Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop Glossary: M

M

`man·u,script /'m&nj@,skrIpt/ noun

(MS) The work as prepared by the author. Although the word may suggest handwriting, handwritten manuscripts are seldom considered for publication. The manuscript is the author's typewritten or electronically printed version of the work, or increasingly, the electronic file produced by the author. Most publishers who accept electronic submissions still require a paper version at some point in the process. What is "the manuscript" to the author becomes "the copy" to editors, typesetters, and proofreaders. When the copy has been set in type and the typesetting has been proofed, the copy becomes "dead copy."

`med·i·cal mys·ter·y /'mEdIkl- 'mIstRi/ or /'mEdIkl- 'mIstri/ noun

(genre)

1 : a subgenre of mystery in which a crime is solved primarily through the analysis of medical evidence, including autopsy and biological trace evidence. The protagonist is usually a pathologist who holds a position in a coroner's or medical examiner's office.
2 : a subgenre of mystery in which the disease is the culprit. Often no actual crime is involved, but doctors are mystified by a mysterious disease occurring in one or more people. The principal problem may be diagnosis or the tracing of exposure to a disease-causing agent. The protagonist may be a diagnostician or a epidemiologist.

Medical mysteries generally are supposed to be realistic, and because of the extensive medical knowledge required they are usually written by or in close collaboration with doctors.

mei`o·sis /maI'oUsis/ noun

(figures) understatement, ironic use of a lesser name, term, or category for something, For example: a war refered to as a spot of unpleasantness. : diminuation, tapeinosis, abbaser (some similar terms may imply the intention really is to make the thing seem less important, that is, the element of intentional irony is missing)

[mistaken] [local]

As used here: The label [mistaken], occurs mostly with usage entries, and indicates words that are sometimes misspelled or misunderstood. This label is used when there is little serious controversy about which usage is correct. Sometimes several or all of the alternatives can be correct in one context or another depending upon the intended meaning.

`mor·al `rights /'mOrl- raIts/ noun

Rights of a noneconomic nature in a creative work recognized, at least in part, by most signatories of the Berne convention, but not well-implemented in the United States. Moral rights include: the right to be recognized as the author of the work or not at the author's option, the right to prevent the work from being distorted or mutilated, in some jurisdictions the right to respond to criticism, the right of retraction (which is, essentially the right to purchase the work and destroy it), and various other particular rights intended to protect the author's reputation and to avoid having his work put to a purpose that he did not intend or no longer supports.

moral / ethical See: ethical / moral

MS /'Em'Es/ noun plural MSS