<B>Martha, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the sister of Lazarus and Mary; Jesus was her guest. She is often taken to represent the vigorous housekeeper (in the Bible, Luke 10:38-42). </DL>
<A NAME="martial">
<B>martial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of war; suitable for war. <BR> <I>Ex. martial music.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>such as war requires; brave; valiant. <BR> <I>Ex. a martial spirit.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>given to fighting; warlike. <BR> <I>Ex. a martial nation.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>of or having to do with the army and navy. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) of or containing iron. adv. <B>martially.</B> noun <B>martialness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="martial">
<B>Martial, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Astronomy.) Martian. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Astrology.) subject to the influence of Mars, as a poisonous plant or animal. </DL>
<A NAME="martialart">
<B>martial art,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of the Oriental arts of fighting or self-defense, such as karate and aikido. </DL>
<A NAME="martialartist">
<B>martial artist,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a practitioner of one or more of the martial arts. </DL>
<A NAME="martialeagle">
<B>martial eagle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a large eagle of the African plains that feeds especially on hyraxes. </DL>
<A NAME="martialism">
<B>martialism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> martial or warlike character or spirit. </DL>
<A NAME="martialist">
<B>martialist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a warrior. </DL>
<A NAME="martiallaw">
<B>martial law,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> rule by the army in a time of trouble or of war instead of by the ordinary civil authorities. </DL>
<A NAME="martian">
<B>Martian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>of the planet Mars. <BR> <I>Ex. the Martian year lasts six hundred and eighty-seven days (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of Mars, the god of war. <DD><I>noun </I> a supposed inhabitant of the planet Mars. </DL>
<A NAME="martianologist">
<B>Martianologist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who engages in scientific study of the planet Mars. </DL>
<A NAME="martin">
<B>martin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of several swallows with a short beak, long, pointed wings, and a forked tail. The purple martin is a large, blue and black martin of North America. </DL>
<A NAME="martinet">
<B>martinet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who enforces very strict discipline on those under him. <BR> <I>Ex. They soon discovered that the new teacher was a martinet.</I> (SYN) disciplinarian. <DD><B> 2. </B>a military or naval officer who imposes very strict discipline. <BR> <I>Ex. The commander-in-chief was a little of a martinet (James Fenimore Cooper).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="martinetish">
<B>martinetish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of, belonging to, or characteristic of a martinet. </DL>
<A NAME="martinetism">
<B>martinetism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the spirit or methods of a martinet. </DL>
<A NAME="martingal">
<B>martingal, </B>noun. <B>=martingale.</B></DL>
<A NAME="martingale">
<B>martingale, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a strap of a horse's harness that prevents the horse from rising on its hind legs or throwing back its head; pole strap. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a rope or stay that holds down the jib boom on a ship. <DD><B> b. </B>a short spar to which the stay or rope is attached; dolphin striker. <DD><B> 3. </B>a system of betting in which the wager is doubled after each loss. </DL>
<A NAME="martini">
<B>martini, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nis.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a cocktail consisting of gin or vodka and dry vermouth, usually served with a green olive or a twisted strip of lemon peel. </DL>
<A NAME="martinican">
<B>Martinican, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a native or inhabitant of Martinique. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Martinique or Martinicans. </DL>
<B>Martinmas, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> November 11, a Roman Catholic church festival in honor of Saint Martin; St. Martin's Day. </DL>
<A NAME="martlet">
<B>martlet, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the European house martin. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Heraldry.) a bearing depicting a bird without visible feet. </DL>
<A NAME="martyr">
<B>martyr, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a person who is put to death or made to suffer greatly because of his religion or other beliefs; person who chooses to die or suffer rather than renounce his faith or principles. Many of the early Christians were martyrs. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a personwho suffers greatly. <BR> <I>Ex. She is a martyr to dyspepsia and bad cooking (Francis A. Kemble).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to put (a person) to death or torture because of his religion or other beliefs. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to cause to suffer greatly; torture. <BR> <I>Ex. She was ever at my side ... martyring me by the insufferable annoyance of her vulgar loquacity (Charles Lever).</I> (SYN) torment, persecute. adj. <B>martyrlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="martyrdom">
<B>martyrdom, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the death or suffering of a martyr. <BR> <I>Ex. Like all rebellions, this one had its ... moments of bravery, martyrdom, and sacrifice (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being a martyr. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) great suffering; torment. </DL>
<A NAME="martyrization">
<B>martyrization, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the action of martyrizing. <DD><B> 2. </B>the state of being martyrized. </DL>
<A NAME="martyrize">
<B>martyrize, </B>verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make a martyr of. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to torment. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to be or become a martyr. </DL>
<A NAME="martyrolatry">
<B>martyrolatry, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> worship of martyrs. </DL>
<A NAME="martyrological">
<B>martyrological, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with martyrology. </DL>
<A NAME="martyrologist">
<B>martyrologist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a writer of martyrology. </DL>
<A NAME="martyrology">
<B>martyrology, </B>noun, pl. <B>-gies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a list or register of martyrs, usually with an account of their lives. <DD><B> 2. </B>such accounts as a group. <DD><B> 3. </B>the part of church history or literature dealing with martyrs. </DL>
<A NAME="martyry">
<B>martyry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-tyries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a shrine, chapel, or other monument erected in honor of a martyr. </DL>
<A NAME="maru">
<B>maru, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a Japanese merchant ship. <BR> <I>Ex. Maru (of uncertain meaning) is traditionally the last component of the names of all commercial vessels (Edwin O. Reischauer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="marv">
<B>MARV, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a long-range missile with nuclear warheads that can be maneuvered after reentry into the earth's atmosphere to evade interception by defensive missiles. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of the warheads on this missile. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to equip with a MARV. </DL>
<A NAME="marvel">
<B>marvel, </B>noun, verb, <B>-veled,</B> <B>-veling</B> or (especially British) <B>-velled,</B> <B>-velling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>something wonderful; astonishing thing; a wonder. <BR> <I>Ex. The airplane and television are among the marvels of science. The book is a marvel of accuracy.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) astonishment; wonder. <BR> <I>Ex. The vast acquirements of the new governor were the theme of marvel among the simple burghers (Washington Irving).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to be filled with wonder; be astonished. <BR> <I>Ex. I marvel at your boldness. She marveled at the beautiful sunset. Lancelot marvell'd at the wordless man (Tennyson).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to feel astonished curiousity. <BR> <I>Ex. I marvel how men toil and fare (Andrew Lang).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to wonder at. <BR> <I>Ex. We marveled that no one had been injured in the accident. And the people ... marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple (Luke 1:21).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to wonder or be curious about. <BR> <I>Ex. I marvel what kin thou and thy daughters are (Shakespeare).</I> </DL>
<B>marvelous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>causing wonder; extraordinary. <BR> <I>Ex. I thought of Chatterton, the marvelous boy (Wordsworth).</I> (SYN) astonishing, surprising. <DD><B> 2. </B>improbable; incredible. <BR> <I>Ex. Children like tales of marvelous things, like that of Aladdin and his lamp.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) excellent; splendid; fine. <BR> <I>Ex. a marvelous time.</I> adv. <B>marvelously.</B> noun <B>marvelousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="marver">
<B>marver, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a slab or tablet, originally of marble, but now generally of metal, on which a gather of glass is rolled, shaped, and cooled in glassmaking. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to shape on a marver. </DL>
<A NAME="marvie">
<B>marvie</B> or <B>marvy, </B>interjection.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) marvelous. <BR> <I>Ex. "O Sad Arthur, how marvie!" cried the entranced Lambie (Roger Angell).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="marxian">
<B>Marxian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Karl Marx (1818-1883) or his theories. <BR> <I>Ex. They have dug up a classic Marxian dogma for the occasion (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a follower of Marx; believer in the theories of Marx. </DL>
<A NAME="marxianism">
<B>Marxianism, </B>noun. <B>=Marxism.</B></DL>
<A NAME="marxism">
<B>Marxism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They interpreted history as a continuing economic class struggle and believed that the eventual result would be the establishment of a classless society and communal ownership of all natural and industrial resources. <BR> <I>Ex. Mounting unemployment with attendant sliding toward Marxism is another result of too many people in too circumscribed areas (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="marxismleninism">
<B>Marxism-Leninism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the political and economic theories of Marxism as expanded and augmented by those of V. I. Lenin. <BR> <I>Ex. This fatuous optimism overlooks the peculiar character of Marxism-Leninism as a secular religion (New York Times).</I> </DL>
