mate

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "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 (“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

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.
  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.
Derived terms
Translations
nautical: first mate — see first mate
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb

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
Translations
to engage in sexual intercourse — see copulate
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Etymology 2

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

Noun

mate (plural mates)

  1. (chess) Clipping of checkmate.
Translations
checkmate — see checkmate

Verb

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

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

Etymology 3

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

Verb

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

  1. (obsolete) To confuse; to confound.

Etymology 4

See maté.

Noun

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

Asturian

Verb

mate

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

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mate.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmate/,
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Noun

mate (Badlit spelling ᜋᜆᜒ)

  1. (chess) a checkmate

Verb

mate (Badlit spelling ᜋᜆᜒ)

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

Interjection

mate (Badlit spelling ᜋᜆᜒ)

  1. (chess) checkmate

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:mate.

Czech

Pronunciation

Verb

mate

  1. third-person singular present of mást

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

mate f (plural maten, diminutive maatje n)

  1. A measure, degree: quantity or intensity of something abstract
    In welke mate voel je je verantwoordelijk voor het ongeluk?
    To what degree do you feel responsible for the accident?

See also

Verb

mate

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

Fijian

Etymology

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

Adjective

mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Noun

mate

  1. death

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

mate

  1. feminine singular of mat

Verb

mate

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

Anagrams

Galician

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French mat, mate.

Adjective

mate m or f (plural mates)

  1. matte (not reflective of light)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

mate m (plural mates)

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

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Quechua mati.

Noun

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

Etymology 4

From matar (“kill”).

Noun

mate m (plural mates)

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

Verb

mate

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

Gothic

Romanization

matē

  1. Romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐌴

Italian

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

Noun

mate m (plural mati)

  1. (obsolete) mother
    Synonym: madre

See also

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

Noun

mate m (invariable)

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

Further reading

  • 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

Japanese

Romanization

mate

  1. Rōmaji transcription of まて

Kapampangan

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): /məˈte/,
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Adjective

mate

  1. dead

Verb

mate

  1. to die

Derived terms

Laboya

Verb

mate

  1. to die

Derived terms

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

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

(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

matè

  1. locative singular of mãtas (“measure”)

Noun

mãte

  1. vocative singular of mãtas (“measure”)

Luba-Kasai

Noun

mate

  1. saliva

Maori

Etymology

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

Noun

mate

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

Derived terms

Verb

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

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

Mapudungun

Noun

mate (Raguileo spelling)

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

See also

References

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

Middle English

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

mate (plural mates)

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

Etymology 2

Interjection

mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“checkmate”)

Noun

mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“checkmate”)

Adjective

mate

  1. Alternative form of mat (“checkmate”)

Etymology 3

Adjective

mate

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

Etymology 4

Verb

mate

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

Etymology 5

Verb

mate

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From mat.

Verb

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

  1. to feed

Synonyms

Related terms

References

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

Adjective

mate

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

Noun

mate

  1. locative singular of mata (“opinion”)

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati.

Pronunciation

Noun

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

  • mate in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati.

Noun

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

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mate

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

Rapa Nui

Etymology

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

Adjective

mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Verb

mate

  1. to die

Romanian

Etymology

Clipping of matematică.

Noun

mate f (uncountable)

  1. (colloquial) maths

Shona

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *màtáì.

Noun

maté class 6

  1. saliva (liquid secreted into the mouth)

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmate/
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Syllabification: ma‧te

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French mat, mate.

Adjective

mate m or f (masculine and feminine plural mates)

  1. matte (not reflective of light)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

mate m (plural mates)

  1. (chess) mate, checkmate
    Synonym: jaque mate
  2. (colloquial, El Salvador) a hand gesture
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Mate

Borrowed from Quechua mati.

Noun

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
Descendants

Etymology 4

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

Adjective

mate m or f (masculine and feminine plural mates)

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

Etymology 5

Clipping of matemática.

Noun

mate f (plural mates)

  1. (colloquial) math / maths
    Synonym: mates

Etymology 6

Deverbal from matar (“kill”).

Noun

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

mate

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

Further reading

  • “mate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
  • 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

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *màtáì.

Pronunciation

Noun

mate (ma class, plural only)

  1. saliva (liquid secreted into the mouth)

Tagalog

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Noun

mate (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜆᜒ) (chess)

  1. checkmate

See also

Further reading

Tahitian

Etymology

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

Adjective

mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Verb

mate

  1. to die

Tetum

Etymology

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

Adjective

mate

  1. dead (no longer alive)

Noun

mate

  1. death

Verb

mate

  1. to die

Further reading

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

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key):
  • Hyphenation: ma‧te

Etymology 1

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

Verb

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
  • 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

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

Noun

mate

  1. guess

Verb

mate

  1. (transitive) to guess
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Noun

mate

  1. (to a male) sororal nephew

References

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

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mate.

Pronunciation

Noun

mate

  1. death
  2. the dead

Adjective

mate

  1. dead

Uneapa

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Verb

mate

  1. to die

Further reading

  • 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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