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This glossary contains definitions for words used throughout the website.  If you have a suggestion of a word that should be included here, please e-mail me at tim@mr-anderson.com.



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M

main idea

:
The gist of a passage; the central thought; the chief topic of a passage expressed or implied in a word or phrase; the topic sentence of a paragraph; a statement in sentence form which gives the stated or implied major topic of a passage and the specific way in which the passage is limited in content or reference.

masculine rhyme

:
Array

media

:

A means of communication, especially of mass communication, such as books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, motion pictures and recordings.

meronym

:
1. A word that refers to a part of what another word refers to

  • in the relationship between leg and ankle, ankle is a meronym
  • in the relationship between brim and hat, brim is a meronym.
2. A term midway between two opposites
Examples:
  • flat between convex and concave
  • present between past and future.
• From Greek meros (=part).

metaphor

:
A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things (e.g., he's a tiger).

meter

:
the pattern of rhythm of syllables.

metonym

:
A word designates something by the name of something associated with it

Examples:
  • the Crown referring to the monarchy
  • the bottle referring to alcohol
  • the White House for the US executive branch.
• From Greek meta (=change).

metronym

:
A name derived from the name of one's mother, or another female ancestor.

From Greek metros (=mother).

monologue

:
An extended speech in a drama or a narrative that is presented by one character.

mood

:

The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for a reader; a reflection of an author's attitude toward a subject or theme.

motivation

:
an inducement or incentive to action; in a story, the psychological or social factors that drive character action