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Pertaining to a natural order (Menispermaceæ) of climbing plants of which moonseed (Menispermum) is the type.

The period of natural cessation of menstruation. See Change of life, under Change.

To cause to be swallowed up; to immerse; to sink; to absorb. To merge all natural ... sentiment in inordinate vanity. Burke. Whig and Tory were merged and swallowed up in the transcendent duties of patriots. De Quincey.

A change in the form or function of a living organism, by a natural process of growth or development; as, the metamorphosis of the yolk into the embryo, of a tadpole into a frog, or of a bud into a blossom. Especially, that form of sexual reproduction in which an embryo undergoes a series of marked changes of external…

Classification; a mode or system of classifying natural objects according to certain common characteristics; as, the method of Theophrastus; the method of Ray; the Linnæan method.

, CH3.NH2, having an ammoniacal, fishy odor. It is produced artificially, and also occurs naturally in herring brine and other fishy products. It is regarded as ammonia in which a third of its hydrogen is replaced by methyl, and is a type of the class of substituted ammonias. -- Methyl ether (Chem.), a light, volatile…

esemblance which certain animals and plants exhibit to other animals and plants or to the natural objects among which they live, -- a characteristic which serves as their chief means of protection against enemies; imitation; mimesis; mimetism.

ineral oil. See Naphtha, and Petroleum. -- Mineral paint, a pigment made chiefly of some natural mineral substance, as red or yellow iron ocher. -- Mineral patch. See Bitumen, and Asphalt. -- Mineral right, the right of taking minerals from land. -- Mineral salt (Chem.), a salt of a mineral acid. -- Mineral tallow…

Of the nature of a miracle; performed by supernatural power; effected by the direct agency of almighty power, and not by natural causes.

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.

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.

To crumble into small particles; to turn to dust by natural decay; to lose form, or waste away, by a gradual separation of the component particles, without the presence of water; to crumble away. The moldering of earth in frosts and sun. Bacon. When statues molder, and when arches fall. Prior. If he had sat still, the…

Having the qualities of a monster; deviating greatly from the natural form or character; abnormal; as, a monstrous birth. Locke. He, therefore, that refuses to do good to them whom he is bound to love ... is unnatural and monstrous in his affections. Jer. Taylor.

Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. T. Arnold. Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells…

, a motive argument; motive power. "Motive faculty." Bp. Wilkins. Motive power (Mach.), a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover.

earth; a raised bank; an embarkment thrown up for defense; a bulwark; a rampart; also, a natural elevation appearing as if thrown up artificially; a regular and isolated hill, hillock, or knoll. To thrid the thickets or to leap the mounds. Dryden. Mound bird. (Zoöl.) Same as Mound maker (below). -- Mound builders (Et…

g; change of place or posture; transference, by any means, from one situation to another; natural or appropriate motion; progress; advancement; as, the movement of an army in marching or maneuvering; the movement of a wheel or a machine; the party of movement.

in number; the state of being multiplied; as, the multiplication of the human species by natural generation. The increase and multiplication of the world. Thackeray.

A repository or a collection of natural, scientific, or literary curiosities, or of works of art. Museum beetle, Museum pest. (Zoöl.) See Anthrenus.

pungent oil. The name is also extended to a number of analogous compounds produced either naturally or artificially.