Part 16
Ma`te*ol"o*gy (m`t*l"*j), n. [Gr. mataiologi`a; ma`taios useless, vain + lo`gos discourse: cf. F. matéologie.] A vain, unprofitable discourse or inquiry. [R.]
Ma`te*o*tech"ny (m`t**tk"n), n. [Gr. mataiotechni`a; ma`taios vain + te`chnh art, science.] Any unprofitable science. [Obs.]
||Ma"ter (?), n. [L., mother. See Mother.] See Alma mater, Dura mater, ||and Pia mater.
Ma*te"ri*al (?), a. [L. materialis, fr. materia stuff, matter: cf. F. matériel. See Matter, and cf. MatÉriel.]
1. Consisting of matter; not spiritual; corporeal; physical; as, material substance or bodies.
The material elements of the universe.
Whewell.
2. Hence: Pertaining to, or affecting, the physical nature of man, as distinguished from the mental or moral nature; relating to the bodily wants, interests, and comforts.
3. Of solid or weighty character; not insubstantial; of consequence; not be dispensed with; important.
Discourse, which was always material, never trifling.
Evelyn.
I shall, in the account of simple ideas, set down only such as are most material to our present purpose.
Locke.
4. (Logic.) Pertaining to the matter, as opposed to the form, of a thing. See Matter.
Material cause. See under Cause. -- Material evidence (Law), evidence which conduces to the proof or disproof of a relevant hypothesis. Wharton.
Syn. -- Corporeal; bodily; important; weighty; momentous; essential.
Ma*te"ri*al, n. The substance or matter of which anything is made or may be made.
Raw material, any crude, unfinished, or elementary materials that are adapted to use only by processes of skilled labor. Cotton, wool, ore, logs, etc., are raw material.
Ma*te"ri*al, v. t. To form from matter; to materialize. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
Ma*te"ri*al*ism (?), n. [Cf. F. matérialisme.]
1. The doctrine of materialists; materialistic views and tenets.
The irregular fears of a future state had been supplanted by the materialism of Epicurus.
Buckminster.
2. The tendency to give undue importance to material interests; devotion to the material nature and its wants.
3. Material substances in the aggregate; matter. [R. & Obs.] A. Chalmers.
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Ma*te"ri*al*ist (m*t"r*al*st), n. [Cf. F. matérialiste.] 1. One who denies the existence of spiritual substances or agents, and maintains that spiritual phenomena, so called, are the result of some peculiar organization of matter.
2. One who holds to the existence of matter, as distinguished from the idealist, who denies it. Berkeley.
{ Ma*te`ri*al*is"tic (?), Ma*te`ri*al*is"tic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to materialism or materialists; of the nature of materialism.
But to me his very spiritualism seemed more materialistic than his physics.
C. Kingsley.
Ma*te`ri*al"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. matérialité.]
1. The quality or state of being material; material existence; corporeity.
2. Importance; as, the materiality of facts.
Ma*te`ri*al*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of materializing, or the state of being materialized.
Ma*te"ri*al*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Materialized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Materializing (?).] [Cf. F. matérialiser.] 1. To invest with material characteristics; to make perceptible to the senses; hence, to present to the mind through the medium of material objects.
Having with wonderful art and beauty materialized, if I may so call it, a scheme of abstracted notions, and clothed the most nice, refined conceptions of philosophy in sensible images.
Tatler.
2. To regard as matter; to consider or explain by the laws or principles which are appropriate to matter.
3. To cause to assume a character appropriate to material things; to occupy with material interests; as, to materialize thought.
4. (Spiritualism) To make visable in, or as in, a material form; -- said of spirits.
A female spirit form temporarily materialized, and not distinguishable from a human being.
Epes Sargent.
Ma*te"ri*al*ize, v. i. To appear as a material form; to take substantial shape. [Colloq.]
Ma*te"ri*al*ly, adv. 1. In the state of matter.
I do not mean that anything is separable from a body by fire that was not materially preëxistent in it.
Boyle.
2. In its essence; substantially.
An ill intention is certainly sufficient to spoil . . . an act in itself materially good.
South.
3. In an important manner or degree; essentially; as, it materially concerns us to know the real motives of our actions.
Ma*te"ri*al*ness, n. The state of being material.
||Ma*te"ri*a med"i*ca (?). [L. See Matter, and Medical.] 1. Material or ||substance used in the composition of remedies; -- a general term for ||all substances used as curative agents in medicine.
2. That branch of medical science which treats of the nature and properties of all the substances that are employed for the cure of diseases.
Ma*te`ri*a"ri*an (?), n. [L. materiarius.] See Materialist. [Obs.]
{ Ma*te"ri*ate (?), Ma*te"ri*a`ted (?), } a. [L. materiatus, p. p. of materiare to build of wood.] Consisting of matter. [Obs.] Bacon.
Ma*te`ri*a"tion (?), n. [L. materiatio woodwork.] Act of forming matter. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
||Ma`té`ri`el" (?), n. [F. See Material.] That in a complex system ||which constitutes the materials, or instruments employed, in ||distinction from the personnel, or men; as, the baggage, munitions, ||provisions, etc., of an army; or the buildings, libraries, and ||apparatus of a college, in distinction from its officers.
Ma*te"ri*ous (?), a. See Material. [Obs.]
Ma*ter"nal (?), a. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.] Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness.
Syn. -- See Motherly.
Ma*ter"nal*ly, adv. In a motherly manner.
Ma*ter"ni*ty (?), n. [F. maternité, LL. maternitas.] The state of being a mother; the character or relation of a mother.
Mat"fel*on (?), n. [W. madfelen.] (Bot.) The knapweed (Centaurea nigra).
Math (?), n. [AS. mð; akin to mwan to mow, G. mahd math. See Mow to cut (grass).] A mowing, or that which is gathered by mowing; -- chiefly used in composition; as, an aftermath. [Obs.]
The first mowing thereof, for the king's use, is wont to be sooner than the common math.
Bp. Hall.
Math`e*mat"ic (?), a. [F. mathématique, L. mathematicus, Gr. &?; disposed to learn, belonging to learning or the sciences, especially to mathematics, fr. &?; that which is learned, learning, pl. &?; things learned, learning, science, especially mathematical science, fr. &?;, &?;, to learn; akin to E. mind. See Mind.] See Mathematical.
Math`e*mat"ic*al (?), a. [See Mathematic.] Of or pertaining to mathematics; according to mathematics; hence, theoretically precise; accurate; as, mathematical geography; mathematical instruments; mathematical exactness. -- Math`e*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.
Math`e*ma*ti"cian (?), n. [Cf. F. mathématicien.] One versed in mathematics.
Math`e*mat"ics (?), n. [F. mathématiques, pl., L. mathematica, sing., Gr. &?; (sc. &?;) science. See Mathematic, and -ics.] That science, or class of sciences, which treats of the exact relations existing between quantities or magnitudes, and of the methods by which, in accordance with these relations, quantities sought are deducible from other quantities known or supposed; the science of spatial and quantitative relations.
Mathematics embraces three departments, namely: 1. Arithmetic. 2. Geometry, including Trigonometry and Conic Sections. 3. Analysis, in which letters are used, including Algebra, Analytical Geometry, and Calculus. Each of these divisions is divided into pure or abstract, which considers magnitude or quantity abstractly, without relation to matter; and mixed or applied, which treats of magnitude as subsisting in material bodies, and is consequently interwoven with physical considerations.
Math"er (?), n. See Madder.
Math"es (?), n. [Perh. corrupted fr. L. anthemis camomile, Gr. &?; .] (Bot.) The mayweed. Cf. Maghet.
||Ma*the"sis (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, from &?;, &?;, to learn.] ||Learning; especially, mathematics. [R.] Pope.
Math"u*rin (?), n. (R. C. Ch.) See Trinitarian.
Ma*ti"co (?), n. (Bot.) A Peruvian plant (Piper, or Artanthe, elongatum), allied to the pepper, the leaves of which are used as a styptic and astringent.
Mat"ie (?), n. (Zoöl.) A fat herring with undeveloped roe. [Written also matty.] [Eng. & Scot.]
||Mâ`tin" (?), n. [F. mâtin.] (Zoöl.) A French mastiff.
Mat"in (?), n. [F. fr. L. matutinum the morning, matutinus of the morning, Matuta the goddess of the morning. See Matutinal.] 1. Morning. [Obs.] Shak.
2. pl. [F. matines. See Etymol. above.] Morning worship or service; morning prayers or songs.
The winged choristers began To chirp their matins.
Cleveland.
3. Time of morning service; the first canonical hour in the Roman Catholic Church.
Mat"in, a. Of or pertaining to the morning, or to matins; used in the morning; matutinal.
Mat"in*al (?), a. Relating to the morning, or to matins; matutinal.
Mat`i*née" (?), n. [F., from matin. See Matin.] A reception, or a musical or dramatic entertainment, held in the daytime. See SoirÉe.
Ma*trass" (?), n. [F. matras; perh. so called from its long narrow neck; cf. OF. matras large arrow, L. materis, mataris, matara, a Celtic javelin, pike; of Celtic origin.] (Chem.) A round- bottomed glass flask having a long neck; a bolthead.
Mat"ress (?), n. See Matress.
Ma"tri*arch (?), n. [L. mater mother + -arch.] The mother and ruler of a family or of her descendants; a ruler by maternal right.
Ma`tri*ar"chal (?), a. Of or pertaining to a matriarch; governed by a matriarch.
Ma"tri*ar"chate (?), n. The office or jurisdiction of a matriarch; a matriarchal form of government.
Ma"trice (?), n. [Cf. F. matrice. See Matrix.] See Matrix.
Mat"ri*ci`dal (?), a. Of or pertaining to matricide.
Mat"ri*cide (?), n. [L. matricidium; mater mother + coedere to kill, slay: cf. F. matricide. See Mother, and cf. Homicide.] 1. The murder of a mother by her son or daughter.
2. [L. matricida: cf. F. matricide.] One who murders one's own mother.
Ma*tric"u*late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Matriculated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Matriculating.] [L. matricula a public roll or register, dim. of matrix a mother, in respect to propagation, also, a public register. See Matrix.] To enroll; to enter in a register; specifically, to enter or admit to membership in a body or society, particularly in a college or university, by enrolling the name in a register.
In discovering and matriculating the arms of commissaries from North America.
Sir W. Scott.
Ma*tric"u*late, v. i. To go though the process of admission to membership, as by examination and enrollment, in a society or college.
Ma*tric"u*late (?), a. Matriculated. Skelton. -- n. One who is matriculated. Arbuthnot.
Ma*tric`u*la"tion (?), n. The act or process of matriculating; the state of being matriculated.
Mat"ri*moine (?), n. Matrimony. [Obs.]
Mat`ri*mo"ni*al (?), a. [L. matrimonialis: cf. F. matrimonial. See Matrimony.] Of or pertaining to marriage; derived from marriage; connubial; nuptial; hymeneal; as, matrimonial rights or duties.
If he relied upon that title, he could be but a king at courtesy, and have rather a matrimonial than a regal power.
Bacon.
Syn. -- Connubial; conjugal; sponsal; spousal; nuptial; hymeneal.
Mat`ri*mo"ni*al*ly, adv. In a matrimonial manner.
Mat`ri*mo"ni*ous (?), a. Matrimonial. [R.] Milton.
Mat"ri*mo*ny (?), n. [OE. matrimoine, through Old French, fr. L. matrimonium, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
1. The union of man and woman as husband and wife; the nuptial state; marriage; wedlock.
If either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it.
Book of Com. Prayer (Eng. Ed. )
2. A kind of game at cards played by several persons.
Matrimony vine (Bot.), a climbing thorny vine (Lycium barbarum) of the Potato family. Gray.
Syn. -- Marriage; wedlock. See Marriage.
Ma"trix (m"trks), n.; pl. Matrices (mt"r*sz). [L., fr. mater mother. See Mother, and cf. Matrice.]
1. (Anat.) The womb.
All that openeth the matrix is mine.
Ex. xxxiv. 19.
2. Hence, that which gives form or origin to anything; as: (a) (Mech.) The cavity in which anything is formed, and which gives it shape; a die; a mold, as for the face of a type. (b) (Min.) The earthy or stony substance in which metallic ores or crystallized minerals are found; the gangue. (c) pl. (Dyeing) The five simple colors, black, white, blue, red, and yellow, of which all the rest are composed.
3. (Biol.) The lifeless portion of tissue, either animal or vegetable, situated between the cells; the intercellular substance.
4. (Math.) A rectangular arrangement of symbols in rows and columns. The symbols may express quantities or operations.
Ma"tron (?), n. [F. matrone, L. matrona, fr. mater mother. See Mother.] 1. A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children; a woman of staid or motherly manners.
Your wives, your daughters, Your matrons, and your maids.
Shak.
Grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother.
Fuller.
2. A housekeeper; esp., a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public instution; a head nurse in a hospital; as, the matron of a school or hospital.
Jury of matrons (Law), a jury of experienced women called to determine the question of pregnancy when set up in bar of execution, and for other cognate purposes.
Mat"ron*age (?), n. 1. The state of a matron.
2. The collective body of matrons. Burke.
Can a politician slight the feelings and convictions of the whole matronage of his country ?
Hare.
Mat"ron*al (?), a. [L. matronalis.] Of or pertaining to a matron; suitable to an elderly lady or to a married woman; grave; motherly.
Ma"tron*hood (?), n. The state of being a matron.
Mat"ron*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Matronized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Matronizing (?).] 1. To make a matron of; to make matronlike.
Childbed matronizes the giddiest spirits.
Richardson.
2. To act the part of a matron toward; to superintend; to chaperone; as, to matronize an assembly.
Ma"tron*like` (?), a. Like a matron; sedate; grave; matronly.
Ma"tron*ly, a. 1. Advanced in years; elderly.
2. Like, or befitting, a matron; grave; sedate.
Mat`ro*nym"ic (?), n. [L. mater mother + -nymic, as in patronimic.] See Metronymic.
Ma*tross" (?), n. [D. matroos, fr. F. matelot.] (Mil.) Formerly, in the British service, a gunner or a gunner's mate; one of the soldiers in a train of artillery, who assisted the gunners in loading, firing, and sponging the guns. [Obs.]
Matt (?), n. See Matte. Knight.
Mat`ta*ges" (?), n. (Zoöl.) A shrike or butcher bird; -- written also matagasse. [Prov. Eng.]
Mat"ta*more` (?), n. [F. matamore, from Ar. mamra.] A subterranean repository for wheat.
Matte (mt), n. [F. matte; cf. F. mat, masc., matte, fem., faint, dull, dim; -- said of metals. See Mate checkmate.] 1. (Metallurgy) A partly reduced copper sulphide, obtained by alternately roasting and melting copper ore in separating the metal from associated iron ores, and called coarse metal, fine metal, etc., according to the grade of fineness. On the exterior it is dark brown or black, but on a fresh surface is yellow or bronzy in color.
2. A dead or dull finish, as in gilding where the gold leaf is not burnished, or in painting where the surface is purposely deprived of gloss.
Mat"ted (?), a. [See Matte.] Having a dull surface; unburnished; as, matted gold leaf or gilding.
Matted glass, glass ornamented with figures on a dull ground.
Mat"ted, a. [See 3d Mat.] 1. Covered with a mat or mats; as, a matted floor.
2. Tangled closely together; having its parts adhering closely together; as, matted hair.
Mat"ter (?), n. [OE. matere, F. matière, fr. L. materia; perh. akin to L. mater mother. Cf. Mother, Madeira, Material.] 1. That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment.
He is the matter of virtue.
B. Jonson.
2. That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance.
Matter is usually divided by philosophical writers into three kinds or classes: solid, liquid, and aëriform. Solid substances are those whose parts firmly cohere and resist impression, as wood or stone. Liquids have free motion among their parts, and easily yield to impression, as water and wine. Aëriform substances are elastic fluids, called vapors and gases, as air and oxygen gas.
3. That with regard to, or about which, anything takes place or is done; the thing aimed at, treated of, or treated; subject of action, discussion, consideration, feeling, complaint, legal action, or the like; theme. "If the matter should be tried by duel." Bacon.
Son of God, Savior of men ! Thy name Shall be the copious matter of my song.
Milton.
Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge.
Ex. xviii. 22.
4. That which one has to treat, or with which one has to do; concern; affair; business.
To help the matter, the alchemists call in many vanities out of astrology.
Bacon.
Some young female seems to have carried matters so far, that she is ripe for asking advice.
Spectator.
5. Affair worthy of account; thing of consequence; importance; significance; moment; -- chiefly in the phrases what matter ? no matter, and the like.
A prophet some, and some a poet, cry; No matter which, so neither of them lie.
Dryden.
6. Inducing cause or occasion, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing; difficulty; trouble.
And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife.
Milton.
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7. Amount; quantity; portion; space; -- often indefinite.
Away he goes, . . . a matter of seven miles.
L' Estrange.
I have thoughts to tarry a small matter.
Congreve.
No small matter of British forces were commanded over sea the year before.
Milton.
8. Substance excreted from living animal bodies; that which is thrown out or discharged in a tumor, boil, or abscess; pus; purulent substance.
9. (Metaph.) That which is permanent, or is supposed to be given, and in or upon which changes are effected by psychological or physical processes and relations; -- opposed to form. Mansel.
10. (Print.) Written manuscript, or anything to be set in type; copy; also, type set up and ready to be used, or which has been used, in printing.
Dead matter (Print.), type which has been used, or which is not to be used, in printing, and is ready for distribution. -- Live matter (Print.), type set up, but not yet printed from. -- Matter in bar, Matter of fact. See under Bar, and Fact. -- Matter of record, anything recorded. -- Upon the matter, or Upon the whole matter, considering the whole; taking all things into view.
Waller, with Sir William Balfour, exceeded in horse, but were, upon the whole matter, equal in foot.
Clarendon.
Mat"ter (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Mattered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Mattering.] 1. To be of importance; to import; to signify.
It matters not how they were called.
Locke.
2. To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. [R.] "Each slight sore mattereth." Sir P. Sidney.
Mat"ter, v. t. To regard as important; to take account of; to care for. [Obs.]
He did not matter cold nor hunger.
H. Brooke.
Mat"ter*less, a. 1. Not being, or having, matter; as, matterless spirits. Davies (Wit's Pilgr. ).
2. Unimportant; immaterial. [Obs.]
Mat"ter-of-fact" (?), a. Adhering to facts; not turning aside from absolute realities; not fanciful or imaginative; commonplace; dry.
Mat"ter*y (?), a. 1. Generating or containing pus; purulent.
2. Full of substance or matter; important. B. Jonson.
Mat"ting (?), n. [From Mat, v. t. & i.] 1. The act of interweaving or tangling together so as to make a mat; the process of becoming matted.
2. Mats, in general, or collectively; mat work; a matlike fabric, for use in covering floors, packing articles, and the like; a kind of carpeting made of straw, etc.
3. Materials for mats.
4. An ornamental border. See 3d Mat, 4.
Mat"ting, n. [See Matte.] A dull, lusterless surface in certain of the arts, as gilding, metal work, glassmaking, etc.
Mat"tock (?), n. [AS. mattuc; cf. W. matog.] An implement for digging and grubbing. The head has two long steel blades, one like an adz and the other like a narrow ax or the point of a pickax.
'T is you must dig with mattock and with spade.
Shak.
Mat`to*wac"ca (?), n. [Indian name.] (Zoöl.) An American clupeoid fish (Clupea mediocris), similar to the shad in habits and appearance, but smaller and less esteemed for food; -- called also hickory shad, tailor shad, fall herring, and shad herring.
Mat"tress (?), n. [OF. materas, F. matelas, LL. matratium; cf. Sp. & Pg. almadraque, Pr. almatrac; all from Ar. marah a place where anything is thrown, what is thrown under something, fr. araha to throw.]
1. A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable material, and quilted or otherwise fastened. [Written also matress.]
2. (Hydraulic Engin.) A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc., to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves.
Mat"u*rant (?), n. [L. maturans, p. pr. See Maturate.] (Med.) A medicine, or application, which promotes suppuration.
Mat"u*rate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Maturated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Maturating (?).] [L. maturatus, p. p. of maturare to make ripe, fr. maturus ripe, mature. See Mature, v. & a.] 1. To bring to ripeness or maturity; to ripen.
A tree may be maturated artificially.
Fuller.
2. To promote the perfect suppuration of (an abscess).
Mat"u*rate, v. i. To ripen; to become mature; specifically, to suppurate.
Mat`u*ra"tion (?), n. [L. maturatio a hastening: cf. F. maturation.] The process of bringing, or of coming, to maturity; hence, specifically, the process of suppurating perfectly; the formation of pus or matter.
Mat"u*ra*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. maturatif.] Conducing to ripeness or maturity; hence, conducing to suppuration.
Mat"u*ra*tive, n. (Med.) A remedy promoting maturation; a maturant.
Ma*ture" (?), a. [Compar. Maturer (?); superl. Maturest.] [L. maturus; prob. akin to E. matin.]
1. Brought by natural process to completeness of growth and development; fitted by growth and development for any function, action, or state, appropriate to its kind; full-grown; ripe.
Now is love mature in ear.
Tennison.
How shall I meet, or how accost, the sage, Unskilled in speech, nor yet mature of age ?
Pope.
2. Completely worked out; fully digested or prepared; ready for action; made ready for destined application or use; perfected; as, a mature plan.
This lies glowing, . . . and is almost mature for the violent breaking out.
Shak.
3. Of or pertaining to a condition of full development; as, a man of mature years.
4. Come to, or in a state of, completed suppuration.
Syn. -- Ripe; perfect; completed; prepared; digested; ready. -- Mature, Ripe. Both words describe fullness of growth. Mature brings to view the progressiveness of the process; ripe indicates the result. We speak of a thing as mature when thinking of the successive stayes through which it has passed; as ripe, when our attention is directed merely to its state. A mature judgment; mature consideration; ripe fruit; a ripe scholar.
Ma*ture" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Matured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Maturing.] [See Maturate, Mature.] To bring or hasten to maturity; to promote ripeness in; to ripen; to complete; as, to mature one's plans. Bacon.
Ma*ture", v. i. 1. To advance toward maturity; to become ripe; as, wine matures by age; the judgment matures by age and experience.
2. Hence, to become due, as a note.
Ma*ture"ly, adv. 1. In a mature manner; with ripeness; completely.
2. With caution; deliberately. Dryden.
3. Early; soon. [A Latinism, little used] Bentley.
Ma*ture"ness, n. The state or quality of being mature; maturity.
Ma*tur"er (?), n. One who brings to maturity.
Mat`u*res"cent (?), a. [L. maturescens, p. pr. of maturescere to become ripe, v. incho. from maturus. See Mature, a.] Approaching maturity.
Ma*tur"ing (?), a. Approaching maturity; as, maturing fruits; maturing notes of hand.
Ma*tu"ri*ty (?), n. [L. maturitas: cf. F. maturité.]
1. The state or quality of being mature; ripeness; full development; as, the maturity of corn or of grass; maturity of judgment; the maturity of a plan.