Myrmidonian to Myzostomata
Myrmidonian
(Myr`mi*do"ni*an) a. Consisting of, or like, myrmidons. Pope.
Myrmotherine
(Myr`mo*the"rine) a. [Gr. an ant + to hunt.] (Zoöl.) Feeding upon ants; — said of certain
birds.
Myrobalan
(My*rob"a*lan My*rob"o*lan) n. [L. myrobalanum the fruit of a palm tree from which a balsam
was made, Gr. any sweet juice distilling from plants, any prepared unguent or sweet oil + an acorn or
any similar fruit: cf. F. myrobolan.] A dried astringent fruit much resembling a prune. It contains tannin,
and was formerly used in medicine, but is now chiefly used in tanning and dyeing. Myrobolans are produced
by various species of Terminalia of the East Indies, and of Spondias of South America.
Myronic
(My*ron"ic) a. [Gr. a sweet- smelling unguent.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, mustard; —
used specifically to designate a glucoside called myronic acid, found in mustard seed.
Myropolist
(My*rop"o*list) n. [Gr. unguent + to sell.] One who sells unguents or perfumery. [Obs.]
Jonhson.
Myrosin
(Myr"o*sin) n. (Chem.) A ferment, resembling diastase, found in mustard seeds.
Myroxylon
(||My*rox"y*lon) n. [NL., fr. Gr. a sweet juice distilling from a plant + wood.] (Bot.) A genus
of leguminous trees of tropical America, the different species of which yield balsamic products, among
which are balsam of Peru, and balsam of Tolu. The species were formerly referred to Myrospermum.
Myrrh
(Myrrh) n. [OE. mirre, OF. mirre, F. myrrhe, L. myrrha, murra, Gr. cf. Ar. murr bitter, also
myrrh, Heb. mar bitter.] A gum resin, usually of a yellowish brown or amber color, of an aromatic
odor, and a bitter, slightly pungent taste. It is valued for its odor and for its medicinal properties. It exudes
from the bark of a shrub of Abyssinia and Arabia, the Balsamodendron Myrrha. The myrrh of the Bible
is supposed to have been partly the gum above named, and partly the exudation of species of Cistus,
or rockrose.
False myrrh. See the Note under Bdellium.
Myrrhic
(Myr"rhic) a. Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, myrrh.
Myrrhine
(Myr"rhine) a. Murrhine.
Myrtaceous
(Myr*ta"ceous) a. [L. myrtaceus.] (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a large and
important natural order of trees and shrubs of which the myrtle is the type. It includes the genera Eucalyptus,
Pimenta, Lechythis, and about seventy more.
Myrtiform
(Myr"ti*form) a. [L. myrtus myrtle + -form: cf. F. myrtiforme.] Resembling myrtle or myrtle
berries; having the form of a myrtle leaf.
Myrtle
(Myr"tle) n. [F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr.
my`rtos; cf. Per. murd.] (Bot.) A species of the genus Myrtus, especially Myrtus communis. The
common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head,
thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers,
followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers,
leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled
wood is used in turning.
The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered
periwinkle and the yellow- flowered moneywort. In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called
myrtle.
