The Bible in Spain Volume II Part 32

LONTRA. _Port._ Otter. Span. _nutria_. "L" for "N" is characteristic.

LOOR. _Old Span._ Praise.

LUME. _Port._ Light.

LUMIA. _Rom._ A harlot. P. ii. 334; Pp. 342; M. viii. 9; G. i. 178.

MA. _Arab._ Not.

MACHO, MACHA. _Span._ A mule, male or female. Considering that, even in Spanish, _macho_ did, and does, signify a male animal of any kind-being an abbreviation of the Latin _masculus_-_macha_, a she-mule, is rather a strange word!

MADRILATI. _Rom._ Madrid. Also _Adali_, J. In thieves' slang also _Gao_ (= _gav_, a town), Z. ii. * 54. But H. gives _gao_ = _piojo_ (a louse).

MAHA. _Sanscr._ Great. Persian _mih_.

MAHASNI, plur. MAKHASNIAH. _Arab._ Soldiers. More correctly, men of the garrison; defenders.

MAI. _Port._ Mother.

MAILLA. _Rom._ A she-a.s.s. P. ii. 454. Apparently only found in Eng.

Romany.

MAJARo. _Rom._ Holy. P. ii. 462.

MAJO, MAJA. Dandy; fancy man or girl. _Majo_, scarcely to be rendered in any foreign language, is a word of more general signification than _manolo_, q.v. The one is a dandy, or smart fellow, all over Spain; the other is used only of a certain cla.s.s in Madrid.

MAJOON. I cannot find this word, but it is apparently the name of some intoxicating substance, and is probably connected with the Arabic _majnun_ = possessed by a _jinn_, mad.

MAKHIAH. _Arab._ Brandy made of figs. More correctly, _ma'iyya_.

MALO. _Span._ Bad, wicked.

MALVADO. _Span._ and _Port._ Malicious, evil disposed.

MAN. _Rom._ Me. P. i. 229; Pp. 66; M. xi. 22.

MANOLO. _Span._ _Manolo_ is a somewhat difficult word to translate. It is applied to the flash or fancy man and his _manola_ in Madrid only; a cla.s.s fond of pleasure, of fine clothes, of bull-fights, and of suns.h.i.+ne, with a code of honour of their own; men and women rather picturesque than exemplary, and eminently racy of the soil.

MANRo. _Rom._ Bread or corn. Estremadura is thus called _Chim del Manro_, "The Land of Corn." P. ii. 440; Pp. 350; M. viii. 12. Given as _marron_, G. i. 177.

MANTA. _Span._ and _Port._ A woollen blanket. _a manta de Dios_ = copiously. The word has nothing to do with the national _cloak_ of Spain, which is _la capa_.

MANTILLA. _Span._ The characteristic headdress of Spanish ladies, of black silk or lace, drawn over the back of the head and shoulders.

Dimin. of _manta_.

MAR. _Span._ and _Port._ Sea.

MARAVEDi. _Span._ A coin of various weights and values. See Burke's _History of Spain_, ii. 282.

MAREQUITA. _Span._ Dimin. of Maria.

MARIPOSA. _Span._ A b.u.t.terfly; a night light.

MAS. _Span._ More.

MATADOR. _Span._ and _Port._ (1) A slayer, murderer. (2) The man who kills the bull. See note, i. 170.

MATO. _Port._ A forest; or more exactly, a wild country, full of bushes and thickets.

MAUGHRABIE. _Arab._ A Borrovian adaptation of the Arabic _Al Maghrib_, the west, signifying Mauretania, or North-Western Africa.

MAYIM. _Hebr._ Waters.

MAYOR. _Span._ and _Port._ Greater.

MAYORDOMO. _Span._ and _Port._ House steward, or major-domo.

MEARRAH. _Hebr._ and _Arab._ Cemetery. Lit. a cave. Hebr. _m_'_arah_, Arab. _magharah._

MECLIS, MEKLIS. _Eng. Rom._ Leave off! have done! "'_Meklis_,' said Mrs. Chikno, 'pray drop all that, sister'" (_The Romany Rye_, ch. v.).

P. ii. 112, 434; Pp. 369; M. viii. 19.

MEDICO. _Span._ and _Port._ A physician.

MEFORs.h.i.+M. _Hebr._ The commentators. More correctly, _m_'_far_'_s.h.i.+m_.

MEIGA. _Port._ and _Gal._ A female sharper, fortune-teller, or sorceress. The adjective _meigo_, in Spanish _mego_, has the signification of gentle, kind, mild.

MELEGRANA. _Rom._ Granada. From the Ital. _melagrana_, a pomegranate; Span. _granada_. See note, 375.

MENDI. _Basque_. A mountain. See note to Ingles Mendi, ii. 314.

MERCADO. _Span._ and _Port._ A market, or market-place.

MERCED. _Span._ (1) Favour, grace, mercy. (2) A day labourer's pay, or wages. (3) In combination, _vuestra merced_, your wors.h.i.+p, your honour, etc.; written V. or Vd. and p.r.o.nounced _usted_.

MESUNA. _Rom._ A wayside inn, or _posada_, q.v. P. ii. 43, 463.

MEZQUITA. _Span._ A mosque.

MiLA. _Irish_. A thousand.

MILAGRO. _Span._ A miracle.

MIN. _Rom._ My, mine. P. i. 237; Pp. 69; M. xi. 30.

MIN. _Arab._ From.