miglior fabbro (it)

Italian for "the better craftsman"; from the dedication to Ezra Pound in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land; itself a quote from Dante's Divine Comedy

Ming China (en)

China under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty; characterised by orderly government and social stability

minyan (en)

a quorum of ten men (or in some synagogues, men and women) over the age of 13 required for traditional Jewish public worship

mire (en)

(noun) a stretch of swampy or boggy ground; (verb) cause to become stuck in mud

misericord (en)

(noun) a small projection on the bottom of a hinged church seat that gives support to a standing worshiper when the seat is turned up

missal (en)

(noun) a book containing all that is said or sung at mass during the entire year

mistral (en)

(noun) a strong cold dry northerly wind of southern France / (biographical name) Frédéric 1830–1914 Provençal poet / (biographical name) Gabriela 1889–1957 originally Lucila Godoy Alcayaga Chilean poet & educ.

modish (en)

(adjective) fashionable, stylish

moiré (en)

In mathematics, physics, and art, moiré patterns are large-scale interference patterns that can be produced when an opaque ruled pattern with transparent gaps is overlaid on another similar pattern

molder (en)

(verb) slowly decay or disintegrate, especially because of neglect

monachism (en)

(adjective) monastic

monism (en)

(noun) a view that there is only one kind of ultimate substance / (noun) the view that reality is one unitary organic whole with no independent parts / (noun) monogenesis / (noun) a viewpoint or theory that reduces all phenomena to one principle

montane (en)

(adjective) of, relating to, growing in, or being the biogeographic zone of relatively moist cool upland slopes below timberline dominated by large coniferous trees / (adjective) of, relating to, or made up of montane plants or animals

moraines (en)

(noun) an accumulation of earth and stones carried and finally deposited by a glacier

mordant (en)

(adjective) biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style; incisive

mortmain (en)

(noun) an inalienable possession of lands or buildings by an ecclesiastical or other corporation / (noun) the condition of property or other gifts left to a corporation in perpetuity especially for religious, charitable, or public purposes / (noun) the influence of the past regarded as controlling the present

mufti (en)

(noun) a professional jurist who interprets Muslim law / (noun) ordinary dress as distinguished from that denoting an occupation or station / (noun) civilian clothes when worn by a person in the armed forces

Mughals (en)

the Mughal Empire, in the Indian subcontinent, established and ruled by a Muslim Turkic dynasty of Chagatai Turco-Mongol origin from Central Asia; though ethnically Turco-Mongol, Persianate in terms of culture; roughly 1526 and in decline until 1858 (when British rule began)

mulching (en)

(noun) a protective covering (as of sawdust, compost, or paper) spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds, enrich the soil, or keep fruit (as strawberries) clean

mulct (en)

(noun) fine penalty / (verb) to punish by a fine / (verb) to defraud especially of money; swindle / (verb) to obtain by fraud, duress, or theft

myrmidon (en)

(noun) a member of a legendary Thessalian people who accompanied their king Achilles in the Trojan War / (noun) a loyal follower / (noun) a subordinate who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously

mythopoeum (en)

(noun) relating to mythopoeia: the making of a myth or myths

méconnaissance (fr)

"misconstrue" or "misrecognize" in French; commonly used in the work of Lacan, French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist known for his work on the mirror stage

negritude (en)

(noun) a consciousness of and pride in the cultural and physical aspects of the African heritage / (noun) the state or condition of being black

neolatry (en)

The worship of novelty; excessive fondness for new things or ideas