mattern.¹

Brit.

/ˈmatə/, U.S.

/ˈmædər/

Forms: Middle English mateer, Middle English mateere, Middle English matery, Middle English materye, Middle English matiere, Middle English matire, Middle English mattur, Middle English mature, Middle English matyer, Middle English matyre, Middle English–1500s matir, Middle English–1500s mattir, Middle English–1500s matur, Middle English–1500s matyr, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) mater, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) matere, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) materie, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) matier, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) mattere, Middle English– matter, 1500s marter, 1500s mattar, 1500s mattier, 1500s matture, 1500s mattyr, 1800s– matther (English regional), 1800s– metter (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 maeter, pre-1700 matair, pre-1700 matar, pre-1700 mateir, pre-1700 mateire, pre-1700 mater, pre-1700 matere, pre-1700 matir, pre-1700 mator, pre-1700 matour, pre-1700 mattar, pre-1700 matteir, pre-1700 matter, pre-1700 mattere, pre-1700 mattier, pre-1700 mattir, pre-1700 matur, pre-1700 matyr, pre-1700 meater, pre-1700 meeter, pre-1700 metear, pre-1700 meter, pre-1700 metr, pre-1700 metter, pre-1700 meyter, pre-1700 1700s– matter, pre-1700 1800s– maiter, pre-1700 1800s– maitter, 1800s– mayter.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French matier.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman matier, matere, matire, mateire, Old French matere, matiere (12th cent.; French matière ) < classical Latin māteria (also māteriēs ) wood, timber, building material, material of which a thing is made, purulent matter, subject of discourse or consideration, also (in philosophical use) ‘matter’ in contradistinction to ‘mind’ or to ‘form’ < māter mother n.¹ + -ia -ia suffix¹ (usually explained as originally denoting the trunk of a tree regarded as the ‘mother’ of its offshoots). Compare Italian materia (12th cent.), Spanish materia (1220–50), Portuguese matéria (14th cent.), Old Occitan materia (14th cent.), Romanian materie, etc.The sense development of Latin māteria was influenced by that of ancient Greek ὕλη hyle n., of which it was the accepted equivalent in philosophical use. Uses in branch I. correspond to classical Latin res, which the word is often used to render; the sense ‘matter, case, situation’ is recorded for post-classical Latin materia from the 13th cent. in British sources. All of the main senses of the word recorded in Middle English are also found in Anglo-Norman and Old French.

I. A thing, affair, concern.

a. An event, circumstance, fact, question, state or course of things, etc., which is or may be an object of consideration or practical concern; a subject, an affair, a business.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair

charec897

matter?c1225

journeya1352

affairc1390

notea1400

incident1485

concernment1495

actiona1500

business1524

concern1680

job1680

ploya1689

show1797

game1812

caper1839

pigeon dropping1850

shebang1869

hoodoo1876

racket1880

palaver1899

scene1964

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 197 Of þis ilke Materie ich spec Muchel þer uppe.

c1395 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 836 A flye and eek a frere Wol falle in euery dyssh and matere.

1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/1 He knoweth wel that in the matier on hym surmetted by the sayd Bille, he ne hath noght born hym as he sholde hav doon.

c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 16 (MED) Þat our Lord schuld hast þis mater & make brith þe þirknesse of Augustines soule.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vii. 114 I praye yow,..that ye will me counseile in this matere.

1560 J. Daus in tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries Ep. sig. Aii To iudge by matters past, what shalbe the consequent, and end of things to come.

1611 Bible (King James) Acts xix. 39 But if yee enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shalbe determined in a lawfull assembly.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 2 One of the later Schoole of the Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand [etc.].

1694 R. Molesworth Acct. Denmark in 1692 xiii. 206 The Duke's Commissioners..thought it forreign to the matter in hand.

1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 73 Upon this we dropt the Matter, and began to discourse concerning the Provisions.

1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 1 They order, said I, this matter better in France.

1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry (1937) I. i. 33 He might make himself easy; for be the matter as it might, he would take care that Teague should..bear the blame.

1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 129 The brewer cut the matter short, by saying, he had not time to argue.

1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. x. 200 To mend the matter, the hostess was a most intolerable scold and shrew.

1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 154 In default of help from Rome, he would lay the matter before parliament.

1883 Manch. Examiner 24 Oct. 4/6 One of the leading matters under consideration was the report of the Ecclesiastical Commission.

1887 E. Stuart In his Grasp iii. 39 I tried to lead the conversation to personal matters.

1902 Irish Rosary Jan. 77/1 The Irish-American Press should urge upon the Irish in America a sense of their duty in this matter.

1957 H. J. Eysenck Sense & Nonsense in Psychol. (1958) viii. 337 The matter does not rest there either. Freud and Jones both explicitly assert that the Oedipus complex is characteristic of all human beings.

1985 R. Owen Lett. from Moscow 28 Once in Moscow there is the small matter of obtaining Soviet licence plates.

b. With possessive adjective (or equivalent): an affair, etc., of concern to the person or persons specified; (one's) cause, concern, or affair. In later use only in plural: cf. affair n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > relating to specific person or thing

mattera1375

business1525

shauri1921

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 613 (MED) I wold meng al mi mater, ȝif i miȝt for schame.

c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2931 We putten..al our matere and cause al hoolly in youre goode wyl.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 1794 (MED) Lordes han for to done So mych for hem-self, þat my mateere Out of hir mynde slippith away soone.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 145 (MED) Thai were so occupied with thair owne maters and with the maters off thair kynne..þat thai entendet but litle..to þe kynges maters.

?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. gg.i^v By me your mater shall be well sped.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 473/2 If thou se my lerned counsayle in Westmynster hall, call upon them to remember my mater agaynst Bulkyn [Fr. mon proces contre Bulkyn].

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 28^v Though, for their priuate matters they can follow, fawne, and flatter noble Personages.

a1613 E. Brerewood Enq. Langs. & Relig. (1614) xv. 128 You may see them..in Posseuines booke of the matters of Moscouia.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 42 To know much of other Mens Matters.

c1639 W. Mure Psalmes xxi. 2 in Wks. (1898) II. 85 Lord, in thy strength the King sall joy;..To his minde Thow makst his maters goe.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xix. 199 If he goes on as he has done of late, I'll never trouble myself more with his matters.

1837 T. Hook Jack Brag I. v. 135 Take my advice, Jack,..try them both. Manage your matters well—lead them both on.

1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye I. xi. 151 Let the matters of my sister and Jasper Petulengro alone, brother.

1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee viii. 95 There was not any one in the kingdom who would have considered it good judgment to meddle with my matters.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 382 I'll meddle in his matters, says he.

1993 I. Walker Know-how for Personal Injury Lawyers (BNC) 23 The RAC tends to have local firms dealing with their matters.

c. In plural (without article or modification). Events, affairs, circumstances, etc., understood to refer to a particular occasion, but not further specified.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > affairs

harnessc1386

matters1569

concern1649

shit1988

1569 T. Blague Schole of Wise Conceytes 232 Some men for great ioye, vnaduisedly taking matters in hand, do therby cast them selues away.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) i. i. 71 If matters grow to your likings.

a1649 J. Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 369 At Providence matters went after the old manner.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1348 Matters now are strain'd Up to the highth, whether to hold or break.

1699 T. Brown tr. Erasmus in R. L'Estrange 20 Sel. Colloquies (new ed.) vi. 82 I will take a proper occasion to discourse matters with your Husband.

1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. 351 This seems to be carrying matters too far.

1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. 11 I will bring you to her as a stranger, and so you may bring matters about.

1868 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Dec. 10 Matters are very different in France.

1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 235/2 A state of matters which..was..attended with heavy loss to this country.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. v. [Lotus Eaters] 70 Talk: as if that would mend matters.

1959 M. Spark Memento Mori iv. 36 I see that I must take matters into my own hands.

1991 Holiday Which? Mar. 96/4 Narrow streets and a lack of parking space combine to make the town a bottleneck, although a by-pass has helped matters.

d. concrete. In plural. Physical objects, vaguely characterized. Now rare. Perhaps Obsolete.Quot. 1841 illustrates a rare use in the singular, in the same sense.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object > collectively

material1587

corporeals1647

corporal1659

matter1690

materiality1811

tangibility1849

1690 J. Crowne Eng. Frier ii. 19 I have also brought some little matters for you to Eat and Drink as you go.

1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 207 That we did not want great Matters, only barely enough to support Life.

1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. 141 After a short repast of some small matters.

1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well I. ii. 42 She [sc. the landlady] retired after these acts of hospitality, and left the stranger to enjoy in quiet the excellent matters which she had placed before him.

1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. iv. 77 Cups, balls, and rings, and other mysterious-looking matters, which generally accompany a conjuror.

1841 S. Warren Ten Thousand a-Year I. viii. 242 She had once accompanied her sister-in-law..to purchase some small matter of mercery.

1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. ix. 133 I'm going out to get some little matters for my girls.

1890 J. B. Buckstone Flowers of Forest i. iii. 6 Because I only picks up little matters, a pocket handkercher, a nutmeg-grater, or a new-laid egg or so, I'm called a thief.

a. A subject of contention, dispute, litigation, etc. Cf. sense 13a.Frequently more explicitly, as matter in dispute (also matter in question, †matter in variance, †matter in difference). An exception is U.S. Law, in which matter is now often used as a synonym for case.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > [noun] > causing dissension > cause or subject of dissension

questionc1384

matterc1390

strife1535

apple of discord1574

bone of contention1590

golden ball1609

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > matter or point in question

matterc1390

issue1429

matter1728

subject matter1768

c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2221 Thilke iuge is wys that soone vnderstondeth a matere [v.r. matiere] and iuggeth by leyser.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 181 Non..In destorbance of unite Dorste ones moeven a matiere.

1462 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 314 Hit is grawnt..that hit be lawfull to determe all maner materis and make lawes.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 1045 And quarels and maters ye have nowadayes for ladyes..and jantillwomen.

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. l. 554 In til his [sc. the king's] cowrt..Þat mater sulde be..Befor hym pleydit as ourlarde.

1532 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) I. 348 Touching a certen matier in varyaunce betwixt thexecutours of Sir William Spencer disceasyd and my ladye spencer.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. xvii. 8 Yf a matter be to harde for the in iudgment betwixte bloude and bloude.

1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 34 Which reasons of his, are verie forceable to make him yeald to the foresaide matter in question.

1597 F. Bacon Of Coulers Good & Euill (1862) 140 If the matter should be tryed by duell betweene two Champions.

1616 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1942) I. 139 Heirfor intreit the maiter be nocht put till a poynt betuixt my Lord Medop..and yow.

1657 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1881) II. 388 To agent thair [sc. the town's] all and everie mater and actioune.

1701 T. Baker Humour of Age ii. iii. 22 The Chancery direct Issues to be try'd at Common-Law, and the Common-Law send Matters into Chancery.

1705 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1840) II. 260 The matter was let fall.

1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. viii. 253 With full power to concert all matters in difference.

1790 Statutes at Large U.S.A. (1845) 1 116 If any person shall wilfully and corruptly commit perjury..in any suit, controversy, matter or cause pending.

1825 T. B. Macaulay Milton in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 328 To call a free Parliament, and to submit to its decision all the matters in dispute.

1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xxiv. 119 As for the matter of the alleged uncleanliness of our business, ye shall soon be initiated into certain facts [etc.].

1875 Rep. Supreme Court Wisconsin 36 563 Any cause or matter in the county court may be removed to the circuit court in case the county court judge shall be interested.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 158/2 Under both these systems the praetor referred the matter in dispute to an arbiter (judex).

1971 S. Howatch Penmarric (1972) i. i. 20 Giles had lodged an appeal against the decision and the matter was no longer resolved but sub judice.

1987 B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage 354/2 Matter has become the American lawyer's puffed-up equivalent of case. E.g...‘How many matters..are there on the docket?’

1991 South Aug. 6/2 The matter was referred to the 'ulama (doctors of religious law) at Al Azhar university in Cairo.

b. in the matter of [after post-classical Latin in re (see in re prep.)] : in relation to, with regard to. In later use with reference to any consideration, not just the subject of a dispute.Common as a legal formula and as such sometimes shortened as matter of.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > in relation to [phrase]

in the matter of1465

in (also with) relation to1551

in connection with1856

the world > relative properties > relationship > [adverb] > in relation or with reference to or concerning

forasmuch1297

as to1340

as fora1393

nentesa1400

accordingc1430

as respects1543

in (also with) relation to1551

relatively1609

quoad1622

referently1650

on, upon the score (of)1651

on account of1653

schetically1678

with a view to1692

apropos1749

as regards1797

in the matter of1881

in aid of1918

wise1942

1465 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 143 My lord of Norwich..had geue a jugement in the mater of the presentacion for the chirche of Drayton.

1475 Rolls of Parl. VI. 134/1 They never offended nor mysbehaved theym in the mater of the compleynts..specified.

1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes , in Wks. 265/2 By waye of excesse & yperbole, to declare the vehemence of his mynde in the matter of fayth.

1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 117 In diuers cases in the matter of testamenting a knight is priuiledged.

1630 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1870) V. 229/1 The difference betuix naturalizing and free endenizing is not important in the mater of fishing.

1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. vii. 76 Our Custome agrees with..other Nations, except in the Matter of waith and wrack Goods.

1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 14 She exceeded the good Woman I was with before, in every Thing, as well as in the matter of Estate.

1790 C. Ambler Rep. Cases Chancery 78 In the Matter of Annesley, a Lunatic.

1834 J. L. Adolphus & T. F. Ellis 1 Kings Bench Rep. 843 In the Matter of Elmy and Sawyer.

1876 Law Rep.: Probate Div. 1 423 (heading) In the Matter of the Petition of Sheehy.

1881 G. Saintsbury Dryden iv He [sc. Dryden] had ‘seen many others’, as an admirable Gallicism has it, in the matter of attacks.

1882 Times 30 June 5 In the matter of Egypt,..the German Chancellor will leave them to act as they like.

1904 Standard 29 Nov. 9/7 In the Matter of an Arbitration between the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company (Claimants) v. The Swinton and Pendlebury Urban District Council (Purchasing Authority).

1971 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 23 Nov. 6/3 Matter of John M. Lawrence (Lang. Hogan)—Writs of mandamus and prohibition.

1991 A. Knight Inspector Faro's Casebk. (1996) 358 The Queen's frugality in the matter of candles was firmly adhered to in the Widow's House.

†c. to make a matter to: to pick a quarrel with. to have a matter with (also against): to have a quarrel with. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel [verb (intransitive)] > have something to quarrel about

to have a crow to pluck or pull (rarely pick) with any onea1500

to have a matter with (also against)1530

to pluck or pull a crow with one or togethera1616

society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel with [verb (transitive)] > pick a quarrel with

to make a matter to1530

to fasten a quarrel upon1669

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 618 I make a mater to one, I pycke a quarell to him..I make no mater to hym, je ne luy demande riens.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judges xii. 2 I and my people had a greate matter with y^e children of Ammon.

1611 Bible (King James) Acts xix. 38 If Demetrius, and the craftesmen..haue a matter against any man, the law is open.

3. Used as an indeterminate noun (comparable to thing).

a. As a count noun: a thing, affair, subject, etc., in the most general sense (cf. 1a). Frequently in to be another matter: to be different from something else under discussion.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing

thingeOE

warec1200

beinga1393

matterc1450

body1587

essence1587

entity1596

existence1605

existency1628

existent1635

essency1647

exister1700

beënt1865

thang1932

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 1517 But hit a ful confus matere Were alle the gestes for to here.

c1500 (a1449) J. Lydgate Isopes Fabules (Trin. Cambr.) 48 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 568 In matyrs, þat touche poetry.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III 50 b He took there newes as a matter of no small momente.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. vi. f. 30^v They coniectured that these thynges portended sum great matter.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxxvii. sig. F3 In sleepe a King, but waking no such matter .

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxxv. 20 They deuise deceitfull matters against them that are quiet in the land.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 94 What impossible matter wil he make easy next?

1692 J. Ray Misc. Disc. Pref. sig. A6^v Five matters of Ancient Tradition I have taken notice of.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. i. 143 It cannot in any wise be an indifferent matter, whether we obey or disobey those Commands.

1787 ‘P. Pindar’ Lousiad: Canto II 40 in Lousiad: Canto I (ed. 4) 'Twould be a serious matter, we can tell ye, Were we to buccaneer it on your belly.

1828 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) II. 249 If actresses are bad, no manager can help it; but to take pains to turn a bad woman into an actress is another matter.

1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 87 Who desire you more Than..dying lips, With many thousand matters left to do, The breath of life.

1876 W. Black Madcap Violet xvii The pronunciation of the word allegro is not a matter of very grave moment.

1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out vi. 94 The difference of nearly twenty years in age between them..made Mrs. Ambrose appear too humorous and cool in a matter of such moment.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 17 Whether they would have welcomed the young curate with equal confidence had they known that his father was in trade, is another matter.

1992 Pract. Fishkeeping Mar. 88/4 Goldfish survive happily with 30 inches over their backs, but Koi are a different matter.

b. to be (also †make, etc.) great matter: to be something of great importance or significance; similarly to be (a) small matter, etc. Frequently in negative contexts, as no great matter, etc.

ΚΠ

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiv. sig. H Nor it maketh therof no great mater: they that haue studied rhetorike, shal perceyue what I meane.

1576 A. Fleming tr. P. Vatinius in Panoplie Epist. 128 My behauiour hathe not deserued, any such doggishe dealing: but makes it any great matter?

1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Eiii But now it is a small matter to bestowe..a hundred pound of one paire of Breeches.

1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron II. x. vii. f. 158^v Some perhaps will say, it was a small matter for a King, to giue away two Damosels in marriage.

1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 120 It did shew manifestly vnto the World, that hee [sc. Perkin] was some Great matter.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 45 No great matter where.

1682 W. Beveridge Serm. Excellency & Usefulness Common Prayer 12 This..may seem to be no great matter at first sight.

1713 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 3 Mar. (1948) II. 631 Tis not a farthing matter her death, I think.

1717 G. Berkeley Jrnls. Trav. Italy 20 Jan. in Wks. (1955) VII. 259 We saw an armoury wch seemed no great matter.

1755 Ld. Chesterfield in World 16 Oct. 878 As for shop debts to mercers..and such like, it is no great matter whether they are ever paid or not.

1878 H. James Europeans II. 1. 27 Even if he makes love to you it is no great matter.

1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxii. 332 The lad's faults were no great matter.

1917 R. Graves Fairies & Fusiliers 20 Mask your hunger, let it seem Small matter if he come or stay.

1995 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 Nov. 17/1 To the deconstructionist the text is no great matter since the author's intention is irrelevant in any case.

c. to make a matter: to make a fuss or to-do. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > act or do vigorously [verb (intransitive)] > be brisk or active > bustle > fuss or make a fuss

nytelc1400

to make a matter1549

to keep a coil1568

squatter1593

fiddle-faddle1633

to play hell (with)1750

fuss1792

to play hell and Tommy1825

piggle1836

palavera1840

to make a time1844

friggle1848

fussify1868

to make a production of (or out of)1941

1549 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 236 At last I told the quene of hyt who made a small mater of hyt to me.

1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona vii. 82 Because you said a word too much in a friend's ear..to make such a matter!

†d. all is a matter: it is all the same. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 898/1 Whether y^e Christians yelde to them, or yelde not, all is a matter.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 86 Whether we make the common readers to laugh or to lowre, all is a matter.

1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 118 Let me sob, roar, or swoon, 'tis all a matter To marble-hearted John.

e. (as) for that matter: so far as that is concerned (more recently also introducing an additional supporting observation, esp. one offered in refutation of a position).

ΚΠ

1575 G. Gascoigne Glasse of Gouernem. iv. iii. sig. Ji Dicke. I trust maister Philosarchus fees will be sufficient to set both thee and me a floate, and make vs as braue as the best. Eccho. Tushe, as for that matter, if he do not another shall.

a1633 F. Godwin Man in Moone (1638) 3 Mine enemies gave it out to my disgrace that I was his horse-keepers boy. But for that matter I shall referre my selfe unto the report of the Count.

1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode iii. ii. 47 Pala. But who told you I was here?..Rho. O, for that matter, we had intelligence.

1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iv. 42 No, no, for that matter—when she and I part, she'll carry her separate-maintenance about her.

1758 C. Lennox Henrietta II. iii. i. 6 Nay, for that matter..I may draw myself into another premune perhaps.

1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest i. 17 La Motte..now earnestly begged to know if his family were safe. ‘O! as for that matter they are safe enough.’

1815 C. I. Johnstone Clan Albin I. xiv. 206 ‘Nay, for that matter,’ said Moome,—‘Sky [i.e. Skye] was always namely for witches.’

1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers III. vii. 108 Kinraid were just fell again him, and as for that matter, so was I.

1898 Times 10 Jan. 13/3 The..shivering drivers..who (like every one else, for that matter) had to lie out in it [sc. the rain] without tents.

1913 J. Conrad Chance i. i. 14 Don't you think that my colleague..wouldn't like to go up to this desk..four years in advance?.. Or even one year for that matter.

1983 P. Marshall Praisesong for Widow i. 10 Her mind wasn't even in her body, or for that matter, in the room.

f. Similarly (as) for the matter of that.

ΚΠ

1732 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière George Dandin i. vi. 31 in Sel. Comedies V As for the Matter of that, Jealousy is a wonderful Thing! I bring my Daughter hither to clear up the Affair before all the World.

1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret i. 22 For the matter of that, we can afford it well enough as it is.

1844 E. A. Poe Thou art Man in Wks. (1850) II. 422 As for the matter of that, there could have been no better pioneer than ‘Old Charley’, whom everybody knew to have the eye of a lynx.

1880 Appletons' Jrnl. Feb. 145/2 If my husband says anything, he is a greater dolt than I ever took him for; and as for the matter of that, it is his bed-time.

1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out xix. 312 I must change my dress, too, for the matter of that.

1935 J. Nehru Let. 5 July in Freedom's Daughter (1989) ii. 182 For the matter of that even medicine has gone ahead pretty fast in a variety of ways.

1965 E. E. Evans-Pritchard Theories Primitive Relig. iii. 76 How could it be upheld, or for the matter of that shown to be untrue?

a. With modifying word or words (usually a noun used attributively, or of and a noun or noun phrase): a thing, affair, subject, etc., of the kind specified; frequently in plural. Cf. sense 13b.hanging, laughing, massing, money matter, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > specific kind of

questionc1384

matter?1489

a matter of1566

?1489 R. Tunstall Let. R. Plumpton (1839) 60 I late wrote to you for one Skaggell to have come to me, for a matter of causes betwixt him and certayn other.

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) i. xvii. (heading) Þe fyrst materis of mawmentry Þat clerkis callis ydolatry.

?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 44 Euer ymagynyng in mynd materis of euill.

1529 T. More Dyaloge i, in Wks. 165/2 Ye should..have remayned in an insoluble doute in a matter of the faith.

1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 5th Serm. sig. Riiii^v It is taken for a laughyng matter.

1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons Ded. 4 b All their ancient orders and proceedings in matters Militarie.

1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor i. i. 2 Ile make a star-chamber matter of it.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 73 Matters of faith..are so plainly setled by the Scriptures, that [etc.].

1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World v. i. §99. 468/1 Mens Consciences are not to be forced in matters of Religion.

1714 J. Collier Eccl. Hist. Great Brit. II. ii. 104/1 A Mistake in confounding this Vicar Generalship with his following Dignity of Lord Vice gerent in Ecclesiastical Matters.

1780 E. Burke Let. T. Burgh in Wks. (1842) ii. 409 Lord North was either wholly out of the house, or engaged in other matters of business or pleasantry.

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xcv. 145 She knows but matters of the house, And he, he knows a thousand things.

1900 Daily News 22 Oct. 3/4 The campaign is nearly over—as a field matter it is fully at an end.

a1925 H. T. Lane Talks to Parents & Teachers (1928) i. i.36 Hunger is not merely a matter of the stomach.

1959 J. Barzun House of Intellect iv. 109 We are frivolously vague about clear-cut matters of intellect.

1982 L. Trilling in Oxf. Illustr. Lit. Guide to U.S. 148/1 The three of them talked..of university matters and housing matters and the situation in Washington.

b. a matter of: a circumstance which involves or entails a specified action, choice, etc., or in regard to which a specified quality or personal attribute is at stake; a case or question of.a matter of conscience, opinion, etc.: see also the relevant nouns.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > specific kind of

questionc1384

matter?1489

a matter of1566

1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlv. f. 233 And for so much as it is a matter of necessitie, and that earely or late I must aduenture to paye my vowed debte.

1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 171 The seculars..made it a matter of conscience, thereby to retell, infringe, and abrogate all such premunireall treachery.

1651 tr. J. Kitchin Jurisdictions 238 It is a matter of justification and contrarying.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xviii. 352 And so is bound to consider and judge of it as a Matter of Reason, and not swallow it, without Examination, as a Matter of Faith.

a1716 O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. xiv. 132 Not a Matter of Choice, but of divine Assignation.

1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. xi. 180 In ten Days Don Pedro..put it upon me as a Matter of Honour and Conscience, that I ought to return to my native Country.

c1800 R. B. Sheridan Let. (1966) II. 124 It is really a matter of almost Life and Death—you must borrow of Barford or any neighbour, for not a moment is to be lost.

1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 51 As a matter of economy, it is suggested [etc.].

a1832 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. Pref. to ed. 2, in Wks. (1843) I. 248/1 With me it was a matter of calculation: pains and pleasures, the elements of it.

1863 Times 14 Oct. 8/4 Foolish scrupulists, who in a matter of life and honour would not use their only weapons of defence because carved with objectionable figures.

1868 W. K. Clifford Mental Devel. in Lect. & Ess. (1879) I. 104 The power of creation is not a matter of static ability;..it is a matter of habits and desires.

1914 S. Lewis Our Mr. Wrenn vi. 70 Feeling that he was so offensive that it was a matter of honor for him to keep his eyes away, Mr Wrenn dutifully stared out of the door.

1963 D. Athill Instead of Let. xii. 149 An information service is only a matter of knowing where to look.

1992 Gramophone Jan. 91/3 With the two tenors, I think it is a matter of which voice you prefer.

c. Something which causes or produces a specified feeling; a cause, occasion, basis. With for, of.Corresponding in meaning to sense 11b, but construed as a count noun.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes

causec1374

authora1382

workerc1384

causerc1386

begetterc1390

causac1420

workera1425

upraiserc1440

inspirerc1450

procurer1451

occasioner?c1452

procurator1486

purchaser1548

authorera1556

wielder1570

agent1571

effector1586

effecter1591

authoress1592

effectress1601

effectrix1611

performer1616

inducera1631

causeress1631

causatrix1649

father-in-law1650

pregnatress1651

matter1686

energizer1804

establisher1812

bringer1866

1686 T. Fuller tr. Life of Cicero in tr. Plutarch Lives V. 298 Those who succeeded him did not only not reject, but were fond of that name [sc. Cicero], tho' vulgarly made a matter of reproach.

1726 G. Shelvocke tr. Imperial Comm. in Voy. round World Pref. p. xxii Making it a sufficient matter for his contempt of any man, that he had serv'd in the navy.

1760 C. Lennox Lady's Museum No. 5. 355 That savages were inclined to rapine and every sort of robbery, is by no means a matter of astonishment, and scarce a subject of censure.

1807 J. Austen Let. 8 Feb. (1995) 118 I see nothing to be glad of, unless I make it a matter of Joy that Mrs. Wylmot has another son.

1830 H. N. Coleridge Introd. Greek Poets 6 It will be a matter of wonder..that such trivialisms..could ever pass for genuine poetry.

1884 Manch. Examiner 17 June 5/2 The annual migration of the Viceroy to Simla is an old matter of complaint.

1918 W. M. Kirkland Joys of being Woman vii. 73 Docility under the minor physical afflictions makes a stubbed toe as much a matter of apprehension as angina pectoris.

1982 D. Dunnett King Hereafter IV. vii. 586 This is a matter for concern, not a matter for despair.

5. the matter (in various idiomatic uses).

a. The condition of or state of things regarding a person or thing, esp. as a subject of concern or wonder. Chiefly colloquial in what is the matter?, there is something the matter, etc. what is the matter with ——?: what is wrong with——?; (also) what is the objection to, what is there to complain of in ——? In recent colloquial use (e.g. quot. 1925) sometimes interpreted as a predicative adjective in the sense ‘wrong, amiss’.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > making inquiries [phrase]

how so?a1375

what, how seemeth you?1485

what reck?a1513

what is the matter?c1520

what about ——1662

what's the row?1810

how come?1848

whassa1906

since when?1907

what'sa matter1935

the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > difficult state of things > affecting a person or thing

the matterc1520

c1520 tr. Terence Andria iii. iv, in Terens in Eng. sig. C.i^v S. What is the matter now. Da. Why nye the bryde send for.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxii. 8 Whan he hath tolde his tayle, he sayeth: what is the matter?

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxxiii^v No man knew what the matter was.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. K2^v Alexander happed to say: Doe you thinke these men would haue come from so farre to complaine, except they had iust cause of griefe? and Cassander answered, Yea, that was the matter, because they thought they should not be disprooued.

c1613 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 23 Maister Roclif asked him what the matter was, if he might have any ease.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 156 What is the matter here?

1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin iii. 6 The Canto tells you, what's the matter.

1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair ii. i. 12 I thought something was the matter, I wanted of Quality-Air.

1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. iv. 103 I beseech you what is the Matter with you!

1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 30 Why she loves him, admire not at her, She loves herself, and that's the Matter.

1761 F. Sheridan Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph I. 58 Dear madam, said I, there is something the matter with Mr. Faulkland.

1802 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1803) 6 8 What's the matter with the peace?

1833 H. Martineau Three Ages ii. 75 The children..amused themselves as if nothing was the matter.

1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xix. 190 ‘What's the matter with the dogs' legs?’ whispered Mr. Winkle.

1849 A. Helps Friends in Council II. i. iv. 91 There was something the matter with the old man.

1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 69 ‘What's the matter?’ ‘Nothing is the matter, Matilda’, he said.

1925 E. F. Norton in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 76 One of the party—Somervell—had more the matter with him than the early morning lassitude.

1960 Woman's Illustr. 16 July 45 I heard the noise of weeping, sister. Is anything the matter?

1965 B. Took & M. Feldman Round the Horne (1975) 37 What's the matter with green and yellow dishcloths?

†b. Something contemplated, intended, or desired. Esp. in to the matter [after classical Latin ad rem ad rem adv.] : to the point, relevant; similarly near the matter, much about the matter. Also from the matter: irrelevant. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [adverb]

to (the) purposea1387

pertinentlyc1425

to the matter1534

relevantly1536

pat1578

effectually1581

germanely1823

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > of a statement, enactment, etc.

the matter1534

spirit1742

the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [phrase] > irrelevant

of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382

wide of (also from) the mark1536

neither off nor on1549

from the purpose1561

from (also out of) the bias1600

from the matter1658

(off) at, in, upon a tangent1825

1534 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. 1303/2 He went roundly to the matter, and sayd vnto them: what wyl ye gyue me and I shal delyuer hym to you.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxx Thou aunswerest Luther, more vnreuerently, then it becommeth thee, and not sufficientlye to the matter.

1597 F. Bacon Ess. f. 3 To vse too many circumstances ere one come to the matter is wearisome.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §326 To helpe the Matter, the Alchymists call in..many Vanities, out of Astrologie.

1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 951 It shall not be from the matter to tax in brief the madnesse of the ancient Gentiles.

1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. xii. 55 If you take 5 parts Lead, and one part Stone, it will come very near the matter.

a1694 J. Tillotson Serm. (1714) I. 12 He grants it [sc. the deluge] to have come so near the matter, that but very few escap'd.

1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus All Familiar Colloquies 499 You're much about the matter [L. haud multum aberras a scopo].

a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) 31 Telling me, that..I might save enough by the time I was One and Twenty to set me up, & that if I came near the Matter he would help me out with the Rest.

†c. on (also upon) the matter: taking the thing as a whole, speaking generally; for all practical purposes, practically speaking. Also upon the whole matter. Obsolete.The meaning of quot. ?1577 is uncertain. Pounder matter is treated by N.E.D. as the phrase ‘upon the matter’, but is interpreted as ‘(if you) ponder the matter’ in the 1911 edition of the text.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > in general terms or not in detail > as a whole

one or other?1544

upon the whole matter1612

on the whole1624

in the (whole) complex1661

in the large1943

?1577 Misogonus iii. i, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 229 Pounder matter well if she should not knowt, who showlde knowe?]

1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 149 So that vpon the whole matter, [1625 vpon the matter], in a great wit, deformity is an aduantage to rising.

1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. xxxvii. 93 That Christians are not bound to keep faith with idolaters, the worshippers of a false god, as the Egyptian Caliph was on the matter.

1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 120 The Rules they both work by are upon the matter the same, in Sawing, Mortessing,..&c.

1689 Bp. G. Burnet Tracts I. 79 This is upon the matter a Pension paid under a more decent name to the most considerable Men of the Country.

1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 577 Upon the whole matter it is Infinitely absurd to think that Conscience can be kept in order without frequent Examination.

a1710 G. Bull Serm. in Wks. (1713) II. 733 He is upon the matter sure of a long life.

†6.

a. With modifying adjective, usually small: a (certain) quantity or amount (of). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > a definite or specified quantity or amount

quantitya1325

measurec1384

certainc1386

certainty1431

assignment1519

dosis1543

dose1607

matter1610

quantum1747

volume1812

1610 T. Bodley Let. 14 Aug. in Lett. to T. James (1926) 194 To further his desire, whome I thinke a smalle mater will content at the first.

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 265 [He] sold them their liberties for a small matter.

1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 271 It is thought that the Empire receiveth every way above seven millions, which is a great matter.

1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 472 At first an easie matter was demanded by the King of Denmark, and now more exacted than they can possibly bear.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant 71 They can live upon a small matter; and provided they have Rice [etc.].

1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 32 It produces a small matter of Indico.

1723 London Gaz. No. 6142/3 One sorrel Horse Colt,..with a small matter of White in his Face.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. iv. v. 31 I..sent a small Matter to his Wife.

1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. 94 You will oblige us by..taking some little matter of supper with us.

1810 T. Jefferson Let. 5 Mar. in Writings (1984) 1220 They are divided into two parties, the Ins and the Outs, so equal in weight that a small matter turns the balance.

b. a small (also little) matter: somewhat, slightly, a little; occasionally with ellipsis of adjective. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to a small extent or a little

littlec1175

a litec1290

a little quantityc1330

little whata1387

wee1513

a whit1526

thought1581

a wee bita1661

a small (also little) matter1690

a trifle1859

a wheen1869

a taste1894

smitch1895

a lick1902

mite1939

a skosh1959

a tidge1959

a tad1969

1690 J. Child Disc. Trade iv. 103 Very large quantities of Timber..may be had, though some small matter dearer than in Norway.

1700 W. Congreve Way of World iii. i. 47 I have Thoughts to tarry a small matter in Town, to learn somewhat of your Lingo.

1703 Moxon's Mech. Exercises (new ed.) 275 Open them a small matter wider, or shut them a small matter closer.

1755 T. Turner Diary 10 Aug. (1984) (modernized text) 12 I came home..a little matter enlivened by liquor, but no ways drunk.

1788 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 79 4 The socket and spindle being a small matter taper.

1834 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. (1853) II. 267/1 Carnaby did quail a matter at these words.

a. a matter of: approximately, about; used to modify a numeral or other expression of quantity, indicating that it is not to be taken as literally exact. Also †the matter of.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > approximately (an amount) [phrase]

plus minus1611

or soa1616

a matter of1645

there or (and) thereaboutsa1696

the matter of1829

somewhere about1846

in the neighbourhood of1847

in the region of1865

of the order of1903

give or take1958

not unadjacent to1966

1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ iv. xxvi. 36 The French that came over with Her Majestie..are all casheer'd this week, about a matter of sixscore, wherof the Bishop of Mende was one.

1652 J. Gaule Πυς-μαντια 360 [He] lets him have a great deal of it for a matter of a shilling.

1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xi. 34 Accompanied with a matter of seven hundred men.

1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair i. 10 In the matter of five Days he got six Nuns with Child, and left 'em to provide for their Heretick Bastards.

?1771 S. Johnson Let. (1994) V. 29 He has had as he phrased it a matter of four wives.

1829 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. 2nd Ser. I. iv. 97 Hither have I been riding a matter of thirteen miles.

1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present ii. i. 60 Lackland..boarded once, for the matter of a fortnight, in St. Edmundsbury Convent.

1879 H. James Confidence II. xx. 16 It was probably a matter of a few seconds, but to Bernard it seemed a little eternity.

a1902 S. Butler Way of All Flesh (1903) xxxix. 170 His favourite, Ellen, was being turned adrift with a matter of three pounds in her pocket.

1948 Brit. Birds 41 Suppl. 1 If it were possible to cover the whole area in a matter of a few days.

1991 D. Purcell Place of Stones (1992) i. 48 After we ditch there will be only a matter of a minute or two for us all to get out of the aircraft.

b. a matter of hours (also days, inches, etc.): a period of time, or a distance, which is suitable to be measured in the units specified.

ΚΠ

1871 Appletons' Jrnl. 7 Jan. 26/2 In very many instances the acquaintanceship was a matter of hours only.

1877 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 10) xiii. 174 'Tis but a matter of days. Most greatest things are gradual.

1903 J. London Call of Wild vi. 177 They knew that the time a man could cling to a slippery rock in the face of that driving current was a matter of minutes.

1951 ‘Assiac’ Adventure in Chess iii. ii. 43 Reshevsky..would remain quite unperturbable by the nerve-racking need to make half a dozen moves..with the ‘flag’ on his clock about to drop in a matter of seconds.

1979 P. Cave Foxbat (BNC) 127 He saw..the black muzzle of the gun only a matter of inches from his face.

1991 Outdoor Action Aug. 8 A heavy snowfall can transform an easy walk into a serious proposition in just a matter of hours.

II. That which constitutes or forms the basis of thought, speech, or action. (A mass noun unless otherwise indicated.)

†8. The subject of a book, speech, etc.; a theme, a topic, a subject of exposition. In early use also: a narrative, an account, a tale. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > of discourse

matterc1330

lessona1375

contenu1477

content1509

thema1531

commonplace1549

subject matter1598

text1608

clue1656

c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 663 (MED) Mi matery wer to long & þe tale to ȝou wel strong.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 262 (MED) Ich nelle non more zigge, ac hier ich wille endi mine matire.

c1390 G. Chaucer Physician's Tale 104 Suffiseth oon ensample..For I moot turne agayn to my matere.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 321 Turne we tille our matere & on our gest to hie.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 142 (MED) This serche..hath be a digression ffrom the mater in wich we labour.

a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) Prol. 4 The matere of this boke is crist & his spouse.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxvii. 503 (MED) But now repeireth the tale to his mater that he hath lefte for to telle this thinge.

1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. 24/13 Thus sall it be clerely schewin and practicate in my mater, quhidder [etc.].

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 30^v But to my matter, as I began.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. v. 124 It behooueth the maker or Poet to follow the nature of his subiect, that is if his matter be high and loftie that the stile be so to.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. iv. sig. Ee8 Thee, O Queene the matter of my song.

1635 A. Gil Sacred Philos. Holy Script. Pref. sig. *4 Raimund de Sabunde though his writings be easie and quicke, yet his matiers are scattered.

1704 M. Prior Let. to Boileau Despreaux 54 How hard is it for me To make my matter and my verse agree!

1752 S. Davies Ades in Misc. Poems Divine Subj. xix. 79 Is Jesus still the Matter of thy Song?

a. The substance of a book, speech, etc.; the contents of a composition in respect of the facts or ideas expressed, as distinct from the form of words (or manner) used to express them.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > as opposed to form

matter1340

stuffc1450

substancec1475

subject matter1583

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun]

sentence?c1225

intent1303

tenora1387

intendment1390

strengthc1390

porta1393

meaningc1395

process1395

continencea1398

purposec1400

substance1415

purport1422

matterc1450

storyc1450

containing1477

contenu1477

retinue1484

fecka1500

content1513

drift1526

intention1532

vein1543

importing1548

scope1549

importance1552

course1553

force1555

sense?1556

file1560

intelliment?1562

proporta1578

preport1583

import1588

importment1602

carriage1604

morala1616

significancy1641

amount1678

purview1688

sentiment1713

capacity1720

spirit1742

message1828

thrust1968

messaging1977

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 152 Þet hi [sc. the speech] by y-weȝe ase guode moneye..þet is þet hi by of guode matire, ase of guod metal, and of guode ssepþe, þet is of guode manere y-speke.

c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 38 If that yow list to heere Moralitee and vertuous matere.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 5141 And yitt ne seide she never a del That I ne undirstod it wel Word by word, the mater all.

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 353 Hard langage and hard matere Ys encombrous for to here Attones.

a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) i. Prol. 497 Bot first, I pray ȝou, grape the mater cleyn, Reproche me nocht quhill the wark be ourseyn.

1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. H4^v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) This Inuectiue seemeth to haue been ouer sharpe in the matter, but not in the manner.

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. ii. 83 Was neuer booke containing so foule matter, So fairly bound.

1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 5 This Text..is rich as the High Priests pectoral both for words and matter.

1695 J. Dryden in tr. C. A. Du Fresnoy De Arte Graphica Pref. p. xii Though I cannot much commend the Style, I must needs say there is somewhat in the Matter.

1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind i. iv. 65 If the Matter of a Book be really valuable and deserving.

1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. xi. 150 It is immaterial with respect to the essence of a libel, whether the matter of it be true or false.

1800 P. Colquhoun Treat. Commerce & Police R. Thames Pref. p. i The importance of the Work..can only be appreciated by a..Review of the various matter it contains.

1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 8 He was always serious in meaning, and laborious in matter.

1885 Nature 19 Mar. 453/1 When we look from the manner to the matter of his speech, we are unable to bestow such unqualified praise.

1948 Penguin Music Mag. Feb. 25 The B.B.C. could start..by putting some kind of check on the manner and matter of their inane songs.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 44 [His] sermons were the most remarkable I have ever heard—not in matter, but in manner.

1988 N. Postman Conscientious Objections 91 People will be so dazzled by the manner of speech that they will not notice the absence of matter.

†b. Significance, importance; esp. in there is matter in it. Also to make much matter of: to make much of; similarly to make no matter of. Obsolete.Quot. 1549 represents an isolated use as a count noun.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [phrase]

there is matter in it1549

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be unimportant [verb (transitive)] > make less important or unimportant

to set at a pease, at a pie's heel, at a pin's fee1303

mincea1591

to make no matter of1604

triflea1616

to make much (also little, nothing, too much, etc.) of (or on)1632

pygmy1658

insignificate1676

minify1676

smooth1684

trivialize1846

nonentitize1903

minoritize1947

sideline1953

peripheralize1955

marginalize1970

marginate1970

deprioritize1973

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > make more important

arearc885

upheavea1300

upraisea1300

uphigh13..

enhancec1325

liftc1330

uplift1338

uphebbe1340

uptakec1340

magnifya1382

upreara1382

uphancec1390

preponder?1504

upbring1513

exaggerate1564

greaten1589

weighc1595

to make much matter ofa1649

aggravate1698

aggrandize1709

beef1941

1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 4th Serm. sig. Lii If Solomon sayed it, there is a matter in it.

1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. sig. b1^v If necessitie shall force a man to saie some what, he may make an outward bragge, as though there wer no matter in it.

1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love ii. iii. sig. D3^v First, for your Marchants, or Citty face; Tis thus: a dull plodding face;..There is no great matter in this face.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies ii. x. 103 Having..shewed, that the burning Zone is much subiect vnto raine, it appears that there is matter in it, to temper the violence of the heat.

?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) 129 For men of merit sho [sc. Fortune] no mater maks.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iv. 137 There's matter in't indeed, if he be angry.

a1649 J. Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 175 Much matter was made of this.

1678 T. D'Urfey Fool turn'd Critick ii. ii. 15 Ah Sir, there's some matter in this now, an ill bred Raskal, not sing the Battle of Mardike.

1734 T. Cooke tr. Terence Stepmother iii. i, in tr. Terence Comedys I. 312 Pam. Something extraordinary..must have happen'd, to set them at Variance and so long. Par. By Hercules, there's no great Matter in't, if you'll but make a right Use of your Reason.

1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote I. v. xii. 317 Are you sure he never cut, Mr. Nash? If the Gentleman never cut, why certainly there is no such great matter in it.

1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet I. iii. 45 I shall know the whole story one day, I suppose; and perhaps..I shall not find there is any mighty matter in it after all.

1839 J. S. Knowles Love iii. iii 60 No; let him speak; there's matter in his looks.

10.

a. Material for expression; fact or thought as material for a book, speech, etc. Now rare or merged in sense 9a.matter subject: see subject adj. 9.

ΚΠ

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 118 (MED) Ous be-houeþ to spekene mid greate reuerence of zuo heȝe matiere ase of þe zeuen holy yefþes of þe holy gost.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 1700 (MED) It nedeth noght to tellen al, The matiere is so general.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 93 (MED) Materes fynde we may in dede Rymes of hir to make & rede, Who so wol of hir fairnes spelle Fynde he may ynouȝe to telle.

a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 35 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 96 I haue mekle mater in meter to gloss Of ane nother sentence.

1549 J. Leland Laboryouse Journey sig. Dviii^v I haue matter at plenty, already prepared to this purpose, that is to saye, to wryte an hystorie.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Ll1^v Some song of loue, or matter for ioyfull melody was to be brought forth.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. E3^v Here therefore, the first distemper of learning, when men studie words and not matter .

1611 Bible (King James) Job xxxii. 18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. i. 68 I loue to cope him in these sullen fits, For then he's full of matter .

1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 43 I will here conclude, rather out of discretion than for want of matter.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 109 The mean Matter which my Theme affords, T' embellish with Magnificence of Words.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 150. ⁋8 Whether they have Matter to talk of or not.

1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. x. 150 My Presence often gave them sufficient Matter for Discourse.

1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman Advt. p. xv Many subjects, however, which I have cursorily alluded to, call for particular investigation... These will furnish ample matter for a second volume.

1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth i, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 37 I have matter for thy private ear.

1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Janet's Repentance xxvi, in Scenes Clerical Life II. 359 There was endless matter for talk between her and the good old man.

1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) Pref. 6 A clear line of demarcation, both as to matter and method.

†b. Material for action, or upon which to exercise a skill, faculty, etc.; means; wherewithal. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means

keyOE

toolc1000

wherewithc1230

ministerc1380

meanc1390

instrumenta1425

organ?a1425

mesne1447

moyen1449

handlec1450

hackneya1500

receipta1500

operative1526

ingine1531

appliance1555

agent1579

matter1580

mids1581

wedge1581

wherewithal1583

shoeing-horn1587

engine1589

instrumental1598

Roaring Meg1598

procurement1601

organy1605

vehicle1615

vehiculuma1617

executioner1646

facility1652

operatory1660

instrumentality1663

expedient1665

agency1684

bladea1713

mechanic1924

mechanism1924

1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 21^v They perceiued a kinde of courtly Maiestie in the minde of their Hoste, though hee wanted matter to shew it in his house.

1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xii. 76 If there be either no matter for Art in extreme confusion..then that perfit period in our tung is not yet com.

1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xv. 89 In all the benefites which wee haue receiued of God we must consider in what taking wee had bene if wee had gone without them: and wee shall haue matter good store wherewith to doe that if we are not wilfully blinde.

1597 C. Middleton Famous Hist. Chinon iv. sig. E3 The desolate Coasts bordering vpon the sea side, afforded no matter for his manly courage.

11.

†a. Grounds, reason, or cause for doing or being something; usually with infinitive or subordinate clause; often modified by an adjective, as good, much, little, etc. Obsolete. to seek matter: to seek a pretext or reason.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] > reason or ground

achesounc1230

anchesouna1250

reasona1250

groundc1275

matter1340

purposec1350

cause1413

quarrel1476

actiona1500

subject1577

spring of action1583

qualitya1586

inducement1593

place1593

theme1594

instance1597

motive1605

impulsivea1628

justifiera1635

foundation1641

rise1641

plummet1679

mainspring1695

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 136 He [sc. þe milde herte] ne wille nenne zuo kuead..þet he ne can draȝe materie, god uor to herie.

c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2726 Men haue no cause ne matere to repreuen hym.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 20080 (MED) Þai me do alle þis shame, wiþ-oute mater bere I blame.

c1450 Contin. Lydgate's Secrees (Sloane 2464) 2236 He wyl redily Seeke mateer, And soone consente to thyn destruccioun.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 301 He..fenȝeit to mak bettir cher, Then he had matir to, be fer.

1532 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) I. 347 So his high pleasure is that ye shall do if ye see good matier to bere it.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 2089 Thow ges matir to men mony day after, fforto speke of þi spede.

1565 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc iii. i. sig. Cii This is the matter whie I called ye nowe to haue your good aduyse.

1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xli. 81 Ȝit hes thow mater for to murne.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. iii. 60 What is the matter, That..I am so dishonour'd, that [etc.] .

a1637 B. Jonson Magnetick Lady iii. iv. 93 in Wks. (1640) III I have done the part of a friend..In furnishing your feare with matter first, If you have any: Or, if you dare fight, To..confirme your resolution.

1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 38 This is the matter why Interpreters..will not consent it to be a true story.

b. In later use chiefly: what occasions or may occasion a specified feeling. With for, (now rare) of.

ΚΠ

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 243 (MED) When þe Romaynes wolde werry..schulde oon goo..and..declare..þe matire and cause of the werre.

c1420 Ploughmans Prayer in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1570) I. 496/1 Here is much matter of sorowe, to see [etc.].

1509 Bp. J. Fisher in Wks. (1876) 305 Yf she had contynued in this worlde, she sholde dayly haue herde & sene mater and cause of sorowe.

1597 G. Markham tr. G. Pétau de Maulette Deuoreux cci. f. 34^v His renownes preheminence shall..afford Matter for greater meruaile then hath beene.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 42 Neither can he, that mindeth but his own Businesse, finde much matter for Enuy.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 951 Matter of scorne, not to be given the Foe.

1712 M. Henry Daily Commun. God in Wks. (1855) I. iii. 235 Whenever we go to bed, we shall not want matter for praise, if we did not want a heart.

1776 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. i. §36. 46 Here..there is no matter for such fears.

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. i. 17 Mynheer Calve..is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman name when he becomes matter of enjoyment.

1868 Ld. Tennyson in Good Words Mar. 144 Science enough and exploring..Matter enough for deploring, But aught that is worth the knowing?

1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad l. 76 'Tis sure small matter for wonder If sorrow is with one still.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 182/1 It is matter for regret to the student that Adamson's active labours in the lecture room precluded him from systematic production.

1988 M. Charney Hamlet's Fictions ii. vi. 85 The true swordsman can find matter for quarrel ‘in a straw.’

†c. With a noun used attributive. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1676 W. Allen Serious & Friendly Addr. Non-conformists 121 They are prayer matter, and thanksgiving matter.

†12. The subject of a branch of knowledge; the subject matter of a study. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun]

thingeOE

evenOE

questionc1225

purposec1350

themec1380

mattera1387

reasonc1390

substancea1393

chapter1393

occasion1426

titlec1450

intentc1460

article1531

place1532

scope1549

subject1563

argumenta1568

string1583

matter subject1586

subject matter1587

qu.1608

haunt1622

seat1628

object matter1653

business1655

topic1728

locus1753

sub1779

ground1796

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] > field of interest

mattera1387

campa1538

champian1596

domain1764

champaign1839

ground1847

one's line of country1861

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 403 (MED) Þis Seneca hadde..greet knowleche of þynges, and wel nyh al matir of study [L. omnem studiorum materiam] of witte and of sciens.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 89 (MED) Of Arsmetique the matiere Is that of which a man mai liere What Algorisme in nombre amonteth.

a1450 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe ii. §4. 64 Natheles these ben observaunces of judicial matere and rytes of payens.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 10^v (MED) A mannys bodi..is þe suget or þe mater in alle science of medicyne & of sirurge.

1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 149 The matter of all armes..is seuered into the same three parts that the Embleme is.

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. xv. 90 The subiect or matter of lawes in generall is thus farre foorth constant: which matter is that for the ordering whereof lawes were instituted.

13.

a. Law. That which is to be tried or proved; statements or allegations coming under the consideration of a court. Cf. sense 2a. matter of record: something established as a fact by being officially recorded. †(by) matter in deed: in point of fact, as a matter of fact; truly, really (obsolete). matter of law: that portion of the subject of judicial inquiry concerned with the correctness of the legal procedure. †matter in fact: a matter of fact (obsolete).In later use also as a count noun: see quot. 1999.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > in fact, actually

in, of feata1400

in effectc1405

effectually1420

really?a1425

literallyc1429

(by) matter in deed1447

indeed1535

in fact1592

merely1596

de facto1602

essentially1604

in point of fact1628

upon1644

in point of event1650

effectively1652

in matter of fact1709

absolutelya1712

substantially1753

actually1762

positively1800

in actual fact1824

factually1852

as matter of fact1871

fair dinkum1891

dinkum1894

'smatter of fact1922

basically1927

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > matter or point in question > concerned with facts

matter of fact1583

question of fact1604

matter in fact1621

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > matter or point in question

matterc1390

issue1429

matter1728

subject matter1768

1447 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) 134 (MED) It is ordeigned..that no man shuld be putte to answere before the King..without presentment before Justice or matier of record or due processe and writte originall.

1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 150/1 Al maner thinge..not triable by matier of Recorde, be putte in issue and be triable by Enquest.

1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xxxviii A dysseysyn and dyscent that is mater & dede shall not so greue hym that was dysseysed whan he was out of the realme.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 833/1 By matter in dede, par effet.

1531 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student (new ed.) liv. f. cxlvii Yt ys not alleged in the Indyctement by matter in dede that he had such wepon.

1533 tr. Erasmus Expos. Comm. Crede 78 The Iewes do graunte..that Iesus was crucified verye matter in dede.

1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Vv4 Mater in deede..seemeth to be nothing else, but a truth to be prooued, though not by any Record: and mater of Record, is that which may be proued by some Record.

1612 F. Bacon Of Judicature in Ess. (1862) 458 When there is matter of Law interuenient in businesse of State.

1621 H. Elsynge Notes Deb. House of Lords (1870) 113 The question whether this cause had a sufficient hearinge, or noe, which is matter in facte.

1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. x. §655. 281 If it were by matter of Record, it should be good without attornment.

1651 W. G. tr. J. Cowell Inst. Lawes Eng. 198 This is rather matter of fact then of Law.

1681 Arraignm.,Tryal & Condemnation S. Colledge 10 And if so be matter of Law arises upon any evidence that is given against you..you may demurr upon that Evidence.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) Nude Matter, is a naked Allegation of a thing done, to be prov'd only by Witnesses, and not by a Record, or other Specialty in Writing under Seal.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Foreign Foreign Matter, in Law, is Matter triable in another County; or Matter done in another County.

1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 344 Assurances by matter of record are such as do not entirely depend on the act or consent of the parties themselves.

1797 Encycl. Brit. IX. 413/2 He may plead the general issue, and give the special matter in evidence.

1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading ii. 215 It is laid down as a rule that a traverse must not be taken upon matter of law.

1853 J. H. Stocqueler Mil. Encycl. 175/1 Matter,..in reference to court-martials..the specific charges which are brought against a prisoner, and to which the president and members must strictly confine themselves.

1859 J. E. Tennent Ceylon II. x. ii. 613 The age of the Bo-tree is matter of record.

1979 B. Cross Cross on Evid. (ed. 5) iii. 66 It is tempting to say that the meaning of an ordinary word of the English language is always a matter of fact to be determined by the jury while construction is a matter of law.

1999 All Eng. Law Rep. 4 443 The information that the caution which had been entered..had been cancelled..was a matter of record.

b. gen. With of and a noun or noun phrase, or qualifying adjective: something, or things collectively, of the kind specified, or involving or related to a particular thing. Now rare.Corresponding in meaning with sense 4a, but construed as a mass noun.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something > somethings

matter1449

1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 148/2 It is mater of Parlement longyng to the Kynges Highnesse.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Aiii Al maner of gostly matter, concernyng the perfeccion of graces & vertues.

1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. E2^v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) The first [Letter] wherof shall bee for matter of vnkindnesse.

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie ii. vi. 113 That in matter of fact there is some credite to be giuen to the testimonie of man, but not in matter of opinion and iudgement.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V v. ii. 332 The king of France hauing any occasion To write for matter of graunt.

1602 B. Jonson Poetaster v. iii. sig. K4^v I haue Matter of danger, and state, to impart to Cæsar.

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Dd2^v The Chronicle..red before Ahassuerus..contained matter of affaires.

1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium II. iii. v. 369 The Fathers power does not extend to matter of Religion.

1788 G. White Nat. Hist. Selborne v This must have been matter of mere accident.

1884 Manch. Examiner 29 May 4/7 That it is eminently desirable to attain this end is not now matter of dispute.

14. it makes (also is, †skills) no matter: it is of no consequence or importance; often with subordinate clause and now usually with ellipsis of the verb, as no matter. Also what matter? †(it is) no matter for: there is no importance attaching to, (the thing in question) does not matter (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be of no importance [phrase]

forcec1330

no wardc1330

no strength1340

no forcec1369

no mattera1466

what force?a1513

no skill1575

what matter?1678

the game (play, etc.) is not worth the candlea1699

nix my dolly1795

what the hell1872

a1466 R. Taverham in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 322 Though my Lorde Cromwel hath taken..my yonger brother, as warde for the same enheritaunce that maketh no mater to me.

?1478 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 649 I beseche yow to sende me a hose clothe,..how corse so euer it be it makyth no matyr.

?1533 W. Tyndale Expos. Mathew vi. f. lxxi Thou wilt saye: what mater maketh it, if I speake wordes which I vnderstande not?

1560 Nice Wanton sig. Bj Tis no marter.

a1563 J. Bale King Johan (1969) i. 360 Nob. To the church I trust ye wyll be obedyent. K. John. No mater to yow whether I be so or no.

1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. F1 How course soeuer the stuffe be, tis no matter so it hold fashion.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iii. i. 323 Sp. Item, she doth talke in her sleepe. La. It's no matter for that; so shee sleepe not in her talke.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. vii. 66 No matter who's displeas'd, when you are gone.

1670 J. Cosin Corr. (1872) 25 Aug. II. ciii. 251 It skills no matter what Neile's atturney said to you.

1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 39 So be we get into the way, what's matter which way we get in.

1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iv. 38 Bell. My Patch, my Patch. Læt. No matter for your Patch.

a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) I. 351 But no matter for the tides in the moon; it is very well if they have satisfactorily explained the tides upon earth.

1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 208 ‘He has lost the key of the trunk...’ ‘No matter; we can break it open.’

1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §21. 66 After no matter how great a progress in the colligation of facts.

1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 16 But what matter..from whom I heard this?

1903 A. Bennett Truth about Author xv. 196 He is terrible against cabotins, no matter where he finds them.

1955 L. P. Hartley Perfect Woman (1959) 87 They were in collusion. But what matter, since apparently he didn't care if they were.

1960 Honey Aug. 29 (advt.) No matter if they're sun-starved you can give even the whitest legs the bronzed, beautiful look that all whistle-worthy legs possess.

1991 Tucson (Arizona) Weekly 22 Jan. 28/2 The wine selection is token, but you'd be a dork to order wine here, so no matter.

†15. The elements of which something consists or out of which it is developed; material cause. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause

efficient cause1393

conjunct causec1400

final causec1400

meritorious cause1526

matter1570

deficient cause1581

effectrix1583

formal cause1586

material cause1586

final cause1587

conservant cause1588

efficient1593

effective1610

defective cause1624

proximate cause1641

1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. vii. f. 184 Vnitie is as it were the very matter of number.

1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 258 Voyde of all matter of probabilitie.

a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. x. §3. 304 His vncompounded simplicitie, is the true matter of his Vnitie.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 80 The Matter of Seditions is of two kindes, Much Poverty and Much Discontentment.

1751 J. Harris Hermes iii. ii. 318 To know the Nature and Powers of the Human Voice, is in fact to know the Matter or common Subject of Language.

1825 J. Bentham Rationale Reward 237 There are many things which may constitute part of the matter of wealth, which, when taken separately or in small quantities, would hardly be called wealth.

†16. Sense, substance (as distinct from nonsense). Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [noun] > not nonsense

sense1578

matter1600

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 309 I was born to speake all mirth, and no matter .

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 164 O matter and impertinencie mixt reason in madnesse.

17.

a. Printed or written material. In Typography: (a) the body of a printed work, as distinct from the titles, headings, etc.; (in newspapers) the general contents as distinguished from the advertisements; (b) type set up; (c) manuscript prepared for printing, copy.Frequently with modifying word, as manuscript, typed matter, etc.: for more established compounds see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > writing > written text > [noun]

rounOE

pagine?c1225

writ-rounc1275

dite1340

writing1340

paperc1390

scripturea1400

writinga1400

charactc1400

textc1400

papera1500

black and white1569

page?1606

character1609

litera scripta1660

matter1683

legend1822

screed1834

reading1836

society > communication > printing > material to be printed > [noun]

copy1485

matter1683

society > communication > printing > printed matter > [noun]

print1507

typography1644

matter1683

presswork1728

printed matter1836

the printed word1846

literature1859

printing ink1904

print-work1919

society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > body of printed work

matter1683

letterpress1733

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 222 He Sets the Title of the Chapter or Section in a..different Character than his Matter is Set in.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 263 The like mark he makes in Matter and Margin if two Letters are Transpos'd.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. Dict. 386 Open Matter, Full of Breaks and Whites.

1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 249 The care the Compositor took in spacing his matter.

1787 Smith's Printer's Gram. (new ed.) 116 In mixt matter, or Italic, a Scabbard at least is required before and after a thin Brass rule.

1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. xviii. 588 A new mode in the arrangement of the matter.

1838 J. W. Carlyle Lett. I. 106 We have printed half the matter.

1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1337/2 Live-matter (Printing), type in page or column ready for printing.

1886–94 H. Spencer Autobiogr. I. xxxiii. 512 Matter which has been revised in manuscript, and again revised in proof.

1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Feb. 5/9 An increased price is paid for advertisements ‘facing matter’.

1928 Daily Express 5 Mar. 2/3 No candidate can be directly boosted by name in any matter printed, typed, or cyclostyled.

1966 H. Williamson Methods Bk. Design (ed. 2) xii. 176 American designers sometimes use the terms ‘front matter’ and ‘end matter’.

1993 R. White Advertising (BNC) (ed. 3) 87 A 35cm × 4 col space is likely to be every bit as good as the far more expensive full page, not least because it is set into news matter.

b. Chiefly U.S. In full postal matter. Material which may be sent by post.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > correspondence > letter > mail > [noun]

post1646

mail of letters1654

postal matter1869

mailshot1963

mailout1977

1869 Ladies' Repository July 61/1 The utility of railways is..clearly manifest..rendering the conveyance of both postal matter and small parcels so cheap and rapid.

1891 Cent. Dict. at First-class First-class matter, in the postal system of the United States, matter which is in writing, or sealed against inspection.

1891 Cent. Dict. at Second-class Second-class matter,..mail matter consisting of newspapers and other periodical publications.

1896 Strand Mag. 338/2 [Letters and other] postal matter, such as book parcels, post-cards, newspapers, circulars, telegrams, etc.

1999 Connecticut Opinions 26 July 844/2 The statement that the postal police have the final say regarding the handling of the postal matter [etc.].

III. In purely physical applications.

18.

a. The substance, or the substances collectively, of which something consists; constituent material, esp. of a particular kind. Now rare except as passing into senses 19a and 21.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > material

matter1340

substancec1350

subject matter1535

making1623

material1624

substratuma1676

materiality1811

hypostase1867

materiature1881

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance > a kind of matter

thingOE

matter1340

substancea1393

corsec1420

gear1489

massa1550

quality1583

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 145/16 (MED) We alle habbeþ enne sseppere, þet ous made alle of one materie and heþ yssape.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 984 (MED) If a man were Mad al togedre of o matiere..Ther scholde no corrupcioun Engendre upon that unite.

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 195 b To assemble matere wherof myght be made and edefyed a chyrche.

1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance v. f. 9 He vsed no gold but pure berill & christal, and other like matter to drynke in.

1573 G. Harvey Common-pl. Bk. (1884) 25 As there is matter of poison to the spider where wuld be matter of honi to the bee.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xxi. 187 Vpon that coast there rise no vapors, sufficient to engender raine for want of matter.

1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 89 The glasse makers of Venice..have a more noble matter, and thereof make much better glasse than we can.

1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus New Inventions Water-works 33 The matter of the Summer which ought to be of Oak.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 137. ⁋13 In all Operas..where it thunders and lightens..the Matter of the said Lightning is to be of the finest Rosin.

1728 tr. I. Newton Treat. Syst. World 1 (margin) That the matter of the Heavens is fluid.

1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. I. i. i. 30 The matter of the globe is not an inert recipient of forms..impressed by human hands.

1881 S. P. Thompson Elem. Lessons Electr. & Magn. iii. 187 Little is..yet known of the conditions of conductivity of the matter of the nerves.

1983 New Scientist 12 May 355/1 A single unified theory of the particles that form the matter of the Universe.

†b. [after classical Latin māteria in this sense.] Timber, wood. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun]

treec890

woodc897

timbera1100

mattera1382

stuff1544

lignum1826

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 4 Kings vi. 2 Go wee vn to Jordan & taken eche fro þe woode sundre mateeris [L. materias singulas] þat wee bilden to vs þere a place to dwellen.

tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 437 Now matere is to falle..For pale or hegge or hous.

1447–8 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 86 (MED) Vor mater ybowyete to the weste dore, vj d.

19.

a. Physical material of any kind (including †blood and other bodily fluids), esp. when only vaguely or generally characterized (in quot. 1395 figurative). Frequently with modifying word.grey matter: see grey adj. and n. Compounds 1c(a). white matter: see white adj. and n. Compounds 1g(d).

ΚΠ

Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 6 (MED) These weiward prelatis..withdrawen gostli seed and mateer bi which cristen soulis..shulden be gendrid into euere lastinge blisse.

a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 93 Cankre..comeþ of a wounde yuel heelid, to whom comeþ a malancolient mater rotid.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 44^v (MED) A ȝerde..ordeyned for þat þe pisse & also þe spermatik mater schulden ben i-cast out bi him.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xxv. 196 Ther are places in th' earth, whose vertue is to draw vaporous matter, and to convert it into water.

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 186 There is no part of the Frog so medicinable as is the bloud, called also the matter or the iuyce, and the humour of the Frogge.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xiii. 137 Toades are sometimes observed to exclude or spirt out a dark and liquid matter behinde.

1664 J. Evelyn Sylva i. 16 Oaks bear also a knur, full of a Cottony matter.

1765 Philos. Trans. 1764 (Royal Soc.) 54 174 On leaving it exposed to the air, the brown matter attracted moisture from it and relented into a thick brown liquour.

1769 W. Hamilton Let. 17 Oct. in Observ. Vesuvius (1772) 83 You may judge..of the prodigious quantities of matter emitted in a great eruption of this mountain [sc. Etna].

1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 348 The hard matter on which the holes are to be pierced.

1891 Law Times 92 94/1 Milk which on analysis proved to be deficient in fatty matter to the extent of 33 per cent.

1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 794 An obstruction to the passage of matter along the intestines.

1920 Technologic Papers U.S. Bureau of Standards No. 176. 4 Slushing compounds are..sometimes mixtures of mineral and animal greases..finely divided mineral matter, and volatile solvents.

1991 R. Goldring Fossils in Field iv. 65 In compressions of leaves all that remains is coaly matter between the superimposed cuticles.

b. spec. Purulent material, pus; (now) esp. purulent discharge from the eyes. Also †corrupt matter (obsolete). Cf. matter v. 1, mattering n., mattering adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > suppuration > [noun] > pus or matter

wursomeOE

yousterc725

warec1175

quittorc1300

corrumpciona1340

humour1340

atter1398

mattera1400

pus?a1425

filthiness1525

corruption1526

filth1561

gear1562

sanies1562

baggage1576

purulence1598

suppuration1601

lye1615

congestion1634

colluvies1651

collution1657

colloid1849

purulage1898

a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 52 (MED) Þe corrupt mater þat is in þe place þat is brusid.

a1450 St. Etheldreda (Faust.) 463 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 293 (MED) A gret swellyng abouȝt my throte þer is..Were hit ybroke & þe mater ouȝt y-renne..myche eysse hit wolde do.

1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. cvij Kutt theys botches with an knyfe and let owte the mater of theym.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxiii A glaunder whan it breketh is lyke matter.

1651 J. French Art Distillation vi. 191 It..expells the matter of a carbuncle by sweat.

1722 London Gaz. No. 6045/8 The Matter taken on a Person who has had the Small Pox by Inoculation.

1778 Farmer's Mag. July 228 If, instead of dispersing, it suppurates and comes to matter, let it be opened with a lancet.

1823 Lancet 21 Dec. 388/1 Another situation in the head where matter has been found is in the longitudinal sinus of the dura mater.

1858 E. E. Stuart Let. 11 Feb. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) II. 851 To have an abscess lanced? To have Blood and Matter issue from it!

1885 W. Roberts Urinary & Renal Dis. (ed. 4) iii. v She began to pass considerable quantities of what she considered ‘matter’ with the urine.

1967 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 535/1 To get matter out of a boil.

1967 C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 133 The corners of his sloe-shaped eyes were sticky with matter.

1994 A. Gurnah Paradise (1995) 41 Their eyes, so cruel in the moonlight, were runny and clotted with white matter in the daylight.

†20. A substance used or acted upon in a physical operation; a substance undergoing a physical or chemical process. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > matter, form, or essence

formc1385

matterc1395

matter subjecta1398

quidditya1398

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of

material cause1393

matterc1395

matter subjecta1398

predicamenta1425

quality?1537

first substance1551

predicable1551

property1551

proprium1551

transcendent1581

final cause1587

category1588

habit1588

ante-predicament?1596

postpredicament1599

entelechy1603

transumption1628

secondary1656

objective cause1668

transcendental1668

general substance1697

third man1801

thought-form1834

posterioristic universal1902

ousia1917

society > occupation and work > materials > [noun]

stuffc1440

materialc1475

material1509

graith1513

subject matter1535

metalc1550

staple1598

tew1616

subjected matter1645

materiable1652

matter1680

ingredient1691

vehicle1837

input1893

c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 770 The care and wo That we hadde in oure matires sublymyng.

a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 4 Þis is þe watri mater fro which is drawe oure quinta essencia.

c1480 (a1400) St. Justina 735 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 173 [He gert]..þare-in be done blak pic &..brynstane bla, & vndir it a fyre gert ma, til þat mater wes moltyne thyne.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 666/2 I make the printe of a thyng in any mater or stuffe.

1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. iii. 54 Electricall bodies draw and attract not without rubbing and stirring vp of the matter first.

1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. x. 175 As there is different Matter or Substance to be Turned, so there is also different Ways..to be used in Turning each different Matter.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 85 They beat this Stuff with one hand..stooping at every blow, and nothing but the flat side of the Club hits the matter.

1797 Encycl. Brit. VII. 772/1 [Glass.] He takes up a small ball of matter, which sticks to the end of the tube by constantly turning it.

1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. i. 16 Animal matters are the soonest destroyed by the operation of air, heat and light. Vegetable substances yield more slowly.

1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 737 Mix these matters in a large iron or copper pan.

1851 H. W. Longfellow Golden Legend vi. 268 To report if any confectionarius Mingles his drugs with matters various.

21. That which has mass and occupies space; physical substance as distinct from spirit, mind, qualities, actions, etc.dark matter: see dark adj. Compounds 2; subtile matter: see subtile adj. and n. Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance

mattera1500

stuff1580

materiary1650

state of matter1665

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. Prol. l. 4 Clerkys..say þat naturally, As woman [of] man has appetyte, Mater walde furme haf wiþe delyte.

1568 ( D. Lindsay Satyre (Bannatyne) l. 358 in Wks. (1931) II. 38 O lord..quhilk, havand no mateir Maid hevin and erth.

1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis 20 in Sylua Syluarum Wee maintaine a Trade, not for Gold..Nor any other Commodity of Matter.

1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV ii. iv. 307 Metaphysic mater..without the least physic extension or mater.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. x. 314 Matter,..by its own Strength, cannot produce in it self so much as Motion.

1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. ii. (title page) Matter and Motion cannot Think.

1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 6 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) In order..for the former to be in æquilibrio with the latter, it would be necessary for it to contain a greater quantity of Matter; it ought to be longer.

1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xlvii. 158 Matter is inert, senseless and lifeless.

1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xxiv. 481 The essential superiority of spirit over matter.

1846 W. Hamilton in T. Reid Wks. 935 Mind and matter exist for us only as they are known by us.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 271 All our applications of mathematics are applications of our ideas of space to matter.

1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magnetism I. 46 Let there be at O a particle of matter of mass m.

1927 Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 23 930 Dirac's recent theory of the interaction between matter and gravitation.

1963 M. L. King Strength to Love xii. 94 According to Communist theory, matter, not mind or spirit, speaks the last word in the universe.

1990 R. Morris Edges of Sci. i. iii. 50 An open universe goes on expanding forever, since the density of matter is not enough to halt the expansion.

IV. Contrasted with form.

22. Philosophy.

a. In Aristotelian and scholastic philosophy: that component of a thing which has bare existence but requires an essential determinant (form) to make it a thing of a determinate kind. Also in extended use. See form n. 4a.matter subject: see subject adj. 9.

ΚΠ

c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 138 Of nauȝte..He made hys werke; For er he a-gounne hys work so merye, Nas noþer fourme ne materye.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 130^v Matere is neuer j-seye withoute fourme.

c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1582 As mater apetiteth forme alwey.

a1500 ( Pilgrimage of Soul (Egerton) (1953) iv. xxvii. f. 70 Thi body..was only matier; thi selfe [sc. soule] wer his forme.

1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer iii. sig. Cc.iiii^v (It is the opinion of most wise men) the man is likened to the Fourme, the woman to the Mattier.

1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. i. 7 The principles whereof the Spheare is composed are two; viz: Matter, and Forme.

1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation iv. 178 Piscator affirmes, The matter of a particular church, to be a companie of beleevers.

1651 T. Hobbes (title) Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Aristotle makes three Principles, Matter, Form, and Privation.

a1831 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 5/1 By the form..of language..we mean its signification; by the matter of language we mean the sound of words in speech [etc.].

1874 G. S. Morris tr. F. Ueberweg Hist. Philos. II. §111. 27 Bruno opposes the doctrine of a dualism of matter and form.

1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art ii. 16 The matter is what is identical in the raw material and the finished product; the form is what is different, what the exercise of the craft changes.

1997 R. Porter Greatest Benefit to Mankind ix. 208 A vitalist, he believed all objects, minerals included, were alive, marriages of body and soul, matter and form.

†b. In scholastic philosophy: the result of the first act of creation, i.e. substance without form. Obsolete.first matter: see first adj., adv., and n.² Compounds 1b(b).

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > lack of shape > [noun] > (first) formless matter

mattera1382

abyssa1398

chaos1531

unnature1843

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. xi. 18 Thin almyȝti hond that made the roundnesse of erthis of mater vnseen [L. ex materia invisa].

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 348 Þe mater first þer of he mad, þat es þe elementes to sai Þat first scapless al samen lay.

a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xxxii. 9 He sayd..& thai ere made, that is, thai ere fourmyd of vnfourmyd matere.

1578 T. Timme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Gen. 26 Whereby their vanitie is overthrowen which think that the world was a matter alwayes without forme.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 4 First he breathed Light, vpon the Face, of the Matter or Chaos.

c. In Kantian philosophy: the element in knowledge supplied by or derived from sensation, as distinct from that which is contributed a priori by the mind (the forms of intuition and the categories of the understanding). Cf. form n. 4d.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > idealism > [noun] > Kantianism > elements of

conception1701

schematism1794

categorical imperative1796

intuition1796

matter1796

receptivity1796

schema1796

dialectic1797

multifarious1798

reciprocity1799

form1803

synthesis1817

Anschauung1820

manifold?1822

category1829

modality1836

multiplex1836

predicable1838

multiple1839

multiplicity1839

presentmenta1842

elanguescence1855

1796 F. A. Nitsch Gen. View Kant's Princ. conc. Man 73 In every perception..that which refers to the object may be called matter... The given matter in every perception..is a variety.

1798 A. F. M. Willich Elements Crit. Philos. 167 Matter..as opposed to form, is the given, perceived thing in general; that, which is determinable.

1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason i. 90 Experience, which contains two very dissimilar elements, namely, a Matter for cognition arising out of the senses, and a certain Form to order it, arising from the internal source of pure intuition and thought.

1912 Mind 21 514 Are the secondary qualities then—in Kant's language, the matter of sensation—that which alone gives us any glimpse of reality?

1960 F. C. Copleston Hist. Philos. VI. x. 205 Sensible objects appear to us in a certain way because we are what we are, that is, because of the a prioriintuitions of space and time. But in sensitive knowledge the form is applied to a mater that is passively received.

1999 S. Gardner Kant & ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ vi. 180 While the sensible and conceptual form of appearances derives from the subject, the matter (that which corresponds to sensation) does not.

23. Theology (esp. Roman Catholic Church). The characteristic sensible element or sign used in a sacrament (as water in baptism, the laying on of hands in holy orders, etc.). Cf. form n. 4b.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > sacrament > [noun] > three things making effectual

matterc1350

form1597

intention1690

society > faith > artefacts > consumables > eucharistic elements > [noun] > material part of

matterc1350

species1579

c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 42 (MED) Þe matyre of þis sacrement Hys ryȝt þe oylle allone.

c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 8 (MED) Nou ferst ich wille telle ȝou Wet may be þe materie Wer-inne cristning may be mad..Hiȝt moȝt be do ine kende water.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Priuate Baptisme f. v*^v With what thyng, or what matter they dyd Baptise the childe.

a1600 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie (1648) vi. 21 Surely, to admit the matter as a part, and not to admit the form, hath small congruity with reason.

1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 103 The doctrine of the Schools is, That a Sacrament requires Matter, Form, and Intention.

1884 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. 627/1 The matter of the consecration of a bishop would lie in the imposition of hands when the Gospels are placed on his head and the form in the invocation of the Holy Ghost.

1915 J. Pohle & A. Preuss Sacraments I. ii. ii. 63 In some Sacraments, notably Penance and Matrimony, it is not easy to say precisely wherein matter and form consist.

1978 J. D. C. Fisher in C. Jones et al. Study of Liturgy ii. ii. v. 125 The..signing of the forehead..is transferred to a point immediately after the actual baptism and in such close proximity to it that it has often been taken for the essential matter and form of baptism.

24. Logic. The particular content of a judgement, proposition, or argument, as opposed to its form.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > content as opposed to form

matter1599

1599 T. Blundeville Art of Logike 118 They deuide a simple Sillogisme, according to the matter of the Propositions, whereof it is made into three kindes, that is into a Syllogisme Demonstratiue, Dialecticall, and Sophisticall.

1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica i. xxviii. 113 The material modes affect the Matter of the Enunciation, viz. either Subject or Predicate.

1827 R. Whately Elements Logic (ed. 2) ii. ii. §3. 81 ‘All islands (or some islands) are surrounded by water’, must be true, because the matter is necessary:..again, ‘some islands are fertile’, ‘some are not fertile’, are both true, because it is Contingent Matter.

1842 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought 14 The matter of any representation is that part of it which with reference to any given law, is non-formal.

1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic vi. 149 In respect to their Matter, both the Premises and the Conclusion may be false.

1916 H. W. B. Joseph Introd. Logic (ed. 2) vii. 163 To think the copula is the synthesis..of judgement: it is the form of the act, as distinguished from thinking the subject and predicate; this is the matter, for judgement varies materially with variation of the subject and predicate.

1956 A. Church Introd. Math. Logic (rev. ed.) I. 2 The reasoning may be right though the facts be wrong, and it is just in maintaining this distinction that we separate the form from the matter.

Compounds

C1.

matter-hating adj.

ΚΠ

1856 R. A. Vaughan Hours with Mystics I. i. iii. 21 The matter-hating principles of this school.

matter-moulded adj.

ΚΠ

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xciii. 140 In matter-moulded forms of speech.

matter-woven adj.

ΚΠ

1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. viii. 177 Facts, objects, are but phantoms matter-woven.

C2.

† matter-bear n. Obsolete the part of a furnace which holds the raw materials before they are placed inside the combustion chamber.

ΚΠ

1612 S. Sturtevant Metallica xv. 111 The Matter-beare is a generall part of the Furnace, which bereth & holdeth the substances of the Raw-matters.

matter transmission n. Science Fiction transportation of a person or object using a matter transmitter.

ΚΠ

1877 E. P. Mitchell in N.Y. Sun 25 Mar. 2/2 There was no reason why matter could not be telegraphed, or to be more etymologically accurate, ‘telepomped’. It was only necessary to effect at one end of the line the disintegration of the molecules into atoms and to convey the vibrations of the chemical dissolution by electricity to the other pole, where a corresponding reconstruction could be effected.]

1931 J. Schlossel in Amazing Stories Q. Spring 269/2 The attack must be launched before man completed the great matter-transmission machine he was planning.

1999 Analog Dec. 75/2 These folks have matter transmission. Time control. They can build a pocket environment on Venus, for chrissakes!

matter transmitter n. Science Fiction a hypothetical device for conveying matter over a distance by transforming it into energy or information, beaming this to another location, and reconstituting the original matter at the destination.

ΚΠ

1931 L. F. Stone in Wonder Stories Apr. 1280/1 With me at her side, Geble hastened to the beam station and there in the matter transmitter we dispatched our physical beings to the palace at Tola.

1999 Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Oct. 266/2 Matter..is at bottom a message, since it can be turned into energy and propagated. Nevertheless, the awesome radio did not develop into a matter transmitter, which is no closer to reality than it was a century ago.

matter-transmitting adj. Science Fiction designating or relating to a matter transmitter.

ΚΠ

1932 J. Williamson in Wonder Stories Mar. 1034/1 Any other creature of the moon..that might have been brought with her on the matter-transmitting beam.

1992 Classic Images Dec. 26 (advt.) Men are being mysteriously murdered by a vengeful madman known as ‘the Telegian’, who uses a matter transmitting device to find his intended victims no matter where they hide.

matter transporter n. originally and chiefly Science Fiction = matter transmitter n.

ΚΠ

1957 H. Slesar in Amazing Stories June 45/1 ‘Do you think you could move his house?’... ‘I suppose so. I have a small Matter Transporter in my suitcase.’

1971 Luna Monthly May 43 The MT (matter transporter) serves to transmit plague to a primitive culture.

1987 S. H. Elgin Judas Rose ix. 128 Heykus was personally convinced that the Aliens who interacted routinely with Earth did have matter transporters, in the old science fiction sense.

2000 PrintWeek 25 Feb. 25/3 Once it's printed, it still has to be delivered. Now if we could invent a space-age matter transporter, it would be different.

matter wave n. Physics a particle considered in terms of its wavelike properties; a de Broglie wave.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > matrix mechanics > [noun] > wave with properties of particle

wave1924

matter wave1930

1930 A. E. Ruark & H. C. Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta xxi. 722 When electrons impinge on polycrystalline metal surfaces the fraction scattered at an angle θ with the normal to the surface does not decrease uniformly as θ increases... The results seemed likely to remain unexplained, until Einstein discussed de Broglie's matter waves, in 1924 and 1925.

1972 Sci. Amer. Oct. 106/3 The bombarding particles have the properties not only of particles but also of waves. Such ‘matter waves’ are called de Broglie waves.

1995 Physics Abstr. 1 Apr. 3768/1 Two counter-propagating pairs of parallel laser pulses at 457 nm act as coherent beam-splitters... This way a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for the matter waves is formed.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	matter
释义	mattern.¹ Brit. /ˈmatə/, U.S. /ˈmædər/ Forms: Middle English mateer, Middle English mateere, Middle English matery, Middle English materye, Middle English matiere, Middle English matire, Middle English mattur, Middle English mature, Middle English matyer, Middle English matyre, Middle English–1500s matir, Middle English–1500s mattir, Middle English–1500s matur, Middle English–1500s matyr, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) mater, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) matere, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) materie, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) matier, Middle English–1600s (1800s– English regional) mattere, Middle English– matter, 1500s marter, 1500s mattar, 1500s mattier, 1500s matture, 1500s mattyr, 1800s– matther (English regional), 1800s– metter (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 maeter, pre-1700 matair, pre-1700 matar, pre-1700 mateir, pre-1700 mateire, pre-1700 mater, pre-1700 matere, pre-1700 matir, pre-1700 mator, pre-1700 matour, pre-1700 mattar, pre-1700 matteir, pre-1700 matter, pre-1700 mattere, pre-1700 mattier, pre-1700 mattir, pre-1700 matur, pre-1700 matyr, pre-1700 meater, pre-1700 meeter, pre-1700 metear, pre-1700 meter, pre-1700 metr, pre-1700 metter, pre-1700 meyter, pre-1700 1700s– matter, pre-1700 1800s– maiter, pre-1700 1800s– maitter, 1800s– mayter. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French matier. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman matier, matere, matire, mateire, Old French matere, matiere (12th cent.; French matière ) < classical Latin māteria (also māteriēs ) wood, timber, building material, material of which a thing is made, purulent matter, subject of discourse or consideration, also (in philosophical use) ‘matter’ in contradistinction to ‘mind’ or to ‘form’ < māter mother n.¹ + -ia -ia suffix¹ (usually explained as originally denoting the trunk of a tree regarded as the ‘mother’ of its offshoots). Compare Italian materia (12th cent.), Spanish materia (1220–50), Portuguese matéria (14th cent.), Old Occitan materia (14th cent.), Romanian materie, etc.The sense development of Latin māteria was influenced by that of ancient Greek ὕλη hyle n., of which it was the accepted equivalent in philosophical use. Uses in branch I. correspond to classical Latin res, which the word is often used to render; the sense ‘matter, case, situation’ is recorded for post-classical Latin materia from the 13th cent. in British sources. All of the main senses of the word recorded in Middle English are also found in Anglo-Norman and Old French. I. A thing, affair, concern. 1. a. An event, circumstance, fact, question, state or course of things, etc., which is or may be an object of consideration or practical concern; a subject, an affair, a business. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair charec897 matter?c1225 journeya1352 affairc1390 notea1400 incident1485 concernment1495 actiona1500 business1524 concern1680 job1680 ploya1689 show1797 game1812 caper1839 pigeon dropping1850 shebang1869 hoodoo1876 racket1880 palaver1899 scene1964 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 197 Of þis ilke Materie ich spec Muchel þer uppe. c1395 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 836 A flye and eek a frere Wol falle in euery dyssh and matere. 1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/1 He knoweth wel that in the matier on hym surmetted by the sayd Bille, he ne hath noght born hym as he sholde hav doon. c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 16 (MED) Þat our Lord schuld hast þis mater & make brith þe þirknesse of Augustines soule. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vii. 114 I praye yow,..that ye will me counseile in this matere. 1560 J. Daus in tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries Ep. sig. Aii To iudge by matters past, what shalbe the consequent, and end of things to come. 1611 Bible (King James) Acts xix. 39 But if yee enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shalbe determined in a lawfull assembly. View more context for this quotation 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 2 One of the later Schoole of the Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand [etc.]. 1694 R. Molesworth Acct. Denmark in 1692 xiii. 206 The Duke's Commissioners..thought it forreign to the matter in hand. 1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 73 Upon this we dropt the Matter, and began to discourse concerning the Provisions. 1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 1 They order, said I, this matter better in France. 1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry (1937) I. i. 33 He might make himself easy; for be the matter as it might, he would take care that Teague should..bear the blame. 1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 129 The brewer cut the matter short, by saying, he had not time to argue. 1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. x. 200 To mend the matter, the hostess was a most intolerable scold and shrew. 1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 154 In default of help from Rome, he would lay the matter before parliament. 1883 Manch. Examiner 24 Oct. 4/6 One of the leading matters under consideration was the report of the Ecclesiastical Commission. 1887 E. Stuart In his Grasp iii. 39 I tried to lead the conversation to personal matters. 1902 Irish Rosary Jan. 77/1 The Irish-American Press should urge upon the Irish in America a sense of their duty in this matter. 1957 H. J. Eysenck Sense & Nonsense in Psychol. (1958) viii. 337 The matter does not rest there either. Freud and Jones both explicitly assert that the Oedipus complex is characteristic of all human beings. 1985 R. Owen Lett. from Moscow 28 Once in Moscow there is the small matter of obtaining Soviet licence plates. b. With possessive adjective (or equivalent): an affair, etc., of concern to the person or persons specified; (one's) cause, concern, or affair. In later use only in plural: cf. affair n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > relating to specific person or thing mattera1375 business1525 shauri1921 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 613 (MED) I wold meng al mi mater, ȝif i miȝt for schame. c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2931 We putten..al our matere and cause al hoolly in youre goode wyl. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 1794 (MED) Lordes han for to done So mych for hem-self, þat my mateere Out of hir mynde slippith away soone. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 145 (MED) Thai were so occupied with thair owne maters and with the maters off thair kynne..þat thai entendet but litle..to þe kynges maters. ?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. gg.i^v By me your mater shall be well sped. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 473/2 If thou se my lerned counsayle in Westmynster hall, call upon them to remember my mater agaynst Bulkyn [Fr. mon proces contre Bulkyn]. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 28^v Though, for their priuate matters they can follow, fawne, and flatter noble Personages. a1613 E. Brerewood Enq. Langs. & Relig. (1614) xv. 128 You may see them..in Posseuines booke of the matters of Moscouia. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 42 To know much of other Mens Matters. c1639 W. Mure Psalmes xxi. 2 in Wks. (1898) II. 85 Lord, in thy strength the King sall joy;..To his minde Thow makst his maters goe. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xix. 199 If he goes on as he has done of late, I'll never trouble myself more with his matters. 1837 T. Hook Jack Brag I. v. 135 Take my advice, Jack,..try them both. Manage your matters well—lead them both on. 1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye I. xi. 151 Let the matters of my sister and Jasper Petulengro alone, brother. 1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee viii. 95 There was not any one in the kingdom who would have considered it good judgment to meddle with my matters. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiv. [Oxen of the Sun] 382 I'll meddle in his matters, says he. 1993 I. Walker Know-how for Personal Injury Lawyers (BNC) 23 The RAC tends to have local firms dealing with their matters. c. In plural (without article or modification). Events, affairs, circumstances, etc., understood to refer to a particular occasion, but not further specified. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > affairs harnessc1386 matters1569 concern1649 shit1988 1569 T. Blague Schole of Wise Conceytes 232 Some men for great ioye, vnaduisedly taking matters in hand, do therby cast them selues away. a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) i. i. 71 If matters grow to your likings. View more context for this quotation a1649 J. Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 369 At Providence matters went after the old manner. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1348 Matters now are strain'd Up to the highth, whether to hold or break. View more context for this quotation 1699 T. Brown tr. Erasmus in R. L'Estrange 20 Sel. Colloquies (new ed.) vi. 82 I will take a proper occasion to discourse matters with your Husband. 1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. 351 This seems to be carrying matters too far. 1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. 11 I will bring you to her as a stranger, and so you may bring matters about. 1868 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Dec. 10 Matters are very different in France. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 235/2 A state of matters which..was..attended with heavy loss to this country. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. v. [Lotus Eaters] 70 Talk: as if that would mend matters. 1959 M. Spark Memento Mori iv. 36 I see that I must take matters into my own hands. 1991 Holiday Which? Mar. 96/4 Narrow streets and a lack of parking space combine to make the town a bottleneck, although a by-pass has helped matters. d. concrete. In plural. Physical objects, vaguely characterized. Now rare. Perhaps Obsolete.Quot. 1841 illustrates a rare use in the singular, in the same sense. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object > collectively material1587 corporeals1647 corporal1659 matter1690 materiality1811 tangibility1849 1690 J. Crowne Eng. Frier ii. 19 I have also brought some little matters for you to Eat and Drink as you go. 1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 207 That we did not want great Matters, only barely enough to support Life. 1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. 141 After a short repast of some small matters. 1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well I. ii. 42 She [sc. the landlady] retired after these acts of hospitality, and left the stranger to enjoy in quiet the excellent matters which she had placed before him. 1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey III. v. iv. 77 Cups, balls, and rings, and other mysterious-looking matters, which generally accompany a conjuror. 1841 S. Warren Ten Thousand a-Year I. viii. 242 She had once accompanied her sister-in-law..to purchase some small matter of mercery. 1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. ix. 133 I'm going out to get some little matters for my girls. 1890 J. B. Buckstone Flowers of Forest i. iii. 6 Because I only picks up little matters, a pocket handkercher, a nutmeg-grater, or a new-laid egg or so, I'm called a thief. 2. a. A subject of contention, dispute, litigation, etc. Cf. sense 13a.Frequently more explicitly, as matter in dispute (also matter in question, †matter in variance, †matter in difference). An exception is U.S. Law, in which matter is now often used as a synonym for case. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > [noun] > causing dissension > cause or subject of dissension questionc1384 matterc1390 strife1535 apple of discord1574 bone of contention1590 golden ball1609 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > matter or point in question matterc1390 issue1429 matter1728 subject matter1768 c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2221 Thilke iuge is wys that soone vnderstondeth a matere [v.r. matiere] and iuggeth by leyser. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 181 Non..In destorbance of unite Dorste ones moeven a matiere. 1462 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 314 Hit is grawnt..that hit be lawfull to determe all maner materis and make lawes. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 1045 And quarels and maters ye have nowadayes for ladyes..and jantillwomen. a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. l. 554 In til his [sc. the king's] cowrt..Þat mater sulde be..Befor hym pleydit as ourlarde. 1532 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) I. 348 Touching a certen matier in varyaunce betwixt thexecutours of Sir William Spencer disceasyd and my ladye spencer. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. xvii. 8 Yf a matter be to harde for the in iudgment betwixte bloude and bloude. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 34 Which reasons of his, are verie forceable to make him yeald to the foresaide matter in question. 1597 F. Bacon Of Coulers Good & Euill (1862) 140 If the matter should be tryed by duell betweene two Champions. 1616 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1942) I. 139 Heirfor intreit the maiter be nocht put till a poynt betuixt my Lord Medop..and yow. 1657 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1881) II. 388 To agent thair [sc. the town's] all and everie mater and actioune. 1701 T. Baker Humour of Age ii. iii. 22 The Chancery direct Issues to be try'd at Common-Law, and the Common-Law send Matters into Chancery. 1705 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1840) II. 260 The matter was let fall. 1774 O. Goldsmith Grecian Hist. I. viii. 253 With full power to concert all matters in difference. 1790 Statutes at Large U.S.A. (1845) 1 116 If any person shall wilfully and corruptly commit perjury..in any suit, controversy, matter or cause pending. 1825 T. B. Macaulay Milton in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 328 To call a free Parliament, and to submit to its decision all the matters in dispute. 1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xxiv. 119 As for the matter of the alleged uncleanliness of our business, ye shall soon be initiated into certain facts [etc.]. 1875 Rep. Supreme Court Wisconsin 36 563 Any cause or matter in the county court may be removed to the circuit court in case the county court judge shall be interested. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 158/2 Under both these systems the praetor referred the matter in dispute to an arbiter (judex). 1971 S. Howatch Penmarric (1972) i. i. 20 Giles had lodged an appeal against the decision and the matter was no longer resolved but sub judice. 1987 B. A. Garner Dict. Mod. Legal Usage 354/2 Matter has become the American lawyer's puffed-up equivalent of case. E.g...‘How many matters..are there on the docket?’ 1991 South Aug. 6/2 The matter was referred to the 'ulama (doctors of religious law) at Al Azhar university in Cairo. b. in the matter of [after post-classical Latin in re (see in re prep.)] : in relation to, with regard to. In later use with reference to any consideration, not just the subject of a dispute.Common as a legal formula and as such sometimes shortened as matter of. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > in relation to [phrase] in the matter of1465 in (also with) relation to1551 in connection with1856 the world > relative properties > relationship > [adverb] > in relation or with reference to or concerning forasmuch1297 as to1340 as fora1393 nentesa1400 accordingc1430 as respects1543 in (also with) relation to1551 relatively1609 quoad1622 referently1650 on, upon the score (of)1651 on account of1653 schetically1678 with a view to1692 apropos1749 as regards1797 in the matter of1881 in aid of1918 wise1942 1465 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 143 My lord of Norwich..had geue a jugement in the mater of the presentacion for the chirche of Drayton. 1475 Rolls of Parl. VI. 134/1 They never offended nor mysbehaved theym in the mater of the compleynts..specified. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes , in Wks. 265/2 By waye of excesse & yperbole, to declare the vehemence of his mynde in the matter of fayth. 1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 117 In diuers cases in the matter of testamenting a knight is priuiledged. 1630 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1870) V. 229/1 The difference betuix naturalizing and free endenizing is not important in the mater of fishing. 1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. vii. 76 Our Custome agrees with..other Nations, except in the Matter of waith and wrack Goods. 1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 14 She exceeded the good Woman I was with before, in every Thing, as well as in the matter of Estate. 1790 C. Ambler Rep. Cases Chancery 78 In the Matter of Annesley, a Lunatic. 1834 J. L. Adolphus & T. F. Ellis 1 Kings Bench Rep. 843 In the Matter of Elmy and Sawyer. 1876 Law Rep.: Probate Div. 1 423 (heading) In the Matter of the Petition of Sheehy. 1881 G. Saintsbury Dryden iv He [sc. Dryden] had ‘seen many others’, as an admirable Gallicism has it, in the matter of attacks. 1882 Times 30 June 5 In the matter of Egypt,..the German Chancellor will leave them to act as they like. 1904 Standard 29 Nov. 9/7 In the Matter of an Arbitration between the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company (Claimants) v. The Swinton and Pendlebury Urban District Council (Purchasing Authority). 1971 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 23 Nov. 6/3 Matter of John M. Lawrence (Lang. Hogan)—Writs of mandamus and prohibition. 1991 A. Knight Inspector Faro's Casebk. (1996) 358 The Queen's frugality in the matter of candles was firmly adhered to in the Widow's House. †c. to make a matter to: to pick a quarrel with. to have a matter with (also against): to have a quarrel with. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel [verb (intransitive)] > have something to quarrel about to have a crow to pluck or pull (rarely pick) with any onea1500 to have a matter with (also against)1530 to pluck or pull a crow with one or togethera1616 society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel with [verb (transitive)] > pick a quarrel with to make a matter to1530 to fasten a quarrel upon1669 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 618 I make a mater to one, I pycke a quarell to him..I make no mater to hym, je ne luy demande riens. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judges xii. 2 I and my people had a greate matter with y^e children of Ammon. 1611 Bible (King James) Acts xix. 38 If Demetrius, and the craftesmen..haue a matter against any man, the law is open. View more context for this quotation 3. Used as an indeterminate noun (comparable to thing). a. As a count noun: a thing, affair, subject, etc., in the most general sense (cf. 1a). Frequently in to be another matter: to be different from something else under discussion. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing thingeOE warec1200 beinga1393 matterc1450 body1587 essence1587 entity1596 existence1605 existency1628 existent1635 essency1647 exister1700 beënt1865 thang1932 c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 1517 But hit a ful confus matere Were alle the gestes for to here. c1500 (a1449) J. Lydgate Isopes Fabules (Trin. Cambr.) 48 in Minor Poems (1934) ii. 568 In matyrs, þat touche poetry. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III 50 b He took there newes as a matter of no small momente. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. vi. f. 30^v They coniectured that these thynges portended sum great matter. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxxvii. sig. F3 In sleepe a King, but waking no such matter . View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxxv. 20 They deuise deceitfull matters against them that are quiet in the land. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 94 What impossible matter wil he make easy next? View more context for this quotation 1692 J. Ray Misc. Disc. Pref. sig. A6^v Five matters of Ancient Tradition I have taken notice of. 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. ii. i. 143 It cannot in any wise be an indifferent matter, whether we obey or disobey those Commands. 1787 ‘P. Pindar’ Lousiad: Canto II 40 in Lousiad: Canto I (ed. 4) 'Twould be a serious matter, we can tell ye, Were we to buccaneer it on your belly. 1828 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) II. 249 If actresses are bad, no manager can help it; but to take pains to turn a bad woman into an actress is another matter. 1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 87 Who desire you more Than..dying lips, With many thousand matters left to do, The breath of life. 1876 W. Black Madcap Violet xvii The pronunciation of the word allegro is not a matter of very grave moment. 1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out vi. 94 The difference of nearly twenty years in age between them..made Mrs. Ambrose appear too humorous and cool in a matter of such moment. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 17 Whether they would have welcomed the young curate with equal confidence had they known that his father was in trade, is another matter. 1992 Pract. Fishkeeping Mar. 88/4 Goldfish survive happily with 30 inches over their backs, but Koi are a different matter. b. to be (also †make, etc.) great matter: to be something of great importance or significance; similarly to be (a) small matter, etc. Frequently in negative contexts, as no great matter, etc. ΚΠ 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiv. sig. H Nor it maketh therof no great mater: they that haue studied rhetorike, shal perceyue what I meane. 1576 A. Fleming tr. P. Vatinius in Panoplie Epist. 128 My behauiour hathe not deserued, any such doggishe dealing: but makes it any great matter? 1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Eiii But now it is a small matter to bestowe..a hundred pound of one paire of Breeches. 1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron II. x. vii. f. 158^v Some perhaps will say, it was a small matter for a King, to giue away two Damosels in marriage. 1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 120 It did shew manifestly vnto the World, that hee [sc. Perkin] was some Great matter. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 45 No great matter where. 1682 W. Beveridge Serm. Excellency & Usefulness Common Prayer 12 This..may seem to be no great matter at first sight. 1713 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 3 Mar. (1948) II. 631 Tis not a farthing matter her death, I think. 1717 G. Berkeley Jrnls. Trav. Italy 20 Jan. in Wks. (1955) VII. 259 We saw an armoury wch seemed no great matter. 1755 Ld. Chesterfield in World 16 Oct. 878 As for shop debts to mercers..and such like, it is no great matter whether they are ever paid or not. 1878 H. James Europeans II. 1. 27 Even if he makes love to you it is no great matter. 1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxii. 332 The lad's faults were no great matter. 1917 R. Graves Fairies & Fusiliers 20 Mask your hunger, let it seem Small matter if he come or stay. 1995 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 Nov. 17/1 To the deconstructionist the text is no great matter since the author's intention is irrelevant in any case. c. to make a matter: to make a fuss or to-do. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > act or do vigorously [verb (intransitive)] > be brisk or active > bustle > fuss or make a fuss nytelc1400 to make a matter1549 to keep a coil1568 squatter1593 fiddle-faddle1633 to play hell (with)1750 fuss1792 to play hell and Tommy1825 piggle1836 palavera1840 to make a time1844 to make a time1844 friggle1848 fussify1868 to make a production of (or out of)1941 1549 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 236 At last I told the quene of hyt who made a small mater of hyt to me. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona vii. 82 Because you said a word too much in a friend's ear..to make such a matter! †d. all is a matter: it is all the same. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 898/1 Whether y^e Christians yelde to them, or yelde not, all is a matter. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 86 Whether we make the common readers to laugh or to lowre, all is a matter. 1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. 118 Let me sob, roar, or swoon, 'tis all a matter To marble-hearted John. e. (as) for that matter: so far as that is concerned (more recently also introducing an additional supporting observation, esp. one offered in refutation of a position). ΚΠ 1575 G. Gascoigne Glasse of Gouernem. iv. iii. sig. Ji Dicke. I trust maister Philosarchus fees will be sufficient to set both thee and me a floate, and make vs as braue as the best. Eccho. Tushe, as for that matter, if he do not another shall. a1633 F. Godwin Man in Moone (1638) 3 Mine enemies gave it out to my disgrace that I was his horse-keepers boy. But for that matter I shall referre my selfe unto the report of the Count. 1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode iii. ii. 47 Pala. But who told you I was here?..Rho. O, for that matter, we had intelligence. 1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iv. 42 No, no, for that matter—when she and I part, she'll carry her separate-maintenance about her. 1758 C. Lennox Henrietta II. iii. i. 6 Nay, for that matter..I may draw myself into another premune perhaps. 1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest i. 17 La Motte..now earnestly begged to know if his family were safe. ‘O! as for that matter they are safe enough.’ 1815 C. I. Johnstone Clan Albin I. xiv. 206 ‘Nay, for that matter,’ said Moome,—‘Sky [i.e. Skye] was always namely for witches.’ 1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers III. vii. 108 Kinraid were just fell again him, and as for that matter, so was I. 1898 Times 10 Jan. 13/3 The..shivering drivers..who (like every one else, for that matter) had to lie out in it [sc. the rain] without tents. 1913 J. Conrad Chance i. i. 14 Don't you think that my colleague..wouldn't like to go up to this desk..four years in advance?.. Or even one year for that matter. 1983 P. Marshall Praisesong for Widow i. 10 Her mind wasn't even in her body, or for that matter, in the room. f. Similarly (as) for the matter of that. ΚΠ 1732 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière George Dandin i. vi. 31 in Sel. Comedies V As for the Matter of that, Jealousy is a wonderful Thing! I bring my Daughter hither to clear up the Affair before all the World. 1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret i. 22 For the matter of that, we can afford it well enough as it is. 1844 E. A. Poe Thou art Man in Wks. (1850) II. 422 As for the matter of that, there could have been no better pioneer than ‘Old Charley’, whom everybody knew to have the eye of a lynx. 1880 Appletons' Jrnl. Feb. 145/2 If my husband says anything, he is a greater dolt than I ever took him for; and as for the matter of that, it is his bed-time. 1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out xix. 312 I must change my dress, too, for the matter of that. 1935 J. Nehru Let. 5 July in Freedom's Daughter (1989) ii. 182 For the matter of that even medicine has gone ahead pretty fast in a variety of ways. 1965 E. E. Evans-Pritchard Theories Primitive Relig. iii. 76 How could it be upheld, or for the matter of that shown to be untrue? 4. a. With modifying word or words (usually a noun used attributively, or of and a noun or noun phrase): a thing, affair, subject, etc., of the kind specified; frequently in plural. Cf. sense 13b.hanging, laughing, massing, money matter, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > specific kind of questionc1384 matter?1489 a matter of1566 ?1489 R. Tunstall Let. R. Plumpton (1839) 60 I late wrote to you for one Skaggell to have come to me, for a matter of causes betwixt him and certayn other. a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) i. xvii. (heading) Þe fyrst materis of mawmentry Þat clerkis callis ydolatry. ?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 44 Euer ymagynyng in mynd materis of euill. 1529 T. More Dyaloge i, in Wks. 165/2 Ye should..have remayned in an insoluble doute in a matter of the faith. 1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 5th Serm. sig. Riiii^v It is taken for a laughyng matter. 1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons Ded. 4 b All their ancient orders and proceedings in matters Militarie. 1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor i. i. 2 Ile make a star-chamber matter of it. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 73 Matters of faith..are so plainly setled by the Scriptures, that [etc.]. 1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World v. i. §99. 468/1 Mens Consciences are not to be forced in matters of Religion. 1714 J. Collier Eccl. Hist. Great Brit. II. ii. 104/1 A Mistake in confounding this Vicar Generalship with his following Dignity of Lord Vice gerent in Ecclesiastical Matters. 1780 E. Burke Let. T. Burgh in Wks. (1842) ii. 409 Lord North was either wholly out of the house, or engaged in other matters of business or pleasantry. 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xcv. 145 She knows but matters of the house, And he, he knows a thousand things. View more context for this quotation 1900 Daily News 22 Oct. 3/4 The campaign is nearly over—as a field matter it is fully at an end. a1925 H. T. Lane Talks to Parents & Teachers (1928) i. i.36 Hunger is not merely a matter of the stomach. 1959 J. Barzun House of Intellect iv. 109 We are frivolously vague about clear-cut matters of intellect. 1982 L. Trilling in Oxf. Illustr. Lit. Guide to U.S. 148/1 The three of them talked..of university matters and housing matters and the situation in Washington. b. a matter of: a circumstance which involves or entails a specified action, choice, etc., or in regard to which a specified quality or personal attribute is at stake; a case or question of.a matter of conscience, opinion, etc.: see also the relevant nouns. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [noun] > business claiming attention > an occupation or affair > specific kind of questionc1384 matter?1489 a matter of1566 1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xlv. f. 233 And for so much as it is a matter of necessitie, and that earely or late I must aduenture to paye my vowed debte. 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 171 The seculars..made it a matter of conscience, thereby to retell, infringe, and abrogate all such premunireall treachery. 1651 tr. J. Kitchin Jurisdictions 238 It is a matter of justification and contrarying. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xviii. 352 And so is bound to consider and judge of it as a Matter of Reason, and not swallow it, without Examination, as a Matter of Faith. a1716 O. Blackall Wks. (1723) I. xiv. 132 Not a Matter of Choice, but of divine Assignation. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. xi. 180 In ten Days Don Pedro..put it upon me as a Matter of Honour and Conscience, that I ought to return to my native Country. c1800 R. B. Sheridan Let. (1966) II. 124 It is really a matter of almost Life and Death—you must borrow of Barford or any neighbour, for not a moment is to be lost. 1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 51 As a matter of economy, it is suggested [etc.]. a1832 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. Pref. to ed. 2, in Wks. (1843) I. 248/1 With me it was a matter of calculation: pains and pleasures, the elements of it. 1863 Times 14 Oct. 8/4 Foolish scrupulists, who in a matter of life and honour would not use their only weapons of defence because carved with objectionable figures. 1868 W. K. Clifford Mental Devel. in Lect. & Ess. (1879) I. 104 The power of creation is not a matter of static ability;..it is a matter of habits and desires. 1914 S. Lewis Our Mr. Wrenn vi. 70 Feeling that he was so offensive that it was a matter of honor for him to keep his eyes away, Mr Wrenn dutifully stared out of the door. 1963 D. Athill Instead of Let. xii. 149 An information service is only a matter of knowing where to look. 1992 Gramophone Jan. 91/3 With the two tenors, I think it is a matter of which voice you prefer. c. Something which causes or produces a specified feeling; a cause, occasion, basis. With for, of.Corresponding in meaning to sense 11b, but construed as a count noun. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes causec1374 authora1382 workerc1384 causerc1386 begetterc1390 causac1420 workera1425 upraiserc1440 inspirerc1450 procurer1451 occasioner?c1452 procurator1486 purchaser1548 authorera1556 wielder1570 agent1571 effector1586 effecter1591 authoress1592 effectress1601 effectrix1611 performer1616 inducera1631 causeress1631 causatrix1649 father-in-law1650 pregnatress1651 matter1686 energizer1804 establisher1812 bringer1866 1686 T. Fuller tr. Life of Cicero in tr. Plutarch Lives V. 298 Those who succeeded him did not only not reject, but were fond of that name [sc. Cicero], tho' vulgarly made a matter of reproach. 1726 G. Shelvocke tr. Imperial Comm. in Voy. round World Pref. p. xxii Making it a sufficient matter for his contempt of any man, that he had serv'd in the navy. 1760 C. Lennox Lady's Museum No. 5. 355 That savages were inclined to rapine and every sort of robbery, is by no means a matter of astonishment, and scarce a subject of censure. 1807 J. Austen Let. 8 Feb. (1995) 118 I see nothing to be glad of, unless I make it a matter of Joy that Mrs. Wylmot has another son. 1830 H. N. Coleridge Introd. Greek Poets 6 It will be a matter of wonder..that such trivialisms..could ever pass for genuine poetry. 1884 Manch. Examiner 17 June 5/2 The annual migration of the Viceroy to Simla is an old matter of complaint. 1918 W. M. Kirkland Joys of being Woman vii. 73 Docility under the minor physical afflictions makes a stubbed toe as much a matter of apprehension as angina pectoris. 1982 D. Dunnett King Hereafter IV. vii. 586 This is a matter for concern, not a matter for despair. 5. the matter (in various idiomatic uses). a. The condition of or state of things regarding a person or thing, esp. as a subject of concern or wonder. Chiefly colloquial in what is the matter?, there is something the matter, etc. what is the matter with ——?: what is wrong with——?; (also) what is the objection to, what is there to complain of in ——? In recent colloquial use (e.g. quot. 1925) sometimes interpreted as a predicative adjective in the sense ‘wrong, amiss’. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > making inquiries [phrase] how so?a1375 what, how seemeth you?1485 what reck?a1513 what is the matter?c1520 what about ——1662 what's the row?1810 how come?1848 whassa1906 since when?1907 what'sa matter1935 the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > difficult state of things > affecting a person or thing the matterc1520 c1520 tr. Terence Andria iii. iv, in Terens in Eng. sig. C.i^v S. What is the matter now. Da. Why nye the bryde send for. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxii. 8 Whan he hath tolde his tayle, he sayeth: what is the matter? 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxxiii^v No man knew what the matter was. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. K2^v Alexander happed to say: Doe you thinke these men would haue come from so farre to complaine, except they had iust cause of griefe? and Cassander answered, Yea, that was the matter, because they thought they should not be disprooued. View more context for this quotation c1613 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 23 Maister Roclif asked him what the matter was, if he might have any ease. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) ii. iii. 156 What is the matter here? View more context for this quotation 1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin iii. 6 The Canto tells you, what's the matter. 1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair ii. i. 12 I thought something was the matter, I wanted of Quality-Air. 1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. iv. 103 I beseech you what is the Matter with you! 1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 30 Why she loves him, admire not at her, She loves herself, and that's the Matter. 1761 F. Sheridan Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph I. 58 Dear madam, said I, there is something the matter with Mr. Faulkland. 1802 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1803) 6 8 What's the matter with the peace? 1833 H. Martineau Three Ages ii. 75 The children..amused themselves as if nothing was the matter. 1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xix. 190 ‘What's the matter with the dogs' legs?’ whispered Mr. Winkle. 1849 A. Helps Friends in Council II. i. iv. 91 There was something the matter with the old man. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 69 ‘What's the matter?’ ‘Nothing is the matter, Matilda’, he said. 1925 E. F. Norton in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 76 One of the party—Somervell—had more the matter with him than the early morning lassitude. 1960 Woman's Illustr. 16 July 45 I heard the noise of weeping, sister. Is anything the matter? 1965 B. Took & M. Feldman Round the Horne (1975) 37 What's the matter with green and yellow dishcloths? †b. Something contemplated, intended, or desired. Esp. in to the matter [after classical Latin ad rem ad rem adv.] : to the point, relevant; similarly near the matter, much about the matter. Also from the matter: irrelevant. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [adverb] to (the) purposea1387 pertinentlyc1425 to the matter1534 relevantly1536 pat1578 effectually1581 germanely1823 the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > of a statement, enactment, etc. the matter1534 spirit1742 the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [phrase] > irrelevant of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382 wide of (also from) the mark1536 neither off nor on1549 from the purpose1561 from (also out of) the bias1600 from the matter1658 (off) at, in, upon a tangent1825 1534 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. 1303/2 He went roundly to the matter, and sayd vnto them: what wyl ye gyue me and I shal delyuer hym to you. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxx Thou aunswerest Luther, more vnreuerently, then it becommeth thee, and not sufficientlye to the matter. 1597 F. Bacon Ess. f. 3 To vse too many circumstances ere one come to the matter is wearisome. 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §326 To helpe the Matter, the Alchymists call in..many Vanities, out of Astrologie. 1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 951 It shall not be from the matter to tax in brief the madnesse of the ancient Gentiles. 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. xii. 55 If you take 5 parts Lead, and one part Stone, it will come very near the matter. a1694 J. Tillotson Serm. (1714) I. 12 He grants it [sc. the deluge] to have come so near the matter, that but very few escap'd. 1725 N. Bailey tr. Erasmus All Familiar Colloquies 499 You're much about the matter [L. haud multum aberras a scopo]. a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) 31 Telling me, that..I might save enough by the time I was One and Twenty to set me up, & that if I came near the Matter he would help me out with the Rest. †c. on (also upon) the matter: taking the thing as a whole, speaking generally; for all practical purposes, practically speaking. Also upon the whole matter. Obsolete.The meaning of quot. ?1577 is uncertain. Pounder matter is treated by N.E.D. as the phrase ‘upon the matter’, but is interpreted as ‘(if you) ponder the matter’ in the 1911 edition of the text. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > in general terms or not in detail > as a whole one or other?1544 upon the whole matter1612 on the whole1624 in the (whole) complex1661 in the large1943 ?1577 Misogonus iii. i, in R. W. Bond Early Plays from Ital. (1911) 229 Pounder matter well if she should not knowt, who showlde knowe?] 1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 149 So that vpon the whole matter, [1625 vpon the matter], in a great wit, deformity is an aduantage to rising. 1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. xxxvii. 93 That Christians are not bound to keep faith with idolaters, the worshippers of a false god, as the Egyptian Caliph was on the matter. 1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 120 The Rules they both work by are upon the matter the same, in Sawing, Mortessing,..&c. 1689 Bp. G. Burnet Tracts I. 79 This is upon the matter a Pension paid under a more decent name to the most considerable Men of the Country. 1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 577 Upon the whole matter it is Infinitely absurd to think that Conscience can be kept in order without frequent Examination. a1710 G. Bull Serm. in Wks. (1713) II. 733 He is upon the matter sure of a long life. †6. a. With modifying adjective, usually small: a (certain) quantity or amount (of). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > a definite or specified quantity or amount quantitya1325 measurec1384 certainc1386 certainty1431 assignment1519 dosis1543 dose1607 matter1610 quantum1747 volume1812 1610 T. Bodley Let. 14 Aug. in Lett. to T. James (1926) 194 To further his desire, whome I thinke a smalle mater will content at the first. 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 265 [He] sold them their liberties for a small matter. 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 271 It is thought that the Empire receiveth every way above seven millions, which is a great matter. 1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 472 At first an easie matter was demanded by the King of Denmark, and now more exacted than they can possibly bear. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant 71 They can live upon a small matter; and provided they have Rice [etc.]. 1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 32 It produces a small matter of Indico. 1723 London Gaz. No. 6142/3 One sorrel Horse Colt,..with a small matter of White in his Face. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. iv. v. 31 I..sent a small Matter to his Wife. View more context for this quotation 1776 H. Brooke Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) IV. 94 You will oblige us by..taking some little matter of supper with us. 1810 T. Jefferson Let. 5 Mar. in Writings (1984) 1220 They are divided into two parties, the Ins and the Outs, so equal in weight that a small matter turns the balance. b. a small (also little) matter: somewhat, slightly, a little; occasionally with ellipsis of adjective. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to a small extent or a little littlec1175 a litec1290 a little quantityc1330 little whata1387 wee1513 a whit1526 thought1581 a wee bita1661 a small (also little) matter1690 a trifle1859 a wheen1869 a taste1894 smitch1895 a lick1902 mite1939 a skosh1959 a tidge1959 a tad1969 1690 J. Child Disc. Trade iv. 103 Very large quantities of Timber..may be had, though some small matter dearer than in Norway. 1700 W. Congreve Way of World iii. i. 47 I have Thoughts to tarry a small matter in Town, to learn somewhat of your Lingo. 1703 Moxon's Mech. Exercises (new ed.) 275 Open them a small matter wider, or shut them a small matter closer. 1755 T. Turner Diary 10 Aug. (1984) (modernized text) 12 I came home..a little matter enlivened by liquor, but no ways drunk. 1788 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 79 4 The socket and spindle being a small matter taper. 1834 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. (1853) II. 267/1 Carnaby did quail a matter at these words. 7. a. a matter of: approximately, about; used to modify a numeral or other expression of quantity, indicating that it is not to be taken as literally exact. Also †the matter of. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > approximately (an amount) [phrase] plus minus1611 or soa1616 a matter of1645 there or (and) thereaboutsa1696 the matter of1829 somewhere about1846 in the neighbourhood of1847 in the region of1865 of the order of1903 give or take1958 not unadjacent to1966 1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ iv. xxvi. 36 The French that came over with Her Majestie..are all casheer'd this week, about a matter of sixscore, wherof the Bishop of Mende was one. 1652 J. Gaule Πυς-μαντια 360 [He] lets him have a great deal of it for a matter of a shilling. 1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xi. 34 Accompanied with a matter of seven hundred men. 1701 G. Farquhar Sir Harry Wildair i. 10 In the matter of five Days he got six Nuns with Child, and left 'em to provide for their Heretick Bastards. ?1771 S. Johnson Let. (1994) V. 29 He has had as he phrased it a matter of four wives. 1829 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. 2nd Ser. I. iv. 97 Hither have I been riding a matter of thirteen miles. 1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present ii. i. 60 Lackland..boarded once, for the matter of a fortnight, in St. Edmundsbury Convent. 1879 H. James Confidence II. xx. 16 It was probably a matter of a few seconds, but to Bernard it seemed a little eternity. a1902 S. Butler Way of All Flesh (1903) xxxix. 170 His favourite, Ellen, was being turned adrift with a matter of three pounds in her pocket. 1948 Brit. Birds 41 Suppl. 1 If it were possible to cover the whole area in a matter of a few days. 1991 D. Purcell Place of Stones (1992) i. 48 After we ditch there will be only a matter of a minute or two for us all to get out of the aircraft. b. a matter of hours (also days, inches, etc.): a period of time, or a distance, which is suitable to be measured in the units specified. ΚΠ 1871 Appletons' Jrnl. 7 Jan. 26/2 In very many instances the acquaintanceship was a matter of hours only. 1877 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 10) xiii. 174 'Tis but a matter of days. Most greatest things are gradual. 1903 J. London Call of Wild vi. 177 They knew that the time a man could cling to a slippery rock in the face of that driving current was a matter of minutes. 1951 ‘Assiac’ Adventure in Chess iii. ii. 43 Reshevsky..would remain quite unperturbable by the nerve-racking need to make half a dozen moves..with the ‘flag’ on his clock about to drop in a matter of seconds. 1979 P. Cave Foxbat (BNC) 127 He saw..the black muzzle of the gun only a matter of inches from his face. 1991 Outdoor Action Aug. 8 A heavy snowfall can transform an easy walk into a serious proposition in just a matter of hours. II. That which constitutes or forms the basis of thought, speech, or action. (A mass noun unless otherwise indicated.) †8. The subject of a book, speech, etc.; a theme, a topic, a subject of exposition. In early use also: a narrative, an account, a tale. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > of discourse matterc1330 lessona1375 contenu1477 content1509 thema1531 commonplace1549 subject matter1598 text1608 clue1656 c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 663 (MED) Mi matery wer to long & þe tale to ȝou wel strong. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 262 (MED) Ich nelle non more zigge, ac hier ich wille endi mine matire. c1390 G. Chaucer Physician's Tale 104 Suffiseth oon ensample..For I moot turne agayn to my matere. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 321 Turne we tille our matere & on our gest to hie. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 142 (MED) This serche..hath be a digression ffrom the mater in wich we labour. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) Prol. 4 The matere of this boke is crist & his spouse. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xxvii. 503 (MED) But now repeireth the tale to his mater that he hath lefte for to telle this thinge. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. 24/13 Thus sall it be clerely schewin and practicate in my mater, quhidder [etc.]. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 30^v But to my matter, as I began. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. v. 124 It behooueth the maker or Poet to follow the nature of his subiect, that is if his matter be high and loftie that the stile be so to. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. iv. sig. Ee8 Thee, O Queene the matter of my song. 1635 A. Gil Sacred Philos. Holy Script. Pref. sig. 4 Raimund de Sabunde though his writings be easie and quicke, yet his matiers are scattered. 1704 M. Prior Let. to Boileau Despreaux* 54 How hard is it for me To make my matter and my verse agree! 1752 S. Davies Ades in Misc. Poems Divine Subj. xix. 79 Is Jesus still the Matter of thy Song? 9. a. The substance of a book, speech, etc.; the contents of a composition in respect of the facts or ideas expressed, as distinct from the form of words (or manner) used to express them. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > as opposed to form matter1340 stuffc1450 substancec1475 subject matter1583 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun] sentence?c1225 intent1303 tenora1387 intendment1390 strengthc1390 porta1393 meaningc1395 process1395 continencea1398 purposec1400 substance1415 purport1422 matterc1450 storyc1450 containing1477 contenu1477 retinue1484 fecka1500 content1513 drift1526 intention1532 vein1543 importing1548 scope1549 importance1552 course1553 force1555 sense?1556 file1560 intelliment?1562 proporta1578 preport1583 import1588 importment1602 carriage1604 morala1616 significancy1641 amount1678 purview1688 sentiment1713 capacity1720 spirit1742 message1828 thrust1968 messaging1977 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 152 Þet hi [sc. the speech] by y-weȝe ase guode moneye..þet is þet hi by of guode matire, ase of guod metal, and of guode ssepþe, þet is of guode manere y-speke. c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 38 If that yow list to heere Moralitee and vertuous matere. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 5141 And yitt ne seide she never a del That I ne undirstod it wel Word by word, the mater all. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 353 Hard langage and hard matere Ys encombrous for to here Attones. a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) i. Prol. 497 Bot first, I pray ȝou, grape the mater cleyn, Reproche me nocht quhill the wark be ourseyn. 1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. H4^v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) This Inuectiue seemeth to haue been ouer sharpe in the matter, but not in the manner. 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. ii. 83 Was neuer booke containing so foule matter, So fairly bound. View more context for this quotation 1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 5 This Text..is rich as the High Priests pectoral both for words and matter. 1695 J. Dryden in tr. C. A. Du Fresnoy De Arte Graphica Pref. p. xii Though I cannot much commend the Style, I must needs say there is somewhat in the Matter. 1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind i. iv. 65 If the Matter of a Book be really valuable and deserving. 1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. xi. 150 It is immaterial with respect to the essence of a libel, whether the matter of it be true or false. 1800 P. Colquhoun Treat. Commerce & Police R. Thames Pref. p. i The importance of the Work..can only be appreciated by a..Review of the various matter it contains. 1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 8 He was always serious in meaning, and laborious in matter. 1885 Nature 19 Mar. 453/1 When we look from the manner to the matter of his speech, we are unable to bestow such unqualified praise. 1948 Penguin Music Mag. Feb. 25 The B.B.C. could start..by putting some kind of check on the manner and matter of their inane songs. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day ii. 44 [His] sermons were the most remarkable I have ever heard—not in matter, but in manner. 1988 N. Postman Conscientious Objections 91 People will be so dazzled by the manner of speech that they will not notice the absence of matter. †b. Significance, importance; esp. in there is matter in it. Also to make much matter of: to make much of; similarly to make no matter of. Obsolete.Quot. 1549 represents an isolated use as a count noun. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [phrase] there is matter in it1549 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be unimportant [verb (transitive)] > make less important or unimportant to set at a pease, at a pie's heel, at a pin's fee1303 mincea1591 to make no matter of1604 triflea1616 to make much (also little, nothing, too much, etc.) of (or on)1632 pygmy1658 insignificate1676 minify1676 smooth1684 trivialize1846 nonentitize1903 minoritize1947 sideline1953 peripheralize1955 marginalize1970 marginate1970 deprioritize1973 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > make more important arearc885 upheavea1300 upraisea1300 uphigh13.. enhancec1325 liftc1330 uplift1338 uphebbe1340 uptakec1340 magnifya1382 upreara1382 uphancec1390 preponder?1504 upbring1513 exaggerate1564 greaten1589 weighc1595 to make much matter ofa1649 aggravate1698 aggrandize1709 beef1941 1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 4th Serm. sig. Lii If Solomon sayed it, there is a matter in it. 1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. sig. b1^v If necessitie shall force a man to saie some what, he may make an outward bragge, as though there wer no matter in it. 1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love ii. iii. sig. D3^v First, for your Marchants, or Citty face; Tis thus: a dull plodding face;..There is no great matter in this face. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies ii. x. 103 Having..shewed, that the burning Zone is much subiect vnto raine, it appears that there is matter in it, to temper the violence of the heat. ?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) 129 For men of merit sho [sc. Fortune] no mater maks. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iv. 137 There's matter in't indeed, if he be angry. View more context for this quotation a1649 J. Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 175 Much matter was made of this. 1678 T. D'Urfey Fool turn'd Critick ii. ii. 15 Ah Sir, there's some matter in this now, an ill bred Raskal, not sing the Battle of Mardike. 1734 T. Cooke tr. Terence Stepmother iii. i, in tr. Terence Comedys I. 312 Pam. Something extraordinary..must have happen'd, to set them at Variance and so long. Par. By Hercules, there's no great Matter in't, if you'll but make a right Use of your Reason. 1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote I. v. xii. 317 Are you sure he never cut, Mr. Nash? If the Gentleman never cut, why certainly there is no such great matter in it. 1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet I. iii. 45 I shall know the whole story one day, I suppose; and perhaps..I shall not find there is any mighty matter in it after all. 1839 J. S. Knowles Love iii. iii 60 No; let him speak; there's matter in his looks. 10. a. Material for expression; fact or thought as material for a book, speech, etc. Now rare or merged in sense 9a.matter subject: see subject adj. 9. ΚΠ 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 118 (MED) Ous be-houeþ to spekene mid greate reuerence of zuo heȝe matiere ase of þe zeuen holy yefþes of þe holy gost. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 1700 (MED) It nedeth noght to tellen al, The matiere is so general. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 93 (MED) Materes fynde we may in dede Rymes of hir to make & rede, Who so wol of hir fairnes spelle Fynde he may ynouȝe to telle. a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 35 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 96 I haue mekle mater in meter to gloss Of ane nother sentence. 1549 J. Leland Laboryouse Journey sig. Dviii^v I haue matter at plenty, already prepared to this purpose, that is to saye, to wryte an hystorie. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Ll1^v Some song of loue, or matter for ioyfull melody was to be brought forth. 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. E3^v Here therefore, the first distemper of learning, when men studie words and not matter . View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) Job xxxii. 18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. i. 68 I loue to cope him in these sullen fits, For then he's full of matter . View more context for this quotation 1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 43 I will here conclude, rather out of discretion than for want of matter. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 109 The mean Matter which my Theme affords, T' embellish with Magnificence of Words. View more context for this quotation 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 150. ⁋8 Whether they have Matter to talk of or not. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. x. 150 My Presence often gave them sufficient Matter for Discourse. 1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman Advt. p. xv Many subjects, however, which I have cursorily alluded to, call for particular investigation... These will furnish ample matter for a second volume. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth i, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 37 I have matter for thy private ear. 1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Janet's Repentance xxvi, in Scenes Clerical Life II. 359 There was endless matter for talk between her and the good old man. 1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) Pref. 6 A clear line of demarcation, both as to matter and method. †b. Material for action, or upon which to exercise a skill, faculty, etc.; means; wherewithal. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means keyOE toolc1000 wherewithc1230 ministerc1380 meanc1390 instrumenta1425 organ?a1425 mesne1447 moyen1449 handlec1450 hackneya1500 receipta1500 operative1526 ingine1531 appliance1555 agent1579 matter1580 mids1581 wedge1581 wherewithal1583 shoeing-horn1587 engine1589 instrumental1598 Roaring Meg1598 procurement1601 organy1605 vehicle1615 vehiculuma1617 executioner1646 facility1652 operatory1660 instrumentality1663 expedient1665 agency1684 bladea1713 mechanic1924 mechanism1924 1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 21^v They perceiued a kinde of courtly Maiestie in the minde of their Hoste, though hee wanted matter to shew it in his house. 1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xii. 76 If there be either no matter for Art in extreme confusion..then that perfit period in our tung is not yet com. 1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xv. 89 In all the benefites which wee haue receiued of God we must consider in what taking wee had bene if wee had gone without them: and wee shall haue matter good store wherewith to doe that if we are not wilfully blinde. 1597 C. Middleton Famous Hist. Chinon iv. sig. E3 The desolate Coasts bordering vpon the sea side, afforded no matter for his manly courage. 11. †a. Grounds, reason, or cause for doing or being something; usually with infinitive or subordinate clause; often modified by an adjective, as good, much, little, etc. Obsolete. to seek matter: to seek a pretext or reason. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] > reason or ground achesounc1230 anchesouna1250 reasona1250 groundc1275 matter1340 purposec1350 cause1413 quarrel1476 actiona1500 subject1577 spring of action1583 qualitya1586 inducement1593 place1593 theme1594 instance1597 motive1605 impulsivea1628 justifiera1635 foundation1641 rise1641 plummet1679 mainspring1695 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 136 He [sc. þe milde herte] ne wille nenne zuo kuead..þet he ne can draȝe materie, god uor to herie. c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2726 Men haue no cause ne matere to repreuen hym. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 20080 (MED) Þai me do alle þis shame, wiþ-oute mater bere I blame. c1450 Contin. Lydgate's Secrees (Sloane 2464) 2236 He wyl redily Seeke mateer, And soone consente to thyn destruccioun. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 301 He..fenȝeit to mak bettir cher, Then he had matir to, be fer. 1532 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) I. 347 So his high pleasure is that ye shall do if ye see good matier to bere it. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 2089 Thow ges matir to men mony day after, fforto speke of þi spede. 1565 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc iii. i. sig. Cii This is the matter whie I called ye nowe to haue your good aduyse. 1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xli. 81 Ȝit hes thow mater for to murne. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. iii. 60 What is the matter, That..I am so dishonour'd, that [etc.] . View more context for this quotation a1637 B. Jonson Magnetick Lady iii. iv. 93 in Wks. (1640) III I have done the part of a friend..In furnishing your feare with matter first, If you have any: Or, if you dare fight, To..confirme your resolution. 1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 38 This is the matter why Interpreters..will not consent it to be a true story. b. In later use chiefly: what occasions or may occasion a specified feeling. With for, (now rare) of. ΚΠ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 243 (MED) When þe Romaynes wolde werry..schulde oon goo..and..declare..þe matire and cause of the werre. c1420 Ploughmans Prayer in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1570) I. 496/1 Here is much matter of sorowe, to see [etc.]. 1509 Bp. J. Fisher in Wks. (1876) 305 Yf she had contynued in this worlde, she sholde dayly haue herde & sene mater and cause of sorowe. 1597 G. Markham tr. G. Pétau de Maulette Deuoreux cci. f. 34^v His renownes preheminence shall..afford Matter for greater meruaile then hath beene. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 42 Neither can he, that mindeth but his own Businesse, finde much matter for Enuy. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 951 Matter of scorne, not to be given the Foe. View more context for this quotation 1712 M. Henry Daily Commun. God in Wks. (1855) I. iii. 235 Whenever we go to bed, we shall not want matter for praise, if we did not want a heart. 1776 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. i. §36. 46 Here..there is no matter for such fears. 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. i. 17 Mynheer Calve..is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman name when he becomes matter of enjoyment. 1868 Ld. Tennyson in Good Words Mar. 144 Science enough and exploring..Matter enough for deploring, But aught that is worth the knowing? 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad l. 76 'Tis sure small matter for wonder If sorrow is with one still. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 182/1 It is matter for regret to the student that Adamson's active labours in the lecture room precluded him from systematic production. 1988 M. Charney Hamlet's Fictions ii. vi. 85 The true swordsman can find matter for quarrel ‘in a straw.’ †c. With a noun used attributive. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1676 W. Allen Serious & Friendly Addr. Non-conformists 121 They are prayer matter, and thanksgiving matter. †12. The subject of a branch of knowledge; the subject matter of a study. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun] thingeOE evenOE questionc1225 purposec1350 themec1380 mattera1387 reasonc1390 substancea1393 chapter1393 occasion1426 titlec1450 intentc1460 article1531 place1532 scope1549 subject1563 argumenta1568 string1583 matter subject1586 subject matter1587 qu.1608 haunt1622 seat1628 object matter1653 business1655 topic1728 locus1753 sub1779 ground1796 the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] > field of interest mattera1387 campa1538 champian1596 domain1764 champaign1839 ground1847 one's line of country1861 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 403 (MED) Þis Seneca hadde..greet knowleche of þynges, and wel nyh al matir of study [L. omnem studiorum materiam] of witte and of sciens. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. 89 (MED) Of Arsmetique the matiere Is that of which a man mai liere What Algorisme in nombre amonteth. a1450 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe ii. §4. 64 Natheles these ben observaunces of judicial matere and rytes of payens. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 10^v (MED) A mannys bodi..is þe suget or þe mater in alle science of medicyne & of sirurge. 1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 149 The matter of all armes..is seuered into the same three parts that the Embleme is. 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. xv. 90 The subiect or matter of lawes in generall is thus farre foorth constant: which matter is that for the ordering whereof lawes were instituted. 13. a. Law. That which is to be tried or proved; statements or allegations coming under the consideration of a court. Cf. sense 2a. matter of record: something established as a fact by being officially recorded. †(by) matter in deed: in point of fact, as a matter of fact; truly, really (obsolete). matter of law: that portion of the subject of judicial inquiry concerned with the correctness of the legal procedure. †matter in fact: a matter of fact (obsolete).In later use also as a count noun: see quot. 1999. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > in fact, actually in, of feata1400 in effectc1405 effectually1420 really?a1425 literallyc1429 (by) matter in deed1447 indeed1535 in fact1592 merely1596 de facto1602 essentially1604 in point of fact1628 upon1644 in point of event1650 effectively1652 in matter of fact1709 absolutelya1712 substantially1753 actually1762 positively1800 in actual fact1824 factually1852 as matter of fact1871 fair dinkum1891 dinkum1894 'smatter of fact1922 basically1927 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > matter or point in question > concerned with facts matter of fact1583 question of fact1604 matter in fact1621 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > matter or point in question matterc1390 issue1429 matter1728 subject matter1768 1447 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) 134 (MED) It is ordeigned..that no man shuld be putte to answere before the King..without presentment before Justice or matier of record or due processe and writte originall. 1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 150/1 Al maner thinge..not triable by matier of Recorde, be putte in issue and be triable by Enquest. 1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xxxviii A dysseysyn and dyscent that is mater & dede shall not so greue hym that was dysseysed whan he was out of the realme. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 833/1 By matter in dede, par effet. 1531 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student (new ed.) liv. f. cxlvii Yt ys not alleged in the Indyctement by matter in dede that he had such wepon. 1533 tr. Erasmus Expos. Comm. Crede 78 The Iewes do graunte..that Iesus was crucified verye matter in dede. 1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Vv4 Mater in deede..seemeth to be nothing else, but a truth to be prooued, though not by any Record: and mater of Record, is that which may be proued by some Record. 1612 F. Bacon Of Judicature in Ess. (1862) 458 When there is matter of Law interuenient in businesse of State. 1621 H. Elsynge Notes Deb. House of Lords (1870) 113 The question whether this cause had a sufficient hearinge, or noe, which is matter in facte. 1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. x. §655. 281 If it were by matter of Record, it should be good without attornment. 1651 W. G. tr. J. Cowell Inst. Lawes Eng. 198 This is rather matter of fact then of Law. 1681 Arraignm.,Tryal & Condemnation S. Colledge 10 And if so be matter of Law arises upon any evidence that is given against you..you may demurr upon that Evidence. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) Nude Matter, is a naked Allegation of a thing done, to be prov'd only by Witnesses, and not by a Record, or other Specialty in Writing under Seal. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Foreign Foreign Matter, in Law, is Matter triable in another County; or Matter done in another County. 1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 344 Assurances by matter of record are such as do not entirely depend on the act or consent of the parties themselves. 1797 Encycl. Brit. IX. 413/2 He may plead the general issue, and give the special matter in evidence. 1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading ii. 215 It is laid down as a rule that a traverse must not be taken upon matter of law. 1853 J. H. Stocqueler Mil. Encycl. 175/1 Matter,..in reference to court-martials..the specific charges which are brought against a prisoner, and to which the president and members must strictly confine themselves. 1859 J. E. Tennent Ceylon II. x. ii. 613 The age of the Bo-tree is matter of record. 1979 B. Cross Cross on Evid. (ed. 5) iii. 66 It is tempting to say that the meaning of an ordinary word of the English language is always a matter of fact to be determined by the jury while construction is a matter of law. 1999 All Eng. Law Rep. 4 443 The information that the caution which had been entered..had been cancelled..was a matter of record. b. gen. With of and a noun or noun phrase, or qualifying adjective: something, or things collectively, of the kind specified, or involving or related to a particular thing. Now rare.Corresponding in meaning with sense 4a, but construed as a mass noun. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something > somethings matter1449 1449 Rolls of Parl. V. 148/2 It is mater of Parlement longyng to the Kynges Highnesse. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Aiii Al maner of gostly matter, concernyng the perfeccion of graces & vertues. 1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. E2^v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) The first [Letter] wherof shall bee for matter of vnkindnesse. 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie ii. vi. 113 That in matter of fact there is some credite to be giuen to the testimonie of man, but not in matter of opinion and iudgement. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V v. ii. 332 The king of France hauing any occasion To write for matter of graunt. 1602 B. Jonson Poetaster v. iii. sig. K4^v I haue Matter of danger, and state, to impart to Cæsar. View more context for this quotation 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Dd2^v The Chronicle..red before Ahassuerus..contained matter of affaires. View more context for this quotation 1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium II. iii. v. 369 The Fathers power does not extend to matter of Religion. 1788 G. White Nat. Hist. Selborne v This must have been matter of mere accident. 1884 Manch. Examiner 29 May 4/7 That it is eminently desirable to attain this end is not now matter of dispute. 14. it makes (also is, †skills) no matter: it is of no consequence or importance; often with subordinate clause and now usually with ellipsis of the verb, as no matter. Also what matter? †(it is) no matter for: there is no importance attaching to, (the thing in question) does not matter (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be of no importance [phrase] forcec1330 no wardc1330 no strength1340 no forcec1369 no mattera1466 what force?a1513 no skill1575 what matter?1678 the game (play, etc.) is not worth the candlea1699 nix my dolly1795 what the hell1872 a1466 R. Taverham in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 322 Though my Lorde Cromwel hath taken..my yonger brother, as warde for the same enheritaunce that maketh no mater to me. ?1478 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 649 I beseche yow to sende me a hose clothe,..how corse so euer it be it makyth no matyr. ?1533 W. Tyndale Expos. Mathew vi. f. lxxi Thou wilt saye: what mater maketh it, if I speake wordes which I vnderstande not? 1560 Nice Wanton sig. Bj Tis no marter. a1563 J. Bale King Johan (1969) i. 360 Nob. To the church I trust ye wyll be obedyent. K. John. No mater to yow whether I be so or no. 1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. F1 How course soeuer the stuffe be, tis no matter so it hold fashion. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iii. i. 323 Sp. Item, she doth talke in her sleepe. La. It's no matter for that; so shee sleepe not in her talke. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. vii. 66 No matter who's displeas'd, when you are gone. View more context for this quotation 1670 J. Cosin Corr. (1872) 25 Aug. II. ciii. 251 It skills no matter what Neile's atturney said to you. 1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 39 So be we get into the way, what's matter which way we get in. View more context for this quotation 1693 W. Congreve Old Batchelour iv. iv. 38 Bell. My Patch, my Patch. Læt. No matter for your Patch. a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) I. 351 But no matter for the tides in the moon; it is very well if they have satisfactorily explained the tides upon earth. 1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 208 ‘He has lost the key of the trunk...’ ‘No matter; we can break it open.’ 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §21. 66 After no matter how great a progress in the colligation of facts. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 16 But what matter..from whom I heard this? 1903 A. Bennett Truth about Author xv. 196 He is terrible against cabotins, no matter where he finds them. 1955 L. P. Hartley Perfect Woman (1959) 87 They were in collusion. But what matter, since apparently he didn't care if they were. 1960 Honey Aug. 29 (advt.) No matter if they're sun-starved you can give even the whitest legs the bronzed, beautiful look that all whistle-worthy legs possess. 1991 Tucson (Arizona) Weekly 22 Jan. 28/2 The wine selection is token, but you'd be a dork to order wine here, so no matter. †15. The elements of which something consists or out of which it is developed; material cause. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause efficient cause1393 conjunct causec1400 final causec1400 meritorious cause1526 matter1570 deficient cause1581 effectrix1583 formal cause1586 material cause1586 final cause1587 conservant cause1588 efficient1593 effective1610 defective cause1624 proximate cause1641 1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. vii. f. 184 Vnitie is as it were the very matter of number. 1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 258 Voyde of all matter of probabilitie. a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) ii. x. §3. 304 His vncompounded simplicitie, is the true matter of his Vnitie. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 80 The Matter of Seditions is of two kindes, Much Poverty and Much Discontentment. 1751 J. Harris Hermes iii. ii. 318 To know the Nature and Powers of the Human Voice, is in fact to know the Matter or common Subject of Language. 1825 J. Bentham Rationale Reward 237 There are many things which may constitute part of the matter of wealth, which, when taken separately or in small quantities, would hardly be called wealth. †16. Sense, substance (as distinct from nonsense). Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [noun] > not nonsense sense1578 matter1600 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 309 I was born to speake all mirth, and no matter . View more context for this quotation 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 164 O matter and impertinencie mixt reason in madnesse. View more context for this quotation 17. a. Printed or written material. In Typography: (a) the body of a printed work, as distinct from the titles, headings, etc.; (in newspapers) the general contents as distinguished from the advertisements; (b) type set up; (c) manuscript prepared for printing, copy.Frequently with modifying word, as manuscript, typed matter, etc.: for more established compounds see the first element. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > written text > [noun] rounOE pagine?c1225 writ-rounc1275 dite1340 writing1340 paperc1390 scripturea1400 writinga1400 charactc1400 textc1400 papera1500 black and white1569 page?1606 character1609 litera scripta1660 matter1683 legend1822 screed1834 reading1836 society > communication > printing > material to be printed > [noun] copy1485 matter1683 society > communication > printing > printed matter > [noun] print1507 typography1644 matter1683 presswork1728 printed matter1836 the printed word1846 literature1859 printing ink1904 print-work1919 society > communication > printing > printed matter > arrangement or appearance of printed matter > [noun] > body of printed work matter1683 letterpress1733 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 222 He Sets the Title of the Chapter or Section in a..different Character than his Matter is Set in. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 263 The like mark he makes in Matter and Margin if two Letters are Transpos'd. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. Dict. 386 Open Matter, Full of Breaks and Whites. 1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 249 The care the Compositor took in spacing his matter. 1787 Smith's Printer's Gram. (new ed.) 116 In mixt matter, or Italic, a Scabbard at least is required before and after a thin Brass rule. 1824 J. Johnson Typographia II. xviii. 588 A new mode in the arrangement of the matter. 1838 J. W. Carlyle Lett. I. 106 We have printed half the matter. 1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1337/2 Live-matter (Printing), type in page or column ready for printing. 1886–94 H. Spencer Autobiogr. I. xxxiii. 512 Matter which has been revised in manuscript, and again revised in proof. 1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Feb. 5/9 An increased price is paid for advertisements ‘facing matter’. 1928 Daily Express 5 Mar. 2/3 No candidate can be directly boosted by name in any matter printed, typed, or cyclostyled. 1966 H. Williamson Methods Bk. Design (ed. 2) xii. 176 American designers sometimes use the terms ‘front matter’ and ‘end matter’. 1993 R. White Advertising (BNC) (ed. 3) 87 A 35cm × 4 col space is likely to be every bit as good as the far more expensive full page, not least because it is set into news matter. b. Chiefly U.S. In full postal matter. Material which may be sent by post. ΘΚΠ society > communication > correspondence > letter > mail > [noun] post1646 mail of letters1654 postal matter1869 mailshot1963 mailout1977 1869 Ladies' Repository July 61/1 The utility of railways is..clearly manifest..rendering the conveyance of both postal matter and small parcels so cheap and rapid. 1891 Cent. Dict. at First-class First-class matter, in the postal system of the United States, matter which is in writing, or sealed against inspection. 1891 Cent. Dict. at Second-class Second-class matter,..mail matter consisting of newspapers and other periodical publications. 1896 Strand Mag. 338/2 [Letters and other] postal matter, such as book parcels, post-cards, newspapers, circulars, telegrams, etc. 1999 Connecticut Opinions 26 July 844/2 The statement that the postal police have the final say regarding the handling of the postal matter [etc.]. III. In purely physical applications. 18. a. The substance, or the substances collectively, of which something consists; constituent material, esp. of a particular kind. Now rare except as passing into senses 19a and 21. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > material matter1340 substancec1350 subject matter1535 making1623 material1624 substratuma1676 materiality1811 hypostase1867 materiature1881 the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance > a kind of matter thingOE matter1340 substancea1393 corsec1420 gear1489 massa1550 quality1583 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 145/16 (MED) We alle habbeþ enne sseppere, þet ous made alle of one materie and heþ yssape. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 984 (MED) If a man were Mad al togedre of o matiere..Ther scholde no corrupcioun Engendre upon that unite. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 195 b To assemble matere wherof myght be made and edefyed a chyrche. 1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance v. f. 9 He vsed no gold but pure berill & christal, and other like matter to drynke in. 1573 G. Harvey Common-pl. Bk. (1884) 25 As there is matter of poison to the spider where wuld be matter of honi to the bee. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xxi. 187 Vpon that coast there rise no vapors, sufficient to engender raine for want of matter. 1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 89 The glasse makers of Venice..have a more noble matter, and thereof make much better glasse than we can. 1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus New Inventions Water-works 33 The matter of the Summer which ought to be of Oak. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 137. ⁋13 In all Operas..where it thunders and lightens..the Matter of the said Lightning is to be of the finest Rosin. 1728 tr. I. Newton Treat. Syst. World 1 (margin) That the matter of the Heavens is fluid. 1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. I. i. i. 30 The matter of the globe is not an inert recipient of forms..impressed by human hands. 1881 S. P. Thompson Elem. Lessons Electr. & Magn. iii. 187 Little is..yet known of the conditions of conductivity of the matter of the nerves. 1983 New Scientist 12 May 355/1 A single unified theory of the particles that form the matter of the Universe. †b. [after classical Latin māteria in this sense.] Timber, wood. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] treec890 woodc897 timbera1100 mattera1382 stuff1544 lignum1826 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 4 Kings vi. 2 Go wee vn to Jordan & taken eche fro þe woode sundre mateeris [L. materias singulas] þat wee bilden to vs þere a place to dwellen. tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) ii. 437 Now matere is to falle..For pale or hegge or hous. 1447–8 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 86 (MED) Vor mater ybowyete to the weste dore, vj d. 19. a. Physical material of any kind (including †blood and other bodily fluids), esp. when only vaguely or generally characterized (in quot. 1395 figurative). Frequently with modifying word.grey matter: see grey adj. and n. Compounds 1c(a). white matter: see white adj. and n. Compounds 1g(d). ΚΠ Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 6 (MED) These weiward prelatis..withdrawen gostli seed and mateer bi which cristen soulis..shulden be gendrid into euere lastinge blisse. a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 93 Cankre..comeþ of a wounde yuel heelid, to whom comeþ a malancolient mater rotid. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 44^v (MED) A ȝerde..ordeyned for þat þe pisse & also þe spermatik mater schulden ben i-cast out bi him. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iii. xxv. 196 Ther are places in th' earth, whose vertue is to draw vaporous matter, and to convert it into water. 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 186 There is no part of the Frog so medicinable as is the bloud, called also the matter or the iuyce, and the humour of the Frogge. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. xiii. 137 Toades are sometimes observed to exclude or spirt out a dark and liquid matter behinde. View more context for this quotation 1664 J. Evelyn Sylva i. 16 Oaks bear also a knur, full of a Cottony matter. 1765 Philos. Trans. 1764 (Royal Soc.) 54 174 On leaving it exposed to the air, the brown matter attracted moisture from it and relented into a thick brown liquour. 1769 W. Hamilton Let. 17 Oct. in Observ. Vesuvius (1772) 83 You may judge..of the prodigious quantities of matter emitted in a great eruption of this mountain [sc. Etna]. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 348 The hard matter on which the holes are to be pierced. 1891 Law Times 92 94/1 Milk which on analysis proved to be deficient in fatty matter to the extent of 33 per cent. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. III. 794 An obstruction to the passage of matter along the intestines. 1920 Technologic Papers U.S. Bureau of Standards No. 176. 4 Slushing compounds are..sometimes mixtures of mineral and animal greases..finely divided mineral matter, and volatile solvents. 1991 R. Goldring Fossils in Field iv. 65 In compressions of leaves all that remains is coaly matter between the superimposed cuticles. b. spec. Purulent material, pus; (now) esp. purulent discharge from the eyes. Also †corrupt matter (obsolete). Cf. matter v. 1, mattering n., mattering adj. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > suppuration > [noun] > pus or matter wursomeOE yousterc725 warec1175 quittorc1300 corrumpciona1340 humour1340 atter1398 mattera1400 pus?a1425 filthiness1525 corruption1526 filth1561 gear1562 sanies1562 baggage1576 purulence1598 suppuration1601 lye1615 congestion1634 colluvies1651 collution1657 colloid1849 purulage1898 a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 52 (MED) Þe corrupt mater þat is in þe place þat is brusid. a1450 St. Etheldreda (Faust.) 463 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 293 (MED) A gret swellyng abouȝt my throte þer is..Were hit ybroke & þe mater ouȝt y-renne..myche eysse hit wolde do. 1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. cvij Kutt theys botches with an knyfe and let owte the mater of theym. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxiii A glaunder whan it breketh is lyke matter. 1651 J. French Art Distillation vi. 191 It..expells the matter of a carbuncle by sweat. 1722 London Gaz. No. 6045/8 The Matter taken on a Person who has had the Small Pox by Inoculation. 1778 Farmer's Mag. July 228 If, instead of dispersing, it suppurates and comes to matter, let it be opened with a lancet. 1823 Lancet 21 Dec. 388/1 Another situation in the head where matter has been found is in the longitudinal sinus of the dura mater. 1858 E. E. Stuart Let. 11 Feb. in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) II. 851 To have an abscess lanced? To have Blood and Matter issue from it! 1885 W. Roberts Urinary & Renal Dis. (ed. 4) iii. v She began to pass considerable quantities of what she considered ‘matter’ with the urine. 1967 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 535/1 To get matter out of a boil. 1967 C. Himes Black on Black (1973) 133 The corners of his sloe-shaped eyes were sticky with matter. 1994 A. Gurnah Paradise (1995) 41 Their eyes, so cruel in the moonlight, were runny and clotted with white matter in the daylight. †20. A substance used or acted upon in a physical operation; a substance undergoing a physical or chemical process. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > matter, form, or essence formc1385 matterc1395 matter subjecta1398 quidditya1398 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of material cause1393 matterc1395 matter subjecta1398 predicamenta1425 quality?1537 first substance1551 predicable1551 property1551 proprium1551 transcendent1581 final cause1587 category1588 habit1588 ante-predicament?1596 postpredicament1599 entelechy1603 transumption1628 secondary1656 objective cause1668 transcendental1668 general substance1697 third man1801 thought-form1834 posterioristic universal1902 ousia1917 society > occupation and work > materials > [noun] stuffc1440 materialc1475 material1509 graith1513 subject matter1535 metalc1550 staple1598 tew1616 subjected matter1645 materiable1652 matter1680 ingredient1691 vehicle1837 input1893 c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 770 The care and wo That we hadde in oure matires sublymyng. a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 4 Þis is þe watri mater fro which is drawe oure quinta essencia. c1480 (a1400) St. Justina 735 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 173 [He gert]..þare-in be done blak pic &..brynstane bla, & vndir it a fyre gert ma, til þat mater wes moltyne thyne. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 666/2 I make the printe of a thyng in any mater or stuffe. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. iii. 54 Electricall bodies draw and attract not without rubbing and stirring vp of the matter first. 1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. x. 175 As there is different Matter or Substance to be Turned, so there is also different Ways..to be used in Turning each different Matter. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 85 They beat this Stuff with one hand..stooping at every blow, and nothing but the flat side of the Club hits the matter. 1797 Encycl. Brit. VII. 772/1 [Glass.] He takes up a small ball of matter, which sticks to the end of the tube by constantly turning it. 1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. i. 16 Animal matters are the soonest destroyed by the operation of air, heat and light. Vegetable substances yield more slowly. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 737 Mix these matters in a large iron or copper pan. 1851 H. W. Longfellow Golden Legend vi. 268 To report if any confectionarius Mingles his drugs with matters various. 21. That which has mass and occupies space; physical substance as distinct from spirit, mind, qualities, actions, etc.dark matter: see dark adj. Compounds 2; subtile matter: see subtile adj. and n. Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance mattera1500 stuff1580 materiary1650 state of matter1665 a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) viii. Prol. l. 4 Clerkys..say þat naturally, As woman [of] man has appetyte, Mater walde furme haf wiþe delyte. 1568 ( D. Lindsay Satyre (Bannatyne) l. 358 in Wks. (1931) II. 38 O lord..quhilk, havand no mateir Maid hevin and erth. 1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis 20 in Sylua Syluarum Wee maintaine a Trade, not for Gold..Nor any other Commodity of Matter. 1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV ii. iv. 307 Metaphysic mater..without the least physic extension or mater. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. x. 314 Matter,..by its own Strength, cannot produce in it self so much as Motion. 1692 R. Bentley Boyle Lect. ii. (title page) Matter and Motion cannot Think. 1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 6 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) In order..for the former to be in æquilibrio with the latter, it would be necessary for it to contain a greater quantity of Matter; it ought to be longer. 1759 S. Johnson Prince of Abissinia II. xlvii. 158 Matter is inert, senseless and lifeless. 1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. xxiv. 481 The essential superiority of spirit over matter. 1846 W. Hamilton in T. Reid Wks. 935 Mind and matter exist for us only as they are known by us. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 271 All our applications of mathematics are applications of our ideas of space to matter. 1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magnetism I. 46 Let there be at O a particle of matter of mass m. 1927 Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 23 930 Dirac's recent theory of the interaction between matter and gravitation. 1963 M. L. King Strength to Love xii. 94 According to Communist theory, matter, not mind or spirit, speaks the last word in the universe. 1990 R. Morris Edges of Sci. i. iii. 50 An open universe goes on expanding forever, since the density of matter is not enough to halt the expansion. IV. Contrasted with form. 22. Philosophy. a. In Aristotelian and scholastic philosophy: that component of a thing which has bare existence but requires an essential determinant (form) to make it a thing of a determinate kind. Also in extended use. See form n. 4a.matter subject: see subject adj. 9. ΚΠ c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 138 Of nauȝte..He made hys werke; For er he a-gounne hys work so merye, Nas noþer fourme ne materye. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 130^v Matere is neuer j-seye withoute fourme. c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 1582 As mater apetiteth forme alwey. a1500 ( Pilgrimage of Soul (Egerton) (1953) iv. xxvii. f. 70 Thi body..was only matier; thi selfe [sc. soule] wer his forme. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer iii. sig. Cc.iiii^v (It is the opinion of most wise men) the man is likened to the Fourme, the woman to the Mattier. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated i. i. 7 The principles whereof the Spheare is composed are two; viz: Matter, and Forme. 1634 J. Canne Necessitie of Separation iv. 178 Piscator affirmes, The matter of a particular church, to be a companie of beleevers. 1651 T. Hobbes (title) Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Aristotle makes three Principles, Matter, Form, and Privation. a1831 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 5/1 By the form..of language..we mean its signification; by the matter of language we mean the sound of words in speech [etc.]. 1874 G. S. Morris tr. F. Ueberweg Hist. Philos. II. §111. 27 Bruno opposes the doctrine of a dualism of matter and form. 1938 R. G. Collingwood Princ. Art ii. 16 The matter is what is identical in the raw material and the finished product; the form is what is different, what the exercise of the craft changes. 1997 R. Porter Greatest Benefit to Mankind ix. 208 A vitalist, he believed all objects, minerals included, were alive, marriages of body and soul, matter and form. †b. In scholastic philosophy: the result of the first act of creation, i.e. substance without form. Obsolete.first matter: see first adj., adv., and n.² Compounds 1b(b). ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > lack of shape > [noun] > (first) formless matter mattera1382 abyssa1398 chaos1531 unnature1843 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. xi. 18 Thin almyȝti hond that made the roundnesse of erthis of mater vnseen [L. ex materia invisa]. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 348 Þe mater first þer of he mad, þat es þe elementes to sai Þat first scapless al samen lay. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) xxxii. 9 He sayd..& thai ere made, that is, thai ere fourmyd of vnfourmyd matere. 1578 T. Timme tr. J. Calvin Comm. Gen. 26 Whereby their vanitie is overthrowen which think that the world was a matter alwayes without forme. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 4 First he breathed Light, vpon the Face, of the Matter or Chaos. c. In Kantian philosophy: the element in knowledge supplied by or derived from sensation, as distinct from that which is contributed a priori by the mind (the forms of intuition and the categories of the understanding). Cf. form n. 4d. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > idealism > [noun] > Kantianism > elements of conception1701 schematism1794 categorical imperative1796 intuition1796 matter1796 receptivity1796 schema1796 dialectic1797 multifarious1798 reciprocity1799 form1803 synthesis1817 Anschauung1820 manifold?1822 category1829 modality1836 multiplex1836 predicable1838 multiple1839 multiplicity1839 presentmenta1842 elanguescence1855 1796 F. A. Nitsch Gen. View Kant's Princ. conc. Man 73 In every perception..that which refers to the object may be called matter... The given matter in every perception..is a variety. 1798 A. F. M. Willich Elements Crit. Philos. 167 Matter..as opposed to form, is the given, perceived thing in general; that, which is determinable. 1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason i. 90 Experience, which contains two very dissimilar elements, namely, a Matter for cognition arising out of the senses, and a certain Form to order it, arising from the internal source of pure intuition and thought. 1912 Mind 21 514 Are the secondary qualities then—in Kant's language, the matter of sensation—that which alone gives us any glimpse of reality? 1960 F. C. Copleston Hist. Philos. VI. x. 205 Sensible objects appear to us in a certain way because we are what we are, that is, because of the a prioriintuitions of space and time. But in sensitive knowledge the form is applied to a mater that is passively received. 1999 S. Gardner Kant & ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ vi. 180 While the sensible and conceptual form of appearances derives from the subject, the matter (that which corresponds to sensation) does not. 23. Theology (esp. Roman Catholic Church). The characteristic sensible element or sign used in a sacrament (as water in baptism, the laying on of hands in holy orders, etc.). Cf. form n. 4b. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > sacrament > [noun] > three things making effectual matterc1350 form1597 intention1690 society > faith > artefacts > consumables > eucharistic elements > [noun] > material part of matterc1350 species1579 c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 42 (MED) Þe matyre of þis sacrement Hys ryȝt þe oylle allone. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 8 (MED) Nou ferst ich wille telle ȝou Wet may be þe materie Wer-inne cristning may be mad..Hiȝt moȝt be do ine kende water. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Priuate Baptisme f. v^v With what thyng, or what matter they dyd Baptise the childe. a1600 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie* (1648) vi. 21 Surely, to admit the matter as a part, and not to admit the form, hath small congruity with reason. 1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 103 The doctrine of the Schools is, That a Sacrament requires Matter, Form, and Intention. 1884 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. 627/1 The matter of the consecration of a bishop would lie in the imposition of hands when the Gospels are placed on his head and the form in the invocation of the Holy Ghost. 1915 J. Pohle & A. Preuss Sacraments I. ii. ii. 63 In some Sacraments, notably Penance and Matrimony, it is not easy to say precisely wherein matter and form consist. 1978 J. D. C. Fisher in C. Jones et al. Study of Liturgy ii. ii. v. 125 The..signing of the forehead..is transferred to a point immediately after the actual baptism and in such close proximity to it that it has often been taken for the essential matter and form of baptism. 24. Logic. The particular content of a judgement, proposition, or argument, as opposed to its form. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > [noun] > content as opposed to form matter1599 1599 T. Blundeville Art of Logike 118 They deuide a simple Sillogisme, according to the matter of the Propositions, whereof it is made into three kindes, that is into a Syllogisme Demonstratiue, Dialecticall, and Sophisticall. 1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica i. xxviii. 113 The material modes affect the Matter of the Enunciation, viz. either Subject or Predicate. 1827 R. Whately Elements Logic (ed. 2) ii. ii. §3. 81 ‘All islands (or some islands) are surrounded by water’, must be true, because the matter is necessary:..again, ‘some islands are fertile’, ‘some are not fertile’, are both true, because it is Contingent Matter. 1842 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought 14 The matter of any representation is that part of it which with reference to any given law, is non-formal. 1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic vi. 149 In respect to their Matter, both the Premises and the Conclusion may be false. 1916 H. W. B. Joseph Introd. Logic (ed. 2) vii. 163 To think the copula is the synthesis..of judgement: it is the form of the act, as distinguished from thinking the subject and predicate; this is the matter, for judgement varies materially with variation of the subject and predicate. 1956 A. Church Introd. Math. Logic (rev. ed.) I. 2 The reasoning may be right though the facts be wrong, and it is just in maintaining this distinction that we separate the form from the matter. Compounds C1. matter-hating adj. ΚΠ 1856 R. A. Vaughan Hours with Mystics I. i. iii. 21 The matter-hating principles of this school. matter-moulded adj. ΚΠ 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam xciii. 140 In matter-moulded forms of speech. View more context for this quotation matter-woven adj. ΚΠ 1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. viii. 177 Facts, objects, are but phantoms matter-woven. C2. † matter-bear n. Obsolete the part of a furnace which holds the raw materials before they are placed inside the combustion chamber. ΚΠ 1612 S. Sturtevant Metallica xv. 111 The Matter-beare is a generall part of the Furnace, which bereth & holdeth the substances of the Raw-matters. matter transmission n. Science Fiction transportation of a person or object using a matter transmitter. ΚΠ 1877 E. P. Mitchell in N.Y. Sun 25 Mar. 2/2 There was no reason why matter could not be telegraphed, or to be more etymologically accurate, ‘telepomped’. It was only necessary to effect at one end of the line the disintegration of the molecules into atoms and to convey the vibrations of the chemical dissolution by electricity to the other pole, where a corresponding reconstruction could be effected.] 1931 J. Schlossel in Amazing Stories Q. Spring 269/2 The attack must be launched before man completed the great matter-transmission machine he was planning. 1999 Analog Dec. 75/2 These folks have matter transmission. Time control. They can build a pocket environment on Venus, for chrissakes! matter transmitter n. Science Fiction a hypothetical device for conveying matter over a distance by transforming it into energy or information, beaming this to another location, and reconstituting the original matter at the destination. ΚΠ 1931 L. F. Stone in Wonder Stories Apr. 1280/1 With me at her side, Geble hastened to the beam station and there in the matter transmitter we dispatched our physical beings to the palace at Tola. 1999 Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Oct. 266/2 Matter..is at bottom a message, since it can be turned into energy and propagated. Nevertheless, the awesome radio did not develop into a matter transmitter, which is no closer to reality than it was a century ago. matter-transmitting adj. Science Fiction designating or relating to a matter transmitter. ΚΠ 1932 J. Williamson in Wonder Stories Mar. 1034/1 Any other creature of the moon..that might have been brought with her on the matter-transmitting beam. 1992 Classic Images Dec. 26 (advt.) Men are being mysteriously murdered by a vengeful madman known as ‘the Telegian’, who uses a matter transmitting device to find his intended victims no matter where they hide. matter transporter n. originally and chiefly Science Fiction = matter transmitter n. ΚΠ 1957 H. Slesar in Amazing Stories June 45/1 ‘Do you think you could move his house?’... ‘I suppose so. I have a small Matter Transporter in my suitcase.’ 1971 Luna Monthly May 43 The MT (matter transporter) serves to transmit plague to a primitive culture. 1987 S. H. Elgin Judas Rose ix. 128 Heykus was personally convinced that the Aliens who interacted routinely with Earth did have matter transporters, in the old science fiction sense. 2000 PrintWeek 25 Feb. 25/3 Once it's printed, it still has to be delivered. Now if we could invent a space-age matter transporter, it would be different. matter wave n. Physics a particle considered in terms of its wavelike properties; a de Broglie wave. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > matrix mechanics > [noun] > wave with properties of particle wave1924 matter wave1930 1930 A. E. Ruark & H. C. Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta xxi. 722 When electrons impinge on polycrystalline metal surfaces the fraction scattered at an angle θ with the normal to the surface does not decrease uniformly as θ increases... The results seemed likely to remain unexplained, until Einstein discussed de Broglie's matter waves, in 1924 and 1925. 1972 Sci. Amer. Oct. 106/3 The bombarding particles have the properties not only of particles but also of waves. Such ‘matter waves’ are called de Broglie waves. 1995 Physics Abstr. 1 Apr. 3768/1 Two counter-propagating pairs of parallel laser pulses at 457 nm act as coherent beam-splitters... This way a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for the matter waves is formed. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † mattern.² Forms: Middle English mattere, Middle English–1600s matter, 1600s matteyer. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: mat n.¹, -er suffix¹. Etymology: < mat n.¹ + -er suffix¹.First attested in records as a surname. Obsolete. A person who makes mats; a mat-maker. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > manufacture of fabric from specific materials > manufacture of articles made from twigs, etc. > mat-making > one who matter1263 mat-maker1377 1263 in G. Fransson Middle Eng. Surnames (1935) 97 Muriell' la Mattere. 1381 in G. Otto Handwerkernamen in Mittelengl. (1938) 20 (MED) Matter. c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 613/38 Storiator, a mattere. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 101 Thus hadde seid me the mattere [Fr. natier] who he was. a1561 in S. Adams Househ. Accts. R. Dudley (1995) 132 Paid unto John Argill matter for certayne peeces of mattes..lxxvs. iiijd. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Nattier, a Matter; or maker of mats. 1614 Acct. Revels at Court (1842) p. xliv To Richard Ansell Matteyer to his Ma^ty..for his paines and chardges in nayling downe the greene clothe in the Banquetting House..for the Maske. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2021). matterv. Brit. /ˈmatə/, U.S. /ˈmædər/ Forms: 1500s matier, 1500s mattre, 1500s– matter; also 1800s– maiter (Scottish), 1800s– maitter (Scottish), 1800s– mata (Jamaican), 1800s– mater (English regional), 1800s– matte' (Bahamian), 1800s– mattery (English regional), 1800s– matther (English regional), 1800s– mayter (Scottish), 1800s– metter (English regional). Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: matter n.¹ Etymology: < matter n.¹ With sense 1 compare earlier mattering n. I. Senses relating to physical matter or substance. 1. a. intransitive. To secrete or discharge matter or pus; to suppurate. Also with out, up. Now regional (chiefly U.S.). Surv. Eng. Dial. records a single example of this verb in the sense ‘fester’, from Yorkshire. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > discharge [verb (intransitive)] > discharge putrid matter matterc1465 screevea1500 gleet1676 c1465 Care of Horses (Yale Beinecke 163) f. 55 Then it cometh a-longe by the chyne & it maters out at his nose thirlys. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 633/2 Whan thynke you that your byle wyll matter? 1544 T. Phaer Bk. Children (1553) S iv b The..skin of an adder..boiled in oile..is also good for an eare that mattereth. 1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid iii. iv. 227 Every wound mattereth, and desireth to make a separation of that which is destroyed. 1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ Suppuro,..to matter, to suppurate. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Mattery, to discharge pus. 1899 B. W. Green Word-bk. Virginia Folk-speech 233 Matter, to form pus;..also, to discharge pus. 1954 in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 535/1 'At sore place's a-matterin' up some now. †b. intransitive. To ooze out as matter or pus. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > discharge or flux > discharge [verb (intransitive)] > discharge putrid matter > of matter: flow wellc1330 gleet1527 matter1635 1635 F. Quarles Emblemes i. xii. 49 Earths milk's a ripned Core That drops from her desease, that matters from her Sore. †II. Senses relating to material content. 2. transitive. To arrange the subject matter of. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1548 E. Gest Treat. againste Masse Ded. I have attempted an enterpryce in prouyinge eche parcel of the pryvye masse to dysplease god, whiche I can neyther word, matier, ne reason accordynglye. III. Senses relating to significance or import. 3. intransitive. To be of importance; to signify. Usually in interrogative and negative contexts. a. With non-referential it as subject or impersonal with adverbial what, and with complementary subordinate clause. Also with clause as subject. (In quot. 1817 used transitively with indirect object.) ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb] skilla1464 matter1553 1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. f. 33^v And nowe it mattereth nothyng whether you kill, or refuse to saue that creature. 1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iv. 202 Sosianus and Sagitta were men vile and of no account, neither mattered it where they liued. a1617 P. Baynes Lectures 68 in Comm. First & Second Chapters Colossians (1634) What those are who are not under our houshold gouernment, mattereth not to our discredit. 1630 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. §xiii It matters not, O God, how I am vexed here below a while. 1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. vii. 122 Nor matters it, that he hath perhaps made any promise to assemble his Subjects on some certain times. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 252. ⁋1 What matters it what she says to you? 1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. ii. xiv. 274 What matters where a Man's Treasure is, whose Heart is in the Scriptures? 1817 R. Southey Wat Tyler i. i, in Poet. Wks. II. 25 What matters me who wears the crown of France? 1846 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. in Wks. I. 156/1 Nor does it matter a straw whether we use the double e, instead of ete, in sweet. 1878 Ld. Tennyson Revenge xi We die—does it matter when? 1884 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 26 128 It mattered nothing to them whether the other corporators were eight or a thousand. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xii. 119 If she doesn't like you it won't matter how much Diana does. 1920 D. H. Lawrence Women in Love xxx. 511 Does it matter, whether I drink white wine this evening, or whether I drink nothing? 1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton x. 213 How I was roped in to this amateur species of archaeological investigation does not matter here. b. Without complementary clause. ΚΠ 1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Bij I might or this haue written noble geare But that from collor, I am purgd at springe tyme euery yeare. It matters not. 1639 L. Carlell Arviragus & Philicia i. v. sig. D8 Witch. Speake why ye come? Ad. Doe not you know? Wi. It matters not, speake or returne. 1752 E. Young Brothers (1757) II. v. i. 281 For me, it matters not; but oh! the prince—When he had shot the gulph of his despair. 1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iii. 23 ‘Miss Florence was afraid of interrupting, Sir,..’ said Richards. ‘It doesn't matter,’ returned Mr. Dombey. 1857 E. C. Gaskell Life C. Brontë xxviii I have written it with the strong desire to obtain appreciation for her. Yet, what does it matter? 1908 M. C. Bruce New Transvaal 7 As long as the sound is approximate, it does not matter about the sense. 1995 N. Blincoe Acid Casuals v. 33 ‘Junk's room will be open, won't it?’ asked Yen. ‘It doesn't matter, I've got the key,’ said Theresa. c. With a thing (material or immaterial) as subject. ΚΠ c1683 Wodrow MS in C. K. Sharpe Hist. Acct. Belief Witchcraft Scotl. 157 To this answered, ‘That matters not tho' it were the night before the morn, if they go to heaven.’ 1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike (new ed.) v. 57 I said the nominal amount of your wages mattered little. 1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxvi. 183 We haven't spent any to matter. 1873 W. H. Dixon Hist. Two Queens I. iv. i. 175 His pretext mattered little. 1935 G. Greene in Spectator 9 Aug. 222/2 What matters is the witty dialogue, the quick intelligent acting of Mr. Tone and Miss Merkel. 1965 New Statesman 14 May 753/1 Do royal tours really matter? They matter like mad to the British embassy staff. 1985 M. Stott Before I Go xi. 202 So many things that mattered terribly when we were young matter hardly at all when we are old. d. Of a person: to be important, have influence. ΘΚΠ society > authority > power > influence > have influence [verb (intransitive)] weighc1386 to have, bear, carry, strike a (great, etc.) stroke1531 to hold placea1535 to take place1535 to bear (a or the) sway1549 to have weight1565 say1614 to be no small drinka1774 matter1848 to pack a punch (also wallop)a1938 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxiv. 589 ‘Oh, it was Madame de Belladonna, was it?’ Becky said... ‘No—she does not matter—she is always jealous.’ 1909 H. W. C. Newte Sparrows xl. 505 With your appearance and talents you should be a great social success with people who matter. 1933 E. A. Robertson Ordinary Families x. 233 Wives still matter politically, if a man's to be offered a comfortable Conservative seat. 1964 L. Woolf Beginning Again iii. 159 A very good cricketer, Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge; he knew everyone who mattered. 4. In negative contexts: a. transitive. To care or be concerned about; to regard, heed, mind; (also) to approve of, like. Sometimes with subordinate clause as object. Now British regional and Caribbean. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > attention > take notice of, heed [verb (transitive)] yemec897 understandc1000 beseea1225 heeda1225 bihedec1250 tentc1330 to look into ——c1350 rewardc1350 undertakea1382 considerc1385 recorda1393 behold?a1400 receivea1425 advertc1425 attend1432 advertise?a1439 regard1526 respect1543 eye?c1550 mind1559 panse1559 to take knowledge of1566 to consider of1569 suspect1590 pass1609 matter1652 watch1676 the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > ignore, disregard [verb (transitive)] > not care about value1591 matter1652 (not) to give (something or someone) a (also another) thought1762 not to want to know1948 1652 W. Blith Eng. Improver Improved xiv. 95 Let his Land be fit for one, or fit for another use, he matters it not. 1662 R. Venables Experienc'd Angler vi. 65 Put your worms into very good long Moss, whether white, red or green, I matter not. 1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity xi. 37 I matter not what careless abuses there may be put upon a word. 1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. ii. x. 35 The Cloth as it were, should always be laid in a fine Garden, without mattering to see what passes in the open Fields. 1713 in G. Sheldon Hist. Deerfield, Mass. (1895) I. 350 If he would not marry them they matter'd not. 1720 Humourist Ded. 13 They matter it not of a straw. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. ii. vi. 121 If it had been out of Doors I had not mattered it so much. View more context for this quotation 1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. iv. 91 He did not matter cold, nor hunger, nor what he eat, nor what he drank. 1804 ‘E. de Acton’ Tale without Title I. 215 Oh! as to your fine speeches, Miss, I matter not them a straw. 1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorks. Folk-talk 89 If a workman does not take kindly to his occupation, he would say that he did not matter it much. 1895 C. L. Edwards Bahamas Songs & Stories 89 I wouldn' matte' gittin' somet'in to eat. 1956 in F. G. Cassidy & R. B. Le Page Dict. Jamaican Eng. (1967) 297/1 De tretn mi, an a neva mata dem. b. intransitive. To care, mind. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > be inattentive [verb (intransitive)] > be unconcerned not to pass a fly (also fig, pin, point, straw, whit, etc.)?1548 matter1678 to know little (or nothing) and care less1783 1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. iii. 43 Let it somewhat fall short or exceed that number they matter not. 1982 J. A. Holm & A. W. Shilling Dict. Bahamian Eng. 132/2 Don't matter 'bout dat. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹?c1225n.²1263v.c1465
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mattern.1

Compounds

† mattern.2

matterv.

mattern.¹

† mattern.²