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

mountebank (en)

(noun) a person who sells quack medicines from a platform / (noun) a boastful unscrupulous pretender; charlatan / (verb) to beguile or transform by trickery / (verb) to play the mountebank

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

mulish (en)

(adjective) unreasonably and inflexibly obstinate

multifarious (en)

having many varied parts or aspects; multifaceted

multivalent (en)

(adj) having or susceptible to many applications, interpretations, meanings, or values

mutatis mutandis (la)

a Medieval Latin phrase meaning "the necessary changes having been made" or "once the necessary changes have been made"

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

nacre (en)

(noun) mother-of-pearl

nacreous (en)

(adjective) possessing the qualities of, consisting of, or abounding in nacre / (adjective) iridescent

naked shorting (en)

the practice of short-selling a tradable asset of any kind without first borrowing the security or ensuring that the security can be borrowed, as is conventionally done in a short sale

narratology (en)

the branch of knowledge or literary criticism that deals with the structure and function of narrative and its themes, conventions, and symbols

naïf (en)

(noun) one who is naive; derived from French

nebbish (en)

(noun) a timid, meek, or ineffectual person

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

neoclassical economics (en)

a mainstream approach to economics focusing on the determination of goods, outputs, and income distributions in markets through supply and demand; contrast with heterodox economics

neocolonialism (en)

(noun) the economic and political policies by which a great power indirectly maintains or extends its influence over other areas or people

neolatry (en)

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

neoliberalism (en)

the postulate that markets are organised most effectively by private enterprise and that the private pursuit of accumulation will generate the most common good; accomplished by opening international markets and financial networks, and downsizing the welfare state