Words whose 9th letter is M

Acetonaemia (n.) Alt. of -nemia

Amphidromical (a.) Pertaining to an Attic festival at the naming of a child; -- so called because the friends of the parents carried the child around the hearth and then named it.

Anguiform (a.) Snake-shaped.

Asphaltum (n.) A composition of bitumen, pitch, lime, and gravel, used for forming pavements, and as a water-proof cement for bridges, roofs, etc.; asphaltic cement. Artificial asphalt is prepared from coal tar, lime, sand, etc.

Autodynamic (a.) Supplying its own power; -- applied to an instrument of the nature of a water-ram.

Batrachomyomachy (n.) The battle between the frogs and mice; -- a Greek parody on the Iliad, of uncertain authorship.

Bethlehem (n.) A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam.

Bletonism (n.) The supposed faculty of perceiving subterraneous springs and currents by sensation; -- so called from one Bleton, of France.

Blindworm (n.) A small, burrowing, snakelike, limbless lizard (Anguis fragilis), with minute eyes, popularly believed to be blind; the slowworm; -- formerly a name for the adder.

Brahmoism (n.) The religious system of Brahmo-somaj.

Breastsummer (n.) A summer or girder extending across a building flush with, and supporting, the upper part of a front or external wall; a long lintel; a girder; -- used principally above shop windows.

Calcaneum (n.) One of the bones of the tarsus which in man, forms the great bone of the heel; -- called also fibulare.

Calvinism (n.) The theological tenets or doctrines of John Calvin (a French theologian and reformer of the 16th century) and his followers, or of the so-called calvinistic churches.

Carpellum (n.) A simple pistil or single-celled ovary or seed vessel, or one of the parts of a compound pistil, ovary, or seed vessel. See Illust of Carpaphore.

Castoreum (n.) A peculiar bitter orange-brown substance, with strong, penetrating odor, found in two sacs between the anus and external genitals of the beaver; castor; -- used in medicine as an antispasmodic, and by perfumers.

Categorematic (a.) Capable of being employed by itself as a term; -- said of a word.

Centauromachy (n.) A fight in which centaurs take part, -- a common theme for relief sculpture, as in the Parthenon metopes.

Centauromachy (n.) A fight in which centaurs take part, -- a common theme for relief sculpture, as in the Parthenon metopes.

Churrworm (n.) An insect that turns about nimbly; the mole cricket; -- called also fan cricket.

Cirriform (a.) Formed like a cirrus or tendril; -- said of appendages of both animals and plants.

Claviform (a.) Club-shaped; clavate.

Cofferdam (n.) A water-tight inclosure, as of piles packed with clay, from which the water is pumped to expose the bottom (of a river, etc.) and permit the laying of foundations, building of piers, etc.

Colchicum (n.) A genus of bulbous-rooted plants found in many parts of Europe, including the meadow saffron.

Conferruminated (a.) Closely united by the coalescence, or sticking together, of contiguous faces, as in the case of the cotyledons of the live-oak acorn.

Cordoform (a.) Heart-shaped.

Corniform (a.) Having the shape of a horn; horn-shaped.

Credendum (n.) A thing to be believed; an article of faith; -- distinguished from agendum, a practical duty.

Cruciform (a.) Cross-shaped; (Bot.) having four parts arranged in the form of a cross.

Dentiform (a.) Having the form of a tooth or of teeth; tooth-shaped.

Desynonymize (v. t.) To deprive of synonymous character; to discriminate in use; -- applied to words which have been employed as synonyms.

Disaffirm (v. t.) To assert the contrary of; to contradict; to deny; -- said of that which has been asserted.

Dolioform (a.) Barrel-shaped, or like a cask in form.

Earthworm (n.) Any worm of the genus Lumbricus and allied genera, found in damp soil. One of the largest and most abundant species in Europe and America is L. terrestris; many others are known; -- called also angleworm and dewworm.

Endothermic (a.) Designating, or pert. to, a reaction which occurs with absorption of heat; formed by such a reaction; as, an endothermic substance; -- opposed to exothermic.

Endosperm (n.) The albumen of a seed; -- limited by recent writers to that formed within the embryo sac.

Enepidermic (a.) Applied to the skin without friction; -- said of medicines.

Enterotome (n.) A kind of scissors used for opening the intestinal canal, as in post-mortem examinations.

Ephippium (n.) A saddle-shaped cavity to contain the winter eggs, situated on the back of Cladocera.

Equisetum (n.) A genus of vascular, cryptogamic, herbaceous plants; -- also called horsetails.

Erucifrom (a.) Having the form of a caterpillar; -- said of insect larvae.

Etheostomoid (n.) Any fish of the genus Etheostoma and related genera, allied to the perches; -- also called darter. The etheostomoids are small and often bright-colored fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of North America. About seventy species are known. See Darter.

Excambium (n.) Exchange; barter; -- used commonly of lands.

Floriform (a.) Having the form of a flower; flower-shaped.

Germanium (n.) A rare element, recently discovered (1885), in a silver ore (argyrodite) at Freiberg. It is a brittle, silver-white metal, chemically intermediate between the metals and nonmetals, resembles tin, and is in general identical with the predicted ekasilicon. Symbol Ge. Atomic weight 72.3.

Gongorism (n.) An affected elegance or euphuism of style, for which the Spanish poet Gongora y Argote (1561-1627), among others of his time, was noted.

Gossypium (n.) A genus of plants which yield the cotton of the arts. The species are much confused. G. herbaceum is the name given to the common cotton plant, while the long-stapled sea-island cotton is produced by G. Barbadense, a shrubby variety. There are several other kinds besides these.

Gymnasium (n.) A school for the higher branches of literature and science; a preparatory school for the university; -- used esp. of German schools of this kind.

Heckerism (n.) The teaching of Isaac Thomas Hecker (1819-88), which interprets Catholicism as promoting human aspirations after liberty and truth, and as the religion best suited to the character and institutions of the American people.

Hellenism (n.) The type of character of the ancient Greeks, who aimed at culture, grace, and amenity, as the chief elements in human well-being and perfection.

Hematherm (n.) A warm-blooded animal.

Hemathermal (a.) Warm-blooded; hematothermal.

Heterogamy (n.) The process of fertilization in plants by an indirect or circuitous method; -- opposed to orthogamy.

Heterogamy (n.) That form of alternate generation in which two kinds of sexual generation, or a sexual and a parthenogenetic generation, alternate; -- in distinction from metagenesis, where sexual and asexual generations alternate.

Heteronomy (n.) Subordination or subjection to the law of another; political subjection of a community or state; -- opposed to autonomy.

Heteronym (n.) That which is heteronymous; a thing having a different name or designation from some other thing; -- opposed to homonym.

Homothermous (a.) Warm-blooded; homoiothermal; haematothermal.

Housewarming (n.) A feast or merry-making made by or for a family or business firm on taking possession of a new house or premises.

Hydrobromide (n.) A compound of hydrobromic acid with a base; -- distinguished from a bromide, in which only the bromine unites with the base.

Hypericum (n.) A genus of plants, generally with dotted leaves and yellow flowers; -- called also St. John's-wort.

Hystricomorphous (a.) Like, or allied to, the porcupines; -- said of a group (Hystricomorpha) of rodents.

Iatrochemistry (n.) Chemistry applied to, or used in, medicine; -- used especially with reference to the doctrines in the school of physicians in Flanders, in the 17th century, who held that health depends upon the proper chemical relations of the fluids of the body, and who endeavored to explain the conditions of health or disease by chemical principles.

Idioplasma (n.) That portion of the cell protoplasm which is the seat of all active changes, and which carries on the function of hereditary transmission; -- distinguished from the other portion, which is termed nutritive plasma. See Hygroplasm.

Idiothermic (a.) Self-heating; warmed, as the body of animal, by process going on within itself.

Inclinnometer (n.) An apparatus to determine the inclination of the earth's magnetic force to the plane of the horizon; -- called also inclination compass, and dip circle.

Isogonism (n.) The quality of having similar sexual zooids or gonophores and dissimilar hydrants; -- said of certain hydroids.

Jesuitism (n.) Cunning; deceit; deceptive practices to effect a purpose; subtle argument; -- an opprobrious use of the word.

Kulturkampf (n.) Lit., culture war; -- a name, originating with Virchow (1821 -- 1902), given to a struggle between the the Roman Catholic Church and the German government, chiefly over the latter's efforts to control educational and ecclesiastical appointments in the interest of the political policy of centralization. The struggle began with the passage by the Prussian Diet in May, 1873, of the so-called May laws, or Falk laws, aiming at the regulation of the clergy. Oppos> Leptiform (a.) Having a form somewhat like leptus; -- said of active insect larvae having three pairs of legs. See Larva.

Lindiform (a.) Resembling the genus Lindia; -- said of certain apodous insect larvae.

Listerism (n.) The systematic use of antiseptics in the performance of operations and the treatment of wounds; -- so called from Joseph Lister, an English surgeon.

Logarithm (n.) One of a class of auxiliary numbers, devised by John Napier, of Merchiston, Scotland (1550-1617), to abridge arithmetical calculations, by the use of addition and subtraction in place of multiplication and division.

Macrocosm (n.) The great world; that part of the universe which is exterior to man; -- contrasted with microcosm, or man. See Microcosm.

Magnesium (n.) A light silver-white metallic element, malleable and ductile, quite permanent in dry air but tarnishing in moist air. It burns, forming (the oxide) magnesia, with the production of a blinding light (the so-called magnesium light) which is used in signaling, in pyrotechny, or in photography where a strong actinic illuminant is required. Its compounds occur abundantly, as in dolomite, talc, meerschaum, etc. Symbol Mg. Atomic weight, 24.4. Specific gravity, 1.75> Manubrium (n.) The proboscis of a jellyfish; -- called also hypostoma. See Illust. of Hydromedusa.

Melanocomous (a.) Having very dark or black hair; black-haired.

Menispermine (n.) An alkaloid distinct from picrotoxin and obtained from the cocculus indicus (the fruit of Anamirta Cocculus, formerly Menispermum Cocculus) as a white, crystalline, tasteless powder; -- called also menispermina.

Merchantman (n.) A trading vessel; a ship employed in the transportation of goods, as, distinguished from a man-of-war.

Molluscum (n.) A cutaneous disease characterized by numerous tumors, of various forms, filled with a thick matter; -- so called from the resemblance of the tumors to some molluscous animals.

Monothalmic (a.) Formed from one pistil; -- said of fruits.

Modernism (n.) Certain methods and tendencies which, in Biblical questions, apologetics, and the theory of dogma, in the endeavor to reconcile the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church with the conclusions of modern science, replace the authority of the church by purely subjective criteria; -- so called officially by Pope Pius X.

Mummiform (a.) Having some resemblance to a mummy; -- in zoology, said of the pupae of certain insects.

Neodymium (n.) A rare metallic element occurring in combination with cerium, lanthanum, and other rare metals, and forming amethyst-colored salts. It was separated in 1885 by von Welsbach from praseodymium, the two having previously been regarded as a single element (didymium). It is chiefly trivalent. Symbol Nd; at. wt. 144.3.

Nitroform (n.) A nitro derivative of methane, analogous to chloroform, obtained as a colorless oily or crystalNorwegium (n.) A rare metallic element, of doubtful identification, said to occur in the copper-nickel of Norway.

Octodecimo (n.) A book composed of sheets each of which is folded into eighteen leaves; hence; indicating more or less definitely a size of book, whose sheets are so folded; -- usually written 18mo or 18?, and called eighteenmo.

Operculum (n.) Any lid-shaped structure closing the aperture of a tube or shell.

Orthodromics (n.) The art of sailing in a direct course, or on the arc of a great circle, which is the shortest distance between any two points on the surface of the globe; great-circle sailing; orthodromy.

Oxanillamide (n.) A white crystalPachydermatous (a.) Thick-skinned; not sensitive to ridicule.

Pastorium (n.) A parsonage; -- so called in some Baptist churches.

Palladium (n.) A rare metallic element of the light platinum group, found native, and also alloyed with platinum and gold. It is a silver-white metal resembling platinum, and like it permanent and untarnished in the air, but is more easily fusible. It is unique in its power of occluding hydrogen, which it does to the extent of nearly a thousand volumes, forming the alloy Pd2H. It is used for graduated circles and verniers, for plating certain silver goods, and somewhat in d> Perkinism (n.) A remedial treatment, by drawing the pointed extremities of two rods, each of a different metal, over the affected part; tractoration, -- first employed by Dr. Elisha Perkins of Norwich, Conn. See Metallotherapy.

Pessimism (n.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in nature is ordered for or tends to the worst, or that the world is wholly evil; -- opposed to optimism.

Phyllosoma (n.) The larva of the spiny lobsters (Palinurus and allied genera). Its body is remarkably thin, flat, and transparent; the legs are very long. Called also glass-crab, and glass-shrimp.

Pianissimo (a.) Very soft; -- a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev. pp.)

Plutonism (n.) The theory, early advanced in geology, that the successive rocks of the earth's crust were formed by igneous fusion; -- opposed to the Neptunian theory.

Polychrome (n.) Esculin; -- so called in allusion to its fluorescent solutions.

Polychromous (a.) Of or pertaining to polychromy; many-colored; polychromatic.

Polypidom (n.) A coral, or corallum; also, one of the coral-like structure made by bryozoans and hydroids.

Potentiometer (n.) An instrument for measuring or comparing electrial potentials or electro-motive forces.

Praseodymium (n.) An elementary substance, one of the constituents of didymium; -- so called from the green color of its salts. Symbol Ps. Atomic weight 143.6.

Pycnidium (n.) In certain fungi, a flask-shaped cavity from the surface of the inner walls of which spores are produced.

Quixotism (n.) That form of delusion which leads to extravagant and absurd undertakings or sacrifices in obedience to a morbidly romantic ideal of duty or honor, as illustrated by the exploits of Don Quixote in knight-errantry.

Restiform (a.) Formed like a rope; -- applied especially to several ropelike bundles or masses of fibers on the dorsal side of the medulla oblongata.

Reticulum (n.) The second stomach of ruminants, in which folds of the mucous membrane form hexagonal cells; -- also called the honeycomb stomach.

Rhotacism (n.) An oversounding, or a misuse, of the letter r; specifically (Phylol.), the tendency, exhibited in the Indo-European languages, to change s to r, as wese to were.

Ritualism (n.) Specifically :(a) The principles and practices of those in the Church of England, who in the development of the Oxford movement, so-called, have insisted upon a return to the use in church services of the symbolic ornaments (altar cloths, encharistic vestments, candles, etc.) that were sanctioned in the second year of Edward VI., and never, as they maintain, forbidden by competennt authority, although generally disused. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. (b) Also, the prin> Ruthenium (n.) A rare element of the light platinum group, found associated with platinum ores, and isolated as a hard, brittle steel-gray metal which is very infusible. Symbol Ru. Atomic weight 103.5. Specific gravity 12.26. See Platinum metals, under Platinum.

Scutiform (a.) Shield-shaped; scutate.

Sexagesima (n.) The second Sunday before Lent; -- so called as being about the sixtieth day before Easter.

Shamanism (n.) The type of religion which once prevalied among all the Ural-Altaic peoples (Tungusic, Mongol, and Turkish), and which still survives in various parts of Northern Asia. The Shaman, or wizard priest, deals with good as well as with evil spirits, especially the good spirits of ancestors.

Socialism (n.) A theory or system of social reform which contemplates a complete reconstruction of society, with a more just and equitable distribution of property and labor. In popular usage, the term is often employed to indicate any lawless, revolutionary social scheme. See Communism, Fourierism, Saint-Simonianism, forms of socialism.

Spiciform (a.) Spike-shaped.

Spinozism (n.) The form of Pantheism taught by Benedict Spinoza, that there is but one substance, or infinite essence, in the universe, of which the so-called material and spiritual beings and phenomena are only modes, and that one this one substance is God.

Spirillum (n.) A genus of common motile microorganisms (Spirobacteria) having the form of spiral-shaped filaments. One species is said to be the cause of relapsing fever.

Stenodermine (a.) Of or pertaining to the genus Stenoderma, which includes several West Indian and South American nose-leaf bats.

Stenostome (a.) Having a small or narrow mouth; -- said of certain small ground snakes (Opoterodonta), which are unable to dilate their jaws.

Stibonium (n.) The hypothetical radical SbH4, analogous to ammonium; -- called also antimonium.

Strontium (n.) A radioactive isotope of strontium produced by certain nuclear reactions, and constituting one of the prominent harmful components of radioactive fallout from nuclear explosions; also called radiostrontium. It has a half-life of 28 years.

Suicidism (n.) The quality or state of being suicidal, or self-murdering.

Sutteeism (n.) The practice of self-immolation of widows in Hindostan.

Symposium (n.) A collection of short essays by different authors on a common topic; -- so called from the appellation given to the philosophical dialogue by the Greeks.

Tegmentum (n.) A covering; -- applied especially to the bundles of longitudinal fibers in the upper part of the crura of the cerebrum.

Tellurium (n.) A rare nonmetallic element, analogous to sulphur and selenium, occasionally found native as a substance of a silver-white metallic luster, but usually combined with metals, as with gold and silver in the mineral sylvanite, with mercury in Coloradoite, etc. Symbol Te. Atomic weight 125.2.

Transformism (n.) The hypothesis, or doctrine, that living beings have originated by the modification of some other previously existing forms of living matter; -- opposed to abiogenesis.

Trichotomous (a.) Divided into three parts, or into threes; three-forked; as, a trichotomous stem.

Trisacramentarian (n.) One who recognizes three sacraments, and no more; -- namely, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and penance. See Sacrament.

Unemployment (n.) Quality or state of being not employed; -- used esp. in economics, of the condition of various social classes when temporarily thrown out of employment, as those engaged for short periods, those whose trade is decaying, and those least competent.

Valorization (n.) Act or process of attempting to give an arbitrary market value or price to a commodity by governmental interference, as by maintaining a purchasing fund, ma Uropygium (n.) The prominence at the posterior extremity of a bird's body, which supports the feathers of the tail; the rump; -- sometimes called pope's nose.

Villiform (a.) Having the form or appearance of villi; like close-set fibers, either hard or soft; as, the teeth of perch are villiform.

Washerwoman (n.) The pied wagtail; -- so called in allusion to its beating the water with its tail while tripping along the leaves of water plants.

Weighbeam (n.) A kind of large steelyard for weighing merchandise; -- also called weighmaster's beam.

Whealworm (n.) The harvest mite; -- so called from the wheals, caused by its bite.

Whitebeam (n.) The common beam tree of England (Pyrus Aria); -- so called from the white, woolly under surface of the leaves.

Witenagemote (n.) A meeting of wise men; the national council, or legislature, of England in the days of the Anglo-Saxons, before the Norman Conquest.

Withernam (n.) A second or reciprocal distress of other goods in lieu of goods which were taken by a first distress and have been eloigned; a taking by way of reprisal; -- chiefly used in the expression capias in withernam, which is the name of a writ used in connection with the action of replevin (sometimes called a writ of reprisal), which issues to a defendant in replevin when he has obtained judgment for a return of the chattels replevied, and fails to obtain them on th> Xiphidium (n.) A genus of plants of the order Haemodraceae, having two-ranked, sword-shaped leaves.

Yellowammer (n.) See Yellow-hammer.

Zirconium (n.) A rare element of the carbon-silicon group, intermediate between the metals and nonmetals, obtained from the mineral zircon as a dark sooty powder, or as a gray metallic crystalline substance. Symbol Zr. Atomic weight, 90.4.

About the author

Mark McCracken Author: Mark McCracken is a corporate trainer and author living in Higashi Osaka, Japan. He is the author of thousands of online articles as well as the Business English textbook, "25 Business Skills in English".

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