Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 935

Moderatism

Mod"er*a*tism (?), n. Moderation in doctrines or opinion, especially in politics or religion.

Moderato

Mod`e*ra"to (?), a. & adv. [It. See Moderate.] (Mus.) With a moderate degree of quickness; moderately. Allegro moderato, a little slower than allegro. -- Andante moderato, a little faster than andante.

Moderator

Mod"er*a`tor (?), n. [L.: cf. F. modérateur.]

1. One who, or that which, moderates, restrains, or pacifies. Sir W. Raleigh.

Angling was ... a moderator of passions. Walton.

2. The officer who presides over an assembly to preserve order, propose questions, regulate the proceedings, and declare the votes.

3. In the University of Oxford, an examiner for moderations; at Cambridge, the superintendant of examinations for degrees; at Dublin, either the first (senior) or second (junior) in rank in an examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

4. A mechamical arrangement for regulating motion in a machine, or producing equality of effect.

Moderatorship

Mod"er*a`tor*ship, n. The office of a moderator.

Moderatress

Mod"er*a`tress (?), n. A female moderator. Fuller.

Moderatrix

Mod"er*a`trix (?), n. [L.] A female moderator.

Modern

Mod"ern (?), a. [F. moderne, L. modernus; akin to modo just now, orig. abl. of modus measure; hence, by measure, just now. See Mode.]

1. Of or pertaining to the present time, or time not long past; late; not ancient or remote in past time; of recent period; as, modern days, ages, or time; modern authors; modern fashions; modern taste; modern practice. Bacon.

2. New and common; trite; commonplace. [Obs.]

We have our philosophical persons, to make modern and familiar, things supernatural and causeless. Shak.

Modern English. See the Note under English.

Modern

Mod"ern, n. A person of modern times; -- opposed to ancient. Pope.

Modernism

Mod"ern*ism (?), n. Modern practice; a thing of recent date; esp., a modern usage or mode of expression.

Modernist

Mod"ern*ist, n. [Cf. F. moderniste.] One who admires the moderns, or their ways and fashions.

Modernity

Mo*der"ni*ty (?), n. Modernness; something modern. Walpole.

Modernization

Mod`ern*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of rendering modern in style; the act or process of causing to conform to modern of thinking or acting.

Modernize

Mod"ern*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modernized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Modernizing (?).] [Cf. F. moderniser.] To render modern; to adapt to modern person or things; to cause to conform to recent or present usage or taste. Percy.

Modernizer

Mod"ern*i`zer (?), n. One who modernizes.

Modernly

Mod"ern*ly, adv. In modern times. Milton.

Modernness

Mod"ern*ness, n. The quality or state of being modern; recentness; novelty. M. Arnold.

Modest

Mod"est (?), a. [F. modeste, L. modestus, fr. modus measure. See Mode.]

1. Restraining within due limits of propriety; not forward, bold, boastful, or presumptious; rather retiring than pushing one's self forward; not obstructive; as, a modest youth; a modest man.

2. Observing the proprieties of the sex; not unwomanly in act or bearing; free from undue familiarity, indecency, or lewdness; decent in speech and demeanor; -- said of a woman.

Mrs. Ford, the honest woman, the modest wife. Shak.

The blushing beauties of a modest maid. Dryden.

3. Evincing modestly in the actor, author, or speaker; not showing presumption; not excessive or extreme; moderate; as, a modest request; modest joy. Syn. -- Reserved; unobtrusive; diffident; bashful; coy; shy; decent; becoming; chaste; virtuous.

Modestly

Mod"est*ly, adv. In a modest manner.

Modesty

Mod"es*ty (?), n. [L. modestia: cf. F. modestie. See Modest.]

1. The quality or state of being modest; that lowly temper which accompanies a moderate estimate of one's own worth and importance; absence of self-assertion, arrogance, and presumption; humility respecting one's own merit.

2. Natural delicacy or shame regarding personal charms and the sexual relation; purity of thought and manners; due regard for propriety in speech or action.

Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty. Shak.

Modesty piece, a narrow piece of lace worn by women over the bosom. [Obs.] Addison. Syn. -- Bashfulness; humility; diffidence; shyness. See Bashfulness, and Humility.

Modicity

Mo*dic"i*ty (?), n. [LL. modicitas; cf. F. modicité.] Moderateness; smallness; meanness. [Obs.]

Modicum

Mod"i*cum (?), n. [L., fr. modicus moderate, fr. modus. See Mode.] A little; a small quantity; a measured simply. Modicums of wit." Shak.

Her usual modicum of beer and punch. Thackeray.

Modifiability

Mod`i*fi`a*bil"i*ty (?), n. Capability of being modified; state or quality of being modifiable.

Modifiable

Mod"i*fi`a*ble (?), a. [From Modify.] Capable of being modified; liable to modification.

Modificable

Mo*dif"i*ca*ble (?), a. Modifiable. [Obs.]

Modificate

Mod"i*fi*cate (?), v. t. [See Modify.] To qualify. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

Modification

Mod`i*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [L. modificatio a measuring: cf. F. modification. See Modify.] The act of modifying, or the state of being modified; a modified form or condition; state as modified; a change; as, the modification of an opinion, or of a machine; the various modifications of light. Bentley.

Modificative

Mod"i*fi*ca*tive (?), n. That which modifies or qualifies, as a word or clause.

Modificatory

Mod"i*fi*ca`to*ry (?), a. Tending or serving to modify; modifying. Max M\'81ller.

Modifier

Mod"i*fi`er (?), n. One who, or that which, modifies. Hume.

Modify

Mod"i*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Modifying (?).] [F. modifier, L. modificare, modificari; modus limit + -ficare (in comp.) to make. See Mode, and -fy.]

1. To change somewhat the form or qualities of; to alter somewhat; as, to modify a contrivance adapted to some mechanical purpose; to modify the terms of a contract.

2. To limit or reduce in extent or degree; to moderate; to qualify; to lower.

Of his grace He modifies his first severe decree. Dryden.

Modillion

Mo*dil"lion (?), n. [F. modillon, It. modiglione. Cf. Module, n.] (Arch.) The enriched block or horizontal bracket generally found under the cornice of the Corinthian and Composite entablature, and sometimes, less ornamented, in the Ionic and other orders; -- so called because of its arrangement at regulated distances.

Modiolar

Mo*di"o*lar (?), a. [L. modiolus, dim. of modius the Roman corn measure.] Shaped like a bushel measure.

Modiolus

Mo*di"o*lus (?), n.; pl. Modioli (#). [L., a small measure.] (Anat.) The central column in the osseous cochlea of the ear.

Modish

Mod"ish (?), a. According to the mode, or customary manner; conformed to the fashion; fashionable; hence, conventional; as, a modish dress; a modish feast. Dryden. Modish forms of address." Barrow. -- Mod"ish*ly, adv. -- Mod"ish*ness, n.

Modist

Mod"ist (?), n. One who follows the fashion.

Modiste

Mo`diste" (?), n. [F. See Mode, and cf. Modist.] A female maker of, or dealer in, articles of fashion, especially of the fashionable dress of ladies; a woman who gives direction to the style or mode of dress.

Modius

Mo"di*us (?), n.; pl. Modii (#). [L.] (Rom. Antiq.) A dry measure, containing about a peck.

Modocs

Mo"docs (?), n. pl.; sing. Modoc (). (Ethnol.) A tribe of warlike Indians formerly inhabiting Northern California. They are nearly extinct.

Modular

Mod"u*lar (?), a. Of or pertaining to mode, modulation, module, or modius; as, modular arrangement; modular accent; modular measure.

Modulate

Mod"u*late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Modulated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Modulating (?).] [L. modulatus, p.p. of modulari to measure, to modulate, fr. modulus a small measure, meter, melody, dim. of modus. See Mode.]

1. To form, as sound, to a certain key, or to a certain portion.

2. To vary or inflect in a natural, customary, or musical manner; as, the organs of speech modulate the voice in reading or speaking.

Could any person so modulate her voice as to deceive so many? Broome.

Modulate

Mod"u*late, v. i. (Mus.) To pass from one key into another.

Modulation

Mod`u*la"tion (?), n. [L. modulatio: cf. F. modulation.]

1. The act of modulating, or the state of being modulated; as, the modulation of the voice.

2. Sound modulated; melody. [R.] Thomson.

3. (Mus.) A change of key, whether transient, or until the music becomes established in the new key; a shifting of the tonality of a piece, so that the harmonies all center upon a new keynote or tonic; the art of transition out of the original key into one nearly related, and so on, it may be, by successive changes, into a key quite remote. There are also sudden and unprepared modulations.

Modulator

Mod"u*la`tor (?), n. [L.] One who, or that which, modulates. Denham.

Module

Mod"ule (?), n. [F., fr. L. modulus a small measure, dim. of modus. See Mode, and cf. Model, Modulus, Mold a matrix.]

1. A model or measure.

2. (Arch.) The size of some one part, as the diameter of semi-diameter of the base of a shaft, taken as a unit of measure by which the proportions of the other parts of the composition are regulated. Generally, for columns, the semi-diameter is taken, and divided into a certain number of parts, called minutes (see Minute), though often the diameter is taken, and any dimension is said to be so many modules and minutes in height, breadth, or projection.

Module

Mod"ule, v. t. [See module, n., Modulate.] To model; also, to modulate. [Obs.] Sandys. Drayton.

Modulus

Mod"u*lus (?), n.; pl. Moduli (#). [L., a small measure. See Module, n.] (Math., Mech., & Physics) A quantity or coefficient, or constant, which expresses the measure of some specified force, property, or quality, as of elasticity, strength, efficiency, etc.; a parameter. Modulus of a machine, a formula expressing the work which a given machine can perform under the conditions involved in its construction; the relation between the work done upon a machine by the moving power, and that yielded at the working points, either constantly, if its motion be uniform, or in the interval of time which it occupies in passing from any given velocity to the same velocity again, if its motion be variable; -- called also the efficiency of the machine. Mosley. Rankine. -- Modulus of a system of logarithms (Math.), a number by which all the Napierian logarithms must be multiplied to obtain the logarithms in another system. -- Modulus of elasticity. (a) The measure of the elastic force of any substance, expressed by the ratio of a stress on a given unit of the substance to the accompanying distortion, or strain. (b) An expression of the force (usually in terms of the height in feet or weight in pounds of a column of the same body) which would be necessary to elongate a prismatic body of a transverse section equal to a given unit, as a square inch or foot, to double, or to compress it to half, its original length, were that degree of elongation or compression possible, or within the limits of elasticity; -- called also Young's modulus. -- Modulus of rupture, the measure of the force necessary to break a given substance across, as a beam, expressed by eighteen times the load which is required to break a bar of one inch square, supported flatwise at two points one foot apart, and loaded in the middle between the points of support. Rankine.

Modus

Mo"dus (?), n.; pl. Modi (#). [L. See Mode.] (Old Law)

1. The arrangement of, or mode of expressing, the terms of a contract or conveyance.

2. (Law) A qualification involving the idea of variation or departure from some general rule or form, in the way of either restriction or enlargement, according to the circumstances of the case, as in the will of a donor, an agreement between parties, and the like. Bracton.

3. (Law) A fixed compensation or equivalent given instead of payment of tithes in kind, expressed in full by the phrase modus decimandi. Blackstone.

They, from time immemorial, had paid a modus, or composition. Landor.

Modus operandi () [L.], manner of operating.

Mody

Mod"y (?), a. [From Mode.] Fashionable. [R.]

Moe

Moe (?), n. A wry face or mouth; a mow. [Obs.]

Moe

Moe, v. i. To make faces; to mow. [Obs.]

Moe

Moe, a., adv., & n. [AS. mā See More.] More. See Mo. [Obs.] Sing no more ditties, sing no moe." Shak.

Moebles

Moe"bles (?), n. pl. [OE., fr. OF. moeble, mueble, movable, from L. mobilis.] Movables; furniture; -- also used in the singular (moeble). [Obs.] <-- here we mark both the singular word and the written font --> Chaucer.

Moelline

Mo"el*line (?), n. [F. moelle, fr. L. medulla marrow.] An unguent for the hair.

Moellon

Mo"el*lon (?), n. [F.] Rubble masonry.

Mœsogothic

Mœ`so*goth"ic (?), a. Belonging to the Mœsogoths, a branch of the Goths who settled in Mœsia.

Mœsogothic

Mœ`so*goth"ic, n. The language of the Mœsogoths; -- also called Gothic.

Moeve

Moeve (?), v. t. & i. To move. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Moff

Moff (?), n. A thin silk stuff made in Caucasia.

Moggan

Mog"gan (?), n. A closely fitting knit sleeve; also, a legging of knitted material. [Scot.]

Mogul

Mo*gul" (?), n. [From the Mongolian.]

1. A person of the Mongolian race.

2. (Railroad) A heavy locomotive for freight traffic, having three pairs of connected driving wheels and a two-wheeled truck. Great, ∨ Grand, Mogul, the sovereign of the empire founded in Hindostan by the Mongols under Baber in the sixteenth century. Hence, a very important personage; a lord; -- sometimes only mogul.<-- or Moghul. --> Dryden.

Moha

Mo"ha (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of millet (Setaria Italica); German millet.

Mohair

Mo"hair` (?), n. [F. moire, perh. from Ar. mukhayyar a kind of coarse camelot or haircloth; but prob. fr. L. marmoreus of marble, resembling marble. Cf. Moire, Marble.] The long silky hair or wool of the Angora goat of Asia Minor; also, a fabric made from this material, or an imitation of such fabric.

Mohammedan

Mo*ham"med*an (?), a. [From Mohammed, fr. Ar. muhámmad praiseworthy, highly praised.] Of or pertaining to Mohammed, or the religion and institutions founded by Mohammed. [Written also Mahometan, Mahomedan, Muhammadan, etc.]

Mohammedan

Mo*ham"med*an, n. A follower of Mohammed, the founder of Islamism; one who professes Mohammedanism or Islamism.

Mohammedanism, Mohammedism

Mo*ham"med*an*ism, Mo*ham"med*ism (?), n. The religion, or doctrines and precepts, of Mohammed, contained in the Koran; Islamism.
Mohammedanize, Mohammedize
Mo*ham"med*an*ize, Mo*ham"med*ize (?), v. t. To make conformable to the principles, or customs and rites, of Mohammedanism. [Written also Mahometanize.]
Mohawk
Mo"hawk (?), n.
1. (Ethnol.) One of a tribe of Indians who formed part of the Five Nations. They formerly inhabited the valley of the Mohawk River.
2. One of certain ruffians who infested the streets of London in the time of Addison, and took the name from the Mohawk Indians. [Slang] Spectator. Macaulay.
Mohicans
Mo*hi"cans (?), n. pl.; sing. Mohican (). (Ethnol.) A tribe of Lenni-Lenape Indians who formerly inhabited Western Connecticut and Eastern New York. [Written also Mohegans.]
Moho
Mo"ho (?), n. [Native name.] (Zoöl.) A gallinule (Notornis Mantelli) formerly inhabiting New Zealand, but now supposed to be extinct. It was incapable of flight. See Notornis.
Mohock
Mo"hock (?), n. See Mohawk.
Moholi
Mo*ho"li (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Maholi.
Mohr
Mohr (?), n. (Zoöl.) A West African gazelle (Gazella mohr), having horns on which are eleven or twelve very prominent rings. It is one of the species which produce bezoar. [Written also mhorr.]
Mohur
Mo"hur (?), n. [Hind., fr. Per. muhur, muhr, a gold coin, a seal, seal ring.] A British Indian gold coin, of the value of fifteen silver rupees, or $7.21. Malcom.
Mohurrum, Muharram
Mo*hur"rum (?), Mu*har"ram (?), n. [Ar. muharram, prop., sacred, forbidden, n., the first month of the Mohammedan lunar year.]
1. The first month of the Mohammedan year. Whitworth.
2. A festival of the Shiah sect of the Mohammedans held during the first ten days of the month Mohurrum.
Moider
Moi"der (?), v. i. To toil. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Moidore
Moi"dore (?), n. [Pg. moeda d'ouro, lit., coin of gold. Cf. Money, and Aureate.] A gold coin of Portugal, valued at about 27s. sterling.