| 释义 |
▪ I. meet, n.|miːt|
[f. meet v.]
1. a. The meeting of hounds and men in preparation for a hunt. Also, by extension, applied to other kinds of sporting meetings (e.g. of coaches, cyclists).
1831–4R. S. Surtees Jorrock's Jaunts (1838) 39 They overtook a gentleman perusing a long bill of the meets for the next week, of at least half a dozen packs. 1854J. W. Warter Last of Old Squires vi. 58 If it so happened that the fox⁓hounds did not make their usual meets in the neighbourhood. 1893Times 4 May 12/1 The interesting meet of the stage-coaches to be held to-day. 1897Outing (U.S.) XXX. 493/2 For 16 years the club's meet has been one of the most popular cycling events.
b. slang. A meeting; an assignation or appointment, esp. a meeting with a supplier of drugs; a meeting-place, esp. one used by thieves.
1879Macm. Mag. Oct. 503/1 At six I was at the meet (trysting-place). 1889‘Mark Twain’ Lett. (1917) II. 512 We'll manage a meet yet. 1893L. W. Moore His Own Story xxxvii. 460 Where he could see the ‘meet’. Ibid. 461 He made a ‘meet’ for the following day. 1916C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke 23, I dunno 'ow I 'ad the nerve ter speak, An' make that meet wiv 'er fer Sundee week! 1929Chicago Tribune 11 Oct. 14/3 The [drug-] peddler takes his stock to a point on the street or possibly a pool hall. The place where he meets his customer is called a ‘meet’ or a ‘stand’. 1930Amer. Speech VI. 118 Coast dental meet set for July 8– 12. 1938D. Runyon Take it Easy xv. 291 He finally arranges a personal meet with the Judy. 1944[see grouse a.]. 1955W. Gaddis Recognitions ii. v. 490 I'm going to make a meet, he answered..—I'm going out to meet a passer, to hand this stuff over to him. 1962K. Orvis Damned & Destroyed xxv. 183 Your man made a meet... No drugs changed hands. 1967J. Morgan Involved 26 I've made the meet with Alfie Stride for twelve-thirty. 1970G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard vi. 180 Manso was considering trying to make a meet with you.
2. a. Geom. A point, line, or surface of intersection.
1893J. W. Russell Pure Geom. 156 The meets of opposite sides of a hexagon..inscribed in a conic are collinear. Ibid. 236 Given five points on each of two conics, to construct the conic which passes through the four meets of these conics and also touches a given line. 1958A. Barton Introd. Coordinate Geom. viii. 147 (heading) Meet of two tangents. Ibid. x. 213 Find the equation of the lines joining O to the meets of 4x - 3y = 10 and x2 + y2 + 3x - 6y - 20 = 0.
b. Algebra. The intersection of two or more sets; also, the infimum of two or more elements of a lattice.
1933G. Birkhoff in Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. XXIX. 441 Let Π be any collection of subalgebras Sk... By the meet △{ob}Π{cb} of Π we mean the set of elements in every Sk of Π. 1933H. F. Baker Princ. Geom. VI. ii. 70, [h] and [k] have a common space [m], which we may call their meet. 1938T. G. Room Geom. of Determinantal Loci i. 6 The join of two spaces is defined as the space of least dimension which contains all the points of each of them, and the meet (or intersection) of the two spaces as the space of least dimension containing all points common to both of them. 1965D. E. Rutherford Introd. Lattice Theory i. 3 We frequently call the l.u.b. of a subset the union of the elements which compose the subset, and correspondingly we call the g.l.b. of the subset the intersection or meet of its elements. 1972A. G. Howson Handbk. Terms Algebra & Analysis xv. 76 Every two elements of P have a meet and a join, e.g. 12 {logicand} 30 = 6, 3 {logicor} 5 = 15, and so P is a lattice.
▪ II. meet, a. and adv. Now arch.|miːt|
Forms: 1 (ᵹe)mǽte, méte, 4 met, 4–6 mete, 5–7 meete, (6 mytt, meat(e, Sc. meit, meyit), 6– meet. Also 2–3 i-mete.
[ME. mēte (with close ē, riming with swēte, etc.); prob. repr. OE. (Anglian) *ᵹeméte, WS. ᵹemǽte (early southern ME. i-mete) with normal loss of the prefix. The OE. ᵹemǽte:—OTeut. *gamǽtjo- (OHG. gamâȥi equal, MHG. gemæȥe, mod.G. gemäsz), f. *ga- (y-) prefix synonymous with L. com- + *mœ̄tā measure, f. *mǣt-, ablaut-var. of *met- (see mete v.1). The etymological sense is thus ‘commensurate’.
OE. had mǽte adj. of similar formation without the prefix, but it occurs only in the senses ‘small, inferior’. The formally equivalent ON. mǽt-r, ‘valuable, excellent, lawful’, may possibly be the source of some of the Eng. senses. The alleged OE. ᵹemet adj., sometimes assigned as the etymon, appears to be merely a predicative use of ᵹemet n., measure, what is fitting; and if the adj. existed its ME. form would not have had close ē.]
A. adj.
†1. Having the proper dimensions; made to fit. In later use: Close-fitting, barely large enough. Also Comb. meet-bodied. Obs.
[c961æthelwold Rule St. Benet lv. (Schröer 1885) 89 Besceawiᵹe se abbod and hate besidian þæra reafa ᵹemet, þæt hy ne synd to scorte, ac ᵹemæte þam, þe hyra notiað. a1300in Leg. Holy Rood (1871) 30 Þo was it bi a fot to schort..hi ne miȝte it make Imete.] a1300Cursor M. 8809 Son þe tre was heun dun, And squir on-laid and scantliun, Þe tre was als mete and quem, Als animan þar-to cuth deme. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xii. (Mathias) 50 Þar-for of spechis a cowyne Þa mad til hyme met. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxviii. 13 Sowtaris, with schone weill maid and meit, Ȝe mend the faltis of ill maid feit. 1513Douglas æneis viii. viii. 10 Apon his feyt his meyit schois hoit War buklit. 16..Will Stewart & John lxi. in Child Ballads II. 436 Iohn he gott on a clouted cloake, Soe meete and low then by his knee. 1727Burgh Rec. Stirling (1889) 200 They will allow him [the towns pyper] a meet bodied coat with the towns livery thereon. a1763Sweet William's Ghost xiii. in Child Ballads II. 229 There's no room at my side..My coffin's made so meet. 1825–80Jamieson, Meet-coat, a term used by old people for a coat that is exactly meet for the size of the body, as distinguished from a long coat.
†2. Equal, on the same level. Const. to. Also absol. as n., an equal. Obs.
c1369Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 484 Of al goodenesse she had none mete. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 2114 Thar es na sorow mete to myne. c1440York Myst. xvii. 281 Hayll! man þat is made to þin men meete [MS. mette, rime feete].
†b. to be meet with: to be even or quits with; to be revenged upon. Obs.
1599Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 47 You taxe Signior Benedicke too much, but hee'l be meet with you. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 187 The foule ill take me if I be not revenged and meet with thee. 1687Death's Vis. Pref. (1713) 12 An Unjust, Terrible Devil..that..will be severely meet with them for all the..Scorn they have cast even on his Being and Power.
3. Suitable, fit, proper (for some purpose or occasion, expressed or implied). Const. for, to; also to with inf.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 71 Alle þis mirþe þay maden to þe mete tyme. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1043 (Dido) There nis no womman to him half so mete. c1386― Knt.'s T. 773 Two harneys..Bothe suffisaunt and mete to darreyne The bataille. c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture 832 Mustard is metest with alle maner salt herynge. 1481Caxton Reynard xv. (Arb.) 32 Hadde we an halter which were mete for his necke and strong ynough. 1530Palsgr. 574/1 Of all monethes Marche is the metest to set yonge plantes and to graffe in. 1547–8Order of Communion 10 So shall ye bee mete partakers of these holy misteries. 1552in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. 151 A gate or dore..for the Apte, commodyous, and meate passage of the gouernours. 1557Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 245 For to deceiue they be most mete That best can play hypocrisy. 1563Shute Archit. B ij, Whose names also I thought not altogyther the metest to be omitted. 1616Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) I. 129, I am to pass back a lease of 40 yeares to Capn Tynt at a meet Rent. a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 448 He was happy in a meet yoke-fellow. 1692Bentley Boyle Lect. iii. 8 The Eye is very proper and meet for seeing. 1820Scott Monast. xviii, To transmew myself into some civil form meeter for this worshipful company. 1852M. Arnold Empedocles 68 Not here, O Apollo! Are haunts meet for thee. 1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 372 Thrombosis meet to explain the death is not always found.
b. Predicatively of an action: Fitting, becoming, proper. Chiefly in it is meet that.., as (or than) is meet.
a1300Cursor M. 3675 Sco..cled him, sum it was mete, Wit his broþer robe þat smelled suete. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 686 O swete child! it was nothinge mete..To let Iudas kisse thes lippes so swete. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion, It is mete and right so to do. 1611Bible Jer. xxvi. 14 Doe with mee as seemeth good and meet vnto you. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 56 Using far less diligence here than was meet. 1752Young Brothers i. i, My cities, which deserted in my wars, I thought it meet to punish. 1833Tennyson Poems 116 This is lovelier and sweeter, Men of Ithaca, this is meeter, In the hollow rosy vale to tarry. 1846Trench Mirac. Introd. (1862) 38 It was only meet that this Son should be clothed with mightier powers than theirs.
†4. Mild, gentle. Obs.
1433Lydg. S. Edmund 1007 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 394 Most temperat he was of his dieete,..To foryefnesse most mansuet and meete. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) I. 320 Mansweit and meit, and full of gentres. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus Ann. iii. vii. 73 The Senators..thought Lepidus rather meete [L. mitem] then a coward.
†B. adv. In a meet, fit, or proper manner; meetly, fitly; sufficiently. Also, exactly (in a certain position). meet to: in close contact with.
1390Gower Conf. III. 183 His skyn was schape al meete, And nayled on the same seete. c1470Henry Wallace x. 149 That taill full meit thow has tauld be thi sell. 1542Recorde Gr. Artes G vij b, In them the two fyrste fygures wer set euer mete one vnder the other. 1589R. Robinson Gold. Mirr. (1851) 1 Gasing in the cloudes, these countreys for to vew, Meete underneath, the mountaine where I was. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxxv. 68 Diana keeps this Margarit, Bot Hymen heghts to match hir meit. 1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 333 All yet seemes well, and if it end so meete, The bitter past, more welcome is the sweet. 1632Lithgow Trav. x. 465 The cords being first laid meet to my skin. 1688Shadwell Sqr. Alsatia iii. i, You have given me so many bumpers I am Meet drunk already.
▪ III. meet, v.|miːt|
Inflected met. Forms: 1 métan, Northumb. moeta, 3 meten, 3–4 miete(n, 3–6 mete, 4–7 Sc. meit(e, 5–7 meete, (4 meyt, met, 5 mett, 6 might, 7 meat), 4– meet. pa. tense 1 métte, 3–6 mette, 4 meyt, 4–7 mett, 5 Sc. meit, 4– met. pa. pple. 4 mett, mete, 4–6 mette, 5 meyt, 4– met; 4–5 ymette, 4–7 ymet, 5 imett(e.
[OE. métan (Northumb. mœ́ta), also with prefix ᵹemétan, wk. vb., corresponds to OFris. mêta, OS. môtian (MLG. môten, gemôten, Du. moeten, ON. mœ́ta (Sw. möta, Da. möde), Goth. gamōtjan:—OTeut. *(ga)mōtjan, f. *mōtom coming together, encounter, meeting. See moot n.]
I. Transitive senses.
1. To come or light upon, come across, fall in with, find. Now only dial. exc. with person as obj., in which use it is merged in 4; otherwise superseded by meet with.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxx. §2 Hwi ofermodiᵹe ᵹe þon ofer oðre men for eowrum ᵹebyrdum buton anweorce, nu ᵹe nanne ne maᵹon metan unæþelne? 971Blickl. Hom. 217 Ða he eft ham com, þa mette he ðane man forðferedne. a1400Arthur 343 Þe ferst lond þat he gan Meete, Forsoþe hyt was Bareflete. c1400Mandeville (1839) xv. 164 Summe of hem worschipe the Sonne,..summe Serpentes, or the first thing that thei meeten at morwen. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. ii. 188, I see a man heere needs not liue by shifts, When in the streets he meetes such golden gifts. 1676Wiseman Surg. ii. iii. 174 Of this Intemperies you will find an Observation in Herpes... And whereever you meet it, you shall find difficulty. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 61, I had not gone..a mile, when, meeting a dirty road, I turned over a stile. Mod. Pembrokeshire (E.D.D.), I met this glove on the road.
2. a. To come face to face with, or into the company of (a person who is arriving at the same point from the opposite or a different direction).
c1205Lay. 18127 In are brade strete he igon mete þreo cnihtes & heore sweines. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 54/7 Ase he cam a day bi þe wei he gan mieten bi cas Ane kniȝt. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 82 Whon I mette him in þe Market þat I most hate, Ich heilede him as hendely as I his frend weore. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 606 He met ane Porter swayne Cummand raith him agayne. 1530Palsgr. 635/1, I mette hym a myle beyonde the towne. 1693Congreve Old Bach. iv. v, I would have overtaken, not have met my Game. 1824Hogg Conf. Sinner 130 They perceived the two youths coming, as to meet them, on the same path.
b. To arrive in the presence of (a person, etc., approaching) as the intended result of going in the opposite direction: often in phrases to come, go, run, etc. to meet. Hence, to go to a place at which (a person) arrives, in order e.g. to welcome, communicate with, accompany, or convey (him). Similarly, to meet a coach, meet a train, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 10555 Þi lauerd es comand als suith, Ga to mete him. c1470Henry Wallace i. 62 Till Noram kirk he come with outyn mar, The consell than of Scotland meit hym thar. 15..Sir A. Barton in Surtees Misc. (1888) 74 To might my Lord came the kinge and quen. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iv. ii. 96 Ile appoint my men to carry the basket againe, to meete him at the doore with it. 1599― Much Ado i. i. 97 Good Signior Leonato, you are come to meet your trouble: the fashion of the world is to auoid cost, and you encounter it. 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. cx, As in a drought the thirsty creatures cry And gape upon the gathered clouds for rain, And first the martlet meets it in the sky. 1667Milton P.L. x. 103 Where art thou Adam, wont with joy to meet My coming seen far off? 1710Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. §97 Bid your servant meet you at such a time. 1808Scott Marm. i. xiii, Then stepp'd to meet that noble Lord, Sir Hugh the Heron bold. 1894Doyle S. Holmes 49 I'll meet the seven o'clock train and take no steps till you arrive. Mod. An omnibus from the hotel meets all trains. I was met at the station by my host with a carriage.
c. Phr. to meet half-way: chiefly in figurative uses, † to forestall, anticipate (obs.); to respond to the friendly advances of; to make concessions to (a person) in response to or in expectation of equal concessions on his part; to come to a compromise with. to meet trouble half-way: to distress oneself needlessly with anticipations of what may happen.
1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. B, Presently he remembred himselfe, and had like to fall into his memento againe, but that I met him halfe waies, and askt his Lordship [etc.]. 1625Bacon Ess., Judicature ⁋3 Let not the Iudge meet the Cause halfe Way; Nor giue Occasion to the Partie to say; His Counsell or Proofes were not heard. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. III) 112, I like this popular Divinitie, which meets us halfe way, and stoops a little, that we may not strayne our selves too much. 1706Farquhar Recruit. Officer iii. i, We lov'd two Ladies, they met us half way, and [etc.]. 1799Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (1845) IV. 66 There is not a thing that the Admiral could propose that I would not meet him half-way. 1821Lamb Elia Ser. i. Valentine's day, The world meets nobody half-way. 1884Times (weekly ed.) 5 Sept. 12/2 The Polish peasantry..will meet the Czar halfway in whatever he does for their good.
d. transf. with inanimate things as subj. or obj.: To come into contact, association, or junction with (something or some one moving in a different course). Also, of things that have attributed motion, as a line, road, etc.: To arrive at a point of contact or intersection with (another line, etc.).
a1300Cursor M. 23161 Oft i was wit malisce mette. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. iii. 21 Let no whit thee dismay The hard beginne that meetes thee in the dore. 16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. ii. i. (Arb.) 22 Where so ere we run there meetes vs griefe. 1833Tennyson Lady of Shalott i. 3 Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky. 1842― Sir Galahad vi, I yearn to breathe the airs of heaven That often meet me here. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 663 The gibbet was set up where King Street meets Cheapside. 1898Encycl. Sport II. 297 (Rowing) Meeting the oar, bringing the body up to the oar at the close of the stroke in place of bringing the hands strongly up into the chest.
e. Of an object of attention: To present itself before, to come under the observation of. to meet the eye (sight, view), meet the ear: to be visible, audible. to meet the eye of: to happen to be seen by. more than meets the eye: greater significance than is at first apparent.
1632Milton Penseroso 120 Of Forests, and inchantments drear, Where more is meant then meets the ear. 1667― P.L. vi. 18 Chariots and flaming Armes, and fierie Steeds Reflecting blaze on blaze, first met his view. 1781Cowper Progr. Err. 48 Where'er he turns, enjoyment and delight..meet his sight. 1853‘P. Paxton’ Stray Yankee in Texas 308 There might be more in it than at first met the eye. 1876Trevelyan Macaulay I. 363 All that met his ear or eye. 1883Gilmour Mongols xviii. 211 Striking pious attitudes at every object of reverence that meets his eye. a1906Mod. Advt. If this should meet the eye of A. B., he is requested [etc.]. 1906Galsworthy Man of Property iii. viii. 368 There's more here, sir, however,..than meets the eye. I don't believe in suicide, nor in pure accident, myself. 1911Beerbohm Zuleika D. xvi. 247 Quick in more than meets the eye, John. Spiritually quick. You saw me putting on my hat; you did not see love taking on the crown of pity. 1923Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves ii. 21 ‘There is more in this than meets the eye,’ I said. ‘Why should your uncle ask a fellow to lunch whom he's never seen?’ 1943F. W. Crofts Affair at Little Wokeham ii. 21 There's more in most things than meets the eye.
f. to meet a person's eye, gaze, etc.: to perceive that he is looking at one; also, to submit oneself to his look without turning away.
1670Dryden Tyr. Love v. i. 48 So much of guilt in my refusal lyes, That Debtor-like, I dare not meet your eyes. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. 177, I..Not yet endured to meet her opening eyes. 1883F. M. Peard Contrad. xxxii, As she turned her head..she met his eyes.
g. Naut. to meet (her, the ship): see quots. 1776 and 1948.
1776W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine (Phr. French Marine), s.v. Rencontre! The order to the helmsman, to meet the ship, right the helm, or put it towards the opposite side, in order to check the ship's sheer. 1841R. H. Dana Seaman's Manual 183 If the order is..‘Ease her!’ ‘Meet her!’ or the like, the man should answer by repeating..the order. 1856C. Nordhoff Merchant Vessel 233 The obstinate craft takes a mighty, almost resistless sweep to the other side, and ‘meet her’, is the cry, while poor Jack tugs desperately at the heavy-moving wheel. 1902B. Lubbock Round the Horn 187 Occasionally he says sharply, ‘Meet her! Meet her!’ and sometimes he jumps to the wheel and gives us his powerful aid in grinding it up and down. 1948R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 461/1 Meet her, an order given to the helmsman to shift the rudder so as to check the swing of the vessel's head in a turn. 1968H. F. Chase Boatswain's Manual (ed. 3) xi. 255 If given too much wheel,..her head may start to fall off to port. When this is about to happen the helmsman will ‘meet her’ by putting the wheel to starboard for a few moments.
3. a. To encounter or oppose in battle. Also (after F. rencontrer), to fight a duel with.
c1275Lay. 16366 Ten þusend Scottes he sende bi-halues þe heaþene to mete [c 1205 to imete]. c1330Amis & Amil. 1114 Yif Y may mete him aright, With mi brond that is so bright. 1375Barbour Bruce xii. 226 Meit thame with speris hardely. c1400Destr. Troy 6527 All þat met hym with malis..Auther dyet of his dynttes, or were ded wondit. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 159 At thair cuming baldlie and wt scharpe weiris thay meit thame. 1671Milton Samson 1123, I only with an Oaken staff will meet thee. 1771Junius Lett. lxiii. (1820) 323 His opponents..never meet him fairly upon his own ground. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. song, Like fire he meets the foe. 1855Smedley H. Coverdale lii, I suppose I should be forced to meet him..if he were to challenge me.
†b. To be ‘meet’ or even with; = 11 i. Obs.
1613Fletcher, etc. Hon. Man's Fort. iii. iii, I have heard of your tricks,..well I may live To meet thee. 1623Fletcher Rule a Wife v. iii, Some trick upon my credit, I shall meet it.
c. To encounter or face the attacks of (something impersonal); to oppose, cope or grapple with (an objection, difficulty, evil). (Cf. 11 h.)
1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman (1841) I. vii. 53 Not be afraid of meeting the mischief which he sees follow too fast for him to escape. 1837J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (ed. 2) III. xi. 166 Who does not see, that to bear pain well, is to meet it courageously? 1854Brewster More Worlds xv. 221 It is vain to argue against assertions like these which can only be met by an equally positive denial of them. 1855Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §11 The impetus of a push or a squeeze received on the hand is measured by the muscular exertion induced to meet it. 1874Green Short Hist. i. §4. 40 The threats of Charles were met by Offa with defiance. 1884Punch 22 Nov. 252/1 Seen my last pamphlet, ‘How to Meet the Microbe’?
†d. With simple refl. pron. in reciprocal sense: To encounter each other; = sense 9. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1950 Bi side winchestre in a feld to gadere hii hom mette. c1320Sir Tristr. 3325 Þai metten hem in asty Bi o forestes side.
4. a. To come (whether by accident or design) into the company of, or into personal intercourse with; to ‘come across’ (a person) in the intercourse of society or business. Freq. used in the imperative as part of a formula of introduction.
c1374Chaucer Compl. Mars 138 Alas when shal I mete yow, herte dere? 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 149 Remaines, that, in th' Officiall Markes inuested, You anon doe meet the Senate. 1676Wiseman Surg. i. xxi. 114 The next day in the afternoon the two Physicians and some of the Chirurgeons met me at the Patient's Chamber. 1676Dryden State Innoc. v. i, And not look back to see, When what we love we ne'er must meet again. 1767Woman of Fashion I. 127, I was..struck with the Person, but much more with the good Sense, of the young Creature I accidently met. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 81 It was not strange that the king did not then wish to meet them. 1855Tennyson Maud ii. iv. xiii, I loathe the squares and streets, And the faces that one meets. 1887W. Beatty-Kingston (title) Monarchs I have met. a1906Mod. His medical colleagues refuse to meet him in consultation. 1920C. E. Mulford Johnny Nelson vi. 37 ‘Meet th' Doc, Nelson,’ said Dave. Johnny turned. ‘Glad to meet you, Doctor.’ 1926A. A. Thomson (title) Meet Mr. Huckabee. 1933‘Hay’ & ‘Armstrong’ Orders are Orders ii. 46 Waggermeyer (breezy as ever) Good morning, boys! Meet Miss Marigold, my secretary and continuity girl. 1961T. Hughes (title) Meet my folks!
b. Phrase, to be well, happily, etc., met. Also ellipt., well met! (as an expression of welcome).
c1460Play Sacram. 237 A petre powle good daye & wele imett. 1470–85Malory Arthur ii. vii. 83 Now go we hens said balyn & wel be we met. 1526Skelton Magnyf. 461 What, wanton, wanton, nowe well ymet! 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iii. 45 Well met, well met, Master Antipholus. a1592Greene James IV, iv. ii, Widow Countess, well y-met. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iv. 19 You are happilie met. 1834Lytton Pompeii i. i, Ho, Diomed, well met.
†c. With simple refl. pron. (cf. 3 d): To encounter each other; = sense 8. Obs.
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 354/302 Bi þe watere of pireford þis two schirene hem mette, And conteckeden for þis holie bodie. a1300Cursor M. 10563 Quen þis seli mett þam same, Þai grett þam-self wit gastli game.
5. To encounter, experience (a certain fortune or destiny); to receive (reward, punishment, or treatment of a certain kind). Now rare or poet., superseded by meet with (11 g).
c1440York Myst. xi. 288 Mo mervaylles mon he mett. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 15 Wish me partaker in thy happinesse, When thou do'st meet good hap. a1631Donne Lett., To Sir T. Lucy (1651) 11, I have a little satisfaction in seeing a letter written to you upon my table, though I meet no opportunity of sending it. 1661Boyle Style of Script. (1675) 243 Those..met a destiny not ill resembling that of Zacheus. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 271 As one who loves, and some unkindness meets. a1677Barrow Serm. xvii. Wks. 1687 I. 243 Whoever hath in him any love of truth..shall hardly be able to satisfie himself in the conversations he meeteth; but [etc.]. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 655 Thy great Misdeeds have met a due Reward. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. v, In this Exercise I once met an Accident. 1808Mackintosh Let. 28 Sept. in Life (1836) I. 437 ‘Meet your approbation’ is a slang phrase, not fit for public despatches or letters. 1833H. Martineau Fr. Wines & Pol. iv. 61 He met only threats and laughter. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 19 This generous appeal met no response. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. 309, I fear'd To meet a cold ‘We thank you’. 1855M. Arnold Balder Dead 24 He has met that doom which long ago The Nornies..spun.
6. To come into conformity with (a person's wishes or opinions).
1694Congreve Double Dealer v. xiii, By Heav'n he meets my wishes! 1784Cowper Task iii. 788 He..leaves the accomplished plan Just when it..meets his hopes. 1842J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. II. 69 Such duties on the importation of foreign woollen manufactures as would meet their views. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 120 The Estates..would go as far as their consciences would allow to meet His Majesty's wishes. 1864Hawthorne S. Felton (1883) 273 If her thoughts..had settled on that..wholesome young man, instead of on himself, who met her on so few points. Mod. (Comm.) I will do my best to meet you in the matter.
7. To satisfy (a demand or need); to satisfy the requirements of (a particular case); to be able or sufficient to discharge (a pecuniary obligation). to meet a bill (Comm.): to pay it at maturity.
1833Marryat P. Simple xi, The money..was..not more than sufficient to meet one of the demands. 1837Sir F. Palgrave Merch. & Friar (1844) 187 No body is ever unable to pay his debts; he is only unable to meet his engagements. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest iv, His widow sold the gun to meet her wants. 1876Macleod Elem. Banking 167 Even under the best circumstances, an acceptor may fail to meet his bill. 1884Sir E. E. Kay in Law Times Rep. 10 May 322/2 A remedy which exactly meets the necessities of the case. 1884Manch. Exam. 16 May 5/1 This view of the question gets rid of..all mere wrangling, while no other adequately meets the case. 1891Law Rep. Weekly Notes 78/1 The course suggested on the part of the Comptroller was necessary to meet the justice of the case. 1894Baring-Gould Kitty Alone II. 84 Five hundred pounds will not suffice to meet all claims.
II. Intransitive senses.
8. a. [From the earlier reciprocal use: see 4 c.] Of two or more persons: To come from opposite or different directions into the same place or so as to be in each other's presence or company, whether by accident or by design; to come face to face. Often with together. Sometimes conjugated with be.
a1300Cursor M. 22963 Þe stede o dome quar all sal mete. c1374Chaucer Compl. Mars 72 The grete Ioye that was betwix hem two Whan they be met. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 889 Þai met neuer eftir whils þai leued. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 250 Baith the King and the Quene meitis in Paris, For to hald thair ȝule togidder. 1538Starkey England i. ii. 27 Seying that we be now here mete..accordyng to our promys. 1605Shakes. Macb. i. i. 1 When shall we three meet againe? In Thunder, Lightning, or in Raine? 1628J. Mead in Crt. & Times Chas. I (1848) I. 314 One bade him come to the lord mayor; he answered, my lord mayor might come to him: but in fine they agreed to meet half way. 1720Gay Sweet Wiliam's Farew. iv, We only part to meet again. 1781J. Logan in Sc. Paraphr. liii. viii, Where death-divided friends at last shall meet, to part no more. c1830T. H. Bayly Song, We met—'twas in a crowd—and I thought he would shun me. 1859Thackeray Virgin. II. xix. 158 The two gentlemen, with a few more friends, were met round General Lambert's supper-table. 1870E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. II. 259 They had not met for years.
b. Of the members of a more or less organized body, a society, or regular assembly: To assemble for purposes of conference, business, worship, or the like. Often with collect. noun as subj.
1530Palsgr. 635/2 Whan they mete to gyther I wyll put them in mynde of your mater. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 10 b, These beynge called to an assemblie..mette at Franckefourt. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 152 The People..are summon'd To meet anon, vpon your approbation. 1611Bible 2 Macc. xiv. 21 And [they] appointed a day to meet in together by themselues. 1711Steele Spect. No. 49 ⁋4 When this Assembly of Men meet together. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 1 Dec., The Parliament will certainly meet on Friday next. 1791Hampson Mem. J. Wesley III. 82 Many of these [classes] are subdivided into smaller companies called bands, which also meet once a week. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 17 The bishops..were summoned to meet in synod, at Paris. 1874Green Short Hist. viii. §2. 469 The Parliament..met in another mood from that of any Parliament which had met for a hundred years.
†c. To come to or be present at a meeting; to keep an appointment. Obs.
c1400Rom. Rose 4571 Expectant ay tille I may mete, To geten mercy of that swete. a1400–50Alexander 770 Aithire with a firs flote in þe fild metis. 1470–85Malory Arthur iv. xxvi. 156 Soo he departed to mete at his day afore sette. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. iii. 5 'Tis past the howre (Sir) that Sir Hugh promis'd to meet. 1603― Meas. for M. iv. i. 18. 1717 Addison tr. Ovid's Met. iv. Salmacis 43 She fain wou'd meet him, but refus'd to meet Before her looks were set with nicest care.
d. To arrive at mutual agreement.
1851Pusey Let. Bp. London (ed. 3) 127/1 Devout minds, of every school, who meditate on the Passion, meet at least in this.
†9. To come together in the shock of battle. to meet on: to come into conflict with. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 7815 Bothe þe grekis on þe grene, & þe grym troiens, Mettyn with mayne þaire myghtis to kythe. Ibid. 8288 He macchit hym to Menelay, & met on þe kyng. 1460Lybeaus Disc. 1638 The styward..Fell of hys stede bakward, So harde they two metten. Ibid. 2012 As þey togeder sette, Har boþe swerdes mette. [1782Cowper Friendship 137 How fiercely will they meet and charge! No combatants are stiffer.]
10. a. Of inanimate objects: To come into contact; to come together so as to occupy the same place, or follow the same line or course.
to make both ends meet: see end n. 24.
a1300Siriz 358 Loke hou hire heien greten, On hire cheken the teres meten. c1400Mandeville (1839) xvii. 185 Alle the Lynes meeten at the Centre. 1530Palsgr. 635/1 Hylles do never mete, but acquayntaunce dothe often. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 412 Where the Rhine and Moselle mete. 1666Pepys Diary 4 Nov., My vest being new and thin, and the coat cut not to meet before upon my breast. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 784 Our circuit meets full West. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xiv. 286 It was very hard to see where the tiles met. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. 3 Oct., He..discovered that his waistcoat would not meet upon his belly by five good inches at least. 1774Porteus Serm. v. (1797) I. 116 How two mathematical lines, indefinitely produced, can be for ever approaching each other, and yet never meet. 1781Cowper Hope 49 The blue rim, where skies and mountains meet. ― Expost. 22 Her vaults below, where every vintage meets. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xii, Where seemed the cliffs to meet on high. 1833Tennyson May Queen Concl. 22 There came a sweeter token when the night and morning meet. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxii. 52 Look as a lone lorn vine..Bows, till topmost spray and roots meet feebly together. 1892Kipling Barrack-room Ballads, etc. 75 Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.
b. Of eyes, glances, etc. (cf. 2 f).
1859Tennyson Elaine 1303 He raised his head, their eyes met and hers fell.
c. Said of qualities, etc., uniting in the same person, etc.
1581G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. ii. (1586) 114 Al the three beauties meet together..in young men. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. vi. §9 The uniformity and perfect harmony of all these several Prophecies..all giving light to each other, and exactly meeting at last in the accomplishment. 1697Chetwood Dryden's Virgil Life ** 3 It being rarely found that a very fluent Elocution, and depth of judgment meet in the same Person. 1781Cowper Charity 37 In baser souls unnumbered evils meet. 1842Tennyson Morte d'Arthur 125 Thou, the latest-left of all my knights, In whom should meet the offices of all. 1894J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. 57 The nobility of two races met in the child.
†d. To lie or fit close to. (Cf. meet a.) Obs.
1568Satir. Poems Reform. xlviii. 30 It meites lyk stemmyne to ȝor theis.
†e. To agree or tally. Obs. rare.
1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 27 He that compareth our instruments, with those that were vsed in ancient times, shall see them agree like Dogges and Cattes, and meete as iump as German lippes. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. vi. §1 It was yet greater difficulty to regulate it by the course of the Sun, and to make the accounts of the Sun and Moon meet. 1823Lamb Elia. Ser. ii. Old China, It is mighty pleasant at the end of the year to make all meet—and much ado we used to have every Thirty-first Night of December to account for our exceedings.
11. meet with.
a. To come across, light upon; = sense 1, which it has superseded in common use.
c1275Lay. 1426 Hii mette wid [earlier text Imetten heo faren] Numbert þeos kinges sonde of þan erþ. a1300Cursor M. 19604 Saulus soght aiquar and thrett All þe cristen he wit mett. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 4327 Þai spared nouthir kynn na kyth, Man na woman þat þai mett with. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 640/2 When he cometh to experience of service abroade..he maketh as woorthy a souldiour as any nation he meeteth with. a1626Bacon New Atl. 21 And continually we mett with many things, worthy of Observation, and Relation. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 14 Others..wander up and downe to meet somewhere with a refreshing shade. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 158 They make a shift to live upon any thing they can meet withall. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. III. lxi. 318 This was the first public opportunity he had met with. 1782Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 13 June, In the penury of fuel..I have yet met with none so frugal as to sit without fire. 1830D'Israeli Chas. I, III. vi. 94 We cannot read a history of foreign art without meeting with the name of Charles. 1875Dawson Dawn of Life iv. 84, I have occasionally met with instances. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 592 Though abscess beneath the tentorium usually occurs in the substance of the hemisphere it may be met with in other situations.
†b. To come into the presence of; = sense 2. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 20145 In þe temple wit her he met, Anurd hir and tar hir grette. c1380Sir Ferumb. 3778, & euene to þe pauyllouns þay gunne go, & meteþ with þ⊇ Amyrel. c1477Caxton Jason 89 Whan Jason was come to this temple medea cam and mette with him. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 21 b, His grace preuenteth vs, before we mete with it. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 27 Socrates mette full butte with Xenophon, in a narrowe backe lane, where he could not stert from hym. 1686tr. Agiatis or Civ. Wars Lacedemonians 59 As he returned, he was met with by an Achaian. 1816Chalmers in Life (1850) II. 78 We fell in with Mr. Cook, who came out to meet with me.
†c. To encounter (an enemy); = sense 3. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3205 Vter..wende toward seint dauid to mete wiþ is fon. c1386Chaucer Pard. T. 365 Is it swich peril with him for to meete? I shal hym seke by wey and eek by strete. c1470Henry Wallace iv. 250 Thus Wallace sone can with the capteyn meite. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. iv. 13 At Shrewsbury..The King, with mightie and quick-raysed Power, Meetes with Lord Harry. 1664Butler Hud. ii. iii. 993 How in fight you met, At Kingston, with a May-pole idol.
†d. To come into or be in physical contact with. Of a garment: To reach exactly to (a certain point).
a1300Cursor M. 9915 O thre colurs..Þe grund neist þar es ful tru, Metand wit þat rochen stan. 13..E. E. Allit. P. B. 371 When þe water of þe welkyn with þe worlde mette. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 4460 Ful litle wanted the soket That with the throte it had y-met. 1480Robt. Devyll 328 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 232 With hys shyelde Robert mette playne. 1574tr. Marlorat's Apocalips 22 A long garment..[which] meteth iust with the feete. 1604R. Cawdrey Table Alph. (1613) A iv, One lands end meets with another. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 145 In its Fall, meeting with the Fore-yard broke it in the Slings.
†e. To have carnal knowledge of. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 1197 Adam..suld wit his wijf yete mete For ur lord had aghteld yete A child to rais of his oxspring.
† f. To agree or accord with. Obs.
a1586Sidney Apol. Poetrie (Arb.) 24 Wherein I know not, whether by lucke or wisedome, wee Englishmen haue mette with the Greekes, in calling him a maker. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. ii. §15 Lords of right noble extraction..(whose titles met with their estates in the Northern Parts).
g. To experience, undergo (a particular kind of fortune or treatment); = sense 5.
c1435Torr. Portugal 2109 God that died vppon the Rode, Yff grace that she mete with good! 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iii. iv. 49 He that hath suffer'd this disorder'd Spring, Hath now himselfe met with the Fall of Leafe. 1596― Tam. Shr. iv. iii. 6 Elsewhere they meet with charitie. 1660Blount Boscobel 3 At Warrington Bridge [he] met with the first opposition made by the Rebels. a1692H. Pollexfen Disc. Trade (1697) 100 These Manufactured Goods from India, met with such a kind reception, that [etc.]. 1693Creech Dryden's Juvenal xiii. (1697) 326 A little Sum you Mourn, while Most have met With twice the Loss, and by as Vile a Cheat. 1711Addison Spect. No. 122 ⁋9 In our Return home we met with a very odd Accident. 1718Freethinker No. 75. 137 It has always met with the Approbation of the Wisest Men. 1771Goldsm. Hist. Eng. II. 176 Sir William Gascoigne..met with praises instead of reproaches. 1843Borrow Bible in Spain xxvi, I have..never met with ill-usage, except once..amongst the Papists. 1873Black Pr. Thule xix, Mariners..who had met with their death on this rocky coast. 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 311 This system of semi-official marauding met with the approval of the Czar.
†h. To oppose, grapple with (an error, objection, malpractice), take precautions against (a danger); to provide for (an emergency). Also, to cope with (a person). Obs.
1529More Dyalogue iv. Wks. 285/1 And all this good fruite woulde a fewe mischieuous persons..vndoutedlye bring into thys realme, if the prince and prelates..did not in the beginnyng mete with their malice. 1575–85Abp. Sandys Serm. xi. 172 Paul, in this treatie of a magistrate, meeteth with both these errors. 1600in Liturg. Serv. Q. Eliz. (Parker Soc.) 694 Meet with the purposes and practices of all ambitious Absalons. 1603H. Crosse Vertues Commw. (1878) 8 A prudent man..meeteth with euerie mischiefe, and is not ouertaken, with non putaui, had I wist. 1668Rolle's Abridgment Publ. Pref., The body of Laws..consists of infinite particulars, and must meet with various Emergencies. 1692South 12 Serm. (1698) III. 524 To meet with their doubts, and to answer their Objections. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iv. iv, Let it suffice, at present, that you have been met with.
†i. To be even with; to requite or ‘pay out’.
c1590Marlowe Faust. x, I'll meet with you anon for interrupting me so. 1601Dent Pathw. Heaven 307 God..though he meet with some in this life, yet he lets thousands escape. 1667Waterhouse Fire Lond. 129 For which sins God may meet with you also.
j. Sc. To pay (a creditor).
1854H. Miller Sch. & Schm. (1858) 288 They had been unable, term after term, to meet with the laird, and were now three years in arrears.
12. Sc. to meet in with, to encounter (a person); = sense 4.
1825Jamieson Suppl., To meet in wi', to meet with. S.B. 1828D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch xi. 96, I..advised him to take a step in at his leisure to St. Mary's Wynd, where he would meet in with some merchants in scores. 1878R. Cuddie Corstorphine Lyrics 18, I met my auld frien' Tam. Wha had met in wi' some guid chiel' and tasted half a dram. 1889R. L. Stevenson Master of Ballantrae ix. 247, I was not always as I am today; nor (had I met in with a friend of your description) should I have ever been so.
13. to meet up with: to overtake or fall in with; to meet, encounter; to become acquainted with. colloq. (orig. U.S.). Also absol., to meet up.
1837A. Sherwood Gazetteer Georgia (ed. 3) (Provincialisms), Met up with, for overtook. 1889K. Munroe Golden Days ix. 96 They'd meet up with you somewheres along Coloma way. 1905Dialect Notes III. 87 He started before I did, but I met up with him before we got to town. 1919F. Hurst Humoresque 297 Tell him his little Sid is here with thirty minutes before she meets up with the show on the ten-forty. 1935[see get v. 74 c]. 1949G. Davenport Family Fortunes i. i. 10 It was better than staying at home and they would probably meet up with friends. 1955E. Hillary High Adventure vi. 104 We..there met up with Evans and his two Sherpas. 1959N.Z. Listener 12 June 5/4 It was there that I met up with Lowry again. 1972D. Haston In High Places xi. 116 Everyone met up on Pokhara airstrip. 1972Daily Tel. 13 May 20/8 The Sun Life is a very competitive office and would seem to meet up with your requirements. 1973C. Bonington Next Horizon v. 92, I met up with Mick Burke in the camp site.
14. Comb. meet-the-people: phr. used attrib. to describe a tour, etc., made by an eminent person to meet members of the general public (in quot. 1943 of a hamburger with ‘popular’ appeal). orig. U.S.
1943Amer. Speech XVIII. 148 Meet-the-People burger (musical comedy ‘Meet the People’ Los Angeles 1940). 1959Economist 30 May 820/2 Their ‘meet-the-people’ tours of factories and shipyards. 1959Punch 16 Sept. 160/2 His colleagues mysteriously disappeared during a ‘meet the people’ tour of the Isle of Wight. 1975Times 2 July 6/2 The Belgian Prime Minister..continued his meet-the-people tour in Edinburgh yesterday.
▪ IV. meet(e
obs. forms of met, mete. |