Mennonite
n.
5after Menno Simons (c. 1496-1561), a Du reformer6 any member of an evangelical Christian sect with Anabaptist origins, founded in the Netherlands in the 16th cent. and existing in the U.S. since the 17th cent.: Mennonites oppose military service and the holding of public office, and favor plain dress: cf. AMISH
adj.
designating or of this sect

mercantilist - of or relating to the theory or practice of an economic system intended to increase the nation’s power and especially monetary wealth by a strict governmental regulation of the entire national economy.

mercaptan - any of a class of compounds that are analogous to the alcohols and phenols but contain sulfur instead of oxygen and have ;very disagreeable odors.
E.G. chemical warfare as waged by the Mustelidae (skunk, to you), and reminder on
voiding that one has easten Asparagus.. But I love asparagus here in Southern California,
so young and tender. I never had any luck despite a lot of work trying to raise it in Massachusetts.

mercerize jz#8
vt.
3ized#, 3iz#ing 5after J. Mercer (1791-1866), Eng calico dealer6 to treat (cotton thread or fabric) under tension with a caustic soda solution in order to strengthen it, give it a silky luster, and make it more receptive to dyes

merlin
n.
5ME merlion < OFr esmerillon, dim. of esmeril, merlin < OHG smirl, merlin6 a small, dark falcon (Falco columbarius) with a striped, brownish-red breast, of North America and Eurasia

Merlin
5ML Merlinus < Welsh Myrrdin < Brythonic *Mori-d=non < *mori, sea + Proto-Celt *dunom, hill, fortified hill, fort, hence, lit., sea-hill or sea-fortress6 Arthurian Legend a magician and seer, helper of King Arthur

The dictionary gives no clue as to relationship between the falcon and the magician.

meromictic -
Round Lake, near Syracuse, New York, is a rare example of a meromictic lake, a lake whose waters do not mix. Because the rocks around it contain beds of salt, its bottom waters are a layer of strong brine. Its surface waters are devoid of fish, instead supporting an unusual community of bacteria and algae that give the water a peculiar milky blue-green color.

mesa
n.
5Sp < L mensa, a table: see MENSAL16 a small, high plateau or flat tableland with steep sides, esp. in the SW U.S.

PLATEAU : Il s’agit en effet d’une étendue de terrain relativement plane pouvant être située à des altitudes variées mais toujours entaillées de vallées encaissées. L’origine de ces plateaux peut être très variée : ils correspondent à d’anciennes plaines ou bassins sédimentaires intérieurs élevés à une certaine altitude par des mouvements épigéniques ou des accidents tectoniques ( Meseta occupe la plus grande partie de la péninsule ibérique). Ils correspondent aussi à des surfaces érodées et à des accidents volcaniques.

So if you know anything about the Iberian peninsula, you know what “maseta” means. PLATEAU : Il s’agit en effet d’une étendue de terrain relativement plane pouvant être située à des altitudes variées mais toujours entaillées de vallées encaissées. L’origine de ces plateaux peut être très variée : ils correspondent à d’anciennes plaines ou bassins sédimentaires intérieurs élevés à une certaine altitude par des mouvements épigéniques ou des accidents tectoniques ( Meseta occupe la plus grande partie de la péninsule ibérique). Ils correspondent aussi à des surfaces érodées et à des accidents volcaniques.

mesocratic
adj.
5< MESO3 + Gr kratein, to rule (< kratos, strength: see HARD) + 3IC6 containing 30 to 60 percent of heavy, dark minerals: said esp. of igneous rocks

The spelling bee word was “mesocracy” - I wonder if that means “governement of the middle class” ? Forthright’s Phrontistery says Yes.

mesoprosopic – From Dictionary of Difficult Words, the very enlightening definition

mesoprosopic

a. with face of medium width. – Are you not glad to learn that?


mesoptile - this word wasn’t in Dictionary of Difficult Words! but I found a quote:
By the end of 30 days the chicks have developed their mesoptile plumage, and are able to venture out of the burrows. At ...


mestizo - Scripps-Howard PC definition - A person whose ancestors belonged to two of more races. What in hell is a race? We all belong to two or more.


metacarpus
n.,
pl. 3pi 73pj8 5ModL, altered < metacarpium < Gr metakarpion < meta, META3 + karpion, dim. of karpos: see CARPUS6
1 the part of the hand consisting of the five bones between the wrist and the fingers
2 the corresponding part of a land vertebrate‘s forelimb

metage
n.
5METE1 + 3AGE6
1 official measurement of contents or weight of coal, grain, etc.
2 the charge for this