ENCYCLOPAEDIA LONDINENSI§; 
OR, AN 
UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY 
OF 
ARTS, SCIENCES, and LITERATURE. 
M. 
M A liquid confonant, and the twelfth letter in 
9 the alphabet, has one unvaried found, and is pro¬ 
nounced by ftriking the upper lip againft the lower5 in 
which the pronunciation of this letter agrees with that of 
b\ the difference between the two confifting in a little 
motion made in the nofe in pronouncing M, and not in 
b : whence it happens, that thofe who have taken cold, 
for M ordinarily pronounce b 3 or rather eb 5 the nofe, in 
that cafe, being dilabled from making the neceflary mo¬ 
tion. All conl'onants are formed with the aid of vowels; 
in m the vowel precedes, in be it follows : and M is ne¬ 
ver mute. 
Quintilian obferves, that the M fometimes <.ends- Latin 
■words, but never Greek ones 5 the Greeks always chang¬ 
ing it in that cafe into n, for the fake of the better found. 
. M is alfo a numeral letter, and among the ancients was 
itfed for a thoufand ; acccording to the verfe, “ M caput 
eft numeri, quern fcimus milleteneri.” When a dalh is 
added at the top of it, it fignifies a thoufand times a thou- 
fand, or a million. 
M, as an abbreviature, ftands for Manlius, Marcus, 
Martius, and Mucius: M.A. lignifies Magifter Artium, or 
Mafter of Arts ; MS. Manufcript, and MSS. Manufcripts. 
M, in aftronomical tables, and other things of that kind, 
is ufed for Meridional , or fouthern 5 and fometimes for Me¬ 
ridian, or mid-day. 
. M, in medical prefer!ptions, is frequently ufed to fig- 
nify a maniple, or handful: and it is fometimes alfo put 
at the end of a recipe, for mifee, mingle 3 or for mixlura, 
a mixture. Thus, M. F , julapium, fignifies, “Mix, and 
make a julep.” 
. M, in law, the brand or ftigma of a perfon convi&ed 
of man-llaughter,and admitted to the benefit of his clergy. 
It is to be burnt on the brawn of the left thumb. 
M, in mufic. This letter in old Plalm-tunes, har¬ 
monized, ftands for mean, or middle part, the fecond tre¬ 
ble, and fometimes the counter-tenor. In Scarlatti’s lef- 
fons compofed in Spain, it implies mano manca, or left 
hand. 
MA, in mythology, one of the names of the goddefs 
Rhea. A female attendant on the goddefs Rhea. 
MA, in Hindoo mythology, is a name of Parvati, the 
confort of Siva. 
MA-PIEN-ING', a town of China, in the province of 
Se-tchuen : forty miles fouth-fouth-weft of Kiating. 
MA-POU-HO'TUN, a town of Corea: forty-lix miles 
eaft-north-eaft of Pekin. 
MA-TCHAM', a town of China, inPe-tche=li; twenty- 
two miles north of Tfang, 
Vol.XIV. No. 95Z. 
MA-TCHE', a-final! iiland near the coaft of China 
Lat. 26. 30. N. Ion. 119. 54. E. 
MA-TCHING', a town of China, of the third rank, in 
Hou-quang : fifty miles north-eaft of Gu-tchang. 
MA'A, a town of Hindooftan, in Dowlatabad : five 
miles north-eaft of Beder. 
MA'AB. a fettlement of Weft Greenland. Lat. 6a. 6. N. 
Ion. 4.8. 30. W. 
MAA'CAH, Maa'cha, or Beth-Maacha, a fmall 
province of Syria, eaft and north of the Tourcesof Jordan, 
towards Damafcus. Abel, or Abela, was in this country , 
whence it was called Abel-beth-maacha. Jofhua tells us, 
(xiii. 13.) that the Ifraelites would not deftroy the Maa- 
chathites, but permitted them to dwell in the land. The 
king of Maachah aflifted the Ammonites againll David ; 
(4 Sam. 8 , 9.) Sheba, the fon of Bichri, took refuge in 
Abel Beth-Maachahs (4 Sam. xx. 15, &c.) The lot of 
the half-tribe of Manaffeh beyond Jordan extended to 
this country 5 (Deut. iii. 14. Jofh. xii. 5.) Hence the fmall 
canton, near the head of Jordan, on the eaft fide of it, in 
the way to Damafcus, was called Maaclionitis, or Ma- 
chonitis. 
MAA'CAH, or Maachaii. There are feveral per- 
fons in Scripture of this name.— Maacah, fon of Nahor 
and of his concubine Reumah 5 (Gen. xxii. 44.) This 
Maacah may be father of the Macetes in Arabia Felix. 
There is a city called Maca towards the ftraights of Or- 
mus.— Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Gefhur, wife 
of David, and mother of Ablalom and Tamars (4 Sam. 
iii. 3.)— Maacah, daughter of Abilhalom, wife of Re- 
hoboam, king of Judah, and mother of Abijam his fuc- 
cefiors 1 Kings xv. s. But in 4 Chron. xiii. 2. the is 
called Michaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. In e 
Kings, the mother may eafily have been miftaken for the 
daughter, by aferibing to each Abilhalom as a father.— 
Maacah, daughter of Abilhalom, wife of Abijam king 
of Judah, and mother of Afa his luccefior, (1 Kings xxv. 
10,13, 14.) Afa took from his mother Maacah the office 
of prieltefs of the groves.— Maacah, father of Achiffi, 
king of Gath, (1 Kings ii. 39.)— Maacah, filler of Ma- 
chir 5 (1 Chron. vii. 15.) wife of Machir, and mother 
of Perelhs (ver. 16.)— Maacah, father of Shephatiah, 
head of the Simeonites in the time of David j 1 Chron. 
xxvii. 16. 
MAA'CHAN, [Hebrew.] A man’s name. 
MAACH'ATHI, [Hebrew.] The name of a place. 
MAACH'ATHITE, [Hebrew.] An inhabitant of 
Maachathi. 
MAADA'I, [Hebrew.] A man’s name. 
B MAA'DEN, 
