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maieutic method

A method of teaching by question and answer; it was used by Socrates to elicit truths from his students; -- called also the Socratic method

Maieutics

The art of giving birth (i. e., clearness and conviction) to ideas, which are conceived as struggling for birth.

Maigre

Belonging to a fast day or fast; as, a maigre day.

Maikel

A South American carnivore of the genus Conepatus, allied to the skunk, but larger, and having a longer snout. The tail is not bushy.

Maikong

A South American wild dog (Canis cancrivorus); the crab-eating dog.

Mail

To deliver into the custody of the postoffice officials, or place in a government letter box, for transmission by mail; to post; as, to mail a letter.

mail bag mailbag

A bag in which mailed matter is conveyed or shipped under public authority.

mail call

A call of the names of those persons receiving mail for the purpose of transmitting mail to them; -- a technique used in the military services to deliver mail to enlisted personnel.

mail car

A railway car of special design used for the transportation and sorting of mail en route to its destination, and having employees of the post office inside to perform those functions.

mail carrier

A person who delivers the mail; -- also called a letter carrier. A male mail carrier is also called a mailman.

mail fraud

The use of the mails to defraud someone.

mail slot

A usually horizontal slot in a door through which mail can be delivered. It often has a hinged cover to keep the opening cloised when not in use.

mail-order mail-order buying

The buying and selling of goods to be shipped from the vendor through the mail to the purchaser. Information about to be purchased may be found in catalogs, advertisements, on the web, etc., and purchase orders transmitted to the vendor by mail, telephone, or internet connection.

Mailable

Admissible lawfully into the mail. Opposed to non-mailable. Dangerous items such as explosives, weapons, or corrosive chemicals are often classified by the postal authorities as non-mailable.

mailbox

A public box for deposit of mail, where it is later picked up by the postal authority for delivery.

Mailclad

Protected by a coat of mail; clad in armor.

mailing

The act or process of sending materials through the mail.

mailing address

The postal address where a maile can be addressed to a person or organization.

mailing list

A list of names and addresses to which advertising, solicitations of money, or other materials material sent in large quantities is mailed; -- it is usually used by comercial or charitable organizations. Mailing lists are often sold by organizations to other organizations, and are frequently used for targeted mailing, i. e., mailing to groups of people who are more likely htan the general population to respond as desired to the message in the mail.

maillot

A woman's one-piece bathing suit.

mailman

A man who delivers the mail. A male mail carrier.

mailsorter

A machine that sorts mail, according to the address.

Maim

The privation of the use of a limb or member of the body, by which one is rendered less able to defend himself or to annoy his adversary.

main

A hand or match at dice.

Main

Very; extremely; as, main heavy.

main deck

The uppermost sheltered deck that runs the entire length of a large vessel.

main entry word

The form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary; also called entry word, headword, and lemma.

main file

A file that is used as the authority in a given job and that is relatively permanent.

main line

Ahe principal route of a transportation system, such as a railroad or bus line.

main memory

The memory in a computer that holds programs and data for rapid access during execution of a program; it usually hold the largest quantity of rapid-access storage in a computer; -- also called RAM (random access memory. It is contrasted to ROM, disk data storage, cache, registers and other forms of data storage.

main office

The office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise,

main road

A major road for any form of motor transport.

main rotor

The assembly of large rotating airfoils (blades) on a helicopter that produce the lift to support the helicopter in the air.

main sequence

That region on a two-dimensional graph of luminosity versus temperature for stars (the Herzsprung-Russel diagram), which runs from high temperature and high luminosity to low temperature and low luminosity, in which most of the stars (plotted as points on the diagram) are found. A normal star such as the earth's sun will spend most of its time over billions of years within this region of temperature and luminosity, as it progressively converts more of its original hydrogen into heavier elements. After the hydrogen is consumed, a star may become a red giant or evolve into other types of star not within the main sequence region.

main street

A main thoroughfare, usually one in a small town having the largest concentration of retail businesses.

Main-gauche

The dagger held in the left hand, while the rapier is held in the right; -- used to parry thrusts of the adversary's rapier.

Main-hamper

A hamper to be carried in the hand; a hand basket used in carrying grapes to the press.

Maine

One of the New England States.

maine lobster

Any of several cold-water lobsters with large tender claws, caught from Maine to the Carolinas.

mainframe

A large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room. At any given point in development of computer technology, the mainframe will be faster, have large main memeory, and be more capable than a minicomputer, which will in turn be faster and more capable than a personal computer. The typical personal computer in 1999 is faster than a mainframe was in 1970.

Mainland

The continent; the principal land; -- opposed to island, or peninsula.

mainland China

The People's Republic of China, also called Communist China, in distinction from Nationalist China, the government located on the island of Taiwan. Both governments claim to represent the entire people of China, but the People's republic is recognized as China by the United Nationss and most of its member states.

mainline

to inject (illegal drugs) into the vein; as, he preferred to mainline heroin rather than sniff coke.

Mainmast

The principal mast in a ship or other vessel.

Mainor

A thing stolen found on the person of the thief.

Mainpernable

Capable of being admitted to give surety by mainpernors; able to be mainprised.

Mainpernor

A surety, under the old writ of mainprise, for a prisoner's appearance in court at a day.

Mainprise

To suffer to go at large, on his finding sureties, or mainpernors, for his appearance at a day; -- said of a prisoner.

mains

The source of electrical power in a building; the wiring system of a building.

Mainsail

The principal sail in a ship or other vessel.

mainsheet

One of the ropes by which the mainsail is hauled aft and trimmed.

mainspring

The principal or most important spring in a piece of mechanism, especially the moving spring of a watch or clock or the spring in a gunlock which impels the hammer. The chief or most powerful motive; the efficient cause of action; as, the mainspring of action.

Mainstay

The stay extending from the foot of the foremast to the maintop.

mainstream

TO place (a student) in regular school classes; -- used especially of mentally or physically handicapped children.

mainstreamed

Placed in regular school classes; -- of the handicapped.

Maintain

To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.

Maintainor

One who, not being interested, maintains a cause depending between others, by furnishing money, etc., to either party.

Maintenance

The act of maintaining; sustenance; support; defense; vindication.

maintenance man

A worker, usually in an enterprise or apartment building, whose job is to repair damaged parts of a building or its fixtures, and sometimes to make improvements or other changes to the building.

maintenance staff

Those persons in a business responsible for maintaining the physical plant in good condition.

maintop

The platform about the head of the mainmast in square-rigged vessels.

Maioid

Of or pertaining to the genus Maia, or family Maiadeae.

maize

A large species of American grass of the genus Zea (Zea Mays), widely cultivated as a forage and food plant; Indian corn, commonly called corn. Also, its seed, growing on cobs, and used as food for men and animals.

majagua

A shrubby tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus) widely distributed along tropical shores, which yields a light tough wood used for canoe outriggers and a fiber used for cordage and caulk; it is often cultivated for ornament.

Majestic

Possessing or exhibiting majesty; of august dignity, stateliness, or imposing grandeur; lofty; noble; grand.

Majesty

The dignity and authority of sovereign power; quality or state which inspires awe or reverence; grandeur; exalted dignity, whether proceeding from rank, character, or bearing; imposing loftiness; stateliness; -- usually applied to the rank and dignity of sovereigns.

Majidae

A natural family comprising the spider crabs.

Majolica

A kind of pottery, with opaque glazing and showy decoration, which reached its greatest perfection in Italy in the 16th century.

Major

An officer next in rank above a captain and next below a lieutenant colonel; the lowest field officer.

major axis

The greater axis of a geometrical figure. the longest axis of an ellipse or ellipsoid, which passes through the two foci. See Focus, n., 2.

major diatonic scale

The natural diatonic scale, which has semitones between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth notes, and whole tones between the other notes; the scale of the major mode, of which the third is major; also called major scale. See Scale, and Diatonic.

major league

The most important league{2} in any sport (especially baseball); contrasted with minor league. Its teams are more competent, its members are paid more, and its games attract more interest and publicity, than those of a minor league.

major power

A nation powerful enough to influence events throughout the world.

major premise

That premise of a syllogism that contains the major term (which is the predicate of the conclusion). Contrasted to minor premise.

major suit

A suit of playing cards which has higher scoring value; specifically, either spades or hearts. Contrasted with a minor suit, being either diamonds or clubs.

major term

That term of a syllogism which forms the predicate of the conclusion.

Major-domo

A man who has authority to act, within certain limits, as master of the house; a steward; also, a chief minister or officer.

Majorana

A small genus of herbs usually included in the genus Origanum.

Majorat

The right of succession to property according to age; -- so termed in some of the countries of continental Europe.

Majorcan

Of or pertaining to Majorca. A native or inhabitant of Majorca.

Majority

The quality or condition of being major or greater; superiority. The military rank of a major. The condition of being of full age, or authorized by law to manage one's own affairs.

majority leader

The leader of the majority party in a legislature. Compare minority leader.

majority rule

The rule or doctrine that the numerical majority{2} of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group; as, our club makes decisions by majority rule.. Contrasted with unanimous consent, or decision by a decree of a single person or small committee forming part of an organization.

majors

The teams in the major leagues.

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