| A | B |
|---|
| malefic | adj. 1. Having or exerting a malignant influence. 2. Evil; malicious. syns: baleful, sinister, malign ant- d1 benefic |
| malmsey (MAHM-zee) | n. pl. A sweet fortified wine originally made in Greece and now produced mainly in Madeira. Also called malvasia, malvoisie. |
| mangonel | n. A military engine used during the Middle Ages for hurling stones and other missiles. |
| manumitted form of manumit | To free from slavery or bondage; emancipate. syns: liberated, enfranchised, freed ant-enslaved. |
| maracas | n. Music. A percussion instrument consisting of a hollow-gourd rattle containing pebbles or beans and often played in pairs. Portugese maraca, prolly Tupi |
| marzipan | n. A confection made of ground almonds or almond paste, egg whites, and sugar, often molded into decorative shapes. |
| mazuma | n. Slang. Money; cash. syns: greenbacks, dough, bread |
| mechanotherapy | n. pl. Medical treatment by mechanical methods, such as massage. No origin given |
| mendicity | adj. 1. Depending on alms for a living; practicing begging. mendicant n. 1. A beggar. 2. A member of an order of friars forbidden to own property in common, who work or beg for their living. syns: n. beggary, bumming, panhandling |
| metate | n. A stone block with a shallow concave surface, used with a mano for grinding corn or other grains. American Spanish, from Nahuatl metlatl. |
| miasmic (adj of miasma) | n. pl. 1. A noxious atmosphere or influence. 2. a. A poisonous atmosphere formerly thought to rise from swamps and putrid matter and cause disease. b. A thick, vaporous atmosphere or emanation. syns: adj toxic, pestilent, poisonous, venomous |
| mignonette | n. Any of several Mediterranean plants of the genus Reseda, especially R. odorata, widely cultivated for its terminal, dense, spikelike clusters of very fragrant but inconspicuous greenish flowers. |
| mobocracy (mahb-AHK-ruh-see) | n. pl. 1. Political control by a mob. 2. The mass of common people as the source of political control. adj No origin given. syns: d1 anarchy, lawlessness, chaos |
| moil | 1. To toil; slave. 2. To churn about continuously. n. 1. Toil; drudgery. 2. Confusion; turmoil. |
| monadnock | n. A mountain or rocky mass that has resisted erosion and stands isolated in an essentially level area. [After Mount Monadnock, a peak of southwest New Hampshire] |
| monocarpic | adj. Botany. Flowering and bearing fruit only once. No origin given. |
| Mrs. Grundy | n. An extremely conventional or priggish person. [After Mrs. Grundy, character alluded to in the play Speed the Plough by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), British playwright] syns: prude, goody-goody, prig |
| mufti (1) | n. pl. A Moslem scholar who interprets the shari'a. [Arabic mufti, from afta, to decide by legal opinion] |
| mufti (2) | n. pl. Civilian dress, especially when worn by one who normally wears a uniform. |
| muzziest (superlative degree of muzzy) | adj. 1. Mentally confused; muddled. 2. Blurred; indistinct. Origin unknown |
