Monday, 06 August 2012
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male \male\, n. 1. An animal of the male sex. [1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) A plant bearing only staminate flowers. [1913 Webster] -
Mal- \Mal-\ (m[a^]l-). A prefix in composition denoting ill, or evil, F. male, adv., fr. malus, bad, ill. In some words it has the form male-, as in malediction, malevolent. See Malice. [1913 Webster]
Note: The form male- is chiefly used in cases where the e, either alone or with other letters, is pronounced as a separate syllable, as in malediction, malefactor, maleficent, etc. Where this is not the case, as in malfeasance or male-feasance, malformation or male-formation, etc., as also where the word to which it is prefixed commences with a vowel, as in maladministration, etc., the form mal is to be preferred, and is the one commonly employed. [1913 Webster] - male- \male-\ (m[a^]l- or m[a^]l[-e]-). See Mal-. [1913 Webster]
- male \male\ (m[=a]l), a. [L. malus. See Malice.] Evil; wicked; bad. [Obs.] --Marston. [1913 Webster]
- male \male\, n. Same as Mail, a bag. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
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male \male\, a. [F. m[^a]le, OF. masle, mascle, fr. L. masculus male, masculine, dim. of mas a male; possibly akin to E. man. Cf. Masculine, Marry, v. t.] 1. Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as, male organs. [1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; -- said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them. [1913 Webster]
3. Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as, male courage. [1913 Webster]
4. Consisting of males; as, a male choir. [1913 Webster]
5. (Mech.) Adapted for entering another corresponding piece (the female piece) which is hollow and which it fits; as, a male gauge, for gauging the size or shape of a hole; a male screw, etc. [1913 Webster]
male fern (Bot.), a fern of the genus Aspidium (Aspidium Filixmas), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. Aspidium marginale in America, and Aspidium athamanticum in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See Female fern, under Female.
male rhyme, a rhyme in which only the last syllables agree, as laid, afraid, dismayed. See Female rhyme, under Female.
male screw (Mech.), a screw having threads upon its exterior which enter the grooves upon the inside of a corresponding nut or female screw.
male thread, the thread of a male screw. [1913 Webster] - male adj 1: being the sex (of plant or animal) that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that perform the fertilizing function in generation; "a male infant"; "a male holly tree" [ant: androgynous, female] 2: characteristic of a man; "a deep male voice"; "manly sports" [syn: male, manful, manlike, manly, virile] 3: for or pertaining to or composed of men or boys; "the male lead"; "the male population" n 1: an animal that produces gametes (spermatozoa) that can fertilize female gametes (ova) [ant: female] 2: a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies [syn: male, male person] [ant: female, female person] 3: the capital of Maldives in the center of the islands
- male, n. A member of the unconsidered, or negligible sex. The male of the human race is commonly known (to the female) as Mere Man. The genus has two varieties: good providers and bad providers.
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male. Of the masculine sex; of the sex that begets young; the sex opposed to the female. Vide Gender; Man; Sex; Worthiest of blood.
Male
