miter

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The liturgical headdress and part of the insignia of a Christian bishop. In the Western church it is a tall pointed hat with peaks in front and back, worn at all solemn functions.
2. n. A thong for binding the hair, worn by women in ancient Greece.
3. n. The ceremonial headdress worn by ancient Jewish high priests.
4. n. A miter joint.
5. n. The edge of a piece of material that has been beveled preparatory to making a miter joint.
6. n. A miter square.
7. v. To bestow a miter upon.
8. v. To make (two pieces or surfaces) join with a miter joint.
9. v. To bevel the edges of for joining with a miter joint.
10. v. To meet in a miter joint.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A form of head-dress anciently worn by the inhabitants of Lydia, Phrygia, and other parts of Asia Minor.
2. n. A sacerdotal head-dress, as that worn by the ancient Jewish high priest, or that worn by a bishop. The Jewish miter was made of linen, and wrapped in folds about the head, like a turban. Before the fourteenth century the miter in the Christian church was low and simple; but now it consists of a coronet, surmounted by a lofty and deeply cleft cap. The privilege of wearing the miter in the Roman Catholic Church was a concession of the popes, and was formerly exercised by cardinals and the higher dignitaries. Bishops and abbots (if to be mitered) receive the miter from the consecrating bishop. Three kinds of miters are distinguished: the precious miter, made of gold or silver plate and adorned with jewels, the auriphrygiate miter, and the simple miter of white silk or linen. The bishops of the Church of England wore miters as late as the coronation of George III., and some Anglican bishops occasionally wear them at the present day. See tiara, and cut under auriphrygia.
3. n. A chimney-cap or -pot of terra-cotta, brick, stone, or metal, designed to exclude rain and wind from the flue, while allowing the smoke, etc., to escape; a cowl; hence, anything having a similar use.
4. n. In conchology, a miter-shell.
5. n. In carp.: A scribe or guide for making saw-cuts to form miter-joints.
6. n. A combined square and miter-edge or pattern.
7. n. Same as miter-joint.
8. n. A gusset in seamstresses' work, knitting, and the like.
9. To bestow a miter upon; raise to a rank to which the dignity of wearing a miter belongs, especially to episcopal rank.
10. To ornament with a miter.
11. In carpentry, to join with a miter-joint; make a miter-joint in. See miter-joint.
12. In needlework, to change the direction of, as a straight band, border, or the like, by cutting it at an abrupt angle, sacrificing a three-cornered piece, and bringing the cut edges together: a term derived from carpenter-work.
13. In bookbinding, to join perfectly, as lines intended to meet at right angles
14. In architecture, to meet in a miter-joint.
15. In organ-building, to introduce one or more miter-joints into (a pipe), so as to adapt it to a contracted space: such a pipe is said to be mitered or mitered over.

Wiktionary

1. v. To finish a material at an angle, frequently 45 degrees, or sometimes with some specific shape, so that it will fit up tightly against another piece of material, as with a picture frame.
2. n. Alternative form of miter joint.
3. n. alternative spelling of mitre.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A covering for the head, worn on solemn occasions by bishops and other church dignitaries. It has been made in many forms, the present form being a lofty cap with two points or peaks.
2. n. The surface forming the beveled end or edge of a piece where a miter joint is made; also, a joint formed or a junction effected by two beveled ends or edges; a miter joint.
3. n. (Numis.) A sort of base money or coin.
4. v. To place a miter upon; to adorn with a miter.
5. v. To match together, as two pieces of molding or brass rule on a line bisecting the angle of junction; to fit together in a miter joint.
6. v. To bevel the ends or edges of, for the purpose of matching together at an angle.
7. v. To meet and match together, as two pieces of molding, on a line bisecting the angle of junction.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. fit together in a miter joint
2. n. joint that forms a corner; usually both sides are bevelled at a 45-degree angle to form a 90-degree corner
3. v. confer a miter on (a bishop)
4. v. bevel the edges of, to make a miter joint
5. n. the surface of a beveled end of a piece where a miter joint is made
6. n. a liturgical headdress worn by bishops on formal occasions