melody, melodie

[Fr. mélodie, from Lat. melodia; Gr. melodia, from melos = a song, music, and ode =a song, an ode; Sp., Port. & Ital. melodia.] [ODE.] I. Ord . Lang .: A succe ion of sweet and agreeable sounds; sweetne of sound; music, harmony. "While this multitude of flies Is filling all the air with melody." Words worth: Excursion, bk. i. zotrogus, and Sorica; to which Latreille added Dasyus, Macrodactyl us, Diphucephala, Plectris, Ceraspis, and Areoda. [MELOLONTHIDES, MELO- LONTHINE.] native of the Kalmuck country (in Tartary). De Candolle considered it to come from the valleys south of the Caspian Sea, from of Mount Caucasus. It asia tie dot was in Egypt [2]. It is supposed to have been the sikuos of Theophrastus, the sikuos pep on of Hippo crates, the pep on of Dioscorides, the melopepo of Galen (the name being given from its resemblance to the apple), and the melo of Pliny. Till lately the plant was called musk-melon, to distinguish it from Cit- rullus vulgar is , water-melon (q. v.). The variety having the fruit with green flesh is preferred; others have white, red, or salmon-colored pulp. 2. Script.: Heb. a bhat tich him , Num. xi. 5, seems to be correctly translated, as in the A. V., melon. Dropping the plural termination, im , the word is like the Arabic butikh =the melon. IMG:content-1088.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-1089.png:[blocks in formation] Bot.: A West Indian name for Me loc act us com mains of Me los a urus uralensis from the Permian of munis. melon-thistle, s . Bot.: A name common to any of the Melocactide, tus. but more especially applied to the genus Melocac IMG:content-1090.png:[blocks in formation] měl-o-nite, s. [Named after the Melones mine, where it was first found.] Min.: A mineral occurring in particles, with a foliated structure. Crystallization, the inventre , and was com- monly represented as veiled, and holding in her hand a tragic mask. Her instrument was the lyre. By the river-god Achelous, Melpomene became the mother of the Sirens. [MUSE, SIREN.] 2. Astron .: [ASTEROID, 18.] měl-rōşe, subst . [Latinmel honey, and rosa = a rose.] Honey of roses. melt (pa. t. *molt, melted, pa. par. * molten , melted), v. t. IMG:content-1091.jpg:[graphic] rhombohedral, with basal cleavage. Luster, me- tallic; color, reddish-white; streak, dark gray, formula, Ni2Te3. Found among the ores of the Composition: Tellurium, 76-49; nickel, 23-51=100; . [Α. S. melt an (pa. t. Melones and Stanislaus mines, California. měl-o-ni-tēş, s. [Greek melon =an apple; suff. -ites ( Palæont .).] Entom.: A genus of dipterous insects parasitic on sheep, tribe Pupipara, family Hippo bos cide. Melophagus ovinus , the Sheep-tick, is a well-known species. There are no wings, and the abdomen is widened posteriorly. Called also Melophila ovinus ( ovina ?). *mě-loph-o-nist, s. [Greek melos =a song, and phone =sound.) A singer of melodies. měl-ô-pi-ăn-ō, s. [Gr. melos =a song, and Eng. piano (q.v.).] Music: An invention by which sustained sounds can be produced on a pianoforte. It consists of a series of small hammers set into very rapid vibra- tion by the winding up of a spring. When a note is struck and held down, the constant repetition of the blows of the hammer causes a continuous vibration of the string which is of a most charming character. An admirable crescendo is obtained by the ingen- ious plan of raising the hammers gradually farther from the string, the force, of course, being prop or- tioned to the distance they have to fall. The melo- piano was invented by Caldara of Turin in 1870. měl-o-plăs-tic, subst . [Gr. melos =a cheek, and Eng. plastic .] Sura.: Pertaining to meloplasty (q. v.). I. Lit.: To reduce from a solid to a liquid state by the application of heat; to make liquid, to liquefy, to di olve, to fuse. "When the sun doth melt their snow." Shakesp.: Rape of Lucrece , 1,218. Even women have cast off, melt thee." Shakesp.: Pericles , iv. 1. 2. To waste or wear away; to di ipate. "Tears will quickly melt thy life away." Shakesp.: Titus Andronicus, iii. 2. B. Intransitive : I. Literally : into another; to blend. 1. To pa imperceptibly from one thing or state love, pity, tenderne , .; to become softened, 2. To be softened to mild or kindly influences, as tender, or feeling. "I should melt at an offender's tears." Shakesp.: Henry VI ., Pt . II . , iii. 1. 3. To be broken, to fail, to give way, to sink. "Wherefore the hearts of the people melted , and became as water." - Joshua vii. 5. IMG:content-1092.png:[blocks in formation] 1. Lit .: The act of making liquid; the state of becoming liquid; fusing. 2. Fig .: The act of softening or making tender; the state of becoming softened or tender. "All the social meltings of the heart." Hamilton: To a Young Lady. melting-furnace, s. A foundry cupola, or a gla maker's furnace.