicie norknaverie, 
I come to her in white and cry mum; she cries budget; 
and by that we know one another. 
Shak., M. W. of W., v. 2. 6. 
Avoir le vec gelf., to play mumbudget, to be tongue-tyed, 
to say never a word. Cotgrave. 
"Nor did I ever wince or grudge it 
For thy dear sake." Quoth she, "Mum budget." 
S. Butler, Hudibras, I. iii. 208. 
work food with the gums on account of lack or 
defectiveness of teeth. 
I have teeth, sir ; 
I need not mumble yet this forty years. 
Middleton, Chaste Maid, i. 1. 
The man who laughed but once, to see an ass 
Mumbling to make the cross-grained thistles pass. 
Dryden, The Medal, 1. 146. 
II. trans. 1. To utter in a low inarticulate 
voice. 
He singes the treble part, 
The meane he mumbles out of tune, for lack of life and hart. 
Gaseoigne, Memories. 
Mumbling of wicked charms. Shak., Lear, ii. 1. 41. 
The chiefe Bonzi in an vnknowne language mumMeth 
ouer an hyinne. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 532. 
He with mumbled prayers atones the Deity. Dryden. 
2. To chew gently; work (food) by rubbing it 
with the gums on account of lack of teeth. 
Gums unarmed to mumble meat in vain. 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, x. 319. (Latham.) 
The sea laps and mumbles the soft roots of the hills, 
and licks away an acre or two of good pasturage every 
season. Lowell, Fireside Travels, p. 278. 
3t. To cover up or hide, as if by uttering in a 
mumbling, unintelligible fashion; say over in- mum-houset (mum'hous), n 
but plain as a pike staf : yon shal shuttle and ile cut ; you 
shal cal a carde, and this honest man, a stranger almost to 
us both, shal cal another for me, and which of our cards 
comes first shal win. Greene, Conny-Catching (1591). 
But leaving cardes, lett's go to dice awhile, 
To passage, treitrippe, hazarde, or mum-chance. 
Machiai-ell's Dogg (1617), sig. B. (Nares.) 
2. One who has not a word to say for himself ; 
a fool. 
Why stand ye like a mum-chance f What, are ye tongue- 
ty'd? Plautus made English (1694). (Nares.) 
Methinks you look like Mumchance, that was hanged for 
saying nothing. Sunfl, Polite Conversation, i. 
3. Silence. Huloet. 
II. a. Silent. 
The witty poet [Swift] depicts himself as cutting a very 
poor figure at Sir Arthur's dinner-table in the presence 
of the dashing dragoon captain, and indeed sitting quite 
mumchance. N. and Q., 7th ser., II. 242. 
A tavern where 
mum was sold. 
articulately: with up. 
The raising of my rabble is an exploit of consequence, 
and not to be mumbled up in silence. Dryden. 
Take heede that you fishe not so falre that at length you 
catch a frogge, and then repentaunce make you mumble mumm (mum), r. i. See mini/-. 
p a mass with miserere. Greene, Carde of Fancie. mummachog ( mum 'a-chog), . Same as mum- 
I went with Mr. Norbury, near hand to the Fleece, a 
num-htttise in Leadenhall, and there drunk mum. 
Pepys, Diary, II. 12J. 
[< mumble, r.] A low, 
mumble (mum'bl), . 
indistinct utterance, 
mumble-matinst (mum'bl -mat "ins), . [< 
mumble, r., + obj. matins.] An ignorant priest. 
Davies. 
How can they be learned, having none to teach them but 
Sir John Mumble -matins? Bp. Pilkington, Works, p. 26, 
mumblement (mum'bl-ment), 
mycJtog. 
mummanizet (mum'a-nlz), v. t. [Irreg. < 
mumm-y + -an + -tzc (cf. humattite).] To 
mummify. 
Deere Vault, that veil'st him, 
Mummanize his corse, 
Till it arise in Heauen to be crown'd. 
Davies, Muse's Tears, p. 9. (Duties.) 
., ,, [Formerly 
also momblement ; < mumble + -meat.] Low in- mummet, it. See ;<>. 
distinct words or utterance ; mumbling speech, mummer (mum'er), n. [< OF. momeur, < momei; 
( '(ir/i/te, French Rev., III. iii. 8. [Bare.] 
mumble-newst (mum'bl-nuz), w. [< mumble, r., 
+ obj. news.] A tale-bearer; a prattler. 
Some carry-tale, . . . some mumble-news. 
Shot., L. L. L., v. 2. 464. 
mumbler (mum'bler), n. One who mumbles. 
Mass mfnnblers, holy-water swingers. 
Bp. Bale, A Course at the Romyshe Foxe (1543), fol. 88. 
mum: see mum 2 .] One who mums, or masks 
himself and makes diversion in disguise; a 
masker; a masked buffoon; specifically, in 
England, one of a company of persons who go 
from house to house at Christmas performing 
a kind of play, the subject being generally St. 
George and the Dragon, with sundry whimsi- 
cal adjuncts. 
