Month's mind (Two Gent. i. 2). This was originally a service in the church for the soul of a person deceased, performed a month after his death, in mind, i.e. remembrance, of him. After the Reformation, when such a usage ceased, the phrase still remained; and as mind signified inclination as well as memorial, it came to signify a great longing which had, as it were, lasted a month. This seems to be the simple explication.
Mops and mowes (Temp. iii. 3, Cymb. i. 7), ridiculous distortions of the face and body. Mop may be only a corruption of mock, and mow of mouth—we still say make mouths—or the French moue, which has the same sense.
Moral (T. Sh. iv. 4, M. Ado, iii. 4), meaning, as in the moral of a fable. In Tr. and Cr. iv. 4, it seems to be the same as motto.
Morris (A. Well, ii. 2), i.e. morris-dance, as it were Moorish dance, an amusement on May-day, which was long kept up, but confined to the chimney-sweeps, in London. Its chief characters were Maid Marion, Friar Tuck, the Clown, the Hobby-horse, etc.
Mort of the deer (W. T. i. 2), notes blown on the horn on the death of the deer.
Motion (Two Gent. ii. 1, W. T. iv. 2), puppet, puppet-show, as being moved and put in action by strings.
Motley (As Y. L. ii. 7), the dress of Fools, as formed of divers colours.
Mousehunt (R. and J. iv. 4), a name of the stoat; but here it seems to be used ambiguously as a hunter of mice, i.e. women, for whom mouse was a term of endearment.
Murdering-piece (Ham. iv. 5), a piece of ordnance placed in loop-holes of a castle or fortress, or the port-holes of a ship's forecastle, from which was discharged case-shot filled with bullets, nails, pieces of iron, etc. Meurtrière (Fr.) is, loop-hole.
Mutton (Two Gent. i. 1, M. for M. iii. 2). The single term, and that of laced mutton, mean a woman—in the opinion of critics in general, a woman of bad life; and Cole in his Dict. has "Laced mutton, scortum." Yet this may be questioned. In Molière's G. Dandin (iii. 14), the maid says to her mistress, of whose virtue she is the maintainer, pauvre mouton! so that both in French and English mutton, i.e. sheep, ewe, may have been, like lamb, a term of endearment. "There's another goodly mutton going" (Green's Tu Quoque), of a modest woman.