Writing Tips
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Index M
- ma’am
- Mac-
- Macintosh
- macintosh
- mackintosh
- macro-
- madam
- madame
- made from
- Madelinot
- made of
- made with
- Magdalen Islands
- major breakthrough
- majority
- make a decision
- make allowance for
- mal-
- male
- Man
- manageable
- manager
- manageress
- maneuver
- mango
- Manila
- manila
- manilla
- Manitoba
- Manitoban
- manner
- manoeuvrability
- manoeuvrable
- manoeuvre
- manoeuvring
- mantel
- mantle
- maquiladora
- margins
- marmalade
- mat
- material
- matériel
- materiel
- matri-
- matt
- matte
- maven
- may
- maybe
- may be
- MB
- Mc-
- McIntosh
- MDT
- meager
- meagre
- means
- media
- medium
- mega-
- memorandums: memorandum format
- memorandums: model memorandum
- merchandise
- merchandize
- merge together
- Messrs.
- meta-
- metaphor
- Metro
- micro-
- might
- migrate
- militate
- milli-
- mini-
- minutes: agenda
- minutes: general
- minutes: indirect speech
- minutes: model agenda
- minutes: model minutes
- minutes: writing of minutes
- mis-
- missing gap
- mitigate
- Mmes.
- moment’s notice (at a)
- mono-
- Montréal
- Montréaler
- Montrealer
- monuments and public places
- moot
- moot point
- more ideal
- more preferable
- more than
- most
- most ideal
- most preferable
- Mountain Daylight Time
- Mountain Standard Time
- movements and styles
- Mses.
- Mss.
- MST
- mucous
- mucus
- multi-
- mutual
- mutual co-operation
- myself
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Mac-, Mc-
Traditionally, the prefixes Mac- and Mc- (which are Gaelic for “son”) were used to form Irish and Scottish surnames.
- The surname MacDougall was originally a patronymic meaning “son of Dougall.”
In recent decades, however, the prefix Mc- has come to be used in front of everyday words to indicate a convenient, low-cost product or service, usually of lower quality.
- Drive-in medical clinics are known as McDoctors.
- A McMansion is an overly large, poorly designed home in a neighbourhood full of similar mass-produced houses.
The general name for neologisms coined in this way is McWords.
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