n.; pl. Moths [ OE. mothe, AS. moððe; akin to D. mot, G. motte, Icel. motti, and prob. to E. mad an earthworm. Cf. Mad, n., Mawk. ] 1. (Zool.) Any nocturnal lepidopterous insect, or any not included among the butterflies; as, the luna moth; Io moth; hawk moth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any lepidopterous insect that feeds upon garments, grain, etc.; as, the clothes moth; grain moth; bee moth. See these terms under Clothes, Grain, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) Any one of various other insects that destroy woolen and fur goods, etc., esp. the larvae of several species of beetles of the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus. Carpet moths are often the larvae of Anthrenus. See Carpet beetle, under Carpet, Dermestes, Anthrenus. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Anything which gradually and silently eats, consumes, or wastes any other thing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Moth blight (Zool.), any plant louse of the genus Aleurodes, and related genera. They are injurious to various plants. --
Moth gnat (Zool.), a dipterous insect of the genus Bychoda, having fringed wings. --
Moth hunter (Zool.), the goatsucker. --
Moth miller (Zool.), a clothes moth. See Miller, 3, (a). --
Moth mullein (Bot.), a common herb of the genus Verbascum (Verbascum Blattaria), having large wheel-shaped yellow or whitish flowers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mote. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To put into long-term storage; as, to mothball the battleships not needed after the war. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A small sphere of camphor or naphthalene used to keep moths away from stored clothing.
Syn. -- camphor ball. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. To eat or prey upon, as a moth eats a garment. [ Rarely used except in the form moth-eaten, p. p. or a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Ruin and neglect have so moth-eaten her. Sir T. Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. having holes due to eating by moths or moth larvae; -- of cloth or clothing. [ PJC ]

a. Full of moths. [ Obs. ] Fulke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Received by birth or from ancestors; native, natural; as, mother language; also acting the part, or having the place of a mother; producing others; originating. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the mother falsehood from which all idolatry is derived. T. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mother cell (Biol.), a cell which, by endogenous divisions, gives rise to other cells (daughter cells); a parent cell. --
Mother church, the original church; a church from which other churches have sprung; as, the mother church of a diocese. --
Mother country, the country of one's parents or ancestors; the country from which the people of a colony derive their origin. --
Mother liquor (Chem.), the impure or complex residual solution which remains after the salts readily or regularly crystallizing have been removed. --
Mother queen, the mother of a reigning sovereign; a queen mother. --
Mother tongue. (a) A language from which another language has had its origin. (b) The language of one's native land; native tongue. --
Mother water. See Mother liquor (above). --
Mother wit, natural or native wit or intelligence. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Akin to D. modder mud, G. moder mold, mud, Dan. mudder mud, and to E. mud. See Mud. ] A film or membrane which is developed on the surface of fermented alcoholic liquids, such as vinegar, wine, etc., and acts as a means of conveying the oxygen of the air to the alcohol and other combustible principles of the liquid, thus leading to their oxidation. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The film is composed of a mass of rapidly developing microorganisms of the genus Mycoderma, and in the mother of vinegar the microorganisms (Mycoderma aceti) composing the film are the active agents in the Conversion of the alcohol into vinegar. When thickened by growth, the film may settle to the bottom of the fluid. See Acetous fermentation, under Fermentation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. moder, AS. mōdor; akin to D. moeder, OS. mōdar, G. mutter, OHG. muotar, Icel. mōðir, Dan. & Sw. moder, OSlav. mati, Russ. mate, Ir. & Gael. mathair, L. mater, Gr. mh`thr, Skr. māt&rsdot_;; cf. Skr. mā to measure. √268. Cf. Material, Matrix, Metropolis, Father. ] 1. A female parent; especially, one of the human race; a woman who has borne a child. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which has produced or nurtured anything; source of birth or origin; generatrix. [ 1913 Webster ]

Alas! poor country! . . . it can not
Be called our mother, but our grave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I behold . . . the solitary majesty of Crete, mother of a religion, it is said, that lived two thousand years. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An old woman or matron. [ Familiar ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The female superior or head of a religious house, as an abbess, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Hysterical passion; hysteria. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mother Carey's chicken (Zool.), any one of several species of small petrels, as the stormy petrel (Procellaria pelagica), and Leach's petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), both of the Atlantic, and Oceanodroma furcata of the North Pacific. --
Mother Carey's goose (Zool.), the giant fulmar of the Pacific. See Fulmar. --
Mother's mark (Med.), a congenital mark upon the body; a birthmark; a naevus. [ 1913 Webster ]