mate
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /meɪt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪt
Etymology 1
From Middle English mate, a borrowing from Middle Low German mate (“messmate”) (replacing Middle English mette from Old English ġemetta (“sharer of food, table-guest”)), derived from Proto-Germanic *gamatjô, itself from *ga- (“together”) (related to German and Dutch ge-) + *matjô (from *matiz (“food”)), related to Old English mete (“food”)). From the same Middle Low German source stems German Maat (“naval non-commissioned officer”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Moat (“friend, buddy, comrade, mate”), Dutch maat (“mate, partner, colleague, friend”). More at ge-, co-, meat.
Noun
mate (plural mates)
- A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.
- (especially of a non-human animal) A breeding partner.
- (colloquial, Britain, Australia, New Zealand) A friend, usually of the same sex.
- I'm going to the pub with a few mates.
- He's my best mate.
- (colloquial, Britain, Australia, New Zealand) a colloquial "sir"; an informal and friendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age
- Excuse me, mate, have you got the time?
- (nautical) In naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer or his subordinate (e.g. Boatswain's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Sailmaker's Mate, etc).
- (nautical) A ship's officer, subordinate to the master on a commercial ship.
- (nautical) A first mate.
- A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice.
- The other member of a matched pair of objects.
- I found one of the socks I wanted to wear, but I couldn't find its mate.
- A suitable companion; a match; an equal.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
- Ye knew me once no mate / For you; there sitting where you durst not soar.
- (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
Synonyms
- The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. Use the templates
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to add them to the appropriate sense(s).
- fellow
- fere (poetic, archaic)
- friend
- buddy
- sir
- partner
- See also Thesaurus:friend
- See also Thesaurus:spouse
Derived terms
- bandmate
- bedmate
- blockmate
- boat mate
- bunkmate
- campmate
- carmate
- cellmate
- chairmate
- churchmate
- clan mate
- classmate
- crashmate
- crewmate
- dreammate
- farm-mate
- first mate
- flatmate
- floormate
- fuckmate
- gangmate
- housemate
- jailmate
- jobmate
- library mate
- mateship
- office mate
- orgy mate
- pewmate
- plane-mate
- prisonmate
- roommate
- schoolmate
- seatmate
- shipmate
- sitemate
- squadmate
- stablemate
- taskmate
- teammate
- tourmate
- townmate
- train-mate
- warmate
- workmate
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
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Verb
mate (third-person singular simple present mates, present participle mating, simple past and past participle mated)
- (intransitive) To match, fit together without space between.
- The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.
- (intransitive) To copulate.
- (intransitive) To pair in order to raise offspring
- (transitive) To arrange in matched pairs.
- (transitive) To introduce (animals) together for the purpose of breeding.
- (transitive, of an animal) To copulate with.
- (transitive) To marry; to match (a person).
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- If she be mated with an equal husband.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- (transitive) To match oneself against; to oppose as equal; to compete with.
- (Can we date this quote?) Francis Bacon
- There is no passion in the mind of man so weak but it mates and masters the fear of death.
- (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare
- I, […] in the way of loyalty and truth, […] / Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be.
- (Can we date this quote?) Francis Bacon
- (transitive) To fit (objects) together without space between.
- (transitive, aeronautics, space) To move (a space shuttle orbiter) onto the back of an aircraft that can carry it.
Synonyms
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Antonyms
- (aerospace): demate
Derived terms
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Etymology 2
From Middle English verb maten, Middle French mater, from Old French noun mat (“checkmate”), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât).
Translations
Verb
mate (third-person singular simple present mates, present participle mating, simple past and past participle mated)
Translations
Etymology 3
See maté
Noun
mate (plural mates)
- Alternative spelling of maté, an aromatic tea-like drink prepared from the holly yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis).
- The abovementioned plant; the leaves and shoots used for the tea
Asturian
Cebuano
Etymology
Short for English checkmate, from Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاهُ مَاتَ (šāhu māta), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king [is] amazed”).
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ma‧te
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:mate.
Dutch
Etymology
A more archaic form of maat (“measure”), in petrified use in various contexts and expressions. From Middle Dutch mate, from Old Dutch *māta, from Proto-Germanic *mētō.
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: ma‧te
Noun
See also
Fijian
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Hawaiian make, Maori mate, Rapa Nui mate, Tahitian mate), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay (compare Cebuano matay, Chamorro matai, Ilocano matay, Indonesian mati, Javanese mati, Kapampangan mate, mete, Malagasy maty, Malay mati, Palauan mad, Tagalog matay), from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mat/
Audio (file)
Verb
mate
Galician
Gothic
Lamboya
Derived terms
- haʼmate (“to kill”)
References
- Rina, A. Dj.; Kabba, John Lado B. (2011), “mate”, in Kamus Bahasa Lamboya, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat [Dictionary of Lamboya Language, West Sumba Regency], Waikabubak: Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata, Kabupaten Sumba Bakat, page 66
Maori
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *mate (compare Hawaiian make, Rapa Nui mate, Tahitian mate), from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Fijian mate), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay (compare Cebuano matay, Chamorro matai, Ilocano matay, Indonesian mati, Javanese mati, Kapampangan mate, mete, Malagasy maty, Malay mati, Palauan mad, Tagalog matay), from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.
Mapudungun
See also
References
- Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.
Norwegian Bokmål
Verb
mate (imperative mat, present tense mater, passive mates, simple past and past participle mata or matet, present participle matende)
- to feed
Synonyms
- fôre (about animals)
Related terms
- mat (noun)
Pali
Alternative forms
- 𑀫𑀢𑁂 (Brahmi script)
- मते (Devanagari script)
- মতে (Bengali script)
- මතෙ (Sinhalese script)
- မတေ (Burmese script)
- มเต (Thai script)
- ᨾᨲᩮ (Tai Tham script)
- មតេ (Khmer script)
Adjective
mate
- inflection of mata (“dead; thought”):
- masculine and neuter locative singular
- masculine accusative plural
- feminine vocative singular
Portuguese
Noun
mate m (uncountable)
- (South Brazil) maté (Ilex paraguariensis) (a shrub native to southern South America)
- Synonyms: erva mate, erva
- (South Brazil) maté (a beverage prepared from the leaves of this plant)
- Synonym: chimarrão
Verb
mate
- first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of matar
- É importante que eu mate seus inimigos.
- It’s important that I kill your enemies.
- É importante que eu mate seus inimigos.
- third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of matar
- É importante que ele mate seus inimigos.
- It’s important that he kills your enemies.
- É importante que ele mate seus inimigos.
- third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of matar
- Você aí, mate seus inimigos sozinho.
- You there, kill your enemies by yourself.
- Você aí, mate seus inimigos sozinho.
- third-person singular (você) negative imperative of matar
- Você aí, não mate seus inimigos sozinho.
- You there, don’t kill your enemies by yourself.
- Você aí, não mate seus inimigos sozinho.
Rapa Nui
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *mate (compare Hawaiian make, Maori mate, Tahitian mate), from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Fijian mate), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay (compare Cebuano matay, Chamorro matai, Ilocano matay, Indonesian mati, Javanese mati, Kapampangan mate, mete, Malagasy maty, Malay mati, Palauan mad, Tagalog matay), from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmate/, [ˈmat̪e]
Etymology 2
From jaque mate (“checkmate”).
Noun
mate m (plural mates)
Noun
mate m (plural mates)
- The drink maté, prepared of yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis).
- A hollow gourd or cup in which maté is traditionally served.
- (colloquial, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) head (top part of the body)
- Synonym: cabeza
Derived terms
- mateína
- yerba mate, hierba mate
Etymology 5
Clipping of matemática.
Etymology 6
See the etymology of the main entry.
Verb
mate
Further reading
- “mate” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
Swahili
Tahitian
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *mate (compare Hawaiian make, Maori mate), Rapa Nui mate, from Proto-Oceanic [Term?] (compare Fijian mate), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay (compare Cebuano matay, Chamorro matai, Ilocano matay, Indonesian mati, Javanese mati, Kapampangan mate, mete, Malagasy maty, Malay mati, Palauan mad, Tagalog matay), from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.