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on the mast of a vessel, and connected with the earth or water below, for the purpose of protecting the building or vessel from lightning. -- Sheet lightning, a diffused glow of electric light flashing out from the clouds, and illumining their outlines. The appearance is sometimes due to the reflection of light from d…

Lute for protecting vessels from the fire.

To cover with some protecting substance, as with lute, a crust, coating, or plates.

The act of loricating; the protecting substance put on; a covering of scales or plates.

number; a great deal; as, to spend a lot of money; lots of people think so. [Colloq.] He wrote to her . . . he might be detained in London by a lot of business. W. Black.

ed as canonical books in the Roman Catholic Church, but are included in the Apocrypha by Protestants. Also applied to three books, two of which are found in some MSS. of the Septuagint.

political organization, but is now widespread among Italians, and is used to further or protect private interests, reputedly by illegal methods.

tion 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. Magnesium sulphate. (Chem.)…

ady of the May games; one of the characters in a morris dance; a May queen. Afterward, a grotesque character personated in sports and buffoonery by a man in woman's clothes.

Any hard protective covering of an animal, as the scales and plates of reptiles, shell of a lobster, etc. We . . . strip the lobster of his scarlet mail. Gay.

Protected by a coat of mail; clad in armor. Sir W. Scott.

Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.

A grotesque misuse of a word; a word so used.

uct; to bring around cunningly to one's plans. It was so much his interest to manage his Protestant subjects. Addison . It was not her humor to manage those over whom she had gained an ascendant. Bp. Hurd.

A grotesque mask, representing a person chewing or grimacing, worn in processions and by comic actors on the stage.

volent spirits of the dead, especially of dead ancestors, regarded as family deities and protectors. Hail, O ye holy manes! Dryden.

A musket-proof shield of rope, wood, or metal, which is sometimes used for the protection of sappers or riflemen while attacking a fortress, or of gunners at embrasures; -- now commonly written mantlet.

us insects of the genus Mantis, and allied genera. They are remarkable for their slender grotesque forms, and for holding their stout anterior legs in a manner suggesting hands folded in prayer. The common American species is M. Carolina. Mantis shrimp. (Zoöl.) See Sguilla.

A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection; as, a dancer's mask; a fencer's mask; a ball player's mask.

A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc., to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves.