Glossary
Terms starting with M
330 definitions · page 4 of 6.
- MICROWAVE
- Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of a few centimeters. It falls between infrared and radio wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum. The radio wave beam can deliver electrical energy over long distances.
- MIDI
- Acronym for "musical instrument digital interface," the industry-wide standard adopted in 1982 that permits personal computers and synthesizers to talk to one another.
- midparent value
- The mean of the values of a quantitative phenotype for two specific parents.
- Midrange
- The middle range of audio frequencies between approximately 500 and 4,000 Hz. This term is also used to denote the loudspeaker used for reproducing midrange frequencies.
- migration
- Movement of individuals between otherwise reproductively isolated populations.
- Millefeuille
- Literally 'thousand leaves' this is a light and airy pastry dessert made of thin layers of puff pastry, whipped cream and jam or some other filling such as fresh fruit. Millefeuilles are usually small rectangular pastries but can also be made as large gateaux.
- MIME
- (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) a method of including binary data and other multimedia content within email messages.
- mimicry
- A phenomenon in which an individual; gains an advantage by looking like the individuals of a different species.
- Mincemeat
- spicy preserve comprising a mixture of dried fruit, apple, suet and candied fruit and spices steeped in rum or brandy. It has been part of British cookery for centuries and did originally contain meat, though now the only meat present is in the suet. It's…
- MINE SUBSIDENCE COVERAGE
- An endorsement to a homeowners insurance policy, available in some states, for losses to a home caused by the land under a house sinking into a mine shaft. Excluded from standard homeowners policies, as are other forms of earth movement.
- Minestrone
- A thick Italian soup containing a mixture of vegetables, beans and pasta or rice. The name derives from the Italian word 'minestra' meaning thick soup. Made in the Italian way there should be just enough stock to float the mixture of vegetables and pasta.
- miniature
- A descriptive term for a short Romantic piece, usually for piano.
- minimal medium
- A culture medium for microorganisms that contains the minimal necessities for growth of the wild-type. A medium containing only inorganic salts, a carbon source, and water.
- minimalism
- A contemporary style marked by steady pulse, simple triadic harmonies, and insistent repetition of short melodic patterns.
- MINIMUM GENERATION
- Generally, the required minimum generation level of a utility systemós thermal units. Specifically, the lowest level of operation of oil-fired and gas-fired units at which they can be currently available to meet peak load needs.
- minor mode
- One of two colorings, generally dark and unstable, applied to a key, characterized by the minor scale and the resulting predominance of minor triads.
- minor scale
- The scale in which the third and sixth degrees are the lower of two options. The melodic minor scale raises the sixth and seventh degrees in ascending passages and lowers them in descending passages.
- minor third
- An interval consisting of three half steps; a minor third forms the bottom interval of a minor triad.
- minor triad
- A triad consisting of a minor third plus a major third bounded by a perfect fifth.
- Mint sauce
- A thin savoury sauce made from chopped mint, vinegar and sugar, traditionally served in England as an accompaniment to roast lamb.
- minuet
- A seventeenth-century court dance in moderate triple meter that later served as the model for the third movement of Classical instrumental works. mode (1) In the Middle Ages, a means of organizing plainchant according to orientations around the seven-note…
- Mirepoix
- A mixture of diced vegetables - usually onion, leek, carrot and celery - and sometimes bacon and herbs. It's sautéed in butter and is the basis of many sauces, soups and stews. It's often used as a foundation for braising meat, poultry or fish as well…
- Mirin
- Mirin is a sweetened sake or rice wine with a light syrupy texture, used in Japanese cooking. It gives a mild sweetness to sauces and dishes and is particularly good with grilled food because the alcohol burns off, leaving just the sweet taste. Sherry could…
- Mirror site
- An FTP site that stores the exact content of some other site. Mirroring is done in order to minimize the load on a particular server and also to increase reliability.
- mismatch repair
- A form of excision repair initiated at the sites of mismatched bases in DNA.
- Miso
- A fermented paste made from soya beans and rice, barley or rye, used in Japanese cookery for making miso soup, as a dressing, as an ingredient in pouring sauces, to flavour pickles and on grilled food.
- missense mutation
- mutations that at change a codon for one amino acid into a codon for a different amino acid.
- Missionary Work
- Work performed for a religious organization to spread the faith (religion) and advance the principles and doctrines of the religion. Such work may include religious instruction, help for the elderly and needy and proselytizing.
- mitochondrial cytopathy
- Human disorder caused by point mutation or deletion in mitochondrial DNA; inherited maternally.
- mitochondrion
- A eukaryotic organelle that is the site of ATP synthesis and of the citric acid cycle. The eukaryotic cellular organelle in which the Krebs cycle and electron transport reactions take place.
- mitosis
- The nuclear division producing two daughter nuclei identical to the original nucleus. A type of nuclear division that produces two daughter nuclei identical to the parent nucleus normally just prior to cell division. See endomitosis, cytokinesis.
- mitotic crossover
- A crossover resulting from the pairing of homologous chromosomes in a diploid during mitosis.
- Miva Empressa
- Miva's XML based server-side scripting language. Available for multiple platforms. Here is Miva Empressa home page.
- Miva Merchant
- Browser-based storefront development and management system for merchants. Here is Miva Merchant home page.
- mixed codon family
- Group of four codons sharing their first two bases but coding for more than one amino acid.
- mode
- The single class in a statistical distribution having the greatest frequency.
- Mode Display
- Provides visual readout of current function (play, rewind, fast forward, pause and record) on the VCR display or on the TV screen.
- Modem
- MOdulator-DEModulator. A device used to transform digital data sent by a computer to analog format suitable for transmission over a telephone line. It also transforms analog signals back to the digital form. A modem is required for the dial up connection to…
- Moderator
- at a forum, someone entrusted by the administrator to help discussions stay productive and within the guidelines.
- modifier gene
- A gene that affects the phenotypic expression of another gene.
- modulation
- The process of changing keys in a tonal work, as in "the modulation from C major to F minor."
- Moisturizer
- An emollient cream used to hydrate skin.
- Molasses
- A thick, dark, heavy syrup that is a by-product of sugar refining. It's far less sweet than syrup or honey and the darker the molasses, the less sugar it contains. Molasses has a slightly bitter flavour that's favoured in traditional North American recipes…
- molecular chaperone
- A protein that aids in the folding of a second protein. The chaperone prevents proteins from taking conformations that would be inactive.
- molecular evolutionary clock
- A measurement of evolutionary time in nucleotide substitutions per year.
- molecular genetics
- The study of the molecular processes underlying gene structure and function.
- molecular imprinting
- The phenomenon in which there is differential expression of a gene depending on whether it was maternally or paternally inherited. Paternal imprinting means that an allele inherited from the father is not expressed in offspring. Maternal imprinting means…
- molto allegro
- Very fast tempo.
- Money Order
- A Money Order is a financial instrument that is usually issued by a bank. The money order allows the person named to receive a specific amount of cash on demand from the issuing bank. Money orders are very common and are typically used by those persons who…
- MONEY SUPPLY
- Total supply of money in the economy, composed of currency in circulation and deposits in savings and checking accounts. By changing the interest rates the Federal Reserve seeks to adjust the money supply to maintain a strong economy.
- Monitor Function
- Allows you to switch back and forth from a TV program to VCR tape. When changing from VCR to TV, the VCR is automatically put in pause mode until you change back to VCR.
- Monitor Output
- With a Monitor Output, the output jack connects a receiver to the video input of a TV set. The receiver can then be used to switch between external video sources such as a VCR.
- Monk's beard
- No fashionable menu is complete without monk's beard, or barbarata de fratea. Known in the UK as 'goat's beard' or 'Johnny go to bed at noon', these little green shoots are grown in Tuscany, where they're only in season for five weeks of the year. Similar in…
- monocistronic mRNA
- An mRNA that codes for only one protein.
- monoclonal antibody
- The unique immunoglobulin molecule (antibody) produced by a clone of cells derived from a fusion of a B lymphocyte with a myeloma cell.
- monody
- A style of accompanied solo singing that evolved in the early Baroque in which the meaning of the text was expressed in a flexible vocal line.
- monoecious plant
- A plant species in which male and female organs are found on the same plant but in different flowers (for example maize).
- monohybrid
- Offspring of parents that differ in only one genetic characteristic. Usually implies heterozygosity at a single locus under study.
- monohybrid cross
- A cross between two individuals identically heterozygous at one gene pair for example, Aa x Aa.
- monophony
- monophonic (mo-nof-ony;mo-no-fonick) A musical texture consisting of a single voice, as in plainchant.