📖 M — The English dictionary · page 24

mercenary — Everyday, meaning 1: A soldier who fights for any country or group that pays them, not for their own country.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (adjective) Interested only in money, not in being kind or fair.↗ Example: The king paid mercenaries to defend the castle.↗ · The mercenaries changed sides when offered more gold.↗ · He only helps if he gets paid — so mercenary!↗ · The story's villain led a mercenary army.↗ · A mercenary fights for money, not for loyalty.↗ · Don't be mercenary; help your friend for free.↗ · German mercenaries, in the Neapolitan service, kept guard, played cards, and diced; and a troop of strangers from beyond the mountains came into the town, accompanied by a sentry.↗

merchandise — Everyday, meaning 1: Goods that are bought and sold, especially in shops.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Things like T-shirts, mugs and toys sold with the name or picture of a band, film, team or game on them; often called «merch».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (verb, business) To promote and sell goods, for example by how they are displayed.↗ Example: The club sells official merchandise at the stadium.↗ · My sister bought band merch at the concert.↗ · The shop's merchandise is on sale this week.↗ · Film merchandise like toys and lunchboxes makes a lot of money.↗ · All damaged merchandise must be returned to the store.↗ · We set up a merchandise stall at the school fair.↗ · The merchandise costs £8 each, so three items cost £24.↗ · Shops put popular merchandise at eye level.↗ · We bought merchandise, loaded a vessel with it, and set forth with a favorable wind.↗ · She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her lamp goeth not out by night.↗ (Writings PRO.31.18, JPS 1917)↗ · Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares; massive iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.↗ (Prophets EZK.27.19, JPS 1917)↗ · For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.↗ (Writings PRO.3.14, JPS 1917)↗

merchant — Everyday, meaning 1: A merchant is a person who buys and sells goods to make money, a trader.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In old times merchants sailed or travelled far to trade cloth, spices and gold.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A merchant ship carries goods for trade, not soldiers.↗ Example: A merchant buys 20 bags of rice for 5 dollars each.↗ · He sells them for 7 dollars each.↗ · What is his profit?↗ · The merchant has 300 metres of cloth.↗ · Merchants carried silk and spices along long roads.↗ · The merchant ship sailed into the harbour.↗ · In the story, a poor boy became a rich merchant.↗ · The merchant weighed the tea on his scales.↗ · The merchants considered for some time.↗ · And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.↗ (Torah GEN.23.16, JPS 1917)↗ · Will they part him among the merchants?↗ (Writings JOB.40.30, JPS 1917)↗ · She is like the merchant-ships; she bringeth her food from afar.↗ (Writings PRO.31.14, JPS 1917)↗ · She maketh linen garments and selleth them; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.↗ (Writings PRO.31.24, JPS 1917)↗

merciful — Everyday, meaning 1: Showing mercy: kind and forgiving to someone you could punish or harm.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (church, Bible) Christians believe God is merciful, forgiving people who are sorry; Muslims call God «the Most Merciful».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Bringing relief from something bad: «a merciful release», «mercifully short».↗ Example: God is merciful and forgives those who are sorry.↗ · The merciful king let the prisoner go free.↗ · «Blessed are the merciful.»↗ · The talk was mercifully short.↗ · Be merciful to animals.↗ · Muslims begin with «In the name of God, the Most Merciful».↗ · And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed: 'The LORD, the LORD, God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; (Torah EXO.34.6, JPS 1917)↗ · for the LORD thy God is a merciful God; He will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He swore unto them.↗ (Torah DEU.4.31, JPS 1917)↗ · But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him.↗ (Torah GEN.19.16, JPS 1917)↗ · With the merciful Thou dost show Thyself merciful, with the upright man Thou dost show Thyself upright, (Prophets 2SA.22.26, JPS 1917)↗ · With the merciful Thou dost show Thyself merciful, with the upright man Thou dost show Thyself upright; (Writings PSA.18.26, JPS 1917)↗ · The merciful man doeth good to his own soul; but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.↗ (Writings PRO.11.17, JPS 1917)↗

mercifully — Everyday, meaning 1: Luckily; in a way that you are thankful for, because something bad was avoided or ended: «Mercifully, nobody was hurt».↗ Everyday, meaning 2: In a kind and forgiving way, showing mercy: «the king acted mercifully».↗ Example: Mercifully, the rain stopped before the match.↗ · The speech was mercifully short.↗ · Mercifully, nobody was hurt in the crash.↗ · The queen acted mercifully and set the prisoner free.↗ · The long car journey mercifully ended at last.↗ · Mercifully, I had remembered my coat.↗ · The dentist was quick, mercifully.↗ · The judge mercifully gave him a second chance.↗ · Mercifully, the cow slept through it all, or by her cries she would have awakened the master.↗

merciless — Everyday, meaning 1: Having no pity; cruel and not willing to spare anyone.↗ Example: The giant was merciless and ate every bird.↗ · She was merciless to her stepdaughter.↗ · The sun was merciless in the desert.↗

mercilessly — Everyday, meaning 1: Without pity; cruelly, with no kindness.↗ Example: The guards beat him mercilessly.↗ · The storm lashed the little boat mercilessly.↗ · The witch laughed mercilessly.↗

mercury — Everyday, meaning 1: Mercury is a silvery metal that is liquid at room temperature; it was used in old thermometers.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Mercury (with a capital M) is the planet closest to the Sun and the smallest planet in our Solar System.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: Mercury was the Roman messenger god, with wings on his sandals.↗ Example: Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun.↗ · A year on Mercury lasts only 88 Earth days.↗ · Mercury has no moons.↗ · Mercury is a metal that is liquid at room temperature.↗ · Old thermometers had mercury inside them.↗ · Don't touch the mercury from a broken thermometer; it is poisonous.↗ · The mercury rose to 40 degrees in Adelaide.↗ · The god Mercury had wings on his sandals.↗ · The seven planets in the world are: [36] as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877)↗ · These are the Seven Stars in the world: the Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗ · So now, behold the Stars of the Universe (Planets) are Seven; the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗

mercy — Everyday, meaning 1: Mercy is kindness or forgiveness shown to someone you could punish or hurt.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (church) Christians, Jews and Muslims believe God is full of mercy, forgiving people who turn back to him.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A mercy is a lucky thing that you are thankful for.↗ e.g. "It's a mercy nobody was hurt."↗ Everyday, meaning 4: "At the mercy of" means in the power of someone or something.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: "For mercy's sake" is an expression people use to beg someone urgently to stop or spare them.↗ Example: The king showed mercy and let the prisoner go.↗ · "Lord, have mercy," prayed the people.↗ · The little boat was at the mercy of the waves.↗ · It's a mercy the rain stopped before the match.↗ · The robber begged for mercy.↗ · Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.↗ · The helicopter flew a mercy mission to the island.↗ · and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.↗ (Torah EXO.20.6, JPS 1917)↗ · and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin.↗ (Torah GEN.43.14, JPS 1917)↗ · Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God; the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; (Torah DEU.7.9, JPS 1917)↗ · The mercy of God endureth continually.↗ (Writings PSA.52.3, JPS 1917)↗ · Is His mercy clean gone for ever?↗ (Writings PSA.77.9, JPS 1917)↗ · Appoint mercy and truth, that they may preserve him.↗ (Writings PSA.61.8, JPS 1917)↗

mere — Everyday, meaning 1: Mere means only, just, no more than: a mere child, a mere five minutes.↗ It makes something sound small or unimportant.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The merest means the smallest possible: the merest touch.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (old, poetic, place names) A mere is a lake or pond, as in some English place names.↗ Example: It was a mere five minutes' walk to school.↗ · She was a mere child when she learnt to swim.↗ · The mere sight of the dentist's chair scared him.↗ · It cost a mere fifty pence.↗ · At the merest noise, the rabbit ran away.↗ · The walk took us around the mere.↗ · I shiver at the mere thought of it.”↗ · It should probably be understood on one level as a reference to the ten digits of the decimal numeral system, though as we shall see, these Sefirot Belimah are imbued with metaphysical significance beyond mere numerals.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗ · Sayest thou that a mere word of the lips is counsel and strength for the war?↗ (Prophets 2KI.18.20, JPS 1917)↗ · Surely man walketh as a mere semblance; surely for vanity they are in turmoil; he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.↗ (Writings PSA.39.7, JPS 1917)↗

merely — Everyday, meaning 1: (formal) Merely means only or just, showing that something is small or not important.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Merely can mean nothing more than.↗ e.g. "It was merely a joke".↗ Example: It was merely a scratch, not a big cut.↗ · He merely shrugged and walked away.↗ · I was merely asking a question.↗ · Merely 2 of the 30 pupils were late.↗ · The wolf was not merely hungry, but starving.↗ · The dog is merely playing; it won't bite.↗ · Saying sorry is not merely polite, it is kind.↗ · She merely looked at the cake, but did not eat it.↗ · And the man replied, ‘Why, I’ve merely been gathering a handful of brushwood.’↗ · Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗ · As zero is not a digit itself, but only occupies the place of a digit, so the silent n is not a vowel itself, but merely occupies the place of a vowel.↗ (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914))↗

merge — Everyday, meaning 1: To merge is to join together to become one.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: When traffic merges, two lanes join into one.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: On a computer, to merge files or cells is to put them together.↗ Example: The two rivers merge to form a bigger one.↗ · The schools will merge next year.↗ · Cars must merge into one lane.↗ · Merge these two cells in the table.↗ · The colours merged together in the rain.↗ · Two clubs merged to make one big team.↗

merged — Everyday, meaning 1: Merged is the past form of «merge»: joined together into one.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: As an adjective, merged means already joined, like a merged class.↗ Example: The two roads merged near the bridge.↗ · Our class merged with Year 5 for the trip.↗ · The merged company is very big.↗ · The colours merged into a muddy brown.↗ · The two streams merged and flowed to the sea.↗ · We used merged cells for the title of the table.↗

merging — Everyday, meaning 1: Merging is the -ing form of «merge»: joining together into one.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: As a noun, merging is the act of joining.↗ Example: The cars are merging into one lane.↗ · Watch out for merging traffic.↗ · The two schools are merging next year.↗ · Merging the files took a minute.↗ · The clouds were merging into one dark mass.↗ · Merging two teams can make it stronger.↗

meridian — Everyday, meaning 1: A meridian is an imaginary line on the globe or a map that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole; lines of longitude are meridians.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The Prime Meridian is the meridian at 0° longitude that passes through Greenwich in London, from which other places are measured east or west.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (old, poetic) The meridian is the highest point of the sun at midday, or the peak of something.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In Chinese medicine, meridians are believed paths of energy in the body (a belief, not proved by science).↗ Example: The Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich.↗ · Meridians run from pole to pole.↗ · London is on the 0° meridian.↗ · I stood with one foot in each hemisphere on the meridian line.↗ · Lines of longitude are also called meridians.↗ · Places east of the Prime Meridian are ahead in time.↗

merino — Everyday, meaning 1: A breed of sheep with very fine, soft wool, first from Spain and now raised in large numbers in Australia and New Zealand.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: The soft, warm wool from these sheep, or cloth made from it.↗ Example: Merino sheep have very soft wool.↗ · Australia has millions of merino sheep.↗ · My merino jumper is warm and doesn't itch.↗ · Hikers often wear merino socks.↗ · New Zealand farmers sell merino wool all around the world.↗ · Merino sheep were first bred in Spain.↗ · Shearing a merino sheep takes skill.↗ · Merino wool keeps you warm even when it is a bit damp.↗