<B>magniloquent, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>using big and unusual words; expressed in high-flown language. (SYN) grandiloquent. <DD><B> 2. </B>boastful. <BR> <I>Ex. She was a trifle more magniloquent than usual, and entertained us with stories of colonial governors and their ladies (Thackeray).</I> adv. <B>magniloquently.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="magnitude">
<B>magnitude, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>greatness of size. <BR> <I>Ex. the height, strength, and magnitude of a building.</I> (SYN) amplitude. <DD><B> 2. </B>great importance, effect, or consequence. <BR> <I>Ex. The war brought problems of very great magnitude to many nations.</I> (SYN) moment. <DD><B> 3. </B>size, whether great or small. <DD><B> 4. </B>the measure of the brightness of a star. The brightest stars are of the first magnitude. Each degree is 2.512 times brighter than the next degree. <BR> <I>Ex. The scale of apparent magnitude ... goes on up to the sixth magnitude which is the faintest that the eye alone can see (George W. Gray).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>the number expressing this. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Geometry.) the measure or extent of a particular line, area, volume, or angle. <DD><B> 7. </B>(Mathematics.) a number given to a quantity so that it may be compared with similar quantities. <DD><B> 8. </B>the measurement of the force of an earthquake, expressed on a scale of 0 to 10. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Obsolete.) greatness of character, rank, or position. <BR><I>expr. <B>of the first magnitude,</B> </I>very great in some respect; excellent; overwhelming; very serious. <BR> <I>Ex. Thou liar of the first magnitude (William Congreve).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magnocellularsystem">
<B>magnocellular system,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a visual pathway of specialized cells in the brain of humans and other primates that processes impulses of motion, low contrast light, and depth perception. <BR> <I>Ex. The magnocellular system is composed of large cells that carry out fast processes (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magnolia">
<B>magnolia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a North American or Asian tree or shrub with large, generally fragrant, white, pink, or purplish flowers. There are several kinds. They belong to the magnolia family. The blossom of one variety is the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi. <DD><B> 2. </B>its flower. </DL>
<A NAME="magnoliaceous">
<B>magnoliaceous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> belonging to the magnolia family. </DL>
<A NAME="magnoliafamily">
<B>magnolia family,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of dicotyledonous trees and shrubs, found in tropical and temperate regions of North America and Asia, and including the magnolia, tulip tree, and umbrella tree. </DL>
<A NAME="magnoliastate">
<B>Magnolia State,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a nickname for Mississippi. </DL>
<A NAME="magnoliawarbler">
<B>magnolia warbler,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an American warbler having black back, wings, and tail banded with white, and yellow breast striped with black. </DL>
<A NAME="magnon">
<B>magnon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Nuclear Physics.) a wave propagated by the deviation of a nuclear spin in a magnetic field. </DL>
<A NAME="magnosystem">
magno system, =magnocellular system.</DL>
<A NAME="magnum">
<B>magnum, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nums</B> (for 1, 2;) <B>-na</B> (for 3.)<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a bottle that holds about two quarts of wine or alcoholic liquor. <DD><B> 2. </B>the amount that it holds. <BR> <I>Ex. He ... declared that we must have wine, and sent for a magnum of the best (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a heavy load used in certain firearms. <BR> <I>Ex. .357 magnum, magnum loads for shotguns.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Anatomy.) the capitate bone. </DL>
<A NAME="magnumopus">
<B>magnum opus,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. </B>a large or important work of literature or art. <BR> <I>Ex. He himself said that what he had in him was short essays rather than a magnum opus (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a person's greatest work. <BR> <I>Ex. Darwin turned to his friends Lyell and Hooker, who knew the many years he had been laboring upon his magnum opus (Scientific American).</I> (SYN) masterpiece. </DL>
<A NAME="magnushitch">
<B>magnus hitch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a hitch or knot with one more turn than a clove hitch. </DL>
<A NAME="magog">
<B>Magog, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a son of Japheth (in the Bible, Genesis 10:2). <DD><B> 2. </B>a people descended from him (in the Bible, Ezekiel 38-39). <DD><B> 3. </B>one of the two nations (<B>Gog and Magog</B>) that make war against the kingdom of God at Armageddon (in the Bible, Revelation 20:8). </DL>
<A NAME="magot">
<B>magot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the Barbary ape. <DD><B> 2. </B>a small, grotesque figure of porcelain or ivory, common in Chinese and Japanese art. <BR> <I>Ex. Her rooms were crowded with hideous China magots (Thackeray).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magpie">
<B>magpie, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a noisy black-and-white bird with a long tail and short wings. Magpies are related to the crows and jays. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who chatters. (SYN) chatterbox, chatterer, babbler. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or like a magpie; characterized by the habit of hoarding ascribed to magpies. <BR> <I>Ex. magpie gleanings; ... Yeats's magpie fascination with collecting ... all sorts of symbols and myths (Canadian Forum).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magpielark">
<B>magpie lark,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a black-and-white bird of Australia, similar to but smaller than a magpie; peewee. </DL>
<A NAME="magr">
<B>M.Agr.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) Master of Agriculture. </DL>
<A NAME="magsman">
<B>magsman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British Slang.) a swindler. </DL>
<A NAME="maguari">
<B>maguari, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a large white stork with black on its wings and tail, red feet, and a forked tail, found in South America. </DL>
<A NAME="maguey">
<B>maguey, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any one of various agaves with pointed, fleshy leaves, found especially in Mexico, and used in making a fiber and the intoxicating drinks mescal, tequila, and pulque. The century plant is a maguey. <DD><B> 2. </B>the fiber. </DL>
<A NAME="magus">
<B>magus, </B>noun, pl. <B>magi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an astrologer or magician. <BR> <I>Ex. Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-24).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="magus">
<B>Magus, </B>noun, pl. <B>Magi.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of the Magi or Three Wise Men. <DD><B> 2. </B>an ancient Persian priest. </DL>
<A NAME="magyar">
<B>Magyar, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a member of the chief group of people living in Hungary. <DD><B> 2. </B>their Finno-Ugric language; Hungarian. <DD><I>adj. </I> of the Magyars or their language; Hungarian. </DL>
<A NAME="magyarize">
<B>Magyarize </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to make Hungarian in habits, language, customs, or character. noun <B>Magyarization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mahabharata">
<B>Mahabharata, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the earlier of the two great ancient epics of Hinduism (the <I>Ramayana</I> is the other), written in Sanskrit about 500 B.C. or earlier and combining a fabulous account of a dynastic struggle of 1200 B.C. with moral lessons in politics, law and religion, and other topics. </DL>
<B>mahant, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a religious superior in India. </DL>
<A NAME="maharaja">
<B>maharaja</B> or <B>maharajah, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a former ruling prince in India, especially one who ruled a state. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person holding this title. </DL>
<A NAME="maharanee">
<B>maharanee</B> or <B>maharani, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the wife of a maharaja. <DD><B> 2. </B>a former ruling princess in India, especially one who ruled a state. </DL>
<A NAME="maharashtra">
<B>Maharashtra, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a people of India, related to the Mahratta. </DL>
<A NAME="maharishi">
<B>Maharishi, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the title of a Hindu guru or spiritual guide. <DD><B> 2. </B>Also, <B>maharishi.</B> any guru. </DL>
<A NAME="mahatma">
<B>mahatma, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(in India) a wise and holy person who has extraordinary powers. <DD><B> 2. </B>any person thought of as resembling a mahatma in wisdom, manner, or practice. <BR><I>expr. <B>the Mahatma,</B> </I>Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), Hindu political, social, and religious leader. <BR> <I>Ex. followers of the Mahatma.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="mahatmaism">
<B>mahatmaism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the principles and practice of mahatmas. </DL>
<A NAME="mahayana">
<B>Mahayana, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a form of Buddhism, now predominant in Japan, China, Korea, Tibet, and Mongolia, which worships Buddha as a divine being. </DL>
<A NAME="mahayanist">
<B>Mahayanist, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Mahayana. <DD><I>noun </I> a believer in Mahayana. </DL>
<A NAME="mahdi">
<B>Mahdi, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dis.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the leader expected by Moslems to come and establish a reign of righteousness. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person claiming to be this leader. </DL>
<A NAME="mahdism">
<B>Mahdism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the doctrine of the coming of the Mahdi. <DD><B> 2. </B>adherence to or support of a person who claims this title. </DL>
<A NAME="mahdist">
<B>Mahdist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an adherent of a person claiming to be the Mahdi. </DL>
<A NAME="mahican">
<B>Mahican, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a confederacy or tribe of Algonkian Indians who once lived in or near the upper valley of the Hudson. <DD><B> 2. </B>a member of this confederacy. See also <B>Mohegan,</B> <B>Mohican.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="mahimahi">
<B>mahimahi, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Hawaiian.) a dolphin, a saltwater fish popular as food. </DL>
<A NAME="mahjongg">
<B>mah-jongg</B> or <B>mah-jong, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a game of Chinese origin played by four people with small tiles resembling dominoes. Each player tries to form winning combinations by drawing or discarding from many pieces, usually 144 in the Orient and a varying number elsewhere. </DL>
<A NAME="mahlerian">
<B>Mahlerian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with the Bohemian composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) or his music. <DD><I>noun </I> a follower, interpreter, or admirer of Mahler's music. </DL>
<A NAME="mahlstick">
<B>mahlstick, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a light stick used by painters as a support for the painting hand and held in the other. Also, <B>maulstick.</B> </DL>
