Every-Day Errors of Speech Part 8

=Manor=--man'or, not ma'nor.

=Marigold=--mar'i-gold, not ma'ri-gold.

=Matin=--mat'in, not ma'tin.

=Matins=--mat'inz, not ma'tinz.

=Mattress=--mat'tress, not ma-tra.s.s'. Written also =matress= and p.r.o.nounced as the first.

=Meaw=--mu, not meyow. To cry like a cat.

=Mediocre=--me'di-o-ker, not me-di-o'ker, nor me-di-ok'er.

=Melange=--ma-longzh', not me-lanj'.

=Melanotype=--me-lan'o-type, not me-lan'o-type.

=Melodrama=--mel-o-dra'ma, not mel-o-dram'a, nor mel-o-dra'ma.

=Memoir=--mem'wor or mem'wor, according to Webster; Worcester gives me-moir' or mem'war.

=Mesdames=--ma-dam', not mez-dames'.

=Metallurgy=--met'al-lur-jy, not me-tal'lur-jy.

=Metaphor.= The failure to distinguish between metaphors and similes, is a very common mistake. In a metaphor the resemblance is implied without any words to show the similarity; as soon as the latter are added it becomes a simile. "Hope is an anchor," and "Judah is a lion's whelp" are metaphors. "Hope is _like_ an anchor," and "Judah is _like_ a lion's whelp" are similes.

=Metrical=--met'rik-al, not me'trik-al.

=Mezzo=--med'zo or met'zo, not mez'zo. An Italian word meaning middle; not extreme. =Mezzo-soprano= (med'zo-so-pra'no); between contralto and soprano; said of the voice of a female singer. =Mezzotinto=, etc.

=Microscope=--mi'kro-scope, not mik'ro-scope. =Microscopic= (mi-kro-scop'ic). =Microscopy= (mi-kros'co-py).

=Mien=--meen, not mane.

=Mineralogy=--min-er-al'o-jy, not min-er-ol'o-jy.

=Minuet=--min'u-et, not min-u-et'. A dance.

=Mischievous=--mis'che-vus, not mis-che'vus, nor mis-che've-us. =Mischievously= and =mischievousness= are also accented on the first syllable.

=Modulate.= This word is often used incorrectly instead of _moderate_ in such sentences as: "_Modulate_ your voice," when it is meant to command or request that the tone be _moderated_ or lowered. _Modulate_ means to vary or inflect in a musical manner, and although the word might often be used with propriety in such sentences as the above, yet it is not always what is _meant_ by the speaker. A person's voice may be perfectly _modulated_ and yet the tone may be so high that it is desirable, upon certain occasions, to have it _moderated_.

=Moire=--mwor, not more nor mo're. =Moire antique= (mwor an-tek').

=Mola.s.ses.= It may seem incredible to those who have never heard the error I am about to mention, that such a ridiculous blunder could occur. I should hardly have believed it myself, if I had only heard _of_ it; but I was once in a portion of the country where all the people for miles around spoke of mola.s.ses as if it were a plural noun, and I frequently heard such remarks as the following: "_These_ mola.s.ses are very good; _they_ are the best I have seen for some time." I once began to remonstrate with one of the champions of the plurality of the treacle, and insisted that he should say, "_this_ mola.s.ses" and, "_it_ is good," etc.; but it was of no avail. He insisted that the word was a.n.a.logous to _ashes_, and if one was plural so was the other. There was no good dictionary or other reliable authority in the neighborhood, as might be imagined from what has been said, so they were left happy in their ignorance.

=Monad=--mon'ad, not mo'nad. An ultimate atom.

=Monogram=--mon'o-gram, not mo'no-gram.

=Monograph=--mon'o-graph, not mo'no-graph.

=Monomania=--mon-o-ma'nia, not mo-no-ma'nia.

=Monomaniac= (mon-o-ma'ni-ac).

=Moor=--moor, not more. An extensive waste; a heath.

_Moor_, the name of a native of North Africa, is similarly p.r.o.nounced.

=Morale=--mo-ral', not mor'ale nor mo-ral'.

=Mountainous=--mount'ain-ous, not moun-ta'ni-ous.

=Multiplication=--mul-ti-pli-ca'tion, not mul-ti-pi-ca'tion.

=Murrain=--mur'rin, not mur'rane. A disease among cattle.

=Museum=--mu-ze'um, not mu'ze-um.

=Mushroom=, not _mush-roon_.

=Musk-melon=, not _mush-melon_; but anything before _mush-million_.

=Mussulmans=, not _musselmen_, is the plural of =Mussulman=.

=Mythology=--mi-thol'o-jy, not mi-thol'o-jy.

N.

=Naiad=--na'yad, not na'id nor na'ad. A water nymph.

=Nainsook=--nan-sook', not nan-sook'. A kind of muslin.

=Naive=--na'ev, not nave nor nave. Natural; artless.

=Naivete=--na'ev-ta, not na-vete' nor na-ve'ta.

=Nape=--nap, not nap. The back part of the neck.

=Nasal=--na'zal, not na'sal nor nas'al.

=Nasturtium= or =Nasturtion=, not _asturtion_.

=Negligee=--neg-li-zha', not neg-li-je', nor neg'li-zha.

=Newspaper=--nuz'pa-per, not nus'pa-per.

=Niche=--nich, not nick, when a concave recess in a wall for an ornament is meant. If a piece is chopped roughly out of anything, it is a _nick_. _Nick_ of time, not _niche_ of time, when a critical moment is meant; but in figurative language there is no doubt that the phrase "niche of time," may be appropriately used. A great event may be said to stand in a _niche of time_ as an example for coming ages.