mountain
(ˈmaʊntɪn)
Forms: 3 monetain, 3–5 -a(i)n, 3–6 -ayn, mo(u)ntayne, 4 monteyne, -eine, muntayne, 4–6 mo(u)ntaigne, mounteyn, -ayn, Sc. montane, 4–7 mountaine, 5 -eyne, mowntan, -eyne, -ane, (pl. -aunce), montagne, 5–6 Sc. mountane, -ene, 6 -eine, 8 Sc. dial. muntain, 4– mountain.
[a. OF. montaigne (mod.F. montagne) = Pr., Pg. montanha, Sp. montaña, It. montagna:—popular L. *montānia, *montānea fem., mountain region; a use either of the fem. sing. (with ellipsis of regio, terra), or perh. orig. of the neut. pl. used absol., of *montāneus pertaining to mountains (class. Latin has the parallel derivative montānus), f. mont-em, mons mount n.1]
I. The simple word.
1. a. A natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly from the surrounding level, and attaining an altitude which, relatively to adjacent elevations, is impressive or notable.
With regard to the modern limitation of use see also hill n.1 Down to the 18th c. often applied to elevations of moderate altitude (cf. e.g. quots. 1766, 1773).
| c 1205 Lay. 1282 Bi Ruscikadan heo nomen þa sæ & bi þe montaine of Azare. a 1300 Cursor M. 1776 Þe water wex oute ouer þe plains, þe bestes ran þan to monetains. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2619 Þe werwolf hem ladde ouer mures & muntaynes. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 24 Mistis blake..At whos uprist mounteyns be maade so feyre. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxii. 198 They sawe a rowt of Englysshmen commynge downe a lytell mountayne a horse⁓backe. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. i. 29 The Sun no sooner shall the Mountaines touch, But we will ship him hence. 1685 Dryden Hor. i. ix. 1 Behold yon mountain's hoary height Made higher with new mounts of snow. 1765 P. Thicknesse Observ. Customs Fr. Nation 39 St. Germain [near Paris] is situated upon a very high mountain. 1773 G. White Selborne, Let. to Barrington 9 Dec., That chain of majestic mountains [sc. the Sussex Downs]. 1799 Kirwan Geol. Ess. v. 156 In common language, mountains are distinguished from hills only by annexing to them the idea of a superior height... Geologists have aimed at greater precision; Pini and Mitterpachter call any earthy elevation a mountain whose declivity makes with the horizon an angle of at least 13°, and whose perpendicular height is not less than 1/5 of the declivity. 1859 Tennyson Merlin & V. 525 Writ in a language that has long gone by. So long, that mountains have arisen since With cities on their flanks. 1879 Geikie in Encycl. Brit. X. 258 Mountains formed in the volcanic way are almost always conical. |
b. cat of the mountain: see
catamountain.
| 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 123 A catte of þe mowntaunce. |
c. In allusions to a well-known story of Muhammad told by Bacon
Ess. xii. (
Boldness): see
Mahomet 1 (
quot. 1625).
| 1642 Owen Display Armin. viii. (1643) 85 If the mountaine will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will goe to the mountaine. [The allusion is still proverbially current.] |
d. poet. Used in
pl. as the type of a region remote from civilization.
| 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iv. i. 52 Fit for the Mountaines, and the barbarous Caues, Where manners nere were preach'd. a 1645 Waller Palamede to Zelinde 19 Great Iulius, on the Mountaines bred, A flock perhaps or herd had led. |
e. Anglo-Irish. (See
quot.)
| 1834 Brit. Husb. I. 30 (Ireland) Large tracts are in what is there called ‘mountain’; but the term is applied to all waste land on which young cattle and sheep are fed until they are fit to be sent into the richer pastures. |
f. mountains high: said hyperbolically of waves.
Cf. mountain-high (7 c below).
| 1719 De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 9 The Sea went Mountains high. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 187 Where the sea breaks mountains-high, if I may use that sea phrase. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 172 It is not uncommon to hear of the sea running ‘mountains high’; yet..the height of a wave..rarely exceeds 40 ft. |
† g. Applied to an artificial hill or tumulus of great size.
Obs.| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 584 The Lorde Talbot..enuironed the towne of Depe, with depe trenches, and great mountaynes. 1590 Webbe Trav. (Arb.) 32 There [within sixe miles of the Gran Caer] are seauen Mountaines builded on the out side, like vnto ye point of a Diamond, which Mountaines were builded in King Pharoes time for to keepe Corne in, and they are Mountaines of great strength. 1636 E. Dacres tr. Machiavel's Disc. Livy 423 They made towres of wood, or cast up mountaines of earth, which leaned upon the wall on the outside. |
† h. Her. = mount n.1 1 b.
Obs.| 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. iv. (1611) 96 The Field is Or, a Mountaine Azure, inflamed proper. |
2. transf. a. A huge heap or pile; a towering mass.
† mountain of ice = iceberg.
| c 1450 Merlin 333 The mounteins of bodyes were a-boute hem so grete that noon myght come to hem but launchinge. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iv. 158 But for the Mountaine of mad flesh that claimes mariage of me, I could finde in my heart to stay heere still. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 740 The entrance..was barred with Mountaines of Ice. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 157 Mountains of Fish salted on the Beach. 1830 Macaulay in Life & Lett. (1880) I. 157 We have oceans of beer, and mountains of potatoes, for dinner. 1855 Orr Geol. 3 In the cold seas,..blue mountains of ice..are every day broken off. |
b. (
transl. of
Norw. berg.) A ‘swarm’ (of fish).
| 1880 Daily News 30 Sept. 5/3 The mountain consists of banks of fish escorted and driven in by whales. 1883 Huxley in Standard 19 June 3/2 The codfish formed what was called a cod's mountain of from 120 ft. to 180 ft. deep. |
c. A stockpile, a surplus.
| 1969 Times 10 Sept. 11/4 In Germany..they are beginning to resent it [sc. the price for protection], as the sardonic remarks in the supermarkets about the ‘Butter Mountain’ reveal. 1974 Daily Tel. 5 Feb. 2/4 It is intervention buying that leads to the creation of the Common Market's notorious commodity ‘mountains’. 1974 Times 1 May 4/7 Measures designed to disperse the Community's growing beef surpluses. The beef mountain now stands at more than 70,000 tons. 1975 Times 7 Feb. 4/8 The prospect of a ‘cheese mountain’ in the EEC. |
3. fig. a. A quantity or amount impressive by its vast proportions.
| 1592 Conspir. Pretended Ref. 94 Entertayning the said twelue persons with mountaines of large promises. 1623 Bingham Xenophon 111 They heard, that all that followed Cyrus gathered mountaines of wealth. 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. (1820) 253 The favour of a king can remove mountains of infamy. 1894 Parry Stud. Gt. Composers, Beethoven 171 The word ‘memory’ carries a mountain of meaning. |
b. to make a mountain (out) of a molehill: see molehill 2.
4. mountain of piety = mount of piety (see
mount n.1 5 b.). Now
jocular, in allusion to the
Fr. or Italian term.
| 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 93 A house called the mountaine of piety, where poore men may borrow money freely, bringing pawnes. 1797 W. Johnston tr. Beckmann's Invent. III. 18 The Pope declared the holy mountains of piety..to be legal. 1891 Daily News 15 Apr. 7/1 You had to resort to what is called ‘climbing the mountain of piety’?..Yes, I had to pledge nearly all my jewellery. |
5. (In full
mountain wine.) A variety of Malaga wine, made from grapes grown on the mountains.
| 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4782/3 There is also good Mountain..to be Retaled at 6s. 6d. per Gallon. 1730 Fielding Rape upon Rape iv. vi, Women love white best.—Boy, bring half a pint of mountain. 1744 Berkeley Siris §115 A spoonful of mountain-wine in each glass. 1833 Redding Mod. Wines (1851) 201 Very little old Mountain or Malaga sweet wine is grown at present. |
6. the Mountain [
Fr. la Montagne]: an extreme party led by Robespierre and Danton in the first French Revolution, from the fact that it occupied the most elevated position in the chamber of assembly.
The term was also applied in England to an extreme party in parliament at the close of the 18th and beginning of the 19th c., and was revived in France
c 1848 to describe the extreme republican party of that epoch. In England also applied to a group of Conservatives at the beginning of the 20th c.
| [1792 Pref. Explan. New Terms in Ann. Reg. p. xii, The Mountain. The higher or most elevated seats in the hall of the Assembly; occupied by the violent revolutionists, or democrats.] 1827 Scott Napoleon Introd., Wks. 1870 IX. 295 They were..deputies of the Mountain gang. 1829 H. Hardinge Let. 19 June in C. Arbuthnot Corr. (1941) 116 It would, if true, keep the high Whigs disunited from the Mountain, & assist our union with our old Tory party. 1839 Alison Hist. Europe (1847) XIII. 35 The Jacobins [occupied] the seats on the summit of the left; whence their designation of ‘The Mountain’ was derived. 1848 Bp. S. Wilberforce in R. G. Wilberforce Life (1881) II. 11 The high ‘Mountain’ party attended in force [a meeting of the National Society] on a summons sent round by Mr. G. Denison. 1880 Disraeli Endym. lxxvi, There is this difference between the English Mountain and the French. The English Mountain has its government prepared. 1965 E. Fellowes in Political Q. XXXVI. 257 Among the Supporters of the Government [in the Parliament of 1918] was the National Party led by Sir Henry Page-Croft, and a group of Conservative backbenchers (the ‘Mountain’), not so formally organised, but working in concert... This..group in fact often proved a more successful opposition than the Labour and Liberal parties, who shared the Opposition front bench. |
II. attrib. and
Comb. (and
quasi-adj.).
7. a. Simple
attrib., as
mountain breast,
mountain brow,
mountain-echo,
mountain foot,
mountain head,
mountain pass,
mountain peak,
mountain slope,
mountain top,
mountain-wreath. Also appositive, as
mountain-barrier,
mountain-island,
mountain-wall.
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. iv. 726 Death's terror is the mountain faith removes; That *mountain barrier between man and peace. 1876 G. W. Cox Gen. Hist. Greece ii. i. 102 The chain of Tauros..extends its huge mountain-barrier to the north of the Kilikian country. |
| 1810 Scott Lady of L. vi. xxvii, As wreath of snow on *mountain-breast, Slides from the rock that gave it rest. |
| 1728–46 Thomson Spring 829 The *mountain-brow, Where sits the shepherd. |
| 1805–6 Wordsworth Prelude (1959) I. 390 Not without the voice Of *mountain-echoes did my Boat move on. |
| 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. v. ii. 46 The rising of the *Mountaine foote That leads toward Mantua. |
| 1844 Mrs. Browning Brown Rosary ii. Poems 1850 II. 28, I saw his steed on *mountain-head, I heard it on the plain. |
| 1871 Morris in Mackail Life (1899) i. 247 A hog-backed steep *mountain-island. |
| 1830 Scott Macduff's Cross Prel. 5 The summit of this *mountain pass. |
| 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 470/1 The highest *mountain peak in this country. |
| 1841 Thoreau Jrnl. 4 Mar. in Writings (1906) VII. 228 Their way is a *mountain slope, a river valley's course. 1930 A. Clarke Coll. Plays (1963) 63 To look across Kildare in sun and know The far flocks move along the mountain slope. |
| 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 336 Well could I curse away a Winters night, Though standing naked on a *Mountaine top. 1816 Wordsw. 2nd Ode Battle of Waterloo, Like mountain-tops whose mists have rolled away. |
| 1849 J. Forbes Physic. Holiday xv. (1850) 134 The *mountain-walls of it [sc. the valley] are very precipitous. 1871 Morris in Mackail Life (1899) I. 256 The great mountain-wall closes up the valley. |
| 1928 Blunden Retreat 70 Warm furze-perfume, stern *mountain-wreath Of pines. |
b. objective, as
mountain-climbing,
mountain-making;
mountain-cresting,
mountain-loving,
mountain-walking adjs.;
mountain-climber.
| 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxxvi. 375 We were in the..home of the *mountain-climbers. |
| 1872 Jenkinson Guide Eng. Lakes (1879) Introd., The lover of natural scenery and of *mountain-climbing. |
| 1951 S. Spender World within World iii. 179 Then we came to that extraordinary river-encircled, *mountain-cresting city of Toledo. |
| 1621 Sandys Ovid's Met. i. (1632) 7 Where *Mountaine-louing Goats did lately graze. 1810 Scott Lady of L. vi. iii, The mountain-loving Switzer. |
| 1886 A. Winchell Walks Geol. Field 117 *Mountain-making may be another incident of the earth's contraction. |
| 1821 Shelley Let. 22 Oct. (1964) II. 361, I..raised a small turf altar to the *mountain-walking Pan. |
c. similative, as
mountain-clear,
mountain-cool,
mountain-high,
mountain-like,
adjs. and
advs.; parasynthetic, as
mountain-bellied,
mountain-headed,
mountain-sized adjs.| 1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 67 That more eminent *mountain-bellied..Proteus. |
| 1955 P. Larkin Less Deceived 36 Their visions *mountain-clear. |
| 1919 A. Huxley Leda (1920) 1 Brown and bright as an agate, *mountain-cool. |
| 1925 Blunden Eng. Poems 104 O firmament, O *mountain-headed march Of clouds through that blue arch. |
| 1693 T. Power in Dryden's Juvenal xii. (1697) 313 High, *Mountain-high, be pil'd the shining Ore. 1815 M. Pilkington Celebrity III. 114 At one moment the vessel was elevated mountain high. 1851 Thorpe North. Mythol. I. 68 He struck its [the Midgard serpent's] mountain-high head with his hammer. |
| 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. 50 A raging Wave, *Mountain-like, came rowling a-stern of us. 1868 Browning Ring & Bk. I. iii. 1322 Oh mouse-birth of that mountain-like revenge! |
| 1839 Bailey Festus ix. (1852) 111 In form and stature they are *mountain-sized. |
d. locative, as
mountain battle,
mountain-journey ns.;
mountain-built,
mountain dwelling adjs.| a 1835 Mrs. Hemans Spells of Home 28 The *mountain battles of his land. |
| 1819 Keats Ode Grecian Urn 35 What little town..*mountain-built with peaceful citadel. |
| 1603 Florio Montaigne iii. xiii. 646 Will any beleeve..that milke or whit-meates are hurtfull vnto a *mountaine-dwelling people? |
| 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 158 In the course of this *mountain-journey. |
e. instrumental, as
mountain-bound,
mountain-circled,
mountain-cradled,
mountain-echoed,
mountain-girdled,
mountain-guarded,
mountain-roofed,
mountain-sheltered,
mountain-walled adjs.| 1860 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 3 There is a massy pile above the waste Amongst Castilian barrens mountain-bound. |
| 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. x. (1895) 248 The mountain-circled green of Grafton. |
| 1954 W. Faulkner Fable 158 That thirty-mile-long mountain-cradled saucer. |
| 1860 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 6 Then pass'd the wind, and sobb'd with mountain-echo'd woe. |
| 1859 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-Bks. II. 261 A vast mountain-girdled plain. |
| 1939 Belloc Decameron in Tablet 11 Feb. 166/2 Mountain-guarded gardens. |
| 1937 Blunden Elegy 90 The rough walls back to Chaucer reach, Near windowless, mountain-roofed, wry-angled. |
| 1924 W. J. Locke Coming of Amos xiii. 169 A coast of romantic mountain-sheltered creeks. |
| 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 180 We seem to be in a mountain-walled lake. |
8. attrib. passing into
adj., with the senses:
a. Of, or belonging to mountains; situated in or on mountains; consisting of mountains.
| 1807 Southey Lett. from Eng. II. xli. 201 The *mountain air had made us almost ravenous. 1810 E. Weeton Let. 11–15 Nov. (1969) I. 314 The keen mountain air had sharpened our appetites. 1865 Allingham Among the Heather ii, Your mountain air is sweet. 1965 Listener 30 Dec. 1063/1 The notes of Colonel Bogey, played by a military band.., sounding so clearly in the crystalline mountain air. |
| 1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress V. 207 A *mountain-beck, or brook. |
| 1801 Scott Eve St. John xv, The *mountain-blast was still. |
| 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 409 The mazes of the *mountain brook. |
| 1817 Byron Manfred iii. i. 109 The *mountain-cataract. |
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 9 Marie..wente into *monteyne contre wiþ haste. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 170/2 The pleasant mountaine-countrie of Belsham. |
| 1726 Pope Odyss. xix. 621 The bird of Jove Fierce from his *mountain-eyrie downward drove. |
| 1837 Youatt Sheep vii. 294 The time for shearing, in a *mountain-farm, is of considerable importance. |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 181 A *mountain fastness in a rich valley. |
| 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 59 Sudden *Mountain Floods. |
| 1813 Scott Rokeby iv. vi, [He] bore them to his *mountain-hold. |
| 1827 G. Darley Sylvia 25 Cyclops' *mountain-home. |
| 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 433/1 The *mountain-masses in North America. |
| 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. xxxvi, We have many a *mountain-path to tread. |
| 1821 tr. Decandolle & Sprengel's Elem. Philos. Plants iv. v. 281 From the high *mountain plains of central Asia. |
| 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 182/1 The *mountain regions of the Atlas. |
| 1895 R. Horsley in Yng. England XVI. 18/1 Up the steep *mountain road they went. |
| 1922 W. G. Kendrew Climates of Continents xxvii. 188 There are almost constant north-west winds, strongest where there is no *mountain shelter. |
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iii. iii. 10 Now for our *Mountaine sport. |
| 1816 H. G. Knight Ilderim 275 Where..*mountain stream and mountain turf was found. |
| 1802 Coleridge Dejection 100 Bare crag, or *mountain-tairn, or blasted tree. |
| 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles vi. xxiv, They come like *mountain-torrent red. |
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 499 As free As *mountaine windes. |
b. Born in or inhabiting mountains; having (one's) abode in mountains; coming from the mountains; native of a mountain region.
| 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. xlvii, Yet here and there some daring *mountain-band Disdain his power. |
| 1725 Pope Odyss. ix. 347 He..devours it like a *mountain beast. |
| 1591 Fraunce C'tess Pembr. Yvychurch i. ii. i, This *Mountaine-byrd, Montanus daughter. |
| c 1700 Congreve Homer's Hymn Venus 10 She [Diana] loves..To wound the *Mountain Boar. 1808 Scott Marm. ii. Introd., The mountain-boar on battle set. |
| 1777 Hamilton Wks. (1886) VII. 522 Nixon's brigades, and Colonel Warner's *mountain boys. |
| c 1614 Mure Dido & æneas ii. 300 *Montaine Faryes did bewaile the chance. |
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. iv. 20 Thou damned and luxurious *Mountaine Goat. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xlii. 324 The mountaine goates, which are nourished and fed vpon poison. |
| 1831 Sutherland Farm Rep. 80 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The sweetest of the *mountain-grass. |
| 1720 Gay Rur. Sports 355 Nor shall the *mountain lark the muse detain. |
| 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 7 The *mountaine men cannot live any long time without..trafficke with the men of the plaine countrey. |
| 1755 Smollett Quix. (1803) I. 238 The leaves of these *mountain-oaks. |
| 1881 Harper's Mag. Nov. 868/2 They are poor *mountain people. |
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 75 You may as well forbid the *Mountaine Pines To wagge their high tops. |
| 1814 Wordsw. Excurs. vii. 181 Long enduring *mountain-plants. |
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 621 Thy faithful Dogs..who..hold at Bay The *Mountain Robbers. |
| 1809 Byron Bards & Rev. 155 While *mountain spirits prate to river sprites. |
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. i. 37 You call'd me yesterday *Mountaine-Squier. |
| 1693 Congreve Old Bach. iv. xxii, Thou hast the heart of a *mountain-tiger. |
| 1845 Kitto Cycl. Bibl. Lit. (1849) I. 247/1 The Kenites, a *mountain tribe on the east side of Jordan. |
| 1617 Drummond of Hawthornden Forth Feasting A 4, To pearce the *mountaine Wolf with feathred Dart. |
c. Used in the mountains.
| 1848 tr. Hoffmeister's Trav. Ceylon, etc. iii. 153 In the most extraordinary costumes,..hats of basket-work plait, ‘leechstockings,’..and over these a sort of mountain shoes. 1849 F. Parkman Calif. & Oregon Trail 145 Though aided by the high-bowed ‘mountain-saddle’ I could scarcely keep my seat on horseback. 1867 W. H. Dixon New Amer. (ed. 6) I. 170, I had the honour of riding in the mountain wagon with an old road-agent. 1897 Outing XXX. 135/2 The mountain-chaises and the stage-coaches. 1900 Crockett Fitting of Peats vi. Love Idylls (1901) 38 Behind a red-bodied mountain cart. 1906 Macm. Mag. Apr. 457 A courteous constable, who kindly procured me a mountain-chair. |
d. Resembling a mountain; huge, enormous. With
mountain-mass cf. quot. 1833 in sense 8 a.
| 1693 Dryden Juvenal x. (1697) 269 Sporus..nor crooked was, nor lame With *mountain Back. |
| 1887 Stevenson Misadv. J. Nicholson ii, The *mountain bulk of his misfortunes. |
| 1798 Coleridge Fears in Solitude 184 Thy lakes and *mountain hills. |
| 1816 Byron Ch. Har. iii. lxvii, The high, the *mountain-majesty of worth. |
| 1918 A. Huxley Defeat of Youth 21 Soon will they lift towards the summer sky Their *mountain-mass of clotted greenery. |
| 1795 Fawcett Art of War 47 Smite *Mountain-mischief, Evil's mightier fiend. |
| 1656 Cowley Pindar. Odes, Life & Fame ii, Some build enormous *Mountain-Palaces. |
| 1696 Tate & Brady Ps. lxxxviii. 7 Me all thy *Mountain Waves have press'd. |
9. a. Special comb.:
mountain artillery, light ordnance for use in mountainous countries;
mountain barometer, a barometer adapted for measuring the heights of mountains (Ogilvie
Suppl. 1855);
mountain battery, a battery of light guns capable of being transported in hilly country on the backs of mules;
mountain-building, the formation of mountains,
esp. as a result of folding and thrusting of the earth's crust;
mountain chain, a connected series of mountains,
esp. an aggregate of ranges of mountains having a common geographical relation;
mountain cross Her., a plain cross humetty (Berry
Encycl. Her. I. 1828–40);
mountain cure, the cure of disease (
esp. of a tuberculous character) by residence in the rarefied atmosphere of high elevations;
mountain Damara: see
Damara;
mountain dew, Scotch whisky; also used for other,
esp. home-made or illicit, whiskies;
mountain fever, a name loosely applied to malarial or typhoid fevers contracted in mountain regions;
mountain-folding, the formation of mountains as a result of folding of the earth's crust;
† mountain folks, a designation of the Scottish Cameronians;
mountain guide, one whose local knowledge enables him to act as a guide amongst mountains;
spec. a person specially trained to act as guide in dangerous mountain ascents;
mountain-gun,
-howitzer, a gun or howitzer specially adapted for use in a mountainous country;
mountain land, in Ireland and New England, wild unenclosed pasture, frequently on the slopes of hills;
mountain man, (
a)
pl. = mountain folk; (
b)
U.S. a trapper; (
c)
fig. = pioneer n. 3;
mountain oyster = lamb's fry (
lamb n. 7);
mountain railway, (
a) a light railway for transport in mountain regions; (
b) a miniature ascending railway designed for amusement; a scenic railway; a funiculaire;
mountain range, a series of mountains ranged in a line, and connected by elevated ground;
mountain-schooner, a wagon used in mountainous country;
mountain-sick a., suffering from mountain sickness;
mountain sickness, a malady caused by breathing the rarefied air of mountain heights;
mountain slide, a landslip occurring on a mountain side;
mountain spectre, a reflection (of persons or things) seen under certain conditions on a mountain (
cf. Brocken);
mountain (standard) time N. Amer., ‘the time of the seventh time zone west of Greenwich based on the 105th meridian and used in west central Canada and the
U.S.’ (Webster 1961);
mountain system, a group of mountain ranges showing similarity in form, orientation, etc., and assumed to be due to the same general causes;
mountain wine (see 5 above).
| 1860 Chamb. Encycl. I. 455/1 There are several kinds of equipments of Light Artillery, under the names of horse, field, rocket, *mountain, and reserve. |
| 1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 443/1 In *mountain and position batteries both gunners and drivers usually walk. |
| 1871 J. D. Whitney in N. Amer. Rev. CXIII. 238 We cannot separate the phenomena of volcanoes and earthquakes from those of *mountain-building and continental growth. 1919 Jrnl. Geol. XXVII. 250 Only moderate igneous activity was associated with the mountain building. 1944 J. S. Huxley On Living in Revolution p. vii, Periods of mountain-building accompanied by the emergence of more land from the sea. 1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth i. 26/2 Andesites are typical of the world's greatest volcanoes lying in zones of active mountain building. |
| 1821 tr. Decandolle & Sprengel's Elem. Philos. Plants iv. v. 281 When a particular *mountain chain stretches into the level country beneath it, its peculiar plants will also appear in the low land. |
| 1876 Tollemache in Fortn. Rev. Mar. 340 Very many invalids seek the *mountain-cure. |
| 1816 Scott Old Mort. Introd., A pleasing..liquor, which was vended..under the name of *mountain dew. 1855 [Burn] Autobiog. of Beggar Boy x. (1859) 153 The exhilarating fumes of mountain dew, vulgarly called whisky toddy. 1899 R. L. Taylor in B. A. Botkin Treas. Amer. Folklore (1944) III. 411 They gathered there on rainy days to talk politics and religion, and to drink ‘mountain’ dew and fight. 1945 Baker Austral. Lang. ix. 168 Illicit whisky, as made in stills in bush areas, is known as mountain dew. This is a variation of the Standard English use of the term for genuine Scotch whisky. It is also used in America. 1970 Times 15 Oct. 30/3 The distilled spirits industry..wages an expensive propaganda campaign against..mountain dew. |
| 1849 O. W. Lipe Let. 15 Aug. in R. P. Bieber Southern Trails to Calif. in 1849 (1937) 346 There has been much sickness in our company; the disease is *mountain fever. 1875 tr. von Ziemmsen's Cycl. Med. II. 567 Whether similar conditions will be found to exist, explaining the origin of ‘mountain fever’..is not yet determined. a 1918 G. Stuart 40 Yrs. on Frontier (1925) I. 51 A severe attack of mountain fever..laid me on my back in the wagon. 1970 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 10 May 7/1 An epidemic of mountain fever struck the Kootenays in 1884. |
| 1925 J. Joly Surface-Hist. Earth 170 The effects of these conditions on *mountain-folding would probably be principally experienced where the geosynclines had forced the continental materials deep into the magma. 1971 Geogr. Abstr. A. 445 (heading) Fundamental principles of the development of collapses and slips in mountain-folding regions. |
| 1713 Wodrow Corr. (1843) I. 520 The *mountain folks, as they were called, who did not join in hearing till they gave in a written testimony against the indulgence, hearing conformists [etc.]. |
| 1810 Scott Lady of L. ii. vi, With a trusty *mountain-guide. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 31 Mountain Guide. |
| 1904 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 183/1 In still denser dust swing by the *mountain-guns. |
| 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. li, The *mountain-howitzer, the broken road,..Portend the deeds to come. |
| 1667 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 39 Barren *mountaine lands, not worth six pence an acre yearely. 1797 J. A. Graham Pres. St. Vermont 166 There is much Mountain land in these districts. |
| 1691 J. Howie in Collect. Dying Test. (1806) 19, I testify against those that were called ‘*Mountain-men’. 1781 Calendar Virginia State Papers (1875) I. 494 A late pressing application of General Greene for the aid of the Mountain Men. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xx, These were the trappers, the prairie hunters, the mountain men. 1973 R. D. Symons Where Wagon Led i. vii. 117 In the United States the ‘Mountain Men’,—beaver trappers mostly—penetrated the western wilderness at an early date, before and during the middle years of the last century. 1973 Sci. Amer. Aug. 113/1 Professor Luria is an authentic pioneer of molecular biology. Even before the first wagon train set out he ventured as a mountain man among bacterial viruses. |
| 1890 Cent. Dict. s.v. Oyster, *Mountain-oyster, a lamb's testicle. 1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris xi. 189, I have consumed mountain oysters and prairie dancers that are actually poetic. 1962 Alberta Hist. Rev. Autumn 15/2 In the commissariat department [are] ‘dope’ (butter)... ‘Mountain oysters’ (calves fries). |
| 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xxviii. 256, I..in the distance detected a long worm of black smoke crawling lazily up the steep mountain. Of course that was the locomotive{ddd}we had never seen a *mountain railway yet. 1898 Daily News 22 Nov. 5/1 The mountain railway reaches an elevation of nearly five thousand feet. 1910 Penny Guide Japan-Brit. Exhib. 23 Mountain Railway. The visitor enters the cars which travel slowly round and upward until the top of the mountain range is reached. 1925 A. Huxley Those Barren Leaves ii. iii. 106 The switchback, the water-shoot and the mountain railway. |
| 1831 M. Russell Egypt xi. §1 (1832) 470 The alluvial soil of valleys near a *mountain-range. |
| 1869 C. L. Brace New West xiv. 188 It is more than a hundred miles away from the first link with civilization, and yet coaches, wagons, and the stream of ‘*mountain-schooners’ pour into it unceasingly. |
| 1937 Discovery June 171/1 People have been very *mountain-sick at this hut. |
| 1848 tr. Hoffmeister's Trav. Ceylon, etc. x. 351 The feelings of indisposition caused by the *mountain sickness. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 456 The supposition,..of heart failure as a cause of mountain-sickness. |
| 1830 Mass. Spy 25 Aug. (Th.), *Mountain slides. 1886 A. Winchell Walks Geol. Field 106 Mountain-slides..sometimes occasion genuine earthquake tremours. |
| 1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 399/2 *Mountain spectres are caused by reflexion, and often appear accompanied by chromatic halos. |
| 1935 World Almanac (ed. 50) 115/2 *Mountain Standard Time is the local time of the 105th meridian. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. 22/8 Sealed tenders..will be received up to 2 o'clock P.M. Mountain Standard Time. |
| 1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. 918 The Alps offer an instructive example of a great *mountain system formed by repeated movements during a long succession of geological periods. 1931 C. M. Nevin Princ. Struct. Geol. xi. 289 A mountain system is characterized by folding, faulting, and igneous activities that vary in their complexity and relative importance throughout the zone of deformation. 1953 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. CVIII. 2 The great mountain systems, or orogens, are zones of extreme compression of the earth's crust weaving a complex pattern of majestic sweeps around the world. 1968 R. A. Lyttleton Mysteries Solar Syst. iii. 91 It can be expected that mountain-systems will have formed on Venus comparable with those on Earth. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict. s.v. Time1 19, The time of the 105th meridian (called *mountain time). 1952 B. Malamud Natural 12 It looked around half-past five, but he couldn't be sure because somewhere near they left Mountain Time. |
b. In the names of minerals and mineral substances, etc. [chiefly after G. compounds of
berg-]:
† mountain blue [after G.
bergblau], a native carbonate of copper;
mountain butter (
tr. G.
bergbutter, A. G. Werner 1789)
= alunogen;
mountain cork,
flesh,
leather,
paper,
wood (also
mountain flax 2), descriptive names for varieties of asbestos;
mountain crystal = rock-crystal;
mountain flour,
meal (
tr. G.
bergmehl), (
a) a recent freshwater deposit consisting of the siliceous frustules of diatoms; (
b) a white cotton-like variety of calcite occurring as an efflorescence on rocks;
mountain limestone Geol., a thick massive limestone belonging to the Carboniferous series;
mountain milk (see
quot.);
† mountain mine, epithet applied to the group of rocks forming the lower coal measures;
† mountain pitch, a kind of native bitumen;
mountain soap (G.
bergseife, A. G. Werner 1780), a kind of bole of a blackish colour;
mountain tallow = hatchettite (Crabb
Tech. Dict. 1823);
† mountain tar = pissasphalt;
† mountain yellow [after G.
berggelb], yellow ochre; hence as the name of a colour.
| 1801 Encycl. Brit. Suppl. II. 237/1 Earthy blue carbonat. *Mountain blue. |
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 163 *Mountain cork. |
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Milk, The internal use..of calcin'd *mountain crystals, in powder. 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 241 Mountain or Rock Crystal. |
| 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 418/1 Structure [of Pilolite] varies considerably, and has given rise to trivial names, as ..*mountain flesh..&c. |
| 1861 Chamb. Encycl. II. 49/1 Bergmehl, or *mountain-flour, is a recent deposit of a white or cream-coloured powder. |
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 163 It is found..in thin flat pieces, then called *mountain leather, or paper. |
| 1819 Brande Man. Chem. 517 The banks of the Avon too, in the vicinity of Chepstow, are of *mountain limestone. 1865 Lyell Elem. Geol. 513 Crinoidea are also common in the Mountain Lime⁓stone. |
| 1823 W. Phillips Introd. Min. (ed. 3) 54 *Mountain-meal. Bergmehl. 1876 Goode Anim. Resources U.S. 66 ‘Mountain meal’, a kind of infusorial earth, mixed with flour, and used as food in Lapland and China. |
| 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc., *Mountain milk, a very soft spongy variety of carbonate of lime. |
| 1855 J. Phillips Man. Geol. 184 The lower coal measures or ‘*mountain mine’ group. |
| 1796 *Mountain paper [see mountain-leather]. 1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 418/1 Mountain Paper occurs in thin sheets at Boyne Castle near Banff. |
| 1797 Hatchett in Nicholson's Jrnl. (1799) II. 203 Mineral Tar, Bitumen Petroleum tarde fluens..*Mountain or Mineral pitch—Bitumen Maltha. |
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) I. 189 The earth called *mountain soap. |
| 1797 Hatchett in Nicholson's Jrnl. (1799) II. 203 *Mountain or Mineral Tar. |
| 1816 Jameson Syst. Min. (ed. 2) III. 577 *Mountain or rock wood. |
| 1801 Encycl. Brit. Suppl. II. 218/2 Colour..olive or mountain green, pale flesh red, and *mountain yellow. |
c. Prefixed to the names of many animals found in upland districts.
mountain antelope = goral (Webster 1897);
mountain-barbel, a cyprinoid fish of the genus
Schizothorax, or of certain other allied genera;
mountain bat, a very small social bat,
Emballonura monticola, native of Borneo, Java, Sumatra and the Philippine Islands;
mountain beauty U.S., the black spotted trout,
Salmo purpuratus (
Cent. Dict. 1890);
mountain beaver U.S., a small haplodont,
Haplodon rufus, native of Washington, Oregon and parts of California;
mountain blackbird, the ring ouzel,
Turdus torquatus (Swainson 1885);
mountain bluebird N. Amer., a bluebird of western North America,
Sialia currucoides, distinguished by a blue breast instead of a red one;
mountain boomer U.S., (
a) the sewellel or mountain beaver,
Aplodontia rufa; (
b) the red squirrel,
Sciurus hudsonicus; also
transf.;
mountain buffalo U.S., (
a)
= mountain sheep 2; (
b) a mountain variety of the American buffalo,
Bison bison;
mountain bunting, the snow bunting,
Plectrophanes nivalis;
mountain burnet, a species of burnet moth,
Zygæna Exulans;
mountain cat, a catamount or catamountain;
mountain cock, (
a)
= capercailye; (
b)
U.S. = prairie-chicken,
cock of the plains (
cock n.1 10);
† mountain cow, the tapir;
mountain crab, a land crab (
Cent. Dict.);
mountain devil = Moloch 2;
mountain duck (see
quot.);
mountain eagle, the golden eagle,
Aquila chrysaëtus;
mountain finch = brambling; also any bird of the genus
Montifringilla;
mountain goat = mazame 2; see also sense 8 b;
mountain hare, (
a) the Cape jerboa,
Pedetes capensis, native of South Africa; (
b) the alpine hare,
Lepus variabilis, native of the northern parts of both hemispheres; (
c) a tailless hare,
Lagomys Roylii, native of Ceylon;
mountain hawk, a kind of buzzard,
Regerhinus uncinatus, native of Grenada in the West Indies;
mountain herring U.S., a salmonoid fish,
Coregonus Williamsoni;
mountain jay U.S., Steller's jay,
Cyanocitta stelleri;
mountain linnet, a kind of finch,
Linota montium, native of Europe;
mountain lion = puma;
mountain magpie, the green woodpecker,
Picus viridis;
mountain mocking-bird,
Oreoscoptes montanus, native of the interior table-land of North America;
† mountain mouse, the
marmot;
mountain nymph (see
quot.);
mountain ouzel (see
ouzel 1 b);
mountain panther, (
a)
= ounce n.2 2; (
b)
= puma (Webster
Suppl. 1902);
mountain parrot = kea;
mountain partridge (see
partridge 2);
mountain pheasant, the lyre-bird;
mountain plover U.S., a small plover,
Eupoda montana;
mountain quail = plumed partridge (see
partridge 2);
mountain ram = mountain sheep;
mountain rat = marmot;
mountain ringlet, an alpine satyrid butterfly,
Erebia epiphron, found in limited parts of the Lake District, Scotland, and western Ireland;
cf. ringlet 4;
mountain sheep, the Rocky Mountain sheep,
Ovis montana;
mountain sparrow, the tree sparrow,
Passer montanus;
mountain thrush, (
a) an Australian thrush,
Oreocincla lunulata; (
b) the ring ouzel (Swainson 1885);
mountain tortoise, a large African tortoise,
Geochelone pardalis, also known as the leopard-tortoise (
leopard 6 b);
mountain trout, (
a) a name for two Californian species of trout,
Salmo irideus and
S. purpureus; (
b) any one of the acanthopterygian fishes of the genus
Galaxias, native of Australia, etc.;
mountain white butterfly, a European ‘white’,
Pieris Callidice;
mountain witch, a ground dove,
Geotrygon sylvatica or cristata, native of Jamaica.
| 1880 Günther Fishes xvii. 242 The alpine freshwater fishes..are principally Salmonoids; and in Asia, besides, *mountain-barbels and Loaches. |
| 187. Cassell's Nat. Hist. I. 314 The *Mountain Bat. |
| 1885 Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) V. 121 This is the..‘Sewellel’ of the aborigines..known to..trappers as the ‘Boomer’ and ‘*Mountain Beaver’. |
| 1860 S. F. Baird Birds N. Amer. I. 224 Sialia arctica, Swainson. Rocky *Mountain Blue Bird. 1904 I. G. Wheelock Birds Calif. 506 The exquisite coloring of the Mountain Bluebird renders him easily the most beautiful of all Californian birds. 1971 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 13 June 13/1 We were fortunate to see such birds as..a sky-blue mountain bluebird. |
| 1858 D. K. Bennett Chronol. N. Carolina 94 The only inhabitants we saw on these high points were pheasants, cross bills,..and *mountain boomers, a sort of squirrel. 1859 H. E. Taliaferro Fisher's River 33 A mountain ‘Boomer’ dressed in a linsey hunting-shirt down to his knees. 1922 H. Kephart Our Southern Highlanders (new ed.) 87 Out of a tree overhead hopped a mountain ‘boomer’. Ibid. 280 They call themselves mountain people, or citizens; sometimes humorously ‘mountain boomers’. 1940 Mt. Hood Guide 21 The sewellel or mountain beaver, sometimes colloquially called ‘mountain boomer’..resembles the porcupine and marmot rather than the beaver. 1958 Amer. Speech XXXIII. 265 (table) Pejorative designations of rural dwellers in the Upper Midwest..mountain boomer. |
| 1868 Amer. Naturalist II. 538 ‘*Mountain Buffalo’... The Bighorn is sometimes called so. Ibid., I saw no difference in the skulls, indicating a different species, or ‘Mountain Buffalo’ of the hunters. 1884 Encycl. Brit. Amer. Suppl. I. 540/2 Buffaloes long inhabiting other localities than the open plains, their natural homes, acquire distinguishable varietal characters. They are known as ‘wood-buffalo’ and ‘mountain-buffalo’. 1892 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 277/1 There are, besides the ordinary animal of the plains, the ‘mountain buffalo’,..the ‘wood buffalo’,..and the ‘beaver buffalo’. |
| 1768 Pennant Brit. Zool. (1776) I. 281 *Mountain Bunting. |
| 1882 W. F. Kirby Europ. Butterfl. & M. (1903) Plate xxii, Zygæna Exulans—*Mountain Burnet. |
| 1709 J. Lawn New Voy. Carolina 118 Cat-a-Mount. The *Mountain-Cat, so call'd, because he lives in the Mountainous Parts of America. 1780 Edmondson Heraldry II. Alphabet, Keate,..ar. three mountain-cats passant in pale sa. 1810 Scott Lady of L. v. xvi, Like mountain-cat who guards her young, Full at Fitz-James's throat he sprung. |
| 1802 Montagu Ornith. Dict. (1831), *Mountain cock, a name for the Capercalzie. 1805 M. Lewis in Lewis & Clark Orig. Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Expedition (1905) II. 124 Saw (near the hills) a flock of the mountain cock, or a large species of heath hen with a long pointed tail which the Indians informed us were common to the Rocky Mountains. 1943 H. Drake-Brockman in Coast to Coast 1942 158 There were little barking lizards and mountain-devils and eagle-hawks and white owls in the blow-holes. 1966 Times 11 Nov. (W. Austral. Suppl.) p. iv/4 The hideous little mountain devil (Moloch horridus)..trades on its frightening aspect while sustaining a perfectly blameless existence on a diet of ants. |
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. ii. iv. 102 Horses, and other Animals, amongst which the *Mountain Cow..is most remarkable. 1827 Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 45 The tapir, or mountain cow. |
| 1853 Proc. Roy. Soc. Van Diemen's Land II. 515 (Morris) *Mountain-devil. |
| 1894 Newton Dict. Birds 600 *Mountain-Duck, several species of Anatidæ—and in New Zealand apparently applied colloquially to Tadorna tadornoides (Sheld-drake). |
| 1877 ― in Encycl. Brit. VII. 590/1 The Golden or *Mountain-Eagle..is the second British species. |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 255 The great pied *Mountain-Finch or Bramlin. 1800 Coleridge Keepsake 6 The foxglove..bends beneath the up-springing lark Or mountain-finch alighting. 1867 A. L. Adams Wand. Naturalist India 283 The black-headed mountain-finch Montifringilla hæmatopygia is often seen around the lake. |
| 1841 G. Catlin Lett. on N. Amer. Indians II. 196 His leggings and shirt were of the *mountain goat skin. 1859 S. F. Baird Mammals N. Amer. 671 Aplocerus montanus..Mountain Goat, Mountain Sheep, White Goat, &c. 1936 D. McCowan Animals Canad. Rockies xiv. 119 A herd of mountain goats on an immense buttress of rock. 1966 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 7 May 41/2 Mountain goat also abound in the mountainous region..in..south-eastern British Columbia. |
| 1785 G. Forster tr. Sparrman's Voy. Cape G. Hope II. 195 By the colonists it is called berg-haas,..(the *mountain..hare). 1848 tr. Hoffmeister's Trav. Ceylon, etc. xii. 446 Tall bushes of furze, the home of a multitude of..small mountain-hares. 187. Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 149 The Mountain Hare (Lepus variabilis) or Northern Hare. |
| 1877 C. Hallock Sportsman's Gazetteer 350 Williamson's Whitefish; *Mountain Herring.—Coregonus williamsoni. 1888 Goode Amer. Fishes 490 This species is usually known..in Utah as the ‘Mountain Herring’. |
| 1872 Amer. Naturalist VI. 398 The great-crested, Woodhouse's and the Canada jays were of frequent occurrence in the mountains, the former being familiarly known as the ‘*mountain jay’. 1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. II. 219 Steller's Jay{ddd}[also called] Mountain Jay; Pine Jay; Conifer Jay. |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 261 The *Mountain Linnet: Linaria Montana. |
| 1859 G. A. Jackson Diary 1 Jan. in Colorado Mag. (1935) XII. 204 Killed a *mountain lion today. 1874 G. H. Kingsley Notes Sport & Trav. (1900) 172 note, It was not a bear we were after; it was a *mountain lion... Our lion is the puma. 1936 D. McCowan Animals Canad. Rockies ix. 77 The cougar or mountain lion is a large tawny brown cat with a small head, rather slender body and long round tail. 1972 Radio Times 1 June 30/1 Wild life to be found in different parts of Canada including a mountain lion and a wapiti. |
| 1802 Montagu Ornith. Dict. (1831), *Mountain magpie, a name for the Popinjay. |
| 1883 Newton in Encycl. Brit. XVI. 541/1 The so-called *Mountain Mocking-bird..is a form not very distant from Mimus. |
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 687 A Dor-mouse, a *Mountain-mouse, and such like. |
| 1869–73 T. R. Jones Cassell's Bk. Birds III. 52 The *Mountain Nymphs (Oreotrochilus). |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 195 The Rock Ouzel, or *Mountain Ouzel of Gesner. |
| 1894 Newton Dict. Birds 600 *Mountain-Parrot. |
| 1884 Cassell's Fam. Mag. Apr. 272/1 The ‘lyre-bird’, or *mountain pheasant. |
| 1858 S. F. Baird in Rep. Explor. Route to Pacific (U.S. War Dept.) IX. 693 *Mountain Plover..is only known to inhabit the western countries of North America. 1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. I. 267 Mountain Plover... Nest: On the open prairies; a depression in the ground, lined with leaves and grass. |
| 1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 74 Horns of the *Mountain ram. |
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., App. s.v. Rat, *Mountain-rat, the English name of a creature, otherwise called the Marmotte. |
| 1859 Farrar J. Home xvi. 208 With all the ardour of a young entomologist in full chase of a little *mountain-ringlet. 1870 F. O. Morris Hist. Brit. Butterflies (ed. 5) 53 (heading) Small Ringlet. Mountain Ringlet. 1945 E. B. Ford Butterflies xiii. 288 The Mountain Ringlet, Erebia epiphron, cannot live in England at an altitude of less than 1800 feet, but in Scotland it is able to descend to about 1500 feet. 1975 Times 12 Nov. 14/6 The Mountain Ringlet is an extremely rare butterfly that may still exist in the wild, high mountains of Western Ireland. |
| 1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 82 We saw some *Mountain sheep. |
| 1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds III. 62 The *Mountain Sparrow. |
| 1848 J. Gould Birds Australia IV. pl. 7 Oreocincla lunulata, *Mountain Thrush,..Colonists of Van Diemen's Land. |
| 1958 L. van der Post Lost World of Kalahari i. 26 For the equivalent of cello and bass violin he used the shell of our big dark *mountain tortoises. 1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo xiii. 228 Mountain tortoises are said to have a great homing instinct. 1971 D. J. Potgieter et al. Animal Life S. Afr. 303/2 Mountain or leopard tortoise..is a widely distributed species, extending from the Sudan and Ethiopia in the north to the Cape in the south. |
| 1886 J. T. Cunningham in Encycl. Brit. XXI. 223/1 The Californian *Mountain, or Rainbow Trout. 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 304/2 Mountain-Trout, species of Galaxias. |
| 1882 W. F. Kirby Europ. Butterfl. & M. (1903) Plate iii, Pieris Callidice..*Mountain White Butterfly. |
| 1847 Gosse Birds Jamaica 318 These moans, heard..while the bird is rarely seen, have..given it the name of *Mountain Witch. |
d. In the names of plants, their fruits, etc., growing in elevated situations.
mountain arnica = mountain tobacco;
mountain avens, a subalpine plant,
Dryas octopetala;
mountain balm U.S., (
a)
= bastard balm; (
b) a trade name for Oswego tea (
Cent. Dict. 1890); (
c) an evergreen plant,
Eriodictyon glutinosum, also
prob. E. didyma (
Ibid.);
mountain balsam U.S., a coniferous tree,
Abies subalpina;
mountain bay, a small ornamental tree,
Gordonia pubescens, native of Georgia and Florida (Funk's
Stand. Dict. 1895);
mountain beech,
† (
a) ?
= Dutch beech, the white poplar,
Populus alba; (
b)
Austral., the proteaceous tree
Lomatia longifolia (Morris 1898); (
c)
N.Z., the evergreen tree,
Nothofagus cliffortioides;
mountain-bell, an alpine species of
Campanula;
mountain bindweed, a plant of the primulaceous genus
Soldanella;
mountain bramble = cloudberry;
mountain cabbage (tree), a West Indian palm tree of the genus
Oreodoxa;
† mountain calamint, calamint (
cf. mountain mint);
mountain cherry U.S., one of several wild cherries;
mountain chestnut oak U.S., an American oak,
Quercus montana, with leaves resembling those of the chestnut;
mountain chickweed (see
quot.);
mountain clover, a papilionaceous subalpine plant,
Trifolium montanum;
mountain coralline = reindeer-moss;
mountain cowslip, a herbaceous plant,
Primula Auricula, native of the Swiss Alps;
mountain cranberry U.S. = cowberry (
Cent. Dict.);
mountain daisy N.Z., a perennial herb of the genus
Celmisia, belonging to the family Compositæ;
mountain damson, a simarubaceous tree, native of the West Indies and Guyana,
esp. Simaruba glauca, native of Jamaica;
† mountain dock, Welsh sorrel,
Oxyria reniformis (Withering
Brit. Plants,
ed. 3, 1796);
mountain ebony, a leguminous tree of the genus
Bauhinia having dark-coloured and hard wood; also the wood itself;
mountain fern,
Thelypteris limbosperma;
mountain flower, a kind of crane's bill,
Geranium sylvaticum;
mountain fringe U.S., a climbing biennial fumariaceous plant,
Adlumia cirrhosa;
mountain grape (tree) (see
quots.);
mountain groundsel, the
Senecio sylvaticus;
mountain guava (see
guava 1);
mountain heath, a handsome ericaceous shrub,
Menziesia taxifolia, native of North America;
mountain hemlock, a large coniferous tree,
Tsuga mertensiana, of the family Pinaceæ, native to western North America;
mountain hemp, a species of henbane,
Hyoscyamus insanus, native of Baluchistan;
mountain holly, an aquifoliaceous tree,
Nemopanthes Canadensis, native of North America;
mountain ironwort, a labiate plant,
Sideritis montana;
mountain larch, a kind of fir,
Larix lyalli, native of the Rocky Mountains;
mountain laver (see
quot.);
mountain lily = martagon;
mountain liquorice, a kind of trefoil,
Trifolium alpinum, native of Europe;
mountain magnolia,
Magnolia acuminata;
mountain mahogany U.S., (
a)
= mahogany birch (
mahogany 7); (
b) a shrub or small tree of the genus
Cercocarpus,
esp. C. ledifolius, belonging to the family Rosaceæ and native to western North America;
mountain manchineel, a West Indian sumac,
Rhus Metopium;
mountain mango, the fruit of certain species of
Clusia, grown in the West Indies;
mountain maple U.S., one of several maples found in upland areas,
esp. Acer spicatum;
mountain mint,
† (
a) calamint; (
b) the
U.S. genus
Pycnanthemum;
mountain moss, the lycopodiaceous plant
Selaginella selaginoides (Britton & Brown
Amer. Flora 1897–8);
mountain parsley (see
parsley 2);
mountain pine, (
a) a dwarf alpine pine,
Pinus Pumilio, native of Europe; (
b)
N.Z., a small evergreen tree,
Dacrydium bidwillii, found in boggy or subalpine regions;
mountain pink, an alpine species of
Dianthus;
mountain plum, an olæaceous tree,
Ximenia americana, native of tropical America;
mountain poly (see
poly1 c);
mountain pride = mountain green 2;
mountain puliol (see
puliol);
mountain rice, (
a) a variety of rice grown in upland districts where irrigation is impossible (in Dicts.); (
b) any grass of the genus
Oryzopsis;
mountain rose, the rhododendron;
† mountain rose bay, the kalmia (Miller
Gard. Dict. ed. 1759, Index);
mountain saffron, a liliaceous plant,
Anthericum serotinum;
mountain sandwort, a caryophyllaceous plant,
Arenaria groenlandica (in recent Dicts.);
† mountain siler, a kind of willow;
mountain sorrel,
Oxyria reniformis;
mountain spiderwort = mountain saffron;
mountain spinach = orach;
mountain stone parsley, ?
= mountain parsley (a);
mountain sweet (see
quot.);
mountain tea,
Gaultheria procumbens; also its leaves used for infusion;
N. Amer., the wintergreen,
Gaultheria procumbens, or the beverage made from its leaves;
mountain tea-tree,
Kunzea pedunculata (Morris
Austral Eng.);
mountain tobacco,
Arnica montana.
| 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 580 *Mountain Arnica,..or Leopard's bane, is an acrid stimulant. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 478 Dryas octopetala... *Mountain Avens. |
| 1856 Mayne Expos. Lex., *Mountain Balm, common name for the Melittis melissophylum. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 263/2 The principal trees of the Rocky Mountains are aspen and..*mountain balsam. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 26 The *Mountain-Beech is the whitest and most sought after by the Turner. 1884 A. Nilson Timber Trees New South Wales 92 L[omatia] longifolia.—Mountain Beech.—An erect small tree. 1928 Cockayne & Turner Trees N.Z. 154 Nothofagus cliffortioides (mountain-beech) is of little value as a timber, for it decays rapidly. 1959 A. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. p. xv, The forest is of silver and mountain beech, with traces of red beech and podocarps at low altitude. 1965 Austral. Encycl. V. 360/2 L[omatia] longifolia (sometimes called mountain beech), has a hard light-coloured ornamental wood, used for turnery. |
| 1923 D. H. Lawrence Ladybird 227 Sometimes the hairy *mountain-bell, pale-blue and bristling, stood alone. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccxciii. 690 Soldanella or *mountaine Bindweed, hath many round leaues spred vpon the ground. |
| 1818 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 6) III. 625 Rubus Chamæmorus... Cloud-berry, *Mountain Bramble, Knot-berries. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum ii. i. §1. 181 Part of the Trunk of a young *Mountain Cabbige. 1796 Stedman Surinam II. xvi. 23 A tree called the mountain-cabbage-tree, which is one of the palm species. |
| c 1450 J. Metham Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 49 Modyrwort, rwe, red malwys, and *calamynt mowateyn [read mownteyn]. |
| 1813 H. Muhlenberg Catal. Plantarum Americæ Septentrionalis 48 Prunus montana,..*mountain cherry. 1847 Darlington Amer. Weeds, etc. (1860) 117 Chicasa Prunus...Mountain Cherry. 1871 Harper's Mag. Oct. 707 We must..gather mountain cherries (Prunus cerasus). |
| 1801 A. Michaux Hist. Chênes de l'Amérique sig. 61v *Mountain Chesnut Oak. 1821 T. Nuttall Jrnl. Trav. Arkansa i. 42 Much of the Quercus Prima monticola (or mountain chestnut oak) presents itself on the mountain. |
| 1778 Pennant Tour in Wales (1883) I. 27 The Arenaria Verna, or *Mountain chickweed. |
| 1882 W. F. Kirby Europ. Butterfl. & M. (1903) Plate xxii, Plants... *Mountain Clover. |
| 1598 Florio, Corallina..also Corall or *mountain coralline. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Heath-moss, The alpine coralline-like Coralloides. This is called, by some, mountain Coralline. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cclxii. 640 There be diuers sorts of *Mountaine Cowslips, or Beares eares. 1863 Prior Plant-n. 156 Mountain Cowslip, Primula auricula. |
| 1857 J. T. Thomson in N. M. Taylor Early Travellers N.Z. (1959) 335 Half-way up the mountains some pretty flowers were gathered, amongst which the *mountain daisy deserves notice. 1900 A. Dendy in Canterbury Old & New 188 Only rivalled in beauty by the marguerite-like flowers of ‘cotton plant’ or mountain daisy (species of Celmisia). 1959 A. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. p. xv, The upper mountain limits were covered with alpine vegetation—mountain daisies (Celmisia), [etc.]. |
| 1814 Lunan Hortus Jamaic. I. 521 Mountain Damson, Quassia..Simaruba ..This tree is known in Jamaica by the name of *mountain damson, bitter damson, or stavewood. 1864 Grisebach Flora W. Ind. Isl. 785 Mountain-damson, Simaruba amara. |
| 1725 Sloane Jamaica II. 51 *Mountain Ebony. This tree rises to about fifteen foot high. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica (1789) 287 Bauhinia... Mountain Ebeny. 1814 Lunan Hortus Jamaic. I. 278 Mountain Ebony. Bauhinia..Porrecta. Stretched. 1864 Grisebach Flora W. Ind. Isl. 785 Mountain-ebony, Casparea porrecta, and Bauhinia megalandra. 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 134/1 Both [Bauhinia Carronii and B. Hookeri] are called Queensland or Mountain Ebony. |
| 1840 E. Newman Hist. Brit. Ferns 47 (heading) *Mountain fern. 1863 Prior Plant-n. 156 Mountain fern, Aspidium Oreopteris. 1879–81 J. Britten European Ferns 151 The Mountain Fern, as L[astrea] Oreopteris is sometimes called,..is well worthy of cultivation. 1960 P. Taylor Brit. Ferns & Mosses 155 The Mountain Fern is widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. |
| 1853 G. Johnston Bot. E. Bord. 48 Geranium sylvaticum. The King's-Hood: *Mountain-Flower. |
| 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 158 Adlumia cirrhosa... *Mountain Fringe. |
| 1756 P. Browne Jamaica (1789) 210 Coccolobis 4... The *Mountain Grape-Tree. 1864 Grisebach Flora W. Ind. Isl. 785 Mountain-grape, black, Guettarda longiflora. Mountain-grape, common, Coccoloba tenuifolia. Mountain-grape, large-leaved, Coccoloba Plumieri. |
| 1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 221/2 Senecio sylvaticus and S. viscosus are known respectively as *mountain groundsel and stinking groundsel. |
| 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 373 *Mountain Heath. |
| 1884 C. S. Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. 572 The timber on these ridges [in Idaho] was often small and scattered..with larch and red fir, balsam, hemlock, and sometimes *mountain hemlock. 1969 T. H. Everett Living Trees of World 64/2 Another western American, the usually bluish-leaved mountain hemlock.., occurs at high altitudes from Alaska to California. 1974 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 24 Dec. 32/2 The major reason for establishing the reserve..is to allow biologists to study mountain hemlock. |
| 1887 Bentley Man. Bot. (ed. 5) 632 Hyoscyamus insanus..is called *Mountain Hemp. |
| 1807 P. Gass Jrnl. 130 There is also a small bush..about 6 inches high, which bears a small bunch of small purple berries. Some call it *mountain holly; the fruit is of an acid taste. |
| 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 75 Sideritis Montana. *Mountain Iron Wort. Herbaceous, decumbent, hairy. 1891 in Syd. Soc. Lex. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 263/2 *Mountain larch (Larix lyallii). |
| 1866 Treas. Bot., *Mountain laver, a reddish gelatinous Alga, belonging to the genus Palmella,..growing on the sides of mountains. |
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort., June (1679) 19 Campions or Sultans, *Mountain Lillies white, red. 1728 J. Gardiner tr. Rapin's Of Gardens Index, Martagon, or Mountain Lilly. |
| 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 1153 *Mountain liquorice. |
| 1884 Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. (10th Census IX) 20 Magnolia acuminata..*Mountain magnolia. |
| 1810 F. A. Michaux Hist. Arbres Forestiers de l'Amérique Septentrionale I. 26 Sweet birch, [ou] *Mountain Mahogany dans Virginia. 1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Amer. 118 Wherever it grows in the United States, it is known by the name of Black Birch: its secondary denominations are Mountain Mahogany in Virginia, [etc.]. 1875 Amer. Naturalist IX. 201 Much more attractive with its glossy foliage and long feathery seeds, is the mountain mahogany Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt. 1951 Dict. Gardening (R. Hort. Soc.) I. 440/1 C[ercocarpus] ledifolius. Mountain mahogany. Erect slender tree up to 40 ft. |
| 1884 Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. (10th Census IX) 54 Rhus Metopium..*Mountain Manchineel. |
| 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 478 In Nevis and St. Kitt's the three species [of Clusia] are known indifferently under the names of Fat Pork, Monkey Apple, and *Mountain or Wild Mango. |
| 1785 H. Marshall Arbustrum Amer. 2 Acer pennsylvanicum, Pennsylvanian Dwarf *Mountain Maple,..grows naturally upon the mountains in the back parts of Pennsylvania. 1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Amer. 102 The mountain maple seldom rises above 20 feet in height. 1969 T. H. Everett Living Trees of World 222/2 Similar in size [to the moosewood] and also favoring shaded locations through much of eastern and central North America is the mountain maple (A. spicatum). |
| 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. xxii. 393 Calamintha..*Mountain-Mint. 1866 Treas. Bot., Pycnanthemum, the generic name of the Mountain Mints of the United States. |
| 1777 Robson Brit. Flora 264 Lycopodium Selaginoides... Prickly Wolfsclaw. Seeding *Mountain-moss. |
| 1856 Mayne Expos. Lex., *Mountain Pine, common name for the Pinus pumilio. 1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 4 Nov. 15/7 Mountain... Often used..of a species found in the back country, mostly smaller than their down-country relatives, e.g. mountain pine. 1963 Poole & Adams Trees & Shrubs N.Z. 26 D[acrydium] bidwillii... Bog pine, mountain pine. Reaching 4 m. Leaves: juvenile linear, sessile, passing abruptly into adult foliage with scale-like, imbricate leaves. |
| 1850 L. Sawyer Diary 12 June in Way Sk. (1926) 53 We found some grass and some beautiful specimens of what we called *mountain pink. It is much smaller than our garden pink, but resembles it somewhat in form, but more in its sweet perfume. 1936 Discovery Feb. 46/2 There [sc. on a mountain in Yugoslavia] I found tall mountain pinks of deep crimson, single-flowering. |
| 1864 Grisebach Flora W. Ind. Isl. 786 *Mountain-plum, Ximenia americana. |
| 1814 Lunan Hortus Jamaic. I. 524 *Mountain Pride. Spathelia..Simplex. |
| 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. App. 134/2 Oryzopsis asperifolia (*mountain rice..). |
| 1739 Miller Gard. Dict. II., Chamærhododendron, Sweet *Mountain Rose. 1826 P. Pounden France & Italy 197 The rhododendron, or mountain-rose. 1838 M. Howitt Birds & Flowers, Mill-stream ii, Into the mad Mill-stream The mountain-roses fall. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 339 Anthericum serotinum... *Mountain Saffron. |
| [1765 in D. Campbell Hist. Prince Edward Island (1875) 6 The *Mountain Shrub and Maiden Hair are also pretty common, of whose leaves and berries the Acadian settlers frequently make a kind of tea.] 1785 H. Marshall Arbustrum Amer. 53 Gaultheria procumbens. Canadian Gaultheria, or Mountain Tea... The leaves have been used as a substitute for Bohea Tea, whence the name of Mountain Tea. 1804 [see grouse-berry]. 1830 Trans. Lit. & Hist. Soc. Quebec (1837) III. 96 Mountain tea [is] a very small evergreen half-shrubby plant, with strong, shining, leathery leaves. 1832 W. D. Williamson Hist. State Maine I. 121 This ‘mountain tea’ promotes mammillary secretions. 1858 [see tea n. 6]. 1886 Harper's Mag. June 62/1 Another beverage is ‘mountain tea’ which is made from the sweet scented golden-rod and from winter-green. 1891 M. E. Ryan Pagan of Alleghanies 65 They reached the level above the cliff, the level carpeted with mountain-tea and rabbit-berries. 1941 J. Stuart Men of Mountains 187, I would love to get out with you and get mountain tea from the knolls. 1964 H. D. Wilson Tales from Barrett's Landing 44 To supplement our meals..we ate berries, mountain teas (a leaf that tastes like wintergreen), and seaweed. |
| c 1550 Lloyd Treas. Health L v b, Syler, *montayne and Comin sod in wyne. |
| 1863 Prior Plant-n. 156 *Mountain sorrel, Oxyria reniformis. |
| 1849 Craig, *Mountain-spiderwort, the plant Anthericum serotinum. |
| 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants 863 Atriplex hortensis, sometimes called *mountain spinach, was formerly cultivated as a culinary herb. |
| 1719 Quincy Lex. Physico-Med. (1722) 348/1 *Mountain-Stone-Parsley. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot., *Mountain-sweet, a Canadian name for Ceanothus americanus. |
| 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 585 An infusion of the leaves [of the Partridge Berry] is employed in certain parts of North America, as a substitute for China tea, under the name of *Mountain or Salvador Tea. |
| 1846 Lindley Veg. Kingd. 707 Arnica montana, a Swiss herb, called in our gardens *Mountain Tobacco. |