Wiktionary

mate

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mate"
Languages (33)
English
Asturian • Cebuano • Czech • Dutch • Fijian • French • Galician • Gothic • Italian • Japanese • Kapampangan • Laboya • Lithuanian • Luba-Kasai • Maori • Mapudungun • Middle English • Norwegian Bokmål • Pali • Polish • Portuguese • Rapa Nui • Romanian • Shona • Spanish • Swahili • Tagalog • Tahitian • Tetum • Tokelauan • Tongan • Uneapa
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English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English mate, a borrowing from Middle Low German mate (“messmate”) (replacing Middle English mette (“table companion, mate, partner”), 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 Low German Maat (“journeyman, companion”), German Maat (“naval non-commissioned officer”). Cognates include Saterland Frisian Moat (“friend, buddy, comrade, mate”), Dutch maat (“mate, partner, colleague, friend”). More at Old English ġe-, English co-, English meat. Doublet of maat.

Noun

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mate (plural mates)

  1. A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.
    Synonyms: fellow, (poetic, archaic) fere
    • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 152:
      A "mate" was a "mate" - share and share alike, no matter how bad might be the times, or how long a spell of ill luck had attended them.
  2. (especially of a non-human animal) A breeding partner.
    • 2015 April 16, Richard P. Grant, “Sex and the successful fundraiser”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      Such overt displays of avowed sexual prowess – or at least, desperate availability – are not limited to the countryside. Even in the city, birds and animals and stockbrokers and nurses find ways of signalling their suitability as a mate.
  3. (colloquial, British, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, sometimes elsewhere in the Commonwealth) A friend, usually of the same sex.
    Synonyms: friend, buddy; see also Thesaurus:friend
    I'm going to the pub with a few mates.
    He's my best mate.
  4. (colloquial, British, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, sometimes elsewhere in the Commonwealth) Friendly term of address to a stranger, usually male, of similar age.
    Synonym: buddy
    Excuse me, mate, have you got the time?
  5. (nautical) In naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer or his subordinate (e.g. Boatswain's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Sailmaker's Mate, etc).
  6. (nautical) A ship's officer, subordinate to the master on a commercial ship.
  7. (nautical) A first mate.
  8. A technical assistant in certain trades (e.g. gasfitter's mate, plumber's mate); sometimes an apprentice.
  9. 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.
  10. A suitable companion; a match; an equal.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      Ye knew me once no mate / For you; there sitting where you durst not soar.
Usage notes
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  • In British English and Irish English, "mate" typically carries more masculine connotations than in Australian English and New Zealand English, in which the word is used as a unisex term.
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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mate (third-person singular simple present mates, present participle mating, simple past and past participle mated)

  1. (intransitive) To match, fit together without space between.
    Synonyms: match, couple, pair
    The pieces of the puzzle mate perfectly.
  2. (intransitive) To copulate.
    Synonyms: couple; see also Thesaurus:copulate
  3. (intransitive) To pair in order to raise offspring.
  4. (transitive) To arrange in matched pairs.
  5. (transitive) To introduce (animals) together for the purpose of breeding.
  6. (transitive, of an animal) To copulate with.
  7. (transitive) To marry; to match (a person).
  8. (transitive, obsolete) To match oneself against; to oppose as equal; to compete with.
  9. (transitive) To fit (objects) together without space between.
  10. (intransitive) To come together as companions, comrades, partners, etc.
    • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 152:
      Indeed, some cases of devotion that were met with were quite touching; and very often to all appearances the pairs were not always mated from the same class of society.
  11. (transitive, aerospace) To move (a space shuttle orbiter) onto the back of an aircraft that can carry it.
    Antonym: demate
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

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From Middle English verb maten, from Middle French mater, from Old French noun mat (“checkmate”), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât).

Noun

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mate (plural mates)

  1. (chess) Clipping of checkmate.
Translations
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Verb

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mate (third-person singular simple present mates, present participle mating, simple past and past participle mated)

  1. (chess) Clipping of checkmate.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Middle English maten (“to overpower”), from Old French mater (“to kill”), from Vulgar Latin *mattō, of unclear origin.

Verb

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mate (third-person singular simple present mates, present participle mating, simple past and past participle mated)

  1. (obsolete) To confuse; to confound.

Etymology 4

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See maté.

Noun

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mate (plural mates)

  2. Alternative spelling of maté, an aromatic tea-like drink prepared from the holly yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis).
  3. The abovementioned plant; the leaves and shoots used for the tea

Anagrams

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Asturian

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Verb

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mate

  1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of matar

Cebuano

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish mate.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmate/ [ˈma.t̪e]
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Noun

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mate (Badlit spelling ᜋᜆᜒ)

  1. (chess) a checkmate

Verb

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mate (Badlit spelling ᜋᜆᜒ)

  1. (chess) to checkmate; to put the king of an opponent into checkmate

Interjection

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mate (Badlit spelling ᜋᜆᜒ)

  1. (chess) checkmate

Quotations

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For quotations using this term, see Citations:mate.

Czech

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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mate

  1. third-person singular present of mást

Dutch

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Pronunciation 1

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  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Noun

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mate f (plural maten, diminutive maatje n)

  1. Archaic form of maat (“measure”).

Noun

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mate

  1. (archaic) dative singular of maat
    In welke mate voel je je verantwoordelijk voor het ongeluk? ― To what degree do you feel responsible for the accident?
Usage notes
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  • The usage of mate in modern Dutch likely mostly reflects a survival of its dative case form. The old nominative mate is more rare, although in a number of collocations such as de mate waarin ("the degree to which") it is still encountered, and with the simplification of the case system the old distinction between the nominative and old dative has become muddled.

Verb

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mate

  1. (dated or formal) singular past subjunctive of meten

Pronunciation 2

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Noun

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mate m (uncountable)

  1. Alternative spelling of maté

Fijian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Central-Pacific *mate, from Proto-Oceanic *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.

Adjective

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mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Noun

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mate

  1. death

French

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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mate

  1. feminine singular of mat

Verb

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mate

  1. inflection of mater:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

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Galician

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from French mat, mate.

Adjective

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mate m or f (plural mates)

  1. matte (not reflective of light)

Etymology 2

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From xaque mate (“checkmate”), from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king [is] dead”).

Noun

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mate m (plural mates)

  1. (chess) mate, checkmate
    Synonym: xaque mate
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Borrowed from Quechua mati.

Noun

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mate m (plural mates)

  2. maté (the drink prepared from yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis)
  3. Ilex paraguariensis, a plant used to make maté
    Synonym: herba mate
Derived terms
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Etymology 4

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From matar (“kill”).

Noun

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mate m (plural mates)

  1. (basketball) dunk (the act of dunking, particularly in basketball)

Verb

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mate

  1. inflection of matar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Gothic

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Romanization

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matē

  1. Romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌴

Italian

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈma.te/
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Hyphenation: mà‧te

Etymology 1

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From Latin māter, from Proto-Italic *mātēr, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr.

Noun

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mate m (plural mati)

  1. (obsolete) mother
    Synonym: madre

See also

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Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati (“gourd”).

Alternative forms

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Noun

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mate m (invariable)

  1. yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis)
  2. maté (beverage)

Further reading

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  • mate1 in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
  • mate2 in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

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Japanese

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Romanization

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mate

  1. Rōmaji transcription of まて

Kapampangan

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay (“die; dead; sick; tired (of)”), from Proto-Austronesian *ma-aCay (“die; dead; eclipse of sun or moon”), from Proto-Austronesian *aCay (“death”). Compare Ilocano matay, Tagalog matay, Bikol Central matay, Cebuano matay, Maranao matay, and Malay mati.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /məˈte/ [məˈtɛ]
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Adjective

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mate

  1. dead

Verb

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mate

  1. to die

Derived terms

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Laboya

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Verb

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mate

  1. to die

Derived terms

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References

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  • 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

Lithuanian

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Pronunciation

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(locative singular)

  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

(vocative singular)

  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

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matè

  1. locative singular of mãtas (“measure”)

Noun

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mãte

  1. vocative singular of mãtas (“measure”)

Luba-Kasai

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Noun

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mate

  1. saliva

Maori

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Etymology

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From Proto-Polynesian *mate, from Proto-Oceanic *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.

Noun

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mate

  1. death
  2. sickness, illness, disease
  3. misfortune, calamity, defect
  4. desire, need, want

Derived terms

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Verb

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mate

  1. (stative) to be dead, deceased, killed
  2. (stative) to be sick, ill, unwell, diseased
  3. (stative) to be defeated, conquered, beaten, overcome
  4. (stative) to be in want of, deeply in love

Further reading

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  • “mate” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Mapudungun

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Noun

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mate (Raguileo spelling)

  1. The drink maté, prepared of yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis).

See also

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References

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  • Wixaleyiñ: Mapucezugun-wigkazugun pici hemvlcijka (Wixaleyiñ: Small Mapudungun-Spanish dictionary), Beretta, Marta; Cañumil, Dario; Cañumil, Tulio, 2008.

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Low German mate, from Old Saxon gimato, from Proto-West Germanic *gamatjō. Doublet of mette.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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mate (plural mates)

  1. mate (companion, comrade)
  2. mate (shipmate)
  3. (rare) person, human
Descendants
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  • English: mate
  • Scots: mate
References
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Etymology 2

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Interjection

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mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“checkmate”)

Noun

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mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“checkmate”)

Adjective

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mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“checkmate”)

Etymology 3

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Adjective

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mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“tired”)
  2. inflection of mat:
    1. weak singular
    2. strong/weak plural

Etymology 4

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Verb

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mate

  1. Alternative form of maten (“to checkmate”)

Etymology 5

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Verb

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mate

  1. Alternative form of maten (“to overpower”)

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From mat.

Verb

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mate (imperative mat, present tense mater, passive mates, simple past and past participle mata or matet, present participle matende)

  1. to feed

Synonyms

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References

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Pali

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Alternative forms

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Alternative scripts

Adjective

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mate

  1. inflection of mata (“dead; thought”):
    1. masculine/neuter locative singular
    2. masculine accusative plural
    3. feminine vocative singular

Noun

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mate

  1. locative singular of mata (“opinion”)

Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mate f (indeclinable)

  1. maté, yerba mate (shrub that produces the beverage maté)
    Synonym: yerba mate
  2. maté, yerba mate (beverage maté)
    Synonym: yerba mate

Further reading

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  • mate in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati.

Noun

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mate m (uncountable)

  1. (South Brazil) maté (Ilex paraguariensis) (a shrub native to southern South America)
    Synonyms: erva mate, erva
  2. (South Brazil) maté (a beverage prepared from the leaves of this plant)
    Synonym: chimarrão

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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mate

  1. inflection of matar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Rapa Nui

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Etymology

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From Proto-Polynesian *mate, from Proto-Oceanic *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.

Adjective

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mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Verb

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mate

  1. to die

Romanian

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Etymology

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Clipping of matematică.

Noun

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mate f (uncountable)

  1. (colloquial) maths

Shona

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *màtáì.

Noun

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maté class 6

  1. saliva (liquid secreted into the mouth)

Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈmate/ [ˈma.t̪e]
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Syllabification: ma‧te

Etymology 1

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Borrowed from French mat, mate.

Adjective

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mate m or f (masculine and feminine plural mates)

  1. matte (not reflective of light)

Etymology 2

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From jaque mate (“checkmate”), from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king [is] dead”).

Noun

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mate m (plural mates)

  1. (chess) mate, checkmate
    Synonym: jaque mate
  2. (colloquial, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) a hand gesture
    Synonym: ademán
    Siempre me dan gracia sus mates. ― I always find his hand gestures funny.
  3. (colloquial, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) a feint; something feigned; a simulation
  4. (colloquial, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) a gesture that hints something
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Mate

Borrowed from Quechua mati.

Noun

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mate m (plural mates)

  2. maté (the drink prepared from yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis))
  3. a hollow gourd or cup in which maté is traditionally served
    Synonym: porongo
  4. Ilex paraguariensis, a plant used to make maté
    Synonyms: yerba mate, hierba mate
  5. (colloquial, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) head (top part of the body)
    Synonym: cabeza
Derived terms
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Descendants
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Etymology 4

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Possibly from sense 1 in the sense of "dull" or "not reflective of light."

Adjective

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mate m or f (masculine and feminine plural mates)

  1. (South America) tan, tanned (skin colour)

Etymology 5

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Clipping of matemática.

Noun

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mate f (plural mates)

  1. (colloquial) math / maths
    Synonym: mates

Etymology 6

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Deverbal from matar (“kill”).

Noun

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mate m (plural mates)

  1. (basketball) dunk, slam dunk (the act of dunking: put the ball directly downward through the hoop while grabbing onto the rim with power)
    Synonyms: clavada, volcada, retacada, hundida, donqueo

Verb

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mate

  1. inflection of matar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

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  • “mate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28
  • “mate” in Diccionario de americanismos, Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
  • Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN

Swahili

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *màtáì.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mate (ma class, plural only)

  1. saliva (liquid secreted into the mouth)

Tagalog

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish mate, from jaque mate (“checkmate”), from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king [is] dead”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mate (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜆᜒ) (chess)

  1. checkmate

See also

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Further reading

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Tahitian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Polynesian *mate, from Proto-Oceanic *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.

Adjective

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mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Verb

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mate

  1. to die

Tetum

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Etymology

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From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.

Adjective

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mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Noun

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mate

  1. death

Verb

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mate

  1. to die

Further reading

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  • Fransiskus Monteiro (1985) Kamus Tetun-Indonesia [Tetum-Indonesian Dictionary] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan

Tokelauan

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈma.te]
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Etymology 1

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From Proto-Polynesian *mate. Cognates include Hawaiian make and Samoan mate.

Verb

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mate (plural mamate)

  1. (intransitive) to die
  2. (stative) to be paralysed
  3. (intransitive, of fire) to go out
  4. (intransitive, of players) to go out
  5. (intransitive, of engines) to stop
Usage notes
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  • In the sense "to die", mate is normaly used to refer to plants and animals.
  • When used to refer to a human, mate may be perceived as either disrespectful or humorous.

Etymology 2

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From Proto-Polynesian *mate. Cognates include Tongan mate and Samoan mate.

Noun

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mate

  1. guess

Verb

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mate

  1. (transitive) to guess
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Noun

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mate

  1. (to a male) sororal nephew

References

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  • R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎[2], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 229

Tongan

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Etymology

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From Proto-Polynesian *mate.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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mate

  1. death
  2. the dead

Adjective

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mate

  1. dead

Uneapa

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Etymology

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From Proto-Oceanic *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *aCay.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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mate

  1. to die

Further reading

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  • Ross, Malcolm D. (2016) Andrew Pawley, editor, The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic: Volume 5, People: body and mind, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, →OCLC; republished as Meredith Osmond, editor, (Please provide a date or year)
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