matter

From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin materia (“wood”), from mater (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). More recently, referred to Proto-Indo-European *dem-. Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother.

Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmætə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmætɚ/,

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Homophone: madder (some US pronunciations)
• Hyphenation: mat‧ter
• Rhymes: -ætə(ɹ)

matter (countable and uncountable, plural matters)

1. (uncountable) Material; substance.
   1. (physics) Anything with mass.
   2. (physics) Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles.

      Antonym: antimatter

   3. A kind of substance.

      vegetable matter

   4. Printed material, especially in books or magazines.

      He always took some reading matter with him on the plane.

   5. (philosophy) Aristotelian: undeveloped potentiality subject to change and development; formlessness. Matter receives form, and becomes substance.
2. An affair, condition, or subject, especially one of concern or (especially when preceded by the) one that is problematic.

   Something is the matter with him.

   The diplomats met to discuss state matters.

   • 1597, Francis [Bacon], “Of the Colours of Good and Evill, a Fragment”, in The Essayes , 3rd edition, London: Iohn Haviland , published 1632, →OCLC:

     So in many armies, if the matter ſhould bee tried by duell betvvene tvvo Champions, the victory ſhould goe on the one ſide, & yet if it be tried by the groſſe, it vvould goe on the other ſide: for excellencies goe as it vvere by chance, but kinds goe by a more certaine Nature, as by Diſcipline in vvarre.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker ; nd by Robert Boulter ; nd Matthias Walker, , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:

     Son of God, Saviour of men! Thy name / Shall be the copious matter of my song.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Exodus xviii:22:

     Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again; […] . Now she had come to look upon the matter in its true proportions, and her anticipation of a possible chance of teaching him a lesson was a pleasure to behold.

   • 2012 July 12, Sam Adams, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, in AV Club:

     The matter of whether the world needs a fourth Ice Age movie pales beside the question of why there were three before it, but Continental Drift feels less like an extension of a theatrical franchise than an episode of a middling TV cartoon, lolling around on territory that’s already been settled.

3. An approximate amount or extent.

   I stayed for a matter of months.

   • 1670, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in The History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. , London: J M for James Allestry, , →OCLC:

     No small matter of British forces were commanded over sea the year before.

   • 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: , London: R Sare, , →OCLC:

     Away he goes, […] a matter of seven miles.

   • 1700, [William] Congreve, The Way of the World, a Comedy. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC, Act III, scene xv, page 47:

     […] I have Thoughts to tarry a ſmall Matter in Town, to learn ſomewhat of your Lingo firſt, before I croſs the Seas.

4. (countable, law) Legal services provided by a lawyer or firm to their client in relation to a particular issue.

   Please find attached an invoice for three outstanding matters.

5. (obsolete) Essence; pith; embodiment.
   • 1611, Ben Jonson, Oberon, the Faery Prince:

     He is the matter of virtue.

6. (obsolete) (The) inducing cause or reason, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing.
   • 1644, J[ohn] M[ilton], The Doctrine or Discipline of Divorce: , 2nd edition, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, book:

     And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife.

7. (dated, medicine) Pus.
8. (uncountable) Importance.
   • 1880, Bernard Nulty, The Patriot Chief: And Other Poems, page 211:

     What matter if we unrewarded must strive, / If Wall Street and gamblers around it may thrive? / What matter if we doubly pay for our food / To support the monopolist kings of the road?

• As regards sense 2 ("an affair, condition, or subject, especially one of concern or one that is problematic"), the phrase the matter can in most cases be replaced by the adjective wrong. Thus, a phrase like "there is nothing the matter" can be reworded as "there is nothing wrong".

• material
• stuff
• substance

matter (third-person singular simple present matters, present participle mattering, simple past and past participle mattered)

1. (intransitive, stative) To be important.

   The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich.

   Sorry for pouring ketchup on your clean white shirt! - Oh, don't worry, it does not matter.

   • 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:

     As a political system democracy seems to me extraordinarily foolish, […]. My servant is, so far as I am concerned, welcome to as many votes as he can get. […] I do not suppose that it matters much in reality whether laws are made by dukes or cornerboys, but I like, as far as possible, to associate with gentlemen in private life.

   • 2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:

     Despite further attempts by Agbonlahor and Young, however, they could not find the goal to reward their endeavour.
     It mattered little as Newcastle's challenge faded and Villa began to dominate the game in midfield, and it was only Barton's continued sense of injustice that offered the visitors any spark in a tame contest.

2. (transitive, in negative constructions, now England regional, Caribbean) To care about, to mind; to find important.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A Millar, , →OCLC:
     , Folio Society 1973, p.47:

     Besides, if it had been out of doors I had not mattered it so much; but with my own servant, in my own house, under my own roof 

   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LVI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: , volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: S Richardson;  , →OCLC:

     He matter'd not that, he said; coy maids made the fondest wives […].

3. (intransitive, medicine, archaic) To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate.
   • a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:

     Each slight sore mattereth.

• (be important): signify

• matter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• matter (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “matter”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “matter” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.

• IPA^(key): /ma.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

matter

1. Alternative spelling of mater

• mettra

• IPA^(key): /ˈmatɐ/

• Audio (Austria):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

matter

1. comparative degree of matt
2. inflection of matt:
   1. strong/mixed nominative masculine singular
   2. strong genitive/dative feminine singular
   3. strong genitive plural

• mater

matter

1. to checkmate

• Middle French conjugation varies from one text to another. Hence, the following conjugation should be considered as typical, not as exhaustive.

matter m pl or f pl

1. indefinite plural of matte (Etymology 1)

matter f pl

1. indefinite plural of matte (Etymology 1)