<B>magistracy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the position, rank, or duties of a magistrate. <BR> <I>Ex. A political executive magistracy ... is a great trust (Edmund Burke).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>magistrates as a group. <BR> <I>Ex. He went from city to city, advising with the magistracies (John L. Motley).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the district under a magistrate. </DL>
<A NAME="magistral">
<B>magistral, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Pharmacy.) prescribed or prepared for a particular occasion. <BR> <I>Ex. a magistral prescription.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or like a magistral line; principal. <BR> <I>Ex. The principal or magistral gallery runs all round the work (J. M. Spearman).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>magisterial; authoritative; dogmatic. <BR> <I>Ex. Magistral powers ... of the forceful and free over the weak and servile elements of life (John Ruskin).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>=magistral line.</B> adv. <B>magistrally.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="magistralline">
<B>magistral line,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the principal line of a military defense, from which the position of all other lines is determined. </DL>
<A NAME="magistrate">
<B>magistrate, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an officer of a government who has power to apply the law and put it into force. The President is the chief magistrate of the United States. <DD><B> 2. </B>a judge in a minor court. A justice of the peace is a magistrate. </DL>
<A NAME="magistrateship">
<B>magistrateship, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the position, duties, or term of office of a magistrate. </DL>
<B>Maglemosian</B> or <B>Maglemosean, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> belonging to or denoting a Mesolithic period represented by artifacts found in Denmark. <BR> <I>Ex. The best known culture of Boreal times in northern Europe is the Maglemosian, which extended from Denmark across the North Sea to Britain (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="maglev">
<B>maglev</B> or <B>mag-lev, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a high-speed train supported above the ground and guided by a system of superconducting electromagnets. </DL>
<A NAME="magma">
<B>magma, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mata,</B> <B>-mas.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the molten material beneath the earth's crust from which igneous rock is formed. <BR> <I>Ex. The liquefied material forms a fluid mass, called magma, that is lighter than the overlying rocks and tends to rise at an opening (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any crude mixture of mineral or organic substances in the form of a thin paste. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Pharmacy.) a suspension of insoluble or nearly insoluble material in water. <BR> <I>Ex. Magnesia magma is the technical term for milk of magnesia.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magmatic">
<B>magmatic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a magma. </DL>
<A NAME="magnacharta">
<B>Magna Charta</B> or <B>Magna Carta,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the great charter which the English barons forcibly secured from King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215. The Magna Charta provided a basis for guaranteeing the personal and political liberties of the people of England, and placed the king under the rule of the law and decisively checked his power. <BR> <I>Ex. For many years, the document was commonly known as Magna Charta, but in 1946 the British government officially adopted the Latin spelling, Magna Carta (Bryce Lyon).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any fundamental constitution guaranteeing civil and political rights. </DL>
<A NAME="magnacumlaude">
<B>magna cum laude,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> with high honors (the second highest degree of merit on the diplomas of superior students). <BR> <I>Ex. to graduate magna cum laude.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magnalium">
<B>magnalium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a strong alloy of aluminum and magnesium having increased hardness and good machinability, used for airplane parts and scientific instruments. </DL>
<B>magnanimity, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>magnanimous nature or quality; nobility of soul or mind. <BR> <I>Ex. The soldiers showed magnanimity by treating their prisoners well. Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom (Edmund Burke).</I> (SYN) generosity. <DD><B> 2. </B>a magnanimous act. </DL>
<A NAME="magnanimous">
<B>magnanimous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>noble in soul or mind; generous in forgiving; free from mean or petty feelings or acts. <BR> <I>Ex. a magnanimous adversary.</I> (SYN) high-minded, unselfish. <DD><B> 2. </B>showing or arising from a generous spirit. <BR> <I>Ex. a magnanimous attitude toward a conquered enemy. He spoke ... with the magnanimous frankness of a man who had done great things, and could well afford to acknowledge some deficiencies (Macaulay).</I> adv. <B>magnanimously.</B> noun <B>magnanimousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="magnate">
<B>magnate, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an important, powerful, or prominent person. <BR> <I>Ex. a railroad magnate. My grandfather, a well-to-do farmer, was one of the chief magnates of the village (Harriet Beecher Stowe).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a member of the upper house of the former Hungarian or Polish parliaments. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesia">
<B>magnesia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a white, tasteless powder; magnesium oxide. Magnesia is slightly alkaline and is used in medicine as an antacid and a laxative, and in industry in making fertilizers and heat-resistant building materials. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=magnesium.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="magnesian">
<B>magnesian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or like magnesia. </DL>
<B>magnesic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or containing magnesium. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesite">
<B>magnesite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a mineral, carbonate of magnesium, occurring either in compact, white masses or crystalline, used for lining furnaces and in making steel. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesium">
<B>magnesium, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very light, silver-white metal that burns with a dazzling white light. Magnesium is a chemical element. It is noted for its ductility and malleability. It is stable in dry air but tarnishes when exposed to moisture. It is used in photography, fireworks, and metal alloys. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumcarbonate">
<B>magnesium carbonate,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> carbonate of magnesium, occurring in dolomite or naturally as magnesite. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumchloride">
<B>magnesium chloride,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a colorless, crystalline, deliquescent salt found in salt water, used as a source of magnesium. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumhydroxide">
<B>magnesium hydroxide,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a white, odorless powder which, when suspended in water, is milk of magnesia. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumlight">
<B>magnesium light,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the brilliant white light produced by the burning of magnesium, used in flares, photography, and fireworks. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumoxide">
<B>magnesium oxide,</B> <B>=magnesia.</B></DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumpemoline">
<B>magnesium pemoline,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a combination of the stimulant pemoline and magnesium hydroxide, used as a drug to stimulate the nervous system. </DL>
<A NAME="magnesiumsulfate">
<B>magnesium sulfate,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a white salt used in medicine and in making textiles, leather, and other goods. <DD><B> 2. </B>hydrated magnesium sulfate; Epsom salt. </DL>
<A NAME="magnet">
<B>magnet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a piece of iron, steel, or stone that attracts or draws to it bits of iron or steel. A loadstone is a natural magnet. Bar magnets and horseshoe magnets are steel magnets which retain their magnetism for a long time. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) anything that attracts. <BR> <I>Ex. The rabbits in our back yard were a magnet that attracted all the children in the neighborhood. The actor was the magnet that drew great audiences.</I> </DL>
