MIDGE, mij, _n._ the common name of several species of small two-winged insects, like gnats, but with a shorter proboscis.--_n._ MIDG'ET, a little midge: something very small of its kind: a very small person. [A.S.
_micge_; Ger. _mucke_, a gnat.]
MIDRASH, mid'rash, _n._ the Hebrew exposition of the Old Testament--its two divisions, _Haggada_ and _Halakha_:--_pl._ MIDRASHIM (mid-ra'sh[=e]m), commentaries to individual books or sections of the Old Testament. [Heb., 'exposition.']
MIDRIB, mid'rib, _n._ (_bot._) the continuation of the leaf-stalk to the point of a leaf.
MIDRIFF, mid'rif, _n._ the diaphragm. [A.S. _mid_, middle, _hrif_, the belly.]
MIDST, midst, _n._ the middle.--_adv._ in the middle.--_prep._ amidst.
[From the M. E. phrase _in middle-s_, in the midst, with excrescent _t_ (cf. _whil-s-t_).]
MIDWIFE, mid'w[=i]f, _n._ a woman who assists others in childbirth:--_pl._ MIDWIVES (mid'w[=i]vz).--_n._ MID'WIFERY, art or practice of a midwife or accoucheuse: assistance at childbirth. [A.S. _mid_, together with (Ger.
_mit_, Gr. _met-a_), _wif_, woman.]
MIEN, m[=e]n, _n._ the look or appearance of a person: the expression of the face: manner: bearing. [Fr. _mine_--It. _mina_, deportment--Low L.
_min[=a]re_, to conduct--L. _min[=a]ri_, to threaten.]
MIFF, mif, _n._ (_coll._) a slight feeling of resentment. [Akin to Ger.
_muffen_, to sulk.]
MIGHT, m[=i]t, _pa.t._ of may.
MIGHT, m[=i]t, _n._ power: ability: strength: energy or intensity of purpose or feeling.--_adj._ MIGHT'FUL (_Shak._), mighty: powerful.--_adv._ MIGHT'ILY.--_n._ MIGHT'INESS, state of being mighty: power: greatness: great amount: a title of dignity: excellency.--_adj._ MIGHT'Y, having greater power: strong: valiant: very great: important: exhibiting might: wonderful.--MIGHT AND MAIN, utmost strength. [A.S. _meaht_, _miht_; Ger.
_macht_; cf. _May_.]
MIGNONETTE, min-yo-net', _n._ an annual with sweet-scented flowers.
[Fr.,--_mignon_, darling.]
MIGRAINE, mi-gr[=a]n', _n._ Same as MEGRIM.
MIGRATE, m[=i]'gr[=a]t, _v.i._ to pass from one place to another: to remove for residence from one country, college, &c. to another.--_adjs._ M[=I]'GRANT, M[=I]'GR[=A]TORY, migrating or accustomed to migrate: wandering.--_ns._ MIGR[=A]'TION, a change of abode: a removal from one country or climate to another: a number removing together; MIGR[=A]'TIONIST, MIGR[=A]'TOR.--MIGRATORY ANIMALS, animals that remove from one region to another as the seasons change. [L. _migr[=a]re_, -_[=a]tum_; cf. _me[=a]re_, to go.]
MIKADO, mi-ka'd[=o], _n._ a title of the Emperor of Japan. [Jap., 'exalted gate.']
MIL, mil, _n._ a unit of length in measuring the diameter of wire. [L.
_mille_, a thousand.]
MILADI, mi-l[=a]'di, _n._ my lady. [It.]
MILCH, milch, _adj._ giving milk: yielding liquid, tender. [_Milk_.]
MILD, m[=i]ld, _adj._ gentle in temper and disposition: not sharp or bitter: acting gently: gently and pleasantly affecting the senses: soft: calm.--_v.t._ MILD'EN, to render mild.--_v.i._ to become mild.--_adv._ MILD'LY.--_n._ MILD'NESS.--_adj._ MILD'-SPOK'EN, having a mild manner of speech.--MILD ALE, ale newly brewed, which has not got the taste that comes from keeping. [A.S. _milde_, mild; cf. Ger. _mild_, Ice. _mildr_, gracious, &c.]
MILDEW, mil'd[=u], _n._ a disease on plants, caused by the growth of minute fungi.--_v.t._ to taint with mildew.--_v.i._ to become so tainted. [A.S.
_meledeaw_, _mele_, honey, _deaw_, dew.]
MILE, m[=i]l, _n._ 1760 yards.--_ns._ MILE'AGE, length in miles: (_U.S._) compensation for expense of travel reckoned by the mile; MIL'ER, something the length of a mile; MILE'STONE, a stone set up to mark the distance of a mile. [A.S. _mil_; Fr. _mille_; both a contr. of L. _mille passuum_, a thousand paces.]
MILESIAN, mi-l[=e]'zhan, _adj._ of or pertaining to Ireland or to the Irish race.--_n._ an Irishman. [_Milesius_, a fabulous king of Spain, whose sons seized Ireland.]
MILFOIL, mil'foil, _n._ the herb yarrow, remarkable for the numerous divisions of its leaf. [L. _millefolium_--_mille_, thousand, _folium_, a leaf.]
MILIARY, mil'yar-i, _adj._ like a millet-seed: having formations of the size of millet-seeds, as miliary glands. [L. _milium_, millet.]
MILITANT, mil'i-tant, _adj._ fighting: engaged in warfare.--_n._ MIL'ITANCY, the state of being militant.--_adv._ MIL'ITANTLY.--_ns._ MIL'ITARISM, an excess of the military spirit; MIL'ITARIST (_Shak._), a military man.--_adj._ MIL'ITARY, pertaining to soldiers or to warfare: warlike: becoming a soldier: engaged in the profession of arms: derived from service as a soldier--(_obs._) MIL'ITAR.--_n._ soldiery: the army.--_v.i._ MIL'ITATE, to contend: to stand opposed: to have force for or against.--CHURCH MILITANT (see Church). [L. _militans_, -_antis_, pr.p. of _milit[=a]re_.]
MILITIA, mi-lish'a, _n._ a body of men enrolled and drilled as soldiers, but only liable to home service: (_U.S._) the whole body of citizens capable of bearing arms.--_n._ MILIT'IAMAN, a man or soldier in the militia force. [L. _militia_--_miles_, _militis_.]
MILK, milk, _v.t._ to squeeze or draw milk from: to supply with milk.--_n._ a white liquid secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young: a milk-like juice of certain plants.--_adj._ MILK'EN, consisting of milk, or like milk.--_ns._ MILK'EN-WAY (_Bacon_), the milky-way, the galaxy; MILK'ER, one who milks: a machine for milking cows: a cow that gives milk; MILK'-F[=E]'VER, a fever accompanying the secretion of milk shortly after childbirth.--_adv._ MILK'ILY.--_ns._ MILK'INESS; MILK'ING, the amount of milk drawn at one time; MILK'ING-STOOL, a stool on which the milker sits while milking; MILK'ING-TIME; MILK'ING-TUBE, a perforated tube inserted in a cow's teat to let the milk flow without pressing the udder; MILK'-KIN'SHIP, the kinship arising from fostering.--_adj._ MILK'-LIV'ERED (_Shak._), white-livered: cowardly.--_ns._ MILK'MAID, a woman who milks: a dairymaid; MILK'MAN, a man who sells milk, esp. from door to door; MILK'-M[=O]'LAR, one of the grinders or back teeth in young animals, early shed and replaced by another; MILK'-PORR'IDGE, porridge made with milk instead of water; MILK'-PUNCH, an excellent but very heady drink made of milk, rum or whisky, sugar, and nutmeg; MILK'-SICK'NESS (_U.S._), a kind of malignant fever affecting cattle, also men; MILK'SOP, a piece of bread sopped or soaked in milk: an effeminate, silly fellow; MILK'-THIS'TLE, the lady's thistle; MILK'-TOOTH, one of the first fore-teeth of a foal: one of the first teeth of a child; MILK'-TREE, a tree yielding a milk-like, nourishing juice, as the cow-tree of South America; MILK'-VETCH, a plant sometimes cultivated as food for cattle; MILK'-WALK, a milkman's route.--_adj._ MILK'-WARM, warm as new milk.--_ns._ MILK'-WEED, a general name for plants of the genus Asclepias, from their milky juice; MILK'-WORT, a genus of handsome flowering plants, containing a milk-like juice.--_adj._ MILK'Y, made of, full of, like, or yielding milk: soft: gentle.--_n._ MILK'Y-WAY (_astron._), the galaxy, a broad, luminous zone in the sky, caused by the light of innumerable fixed stars. [A.S. _meolc_, milk; Ger.
_milch_, milk.]
MILL, mil, _n._ a machine for grinding any substance, as grain, by crushing it between two hard, rough surfaces: a place where corn is ground, or manufacture of some kind is carried on: a contest at boxing.--_v.t._ to grind: to press or stamp in a mill: to stamp or turn up the edge of coin, and put ridges and furrows on the rim: to put furrows and ridges on any edge: to clean, as cloth: to beat severely with the fists.--_ns._ MILL'-BOARD, stout pasteboard, used esp. in binding books; MILL'COG, a cog of a mill-wheel; MILL'DAM, MILL'POND, a dam or pond to hold water for driving a mill.--_adj._ MILLED, prepared by a grinding-mill or a coining-press: transversely grooved: treated by machinery, esp. smoothed by calendering rollers in a paper-mill.--_ns._ MILL'-HORSE, a horse that turns a mill; MILL'ING, the act of passing anything through a mill: the act of fulling cloth: the process of turning up the edge of coin and of putting the rows of ridges and furrows on it: indenting coin on the edge; MILL'RACE, the current of water that turns a mill-wheel, or the channel in which it runs; MILL-SIX'PENCE (_Shak._), a milled sixpence; MILL'STONE, one of the two stones used in a mill for grinding corn; MILL'STONE-GRIT (_geol._), a hard gritty variety of sandstone suitable for millstones; MILL'-TOOTH, a molar; MILL'-WHEEL, the water-wheel used for driving a mill; MILL'-WORK, the machinery of a mill: the planning and putting up of machinery in mills; MILL'WRIGHT, a wright or mechanic who builds and repairs mills.--GO THROUGH THE MILL, to undergo suffering or experience sufficient to fit one for certain duties or privileges; SEE THROUGH A MILLSTONE, to see far into or through difficult questions. [A.S. _miln_--L.
_mola_, a mill--_mol[=a]re_, to grind.]
MILL, mil, _n._ (_U.S._) the thousandth part of a dollar. [L. _mille_, a thousand.]
MILLENNIUM, mil-len'i-um, _n._ a thousand years: the thousand years during which, as some believe, Christ will personally reign on the earth.--_adj._ MILLEN[=A]'RIAN, lasting a thousand years: pertaining to the millennium.--_n._ one believing in the millennium.--_ns._ MILLEN[=A]'RIANISM, MIL'LENARISM, the doctrine of millenarians.--_adj._ MILL'ENARY, consisting of a thousand.--_n._ a thousand years.--_adj._ MILLENN'IAL, pertaining to a thousand years, or to the millennium.--_ns._ MILLENN'IALIST, a believer in the millennium; MILLENN'IANISM, MILLENN'IARISM, belief in the millennium. [L. _mille_, 1000, _annus_, a year.]
MILLEPED. See MILLIPED.
MILLEPORE, mil'e-p[=o]r, _n._ a species of branching coral, having a smooth surface with numerous minute, distinct pores or cells.--_n._ MILL'EPORITE, a fossil millepore. [Fr.; L. _mille_, 1000, _porus_, a pore.]
MILLER, mil'[.e]r, _n._ one who has, or who attends to, a corn-mill.--_ns._ MILL'ER'S-THUMB, a small fresh-water fish with a large, broad, and rounded head like a miller's thumb, the river bull-head.
MILLESIMAL, mil-les'im-al, _adj._ thousandth: consisting of thousandth parts.--_adv._ MILLES'IMALLY. [L. _millesimus_--_mille_, a thousand.]
MILLET, mil'et, _n._ a grass yielding grain which is used for food. [Fr.
_millet_--L. _milium_.]
MILLIARD, mil'yard, _n._ a thousand millions. [Fr.,--L. _mille_, a thousand.]
MILLIARE, mil'yar, _n._ the one-thousandth part of an are.
MILLIARY, mil'i-[=a]-ri, _adj._ pertaining to a Roman mile.--_n._ a Roman milestone.
MILLIER, m[=e]l-y[=a]', _n._ a weight of 1000 kilogrammes.
MILLIGRAM, mil'i-gram, _n._ the 1/1000th part of a gramme.
MILLILITRE, mil'i-l[=e]-t[.e]r, _n._ the thousandth part of a litre.
MILLIMETER, MILLIMETRE, mil'i-m[=e]-t[.e]r, _n._ the thousandth part of a metre.
MILLINER, mil'in-[.e]r, _n._ one who makes head-dresses, bonnets, &c. for women.--_n._ MILL'INERY, the articles made or sold by milliners: the industry of making these. [Prob. orig. _Milaner_, a trader in Milan wares, esp. silks and ribbons.]
MILLION, mil'yun, _n._ a thousand thousands (1,000,000): a very great number.--_n._ MILL'IONAIRE, a man worth a million of money or more.--_adj._ MILL'IONARY, pertaining to, or consisting of, millions.--_adj._ and _n._ MILL'IONTH, the ten hundred thousandth.--THE MILLION, the great body of the people generally. [Fr.,--Low L. _millio_--L. _mille_, 1000.]
MILLIPED, MILLEPED, mil'e-ped, _n._ a small worm-like animal, with a great number of legs.--Also MILL'IPEDE, MILL'EPEDE. [L. _millepeda_--_mille_, a thousand, _pes, pedis_, a foot.]