*meli*

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Ameliorated p. pr. & vb. n. Ameliorating. ] [ L. ad + meliorare to make better: cf. F. améliorer. See Meliorate. ] To make better; to improve; to meliorate. [ 1913 Webster ]

In every human being there is a wish to ameliorate his own condition. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To grow better; to meliorate; as, wine ameliorates by age. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. prenom. [ p. pr. of ameliorate. ] causing improvement in or reducing the bad effects of an unfavorable condition.
Syn. -- ameliorative, amelioratory, meliorative [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cf. F. amélioration. ] The act of ameliorating, or the state of being ameliorated; making or becoming better; improvement; melioration. “Amelioration of human affairs.” J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to ameliorate; producing amelioration or improvement; as, ameliorative remedies, efforts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who ameliorates. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Named after Olaf Bromel, a Swedish botanist. ] (Bot.) Pertaining to, or resembling, a family of endogenous and mostly epiphytic or saxicolous plants of which the genera Tillandsia and Billbergia are examples. The pineapple, though terrestrial, is also of this family. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. any of several shrubs or small evergreen trees having solitary white or pink or reddish flowers; the camellia.
Syn. -- camellia. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a natural family comprising the camels and llamas and vicunas.
Syn. -- family Camelidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a genus of annual and biennial herbs of Mediterranean to Central Asia.
Syn. -- genus Camelina. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. 1. to to change into caramel, by the action of heat; as, The sugar caramelized quickly.
Syn. -- caramelize. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. to convert to caramel.
Syn. -- caramelize. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. 1 to to convert [ usu. sugar ] into caramel, by the action of heat.
Syn. -- caramelise. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } a. Of or pertaining to the order of Carmelites. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Eccl. Hist.) A friar of a mendicant order (the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel) established on Mount Carmel, in Syria, in the twelfth century; a White Friar. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A nun of the Order of Our lady of Mount Carmel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. cimeliarcha, Gr. &unr_;, treasurer. ] A superintendent or keeper of a church's valuables; a churchwarden. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a suitable or becoming manner. [ R. ] Sherwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Comely. ] The quality or state of being comely. [ 1913 Webster ]

Comeliness is a disposing fair
Of things and actions in fit time and place. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

Strength, comeliness of shape, or amplest merit. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Comeliness signifies something less forcible than beauty, less elegant than grace, and less light than prettiness. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. contumeliosus. ] 1. Exhibiting contumely; rudely contemptuous; insolent; disdainful. [ 1913 Webster ]

Scoffs, and scorns, and contumelious taunts. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Curving a contumelious lip. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Shameful; disgraceful. [ Obs. ] Dr. H. More.

-- Con`tu*me"li*ous*ly, adv. -- Con`tu*me"li*ous*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A white amorphous substance, regarded as a polymeric modification of isocyanic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. One who enamels; a workman or artist who applies enamels in ornamental work. [ Written also enameller, enamellist. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. (Zoöl.) See Ermine. Shenstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Named after the German chemist Gmelin. ] (Min.) A rhombohedral zeolitic mineral, related in form and composition to chabazite. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. gommeline, from gomme gum. ] (Chem.) See Dextrin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A natural family of plants comprising the genera Hamamelis; Corylopsis; Fothergilla; Liquidambar; Parrotia; and other small genera.
Syn. -- family Hamamelidaceae, witch-hazel family. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a group of chiefly woody plants considered among the most primitive of angiosperms; they have a perianth poorly developed or lacking, and flowers often unisexual and often in catkins and often wind pollinated. The group contains 23 families including the Betulaceae and Fagaceae (includes the Amentiferae); sometimes it is classified as a superorder.
Syn. -- subclass Hamamelidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A genus of fossil plants of the Oligocene having flowers resembling those of the witch hazel; found in Baltic region.
Syn. -- genus Hamamelidanthum. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A genus of fossil plants having wood identical with or similar to that of the witch hazel.
Syn. -- genus Hamamelidoxylon. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ NL., fr. Gr. "amamhli`s a kind of medlar or service tree; "a`ma at the same time + mh^lon an apple, any tree fruit. ] (Bot.) A genus of plants which includes the witch-hazel (Hamamelis Virginica), a preparation of which is used medicinally. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Like a home; comfortable; cheerful; cozy; friendly; as, a homelike atmosphere. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Plainly; inelegantly. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Homely. ] 1. Domesticity; care of home. [ Obs. ] “Wifely homeliness.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Familiarity; intimacy. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Plainness; want of elegance or beauty. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Coarseness; simplicity; want of refinement; as, the homeliness of manners, or language. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A person or thing belonging to a home or to a particular country; a native; as, a word which is a homeling. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Prov. E. kemlin, kimlin, kimmel, a salting tub, any tub, kembing a brewing tub, G. kumme bowl, basin, W. cwmman a tub, brewing tub. ] A tub; a brewer's vessel. [ Obs. ] Chaucer.

An intense light produced by heating lime. See Calcium light under Calcium. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Theat.) That part of the stage upon which the limelight is cast, usually where the most important action is progressing or where the leading player or players are placed and upon which the attention of the spectators is therefore concentrated. Hence, a conspicuous position before the public; the center of public attention; -- used mostly in the phrase in the limelight; as, politicians who are never happy except in the limelight. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. (Bot.) Pertaining to a natural order (Meliacae) of plants of which the genus Melia is the type. It includes the mahogany and the Spanish cedar. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ }, a. [ From L. Meliboeus, one of the interlocutors in Virgil's first Eclogue. ] (Rhet.) Alternately responsive, as verses. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; song. ] Of or pertaining to song; lyric; tuneful. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. meliceris a kind of tumor, fr. Gr. &unr_;; me`li honey + &unr_; wax. ] (Med.) Consisting of or containing matter like honey; -- said of certain encysted tumors. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) A genus of grasses (Melica) of little agricultural importance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) See Melocoton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. meli`kraton. ] A meadlike drink. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. me`li honey + -lite; cf. F. mélilithe. ] (Min.) A mineral occurring in small yellow crystals, found in the lavas (melilite basalt) of Vesuvius, and elsewhere. [ Written also mellilite. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. mélilot, L. melilotus, fr. Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, a kind of clover containing honey; me`li honey + &unr_; lotus. ] (Bot.) Any species of Melilotus, a genus of leguminous herbs having a vanillalike odor; sweet clover; hart's clover. The blue melilot (Melilotus caerulea) is used in Switzerland to give color and flavor to sapsago cheese. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, sweet clover or melilot; specifically, designating an acid of the aromatic series, obtained from melilot as a white crystalline substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A subdivision of mammals not used in some classifications; it includes the badgers.
Syn. -- subfamily Melinae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. ] (Chem.) A high explosive similar to lyddite, consisting principally of picric acid, used in the French military service. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Meliorated p. pr. & vb. n. Meliorating. ] [ L. melioratus, p. p. of meliorare to meliorate, fr. melior better; akin to Gr. ma^llon rather, ma`la very. Cf. Ameliorate. ] To make better; to improve; to ameliorate; to soften; to make more tolerable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nature by art we nobly meliorate. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

The pure and benign light of revelation has had a meliorating influence on mankind. Washington. [ 1913 Webster ]