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.
Male
(Male), n.
1. An animal of the male sex.
2. (Bot.) A plant bearing only staminate flowers.
Maleadministration
(Male`ad*min`is*tra"tion) n. Maladministration.
Maleate
(Ma*le"ate) n. A salt of maleic acid.
Malebranchism
(Male*branch"ism) n. The philosophical system of Malebranche, an eminent French
metaphysician. The fundamental doctrine of his system is that the mind can not have knowledge of
anything external to itself except in its relation to God.
Maleconformation
(Male*con`for*ma"tion) n. Malconformation.
Malecontent
(Male"con*tent`) a. Malcontent.
Maledicency
(Mal`e*di"cen*cy) n. [L. maledicentia. See Maledicent.] Evil speaking. [Obs.] Atterbury.
Maledicent
(Mal`e*di"cent) a. [L. maledicens, p. pr. of maledicere to speak ill; male ill + dicere to say,
speak. See Malice, and Diction.] Speaking reproachfully; slanderous. [Obs.] Sir E. Sandys.
Maledict
(Mal"e*dict) a. [L. maledictus, p. p. of maledicere.] Accursed; abominable. [R.]
Malediction
(Mal`e*dic"tion), n. [L. maledictio: cf. F. malédiction. See Maledicent.] A proclaiming of
evil against some one; a cursing; imprecation; a curse or execration; — opposed to benediction.
No malediction falls from his tongue.
Longfellow. Syn. — Cursing; curse; execration; imprecation; denunciation; anathema. — Malediction, Curse, Imprecation,
Execration. Malediction is the most general term, denoting bitter reproach, or wishes and predictions
of evil. Curse implies the desire or threat of evil, declared upon oath or in the most solemn manner.
Imprecation is literally the praying down of evil upon a person. Execration is literally a putting under the
ban of excommunication, a curse which excludes from the kingdom of God. In ordinary usage, the last
three words describe profane swearing, execration being the strongest.
Malefaction
(Mal`e*fac"tion) n. [See Malefactor.] A crime; an offense; an evil deed. [R.] Shak.
Malefactor
(Mal`e*fac"tor) n. [L., fr. malefacere to do evil; male ill, evil + facere to do. See Malice,
and Fact.]
1. An evil doer; one who commits a crime; one subject to public prosecution and punishment; a criminal.
2. One who does wrong by injuring another, although not a criminal. [Obs.] H. Brooke. Fuller.
Syn. — Evil doer; criminal; culprit; felon; convict.
Malefactress
(Mal`e*fac"tress) n. A female malefactor. Hawthorne.
Malefeasance
(Male*fea"sance) n. See Malfeasance.
