magpie
844
the middle of asking a question when the time allowed for
questions had finished, he would say 'I've started, so I'll
finish'.
mag·pie /'mægpaɪ/ n a noisy bird with black and white
feathers, which often picks up and takes to its nest small
bright objects
Ma·gritte, Re·né /mə'griːt, 'reneɪlrə'neɪ/ (1898–1967) a
Belgian SURREALIST painter known for combining in his
pictures familiar objects that do not usually belong together.
His pictures often involve apples, hats, and windows.
mag'tape n infml MAGNETIC TAPE
Ma·guire, To·bey /mə'gwaɪər, 'təʊbi/ (1975–) an American
actor from California whose films include The Cider House
Rules, Wonder Boys, and Spider-Man
Mag·yar /'mægjɑːr/ n 1 [C] a member of the main group of
people who live in Hungary 2 [U] the language of the
Magyars —Magyar adj
ma·ha·ra·ja, -jah /ˌmɑːhə'rɑːdʒə/ n (often cap.) a Hindu king
or prince in India
ma·ha·ra·ni, -nee /ˌmɑːhə'rɑːniː/ n (often cap.) the wife of a
maharaja
Ma·ha·rish·i Ma·hesh Yo·gi, the /məhəˌriːʃiˌməheʃ
ˈjəgi/ (?1911–) an Indian religious leader who, in the 1960s,
helped to introduce many Indian religious ideas to people in
the West. His teaching includes TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
(=the practice of repeating special words many times, until
you feel very calm), and he has taught many famous people,
including The Beatles.
Ma·ha·thir bin Mo·ha·mad /mɑːhətrɪ bɪn
məʊˈhæməd||ˌtrɪ–/ (1925–) a Malaysian politician who was
Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003. Under his government,
Malaysia experienced rapid economic development.
ma·hat·ma /mə'hætmə||mə'hɑːt-/ n (often cap.) a wise and
holy man in India: Mahatma Gandhi
Mah·di, the /'mɑːdiː/ in Islam, the name given to a holy
leader who, according to Muslims, will be sent by God and
will make all people in the world follow Islam. Many
Muslim leaders have claimed to be the Mahdi.
Mah·fouz, Na·guib /mɑː'fuz, nɑː'giːb/ (1911–) an Egyp-
tian writer of novels and short stories who in 1988 became
the first Arabic writer to win the NOBEL PRIZE for literature.
His works include The Cairo Trilogy (1956–1957) and Children of
Gebelawi (1981).
mah·jong, -jongg /ˌmɑː 'dʒɒŋ||-'dʒɑːŋ/ n [U] a Chinese
game for four players, played with small painted pieces of
wood or bone
Mah·ler, Gus·tav /'mɑːlər, 'gʊstɑːv||'gɑːs-/ (1860–1911) an
Austrian COMPOSER whose work is typical of the ROMANTIC
style. He is known especially for his symphonies (SYMP-
HONY) and for his sets of songs, Das Lied von der Erde and
Kindertotenlieder.
ma·hog·a·ny /mə'hɒgəni||mə'hɑː-/ n [U] (the colour of) a
dark reddish wood used for making fine furniture: a
mahogany table
ma·hout /mɑː'huːt, mə'həʊt||mə'həʊt/ n (in India) a person
who drives an elephant, and keeps and trains elephants
maid /meɪd/ n 1 (often in comb.) a female servant, especially in a
large house in former times: Her maid helped her to dress for
the ball. → see also HOUSEMAID, MILKMAID, NURSEMAID 2 lit or
old use a girl or (young) woman who is not married → see
also OLD MAID
maid·en¹ /'meɪdn/ n 1 lit a girl who is not married 2 tech a
horse which has not won a race 3 also maiden o·ver /ˌ· '·/
— (in cricket) an OVER in which no runs are made
maiden² adj [A] 1 first of its kind; earliest: The aircraft
makes its maiden flight tomorrow. | The new MP is making
her maiden speech in Parliament tomorrow. 2 (of a woman,
especially an older woman) unmarried: a maiden aunt
mai·den·hair /'meɪdnheər/ n [U] a kind of FERN
maid·en·head /'meɪdnhed/ n old use or lit 1 [U] the state of
being a female VIRGIN; fact of not having had sexual experi-
ence 2 [C] a HYMEN
maid·en·hood /'meɪdnhʊd/ n [U] especially lit the condition
or time of being a young unmarried girl
maid·en·ly /'meɪdnli/ adj especially lit like or suitable to a
young unmarried girl: maidenly modesty
'maiden name n the family name a woman had before
marriage
CULTURAL NOTE
In both the US and the UK, women
traditionally used to take their husband's last name when
they got married, and stopped using their own last name.
Now, however, many women decide to keep using their
maiden name after they get married, especially if they
have become known in their profession by that name.
Other women, especially in the US, now use both their
own and their husband's last name, often joined together
with a HYPHEN. → see also Cultural Note at MR
Maid Mar·i·an /ˌmeɪd 'mærɪən/ 1 a woman who, in old
English stories, has a romantic relationship with ROBIN
HOOD 2 the MAY QUEEN in MORRIS DANCES and MAY DAY
games
maid of 'honour n 1 an unmarried lady who serves a
queen or princess 2 the chief BRIDESMAID at a wedding 3 BrE
a type of small cake
Maid of Or·le·ans, the /ˌmeɪd əv ɔː'liːənz||-ɔːrliːənz/ →
see JOAN OF ARC
maid·ser·vant /'meɪdˌsɜːvənt||-ɜːr-/ n especially old use a
female servant → compare MANSERVANT
Mai·gret /'meɪgreɪ||meɪ'greɪ/ a character who appears in
many novels by Georges SIMENON. Maigret is a DETECTIVE (=a
police officer whose job is to solve crimes) in Paris.
mail¹ /meɪl/ n 1 [(the);U] the postal system: Airmail is quicker
than sea mail. | I'll send it (by) first-/second-class mail. |
(especially AmE) It came in the mail. 2 [U] letters and any-
thing else sent or received by post, especially those travel-
ling or arriving together: She was opening her mail. 3 [C]
also mail train /'.../ — (especially in names) a train which
carries mail 4 [U] a computer feature that enables users to
send messages to each other which can be read, re-directed,
saved, copied etc: Did you get my mail message about taking
next Friday off?
USAGE 1 Post is the more usual word in British English
except in certain combinations such as airmail. Mail is
the usual word in American English. 2 Mail is sometimes
used in the names of newspapers, e.g. the Daily Mail and
in the names of train or boat services, e.g. the Irish Mail.
mail² v [T (to)] especially AmE to post (a letter, parcel etc)
mail³ n [U] armour made of metal plates or rings, worn by
soldiers in former times: a coat of mail → see also CHAIN
MAIL
Mail, The another name for
The Daily Mail
mail·bag /'meɪlbæg/ n 1 a
large bag made of strong
cloth for carrying mail in
trains, ships etc 2 AmE a
postman's bag for carrying
mail to be delivered; POST-
BAG
mail·box /'meɪlbɒks||-bɑːks/ n AmE 1 a place for
posting letters etc; POST-
BOX 2 a place where one's
mail is left near one's house;
a LETTERBOX separate from
the door → see LETTERBOX
CULTURAL NOTE
In the US, most people have mailboxes,
either next to their front door or in front of their house,
near the street. Some mailboxes have a small flag on it
that can be raised, and people can send mail from their
home by putting a stamp on a letter and then putting it in
their mailbox and raising the flag.
'mail drop n AmE 1 a mailbox (2) 2 an address used in the
sending of secret messages 3 an address which exists only
for the purpose of receiving mail: The police discovered that
the address found on the murdered man was a mail drop.
mail·er /'meɪlər/ n [C] especially AmE a container or envelope
used for sending something small by mail
mailbox
U.S.
MAIL
M