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1. (Physiol.) A viscid fluid secreted by mucous membranes, which it serves to moisten and protect. It
covers the lining membranes of all the cavities which open externally, such as those of the mouth, nose,
lungs, intestinal canal, urinary passages, etc.
2. (Physiol.) Any other animal fluid of a viscid quality, as the synovial fluid, which lubricates the cavities
of the joints; — improperly so used.
3. (Bot.) A gelatinous or slimy substance found in certain algæ and other plants.
Mucusin
(Mu"cus*in) n. (Physiol. Chem.) Mucin. [R.]
Mud
(Mud) n. [Akin to LG. mudde, D. modder, G. moder mold, OSw. modd mud, Sw. modder mother,
Dan. mudder mud. Cf. Mother a scum on liquors.] Earth and water mixed so as to be soft and adhesive.
Mud bass (Zoöl.), a fresh-water fish (Acantharchum pomotis) of the Eastern United States. It produces
a deep grunting note. — Mud bath, an immersion of the body, or some part of it, in mud charged
with medicinal agents, as a remedy for disease. — Mud boat, a large flatboat used in dredging. —
Mud cat. See Catfish. — Mud crab (Zoöl.), any one of several American marine crabs of the genus
Panopeus. — Mud dab (Zoöl.), the winter flounder. See Flounder, and Dab. — Mud dauber (Zoöl.),
a mud wasp. — Mud devil (Zoöl.), the fellbender. — Mud drum (Steam Boilers), a drum beneath
a boiler, into which sediment and mud in the water can settle for removal. — Mud eel (Zoöl.), a long,
slender, aquatic amphibian found in the Southern United States. It has persistent external gills and only
the anterior pair of legs. See Siren. — Mud frog (Zoöl.), a European frog (Pelobates fuscus). — Mud
hen. (Zoöl.) (a) The American coot (Fulica Americana). (b) The clapper rail. - - Mud lark, a person
who cleans sewers, or delves in mud. [Slang] — Mud minnow (Zoöl.), any small American fresh-water
fish of the genus Umbra, as U. limi. The genus is allied to the pickerels. — Mud plug, a plug for
stopping the mudhole of a boiler. — Mud puppy (Zoöl.), the menobranchus. — Mud scow, a heavy
scow, used in dredging; a mud boat. [U.S.] — Mud turtle, Mud tortoise (Zoöl.), any one of numerous
species of fresh-water tortoises of the United States. — Mud wasp (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species
of hymenopterous insects belonging to Pepæus, and allied genera, which construct groups of mud cells,
attached, side by side, to stones or to the woodwork of buildings, etc. The female places an egg in
each cell, together with spiders or other insects, paralyzed by a sting, to serve as food for the larva.
Called also mud dauber.
Mud
(Mud), v. t.
1. To bury in mud. [R.] Shak.
2. To make muddy or turbid. Shak.
Mudar
(||Mu"dar) n. [Hind. madar.] (Bot.) Either one of two asclepiadaceous shrubs (Calotropis gigantea,
and C. procera), which furnish a strong and valuable fiber. The acrid milky juice is used medicinally.
Mudarin
(Mu"da*rin) n. (Chem.) A brown, amorphous, bitter substance having a strong emetic action,
extracted from the root of the mudar.
Muddily
(Mud"di*ly) adv. In a muddy manner; turbidly; without mixture; cloudily; obscurely; confusedly.
Muddiness
(Mud"di*ness), n.
1. The condition or quality of being muddy; turbidness; foulness caused by mud, dirt, or sediment; as, the
muddiness of a stream.
2. Obscurity or confusion, as in treatment of a subject; intellectual dullness.
Muddle
(Mud"dle) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Muddled ; p. pr. & vb. n. Muddling ] [From Mud.]
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