mendicity (en)

(noun) the condition or activities of a beggar.

Menippean satire (en)

a form of satire, usually in prose, which has a length and structure similar to a novel and is characterized by attacking mental attitudes rather than specific individuals or entities

mensch (en)

(North American) a person of integrity and honor

mephitic (en)

(adjective) of, relating to, or resembling mephitis; foul-smelling

mercado (en)

the Spanish word for a public market or any kind of market

meretricious (en)

(adjective) of or relating to a prostitute; having the nature of prostitution / (adjective) tawdrily and falsely attractive / (adjective) superficially significant; pretentious

meristematic (en)

(noun) a formative plant tissue usually made up of small cells capable of dividing indefinitely and giving rise to similar cells or to cells that differentiate to produce the definitive tissues and organs

mesas (en)

the American English term for tableland, an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs

meta-ironic (en)

awareness of irony

metabolic rift (en)

Marx's notion of the "irreparable rift in the interdependent process of social metabolism," i.e., his conception of ecological crisis tendencies under capitalism

metafiction (en)

(noun) fiction which refers to or takes as its subject fictional writing and its conventions

metaleptic (en)

(from Greek) a figure of speech in which a word or a phrase from figurative speech is used in a new context

metanorm (en)

a norm that requires people to punish transgressors of lower-level norms

metastable (en)

a term used by Sartre to refer to the state in which one is unable to take themselves or anything else seriously because of their acute awareness that they and the world are mediated by language

Metcalfe's Law (en)

the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system

metempsychosis (en)

the supposed transmigration at death of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species

metonymy (en)

(noun) a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated (as “crown” in “lands belonging to the crown”)

Mezzogiorno (it)

the traditional term for the southern regions of Italy

miasma (en)

a highly unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapor

midden (en)

(noun) dunghill / (noun) a refuse heap / (noun) kitchen midden / (noun) a small pile (as of seeds, bones, or leaves) gathered by a rodent (as a pack rat) / (noun) a refuse heap / (noun) a mound marking the site of a primitive human habitation

mien (en)

(noun) air or bearing especially as expressive of attitude or personality; demeanor / (noun) appearance aspect

Miesian (en)

(biographical name) Ludwig 1886–1969 Am. (Ger.-born) architect. style: very modern and angular and sharp

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

mimeograph (en)

(noun) a duplicator for making many copies that utilizes a stencil through which ink is pressed

mimetic (en)

imitation, especially imitative representation of the real world in art and literature