martingale, martingal

[Fr. martin gale, in the phrase, chau es à la martingale =an oddly-made kind of breeches, named after the Martigaux (pl. of Martigal ), the inhabitants of a place called Marti ques, in Provence; Sp. martingal ; Ital. martingal a = an old kind of hose.] 1. (See extract.) "The martingale, invented by Evangelist a, an eminent horseman of Milan, is a long strap, or thong of leather, the one end of which is fastened to the girth, girth, between the fore legs, and the other to the bit, or, which is the Martingale. 444 better way, should have a thin mouth-piece of its own." Berenger: History of Art of Horsemanship, ch. x. IMG:content-0958.png:[blocks in formation] chin, bench; go, gem; thin, this; for guying down the headstays of a ship. (3) Sport .: A gambling term signifying the doubling of stakes again and again, until the player wins. (Thackeray: New comes , xxviii.) martingale-stays or guys, s. pl . Naut.: Ropes or small chains stretched to the jib-boom end for staying it down. Mar-ti-ni, s. (See the compound.) Martini -Henry Rifle : Mil . It is a combined weapon, the barrel being rifled on Henry's poly groove system, and the breech action being that invented by Martini. It is a hammerle rifle which is locked by the closing of the breech block, which drops downward by the action of a lever that rests against the trigger-guard when the breech is closed. The action of opening the breech discharges the empty cartridge, which is partly formed of thin sheet bra , with a solid basecup containing the detonating material, which also tends to prevent the escape of the powder-gas. It has a very flat trajectory, a range of 1,200 yards for aimed fire, can discharge 25 unaimed shots per minute, has good penetration, owing to its long bullet being slightly hardened with antimony, and rarely gets out of order. Mar-tin-îque' (que as k), s. (See def.] Geog.: One of the Windward Islands; it belongs to the French. Martin i que-frog, s . Zool.: Hylodes martin i cens is . In this species the metamorphosis takes place within the egg. When the young burst forth they are tiny frogs, with a tail, which is soon absorbed. Mar'-tin-Istş, s . pl . [For etym. see def.] Church Hist.: A Ru ian sect which rose at Moscow under Catherine II., taking their name from Martin, a French man, who introduced into Ru ia the doctrines of the Mystics. ( Shipley .)