Malaxeæ (malaksee)

pl. [NL. (Lindley, 1845 ), of the natural order Orchideæ, the orchid family, belonging to the tribe Epidendreæ, and char acterized by a terminal inflorescence and anthers which are usually persistent, and either erect or bent forward. It embraces 2 genera, Malaxis and Microstylis, and about 46 species. Malaxis (mā-lak's is), n. [NL., Gr. μάλαξις, a softening, = the head is slightly narrowed; the forehead a little projecting; the nose thick, wide, and flattened; the mouth large; the upper jaw projecting; the hair black, soft, thick, and curled. - Malay tapir, the Indian or Asiatic tapir, Tapirus indicus or malayanus. See tapir. Malayalam (mal-a-yä'lam), n. [Malayalam Malayalam.] The language of Malabar, in southwestern India: it is a Dravidian dialect. Malayan (mā-lā'an), a. and n. [ -Malayan camphor. Same as Borneo camphor (which see, under camphor ). - Malayan porcupine, Malayan tapir. Same as Malay porcupine, Malay tapir. II. n . Same as Malay . Malayopolynesian (ma-lā'ō-pol-i-nē'sian), a. Same as Malay - Polynesian . Malay-Polynesian (mā-lā'pol-i-ne's ian), a. Including the Malay and Polynesian: applied to a family of languages occupying most of the islands of the Pacific, from Ma from Madagascar to Easter Island (not, however, Australia and TasmaGuinea and of some other of the large islands), nia, nor the central parts of Borneo and New together with the Malayan peninsula. Its principal branches are the Malayan, of the peninsula and the islands nearest it, and the Polynesian, of the great ma of scattered islands (including Madagascar and New Zealand); to these is added by many the Me lanes i an, of the Fiji archipelago and its vicinity, which others regard as a separate family. The languages are of extreme simplicity, in regard both to phonetic and to grammatical structure. Malaysian (mā-lā'si-an), a. [