*mett*

a. Destitute of mettle, that is, or fire or spirit. [ R. ] Llewellyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A kind of baize of which the ward is cotton and the weft woolen. Blakely. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ Verbar; } n. [ F. fumet odor, fume of wine or meat, fr. L. fumus smoke. See Fume, n. ] The stench or high flavor of game or other meat when kept long. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having abundance of mettle; ardent; full of fire; as, a high-mettled steed. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Cf. It. lametta, dim. of lama a thin plate. ] Foil or wire made of gold, silver, or brass. De Colange. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. imp. of Mete, to dream. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. See Metal. ] Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense; as, to test a person's mettle. [ 1913 Webster ]

A certain critical hour which shall . . . try what mettle his heart is made of. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Gentlemen of brave mettle. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The winged courser, like a generous horse,
Shows most true mettle when you check his course. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

To put one one's mettle, to cause or incite one to use one's best efforts. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having mettle; high-spirited; ardent; full of fire. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Full of spirit; possessing constitutional ardor; fiery; as, a mettlesome horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Met"tle*some*ly, adv. -- Met"tle*some*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Dull-spirited. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., dim. of palme a palm. ] A floral ornament, common in Greek and other ancient architecture; -- often called the honeysuckle ornament. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Dim. of palm the tree: cf. Sp. palmito. ] (Bot.) A name given to palms of several genera and species growing in the West Indies and the Southern United States. In the United States, the name is applied especially to the Chamærops Palmetto, or Sabal Palmetto, the cabbage tree of Florida and the Carolinas. See Cabbage tree, under Cabbage. [ 1913 Webster ]

Royal palmetto, the West Indian Sabal umbraculifera, the trunk of which, when hollowed, is used for water pipes, etc. The leaves are used for thatching, and for making hats, ropes, etc. --
Saw palmetto, Sabal serrulata, a native of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. The nearly impassable jungle which it forms is called palmetto scrub. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Any of several flags adopted by South Carolina after its secession. That adopted in November, 1860, had a green cabbage palmetto in the center of a white field; the final one, January, 1861, had a white palmetto in the center of a blue field and a white crescent in the upper left-hand corner. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. prop. n. South Carolina; -- a nickname alluding to the State Arms, which contain a representation of a palmetto tree. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖a. [ F. ] Having two balls or protuberances at each end; -- said of a cross. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Samite. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. See under Palmetto. [ 1913 Webster ]