Murza
(Mur"za) n. One of the hereditary nobility among the Tatars, esp. one of the second class.
This word must not be confounded with the Persian Mirza, though perhaps of the same origin.
Mus
(||Mus) n.; pl. Mures [L., a mouse.] (Zoöl.) A genus of small rodents, including the common mouse
and rat.
Musa
(||Mu"sa) n.; pl. Musæ [NL., fr. Ar. mauz, mauza, banana.] (Bot.) A genus of perennial, herbaceous,
endogenous plants of great size, including the banana the plantain (M. paradisiaca of Linnæus, but probably
not a distinct species), the Abyssinian the Philippine Island (M. textilis, which yields Manila hemp), and
about eighteen other species. See Illust. of Banana and Plantain.
Musaceous
(Mu*sa"ceous) a. Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of the genus Musa.
Musal
(Mus"al) a. Of or pertaining to the Muses, or to Poetry. [R.]
Musang
(Mu*sang") n. (Zoöl.) A small animal of Java allied to the civets. It swallows, but does not
digest, large quantities of ripe coffee berries, thus serving to disseminate the coffee plant; hence it is
called also coffee rat.
Musar
(Mu"sar) n. An itinerant player on the musette, an instrument formerly common in Europe.
Musard
(Mu"sard) n. [F., fr. muser to loiter, trifle. See Muse, v. i.] A dreamer; an absent-minded
person. [Obs.] Rom. of R.
Musca
(||Mus"ca) n.; pl. Muscæ [L., a fly.]
1. (Zoöl.) A genus of dipterous insects, including the common house fly, and numerous allied species.
Formerly, a large part of the Diptera were included under the genus Musca.
2. (Astron.) A small constellation situated between the Southern Cross and the Pole.
||Muscæ volitantes [L., flying flies.] (Med.) Specks or filaments apparently seen moving or gliding about
in the field of vision. Their appearance is often a symptom of disease of the eye, or of disorder of the
nervous system.
Muscadel
(Mus"ca*del`) n. [It. moscadello, moscatello, LL. muscatellum or muscadellum fr. muscatellus
nutmeglike, dim. of muscatus smelling like musk, muscatum and muscata (sc. nux) nutmeg: cf. F.
muscadelle, fr. Italian. See Musk and cf. Moschatel, Muscardin, Muscat, Nutmeg.] See Muscatel,
n.
Quaffed off the muscadel.
Shak. Muscadine
(Mus"ca*dine) n. [See Muscadel.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to several very different kinds of grapes, but in America used chiefly for the
scuppernong, or southern fox grape, which is said to be the parent stock of the Catawba. See Grapevine.
2. (Bot.) A fragrant and delicious pear.
3. (Zoöl.) See Muscardin.
Northern muscadine (Bot.), a derivative of the northern fox grape, and scarcely an improvement upon
it. — Royal muscadine (Bot.), a European grape of great value. Its berries are large, round, and of a
pale amber color. Called also golden chasselas.
