Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors - Bill Bryson [80]
McGwire, Mark. (1963–) American baseball player.
McIntosh apple (after the Canadian John McIntosh), but Macintosh computer.
McJob. (Cap. M, cap. J.) Slang term for a low-wage job, usually in the service sector.
McKinley, Mount. Alaskan mountain that is the highest peak in North America (20,320 feet; 6,194 meters), alternative name Denali. It stands within Denali National Park and Preserve. Mount McKinley was named for William McKinley (1843–1901), U.S. president (1897–1901).
McLean, Virginia, suburb of Washington, D.C.; pronounced muklane'.
McShane, Ian. (1942–) British actor.
ME. Short for myalgic encephalomyelitis, a type of chronic malaise; also, postal abbreviation of Maine.
mea culpa. (Lat.) “My fault.”
mean, median. Each of these terms has a very specific meaning. The American Heritage Dictionary defines mean as a number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean, or the average value of a set of numbers. Median signifies the middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values. Both terms are at best vaguely understood by the general reader, and thus your most prudent course of action is to use them extremely sparingly in anything other than technical writing.
measurable.
Mecklenburg. Former state in Germany.
Medal of Honor. Not Congressional Medal of Honor. Highest U.S. military decoration.
Médecins Sans Frontières. Medical aid charity, known in the United States as Doctors Without Borders.
Medellín, Colombia.
media is a plural. The singular is medium. Television is a medium; newspapers and television are media. However, mediums is the correct plural for describing spiritualists.
Medici. Leading family of Renaissance Florence, whose more noted members were Cosimo de’ Medici (1389–1464), called Cosimo the Elder; Lorenzo de’ Medici (1449–1492), called Lorenzo the Magnificent; Giovanni de’ Medici (1475–1521), later Pope Leo X; and Giulio de’ Medici (1478–1534), later Pope Clement VII. The French spelling is normally used for Catherine de Medicis (1519–1589), wife of Henry II of France, and Marie de Medicis (1573–1642), wife of Henry IV of France.
medieval.
mediocre.
meerschaum. White claylike mineral traditionally used to make pipe bowls.
meet, mete. In the sense of justice or punishment, the first means suitable, and the second means to allot. Thus one metes out punishment, but a fitting punishment is meet.
mega. Prefix meaning one million. A megabyte in computing is a million bytes (or a thousand kilobytes).
megahertz (one word, no cap.), but the abbreviation is MHz.
megalomania.
Meigs Field. Chicago airport; formally Merril (not -ll) C. Meigs Field. It closed in 2003.
Meiji. Reign of Emperor Mutsuhito (1867–1912), marking Japan’s emergence as a modern industrial state.
mein Herr, meine Dame. (Ger.) Sir, lady; pl. meine Herren, meine Damen.
Meir, Golda. (1898–1978) Israeli prime minister (1969–1974).
Meissen porcelain. Named for the German city in which it originated.
meitnerium. Chemical element.
melamine. A type of plastic. It is not capitalized.
Melanchthon, Philipp (or Philip). (1497–1560) German academic; colleague of Martin Luther and a leader of the Reformation.
melee. In French, mêlée.
mellifluous. Sounding sweet.
memento, pl. mementoes.
memorabilia. Note that the word is a plural.
memorandums.
Memorial Day. Day commemorating the war dead, held the last Monday in May; originally called Decoration Day.
ménage à trois. (Fr.) Sexual relationship among three people living together.
menagerie.
Mencken, H. L. (for Henry Louis). (1880–1956) American writer, critic, and editor.
Mendel, Gregor Johann. (1822–1884) Austrian botanist whose work became the basis of modern genetics.
Mendelssohn, Felix. (1809–1847) German composer; full name Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.
Mendes da Rocha, Paulo. (1928–) Brazilian architect.
Mendès-France, Pierre. (1907–1982) French prime minister (1954–1955).
meningitis. Inflammation of the meninges, or cranial membranes; note that