meten.¹

Brit.

/miːt/, U.S.

/mit/

Forms: late Middle English met, late Middle English mette, late Middle English– mete, 1500s–1600s mett, 1600s meat, 1600s meate, 1600s–1700s meet; also Scottish pre-1700 met.

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

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman mete and Middle French mete, mette boundary, limit (1283 in Old French in form mete ), target, goal (14th cent.) < classical Latin mēta meta n.¹ Compare meith n.In phrase metes and bounds (see sense 2) after Anglo-Norman metes et boundes (1325); compare also post-classical Latin metae et bundae (from 1229 in British sources).

†1. A particular point or position, esp. a turning point or finishing point. Also: a mark or target. Also figurative. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > goal or target

markc1275

lodestarc1374

aimc1400

mete1402

pricka1450

butta1522

level1525

white marka1533

goal1540

Jack-a-Lent1553

blankc1557

scope1562

period1590

upshot1591

bird1592

golden goal1597

nick1602

quarry1615

North Star1639

huba1657

fair game1690

endgame1938

target1942

cockshot1995

1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 86 Thou concludist thi silf and bryngest thee to the mete there I wolde have thee.

a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) 2857 (MED) The canonys, the bumbard..bloweth out the voys & stonys grete..In goth the serpentyne aftir his mete.

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 5023 (MED) Þei shullen worche al her maistrie..in certeine oures and metis And certein pointis of planetis.

1480 W. Caxton tr. Ovid Metamorphoses x. ix. 23 He passed her, and cam to the mette to-fore her.

a1500 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Stowe) 16549 Thow art the Mete and the Mark off alle labour.

2. A boundary or limit (material or immaterial); a boundary stone or mark. Usually (now only) (chiefly Law) metes and bounds. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun]

goalc1350

bounda1387

list1389

finea1400

frontier1413

enda1425

limit1439

buttal1449

headroom1462

band1470

mete?1473

buttinga1475

bounder1505

pale?a1525

butrelle1546

scantlet1547

limesa1552

divisec1575

meta1587

line1595

marginc1595

closure1597

Rubicon1613

bournea1616

boundary1626

boundure1634

verge1660

terminary1670

meta1838

?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) II. lf. 181 And fynably they were brought to so strayte metes and boundes that [etc.].

a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 592 To have and to hold, the forseide diche..as the metis and boundes tiwene hem shewen.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cci. [cxcvii.] 615 The kynge hathe clerely gyuen to hym..the hole duchy of Acquytayne, so as it extendeth in metes and lymytacyons.

1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Hastings xcii Untimely neuer comes the liues last mett.

1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue i. 19 If the ditches, which are the ordinary meeres, meates and bounds betweene seueral mens lands, be confounded.

1622 W. Scot Course Conformitie 152 The lines and cords of mens wit that creep in and raxe out may serve for civill and secular mets and merches.

1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. v. §411. 177 It is a common speech, That the dower of a woman ought to be assigned unto her by metes and bounds.

1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Perambulation of the Forest, is the Surveying or Walking about the Forest, or the Limits of it, by Justices, or other Officers..to set down the Metes and Bounds thereof.

1768 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1885) XIII. 52 To ascertain by meets and bounds the width of said cart-road thro said meadow.

1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 197 Dower was assigned by metes and bounds, because it was a tenancy of the heir.

1878 S. Lanier Marshes of Glynn 39 As a belt of the dawn, For a mete and a mark To the forest-dark.

1894 Q. Rev. Jan. 30 The introspective genius knows his metes and bounds.

1950 D. M. Stenton Eng. Society in Early Middle Ages iii. 106 The metes and bounds of the forest.

1974 Anderson (S. Carolina) Independent 19 Apr. 8B/6 That piece, parcel or lot of land..known and designated as Lots Nos. 4, 5, 6 & 7,..and having..the following metes and bounds, to wit [etc.].

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

† meten.²

Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mete v.¹

Etymology: Probably < mete v.¹; however, it is possible that the word represents a survival of forms of met n.¹ with lengthened stem vowel. N.E.D. (1906) gives the pronunciation as (mīt) /miːt/.

Obsolete. Chiefly poetic.

Extent (size, character, etc.) as ascertainable by measuring; a person's calibre or stamp; (more generally) a measure.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun]

rhymec1175

metrec1390

measurec1450

rhythm1656

mete1768

metric1883

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > [noun] > measured or prescribed

scantillona1425

scantlet1502

scantlec1525

scantling1526

mensuration1675

sized1824

mete1834

the world > relative properties > measurement > [noun] > a measure

mealeOE

metlOE

metea1871

1768 J. Ross Ode on Loss of Friend in Wks. (MS) 224 The pow'r Of solemn Young or softer Thomson's mete!

1834 J. Hogg Mora Campbell 30 Noted for heroes tall and fair Of manly mete and noble mien.

a1871 A. Cary Nobility ii We get back our mete as we measure.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2019).

metev.¹

Brit.

/miːt/, U.S.

/mit/

Forms: Old English meotan (Anglian), Old English metan, Middle English–1500s mette, Middle English–1600s meet, Middle English–1600s meete, Middle English– mete, 1500s–1600s meat, 1500s–1600s meate; English regional 1800s– meat (northern), 1800s– meet (northern), 1800s– met (chiefly northern and East Anglian), 1800s– mett (chiefly northern and East Anglian); Scottish pre-1700 meit, pre-1700 1700s mett, pre-1700 1700s–1800s met, pre-1700 1700s–1800s mette, pre-1700 1700s– mete. Past tense

α. Old English mæt (1st and 3rd singular indicative), Old English mæton (plural indicative), Middle English maat, Middle English mat, Middle English matte, Middle English mete, Middle English–1500s mett, Middle English–1500s mette, Middle English–1600s met, 1500s meet; Scottish pre-1700 mett, pre-1700 1700s met.

β. Middle English meetid, Middle English metede, Middle English metid, 1600s– meted; Scottish pre-1700 meitted, pre-1700 metted, 1800s– meted.

γ. 1500s mott.

Past participle

α. Old English–early Middle English gemeten, Old English–1500s meten, Middle English imeten, Middle English mettam (transmission error), Middle English mettyn, Middle English metun, Middle English metyn, Middle English ymeten, 1500s meaten, 1500s metten, 1500s metton.

β. Middle English imete, Middle English ymete, Middle English–1500s mett, Middle English–1500s mette, Middle English–1700s met, 1600s meat, 1600s mete; Scottish pre-1700 meit, pre-1700 meitt, pre-1700 mit, pre-1700 1700s mete, pre-1700 1700s mett, pre-1700 1700s–1800s met.

γ. Middle English metyd, Middle English–1500s metid, 1500s meated, 1600s– meted; Scottish pre-1700 mettit, pre-1700 1800s metit, 1800s– meted.

δ. Middle English mote, Middle English motyne, Middle English–1500s moten, 1500s mottun.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian meta , Middle Dutch mēten (Dutch meten ), Old Saxon metan (Middle Low German mēten , German regional (Low German) meten ), Old High German mezzan (Middle High German mezzen , German messen ), Old Icelandic meta to value, Old Swedish mäta to measure (Swedish mäta ), Gothic mitan < an Indo-European base meaning ‘to measure, weigh, consider, judge’; compare Avestan mad- (in the compound vī-mād- doctor), ancient Greek μέδειν to protect, rule, μέδεσθαι to be mindful of, provide for, μέδιμνος medimnus n., classical Latin meditārī meditate v., medērī to heal (compare medic n.¹), Early Irish midithir weighs, judges, med weight, measure, Welsh meddwl thought, judgement, mind; compare also (with o -grade) classical Latin modus mode n., modius modius n.; and (with lengthened grade) ancient Greek μήδεα (plural) counsels, plans, Armenian mit thought, mind, and Germanic forms cited s.vv. i-mete adj., met n.¹ The Indo-European base is probably ultimately related (in a way that has not been satisfactorily explained) to the bases of measure n. and meal n.²In Old English the prefixed form gemetan is also attested, and survives into early Middle English. In later Middle English the verb was frequently conjugated weak from the 14th cent. onwards (compare past tense β forms); the original strong inflections did not entirely disappear until late in the 16th cent. (compare past participle α forms). An alternative development in Middle English was for mete (like many other verbs historically of Class V: compare tread v., weave v.¹) to be transferred to the pattern of historical Class IV verbs like bear v.¹ (compare past tense γ forms, past participle δ forms); in the case of mete this development did not survive the 16th cent. Forms with a short vowel in the infinitive, e.g. met , mett (which are found from the end of the 14th cent. onwards chiefly in Scots and northern English), are probably inferred from past tense forms with a short vowel (and probably also influenced by met n.¹).

†1.

a. transitive. To ascertain or determine the dimensions or quantity of; = measure v. 2a. Also figurative. Obsolete (archaic, poetic, and regional in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)]

bemetec893

meteOE

mensurec1429

gaugec1440

measure1456

to take a scantling of1585

fathom1611

admetiate1623

quantify1627

span1641

to take (also get) the measure of1650

mensurate1653

to take the gauge of1780

spoil1794

quantitate1900

pace1955

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 84 Ælc þæra ðinga, þe man wihð on wægan oððe met on fate.

OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xv. 6 Þu gedydest þæt we mætan ure land mid rapum.

lOE St. Nicholas (Corpus Cambr.) (1997) 91 Þa mæten hi þæt corn ut of heora scipen; eal swa hi hit underfengon æt Alexandrian, þa fundon hi hit eal swa fullice swilc þær an corn nære fram gedon.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 213 Gif hit chepinge be þe me shule meten oðer weien þe [etc.].

c1200 (?OE) Grave (1890) l. 6 Nu me sceæl þe meten and þa molde seoðða.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Ezek. xl. 5 He metid [a1425 L.V. mat] the breede of the beeldyng with oo ȝerd.

a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 4620 Wt hurre fote he metede þe lengthe of þat space.

1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 41 Paulyn..Hath so moche moten Of corne..That he may no more for age.

a1556 Ld. Vaux in R. Edwards Paradyse Daynty Deuises (1576) sig. Bii When I..mette in mind, eache steppe youth strayed a wry.

1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. ii. sig. D^v Lands that were meat by the Rod.

1722 R. Blackmore Redemption iv. 216 No measure can this distance mete.

1741 H. Brooke Constantia in Poet. Wks. (1792) II. 357 Hope, elevate, the distant journey metes, And to his march his heart the measure beats.

1805 in R. Chambers Pop. Poems Scotl. (1862) 152 Says Tam, ‘We'll hae them met;’ They measured just eight score o' pecks.

1807 G. Crabbe Library (rev. ed.) in Poems 149 She..Metes the thin Air, and weighs the flying Sound.

1865 A. C. Swinburne Lament. 23 No hand has meted his path.

1876 J. S. Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 48 All men Who..mete with kingly ken The starry-peopled sky.

b. transitive. With clause as object. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 171 He þet meteð hu hech is þe heouene.

a1400 G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (St. John's Cambr.) Suppl. §42a 4 Mete how many foot ben be-tween the woo prikkes.

c. intransitive. To make or take measurements. Cf. measure v. 2a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > take measurements [verb (intransitive)]

metec1300

measurea1382

to take (the, one's) measures (also measure)c1395

c1300 St. Nicholas (Laud) 145 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 244 (MED) Huy meten and founden al þe fulle.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xvi. 18 Thei metiden [a1425 E.V. mesurden] at the mesure gomor.

1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 15 Dame mete well.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 635/2 I wyll nat mete by your busshell.

1649 R. Hodges Plainest Direct. 13 A yard to mete withal.

d. intransitive. To measure distances for shooting at a mark; to take aim at something. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > practise archery [verb (intransitive)] > measure distances for shooting at mark

metea1535

the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > aim at

mete1598

rove1598

levy1618

mean1633

to cover (with a gun, pistol, etc.)1693

to draw a bead upon1831

target1837

sight1871

bead1888

a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) i. xvi. sig. D.i^v We shal now mete for the shoote and consider..howe farre of, your arrowes are from the pricke.

1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 131 Let the mark haue a prick in't, to meate at.

e. transitive. To complete the full measure or amount of; to have a measurement of, be calculated to be (a specified magnitude or quantity); = measure v. 9a. Also with forth, out. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > measure out something

metec1300

measurec1384

admeasure?c1425

mete1600

the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > make complete [verb (transitive)] > complete the full amount of

mete1600

to fill up1611

complete1649

to fill up (also fill full) the measure of1820

1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne xv. xxxix. 274 Nor yet the time hath Titans gliding fire Met forth.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 12 Their Wings..mete out twice their length.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 240 To Bury metes out Twelve Miles more.

a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 570 This day thou metes threescore eleven.

f. transitive. poetic. To be the equivalent of. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile in Poems I. 68 Cast out, cast down—What word metes absolute loss?

2. transitive. [In later use perhaps regarded as a derivative of mete n.¹] To mark the boundary or course of, to delimit; = measure v. 5b. Frequently with out. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > bound or form boundary of [verb (transitive)] > fix boundary of

meteeOE

markeOE

mereOE

bound1393

determinea1398

terminea1398

rede1415

measurea1513

butt1523

space1548

limit1555

determinate1563

to mark out1611

contermine1624

to run out1671

verge1759

demarcate1816

outline1817

define1843

rope1862

delimit1879

delimitate1879

eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lix. 5 (8) Et conuallem tabernaculorum metibor : & gemære getelda ic meotu.

OE Exodus 92 Leode ongeton..þæt þær drihten cwom..wicsteal metan.

?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) 143 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 276 He Everwik made and met, More then Londone by sevé stret.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 336/1 Meete londe, or set bowndys, meto.

a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. ii. sig. a.v^v The..ryuer and water of Mersee..Mesurynge and metynge the bondes..Bitwene chesshyr & lancashyr.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lix. [lx.] 6 I wil deuyde Sichem, & mete out the valley of Suchoth.

1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Evij^v Hebrus that meteth Thracia.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 96 He met out a large and great circuit of ground.

1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem f. 29 Command sall be giuen to the Schiref, to cause mett, and measure the samine [sc. a dowry].

1632 T. Heywood Iron Age i. sig. B2 Of all your flourishing line..Not one shal liue to meate your Sepulchre.

a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd i. iii. 15 in Wks. (1640) III And a faire Dyall to meete out the day.

1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 137 The heralds had the rink-room metit, The barriers set, and lists completit.

1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. V. xvii. 45 And officers he appoints thereto, and augurs;..like a camp of legions, To mete out cross streets, forum-place and walls.

†3. transitive. To travel over or traverse (a path, route, distance, etc.); = measure v. 4a. Also (occasionally) reflexive and intransitive: to go, proceed. Obsolete.In quots. a1450 at sense 1a with it as subject (with reference to time).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > [verb (intransitive)]

nimeOE

becomec885

teec888

goeOE

i-goc900

lithec900

wendeOE

i-farec950

yongc950

to wend one's streetOE

fare971

i-wende971

shakeOE

winda1000

meteOE

wendOE

strikec1175

seekc1200

wevec1200

drawa1225

stira1225

glidea1275

kenc1275

movec1275

teemc1275

tightc1275

till1297

chevec1300

strake13..

travelc1300

choosec1320

to choose one's gatea1325

journeyc1330

reachc1330

repairc1330

wisec1330

cairc1340

covera1375

dressa1375

passa1375

tenda1375

puta1382

proceedc1392

doa1400

fanda1400

haunta1400

snya1400

take?a1400

thrilla1400

trace?a1400

trinea1400

fangc1400

to make (also have) resortc1425

to make one's repair (to)c1425

resort1429

ayrec1440

havea1450

speer?c1450

rokec1475

wina1500

hent1508

persevere?1521

pursuec1540

rechec1540

yede1563

bing1567

march1568

to go one's ways1581

groyl1582

yode1587

sally1590

track1590

way1596

frame1609

trickle1629

recur1654

wag1684

fadge1694

haul1802

hike1809

to get around1849

riddle1856

bat1867

biff1923

truck1925

society > travel > [verb (reflexive)]

wendeOE

meteOE

drawc1175

flitc1175

do?c1225

kenc1275

teemc1275

movec1300

graitha1325

dightc1330

redec1330

windc1330

yieldc1330

dressa1375

raikc1400

winc1400

pass?a1425

get1492

tirec1540

flitch?1567

frame1576

betake1639

rely1641

society > travel > [verb (transitive)] > traverse a distance or ground

runeOE

overcomeOE

meteOE

through-gangOE

passc1300

to pass over ——c1300

overpassc1325

tracec1381

travela1393

traverse?a1400

travelc1400

measure?a1425

walkc1450

go1483

journey1531

peragrate1542

trade1548

overspin1553

overtrace1573

tract1579

progress1587

invade1590

waste1590

wear1596

march1606

void1608

recovera1625

expatiate1627

lustrate1721

do1795

slip1817

cover1818

clear1823

track1823

itinerate1830

betravel1852

to roll off1867

OE Beowulf 1633 Ferdon forð þonon..ferhþum fægne, foldweg mæton.

OE Exodus 171 Wlance þegnas mæton milpaðas meara bogum.

c1300 St. Andrew (Harl.) 217 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 550 He it [sc. the distance between heaven and earth] met þo he vel from heuene to helle Wiþ Lucifer.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 7695 Himself fra erth, upward met þat way When he stey tylle heven.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 374 Qwen it was metyn to þe merke þat men ware to ryst.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 455 Þan metis he him to Messadone.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 564 Fra þe none tyme Till it to mydday was meten on þe morne efter.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4803 (MED) Þen metis he doun of þe mounte in-to a mirk vale.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 152 (MED) He þat metyþe þis way, he can best telle þe myles and þe lengþe of hom.

1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes viii. sig. G3 A Citty..whose ample wall, Who vndertakes to mete with paces, shall [etc.].

1697 T. Creech tr. Manilius Five Bks. iii. vii. 107 Take all that space of time the Sun Meets out, when every daily Round is Run.

1803 J. Leyden Scenes of Infancy ii. 53 The younger swains, with active feet, Pace the loose weeds, and the flat tombstone mete.

†4. transitive. To estimate or judge the greatness or value of, to appraise; = measure v. 14. In early use: to compare (by, to, with). Obsolete (archaic and rare in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)] > according to rule or standard

meteeOE

examine1340

puta1382

measurec1384

scan?c1550

cantle1603

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) l. 389 He mæt ðone welan & ðone wyrðmynd to ðære winestran handa.

eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xiii. 29 Ne sint hi no wið eow to metanne.

OE Blickling Homilies 133 Se sweg wæs þæs Halgan Gastes be winde meten.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) 2 Cor. x. 12 We metinge, or mesuringe vs in vs silf..we schulden not gloire into ful moche.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 13^v [Angels]..metiþ & weyeþ al men workes goode & euele.

a1450 York Plays (1885) 189 Þat goddis sone is þis, Euyn with hym mette and all myghty.

1595 E. Spenser Colin Clouts come Home Againe sig. C For not by measure of her owne great mynd, And wondrous worth she mott my simple song.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. iii. 77 A pattern, or a measure..By which his grace must mete the liues of other.

1802 T. Jefferson Let. 1 Apr. in Writings (1903) X. 307 A simple measure by which every one could mete their merit.

1866 J. H. Newman Dream of Gerontius §3 Spirits and men by different standards mete The less and greater in the flow of time.

5. transitive. To apportion by measure; to assign in portions; to portion or deal out; esp. to allot (punishment, praise, reward, etc.). Also intransitive. Now usually (in transitive use) with out.Uncommon till the 19th cent. except as a translation of or in allusion to Matthew 7:2 and synoptic parallels. Now the main current sense.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > count or measure out

meteOE

measurea1325

markc1330

admeasure1469

tale1631

dimensea1641

to count out1865

OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. vii. 2 In qua mensura mensi fueritis remittietur uobis : in ðæm gemete þe ge metaþ bið eow meten.

a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 159 Bi þat ilke met þe ȝe meteð nu ȝiwe weldede, shal ben meten ȝiwer mede.

c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 550 (MED) Alswich met as þu metest me, Alswich i wole mete to þe.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vii. 2 In what mesure ȝe meten, it shal be meten to ȝou.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 26529 [Christ] þat metes [a1400 Fairf. merkis] ilk man his mede.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Ruth iii. 15 He mete [v.r. maat; 1535 Coverdale meet] sixe buyschels of barly.

1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie xcii. 49 Our mesurs mette to other, shal to vs be mottun.

?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) 129 Thou..mett thame moonshyn ay for meill.

1645 D. Featley Καταβάπτισται Κατάπτυστοι: Dippers Dipt sig. ST2^v Christ himselfe more then once taxeth the vanitie and hypocrisie of such as mete out their devotion by the ell.

1721 A. Ramsay Tartana 263 When beauty's to be judg'd without a vail, And not its powers met out as by retail, But wholesale.

1803 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (new ed.) i. xi. 138 The food of the country would be meted out..in the smallest shares that could support life.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Ulysses in Poems (new ed.) II. 88 I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race.

1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. iv. viii. 472 His very sleep was stingily meted-out to him.

a1871 A. Cary in A. Cary & P. Cary Poet. Wks. (1877) 158/1 We must love our neighbor to get his love,—As we measure, he will mete.

1878 H. M. Stanley Through Dark Continent II. xiii. 382 What punishment shall I mete to this thief?

1903 ‘T. Collins’ Such is Life vii. 267 I meted out half a pint of water to him.

1946 E. Waugh Diary 19 Nov. (1979) 663 I trust you will mete out condign punishment to this unhappy child.

1970 A. Toffler Future Shock v. 77 The worst punishment an American parent can mete out to a teen-ager is to..deprive him of the use of an automobile.

1992 H. N. Schwarzkopf It doesn't take Hero xx. 380 Only a few of the commanders had any idea of the plan I was about to present or of the tough assignments I was going to mete out.

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

† metev.²

Forms: Old English mætan, late Old English metan, Middle English meete, Middle English–1500s mete; Scottish pre-1700 meit, pre-1700 mete. Past tense Old English mætte, Middle English matte, Middle English mete, Middle English mette, Middle English–1500s mett, Middle English–1600s met; Scottish met, mett; Past participle Old English gemæted, Old English metod (probably transmission error), Middle English imet, Middle English imette, Middle English met, Middle English mete, Middle English mett, Middle English mette, Middle English ymet.

Origin: Of unknown origin.

Etymology: Origin unknown. There are no known cognates in Germanic or other Indo-European languages.In Old English the prefixed form gemǣtan is also attested, and survives into early Middle English.

Obsolete.

1. transitive (impersonal). me (etc.) metes: it occurs to me (him, etc.) in a dream; I (he, etc.) dream. Also with noun complement, as me (etc.) metes sweven: I (he, etc.) dream a dream. Frequently in past tense.In Old English with accusative (or occasionally dative) of person and accusative of dream (when expressed; cf. Old Icelandic draum dreymdi mik (see dream v.² 1)).

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > dream > [verb (impersonal)]

me (etc.) metes sweveneOE

me dreamsc1300

eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxvi. 58 Ge..magon hwæthwugu ongitan swelce eow m[æt]e be eowrum frumsceafte.

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xxxvii. 5 Witodlice hyt gelamp þæt him mætte.

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) xiii. 1 Gyf ænig witega..secge ðæt hine mæte swefen.

c1300 St. Clement (Harl.) 21 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 516 Me mette þat on of oure godes her com bifore þe.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 4140 (MED) At tyme of midniȝt..him mette a greuous cas.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vi. 109 Thenne mette [v.r. mete] me moche more þan ich by-fore tolde Of þe mater þat ich mette fyrst on maluerne hulles.

c1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 210 Me mette how I lay in the medewe thoo.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 422 Þen him metis Þat he bowes to hire belechiste.

1532 Romaunt Rose in Wks. G. Chaucer f. cxxviii/1 Me mette suche a sweuenyng That lyked me wonders wele.

a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) ii. ii. 26 All night me met eke that I was at Kirke. [The speaker is ‘Robert Moth, an Antiquary’.]

2. transitive. To dream (a dream, etc.). Also with that-clause as object.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > dream > [verb (transitive)]

meteOE

seea1325

dreamc1390

somniate1657

OE Prognostics (Tiber.) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1908) 120 303 Gif man mæte, þæt he fela hunda ætsomne geseo, þonne scilde he hine wið his fynd ful georne.

lOE Prognostics (Hatton) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1916) 134 292 Gyf man mete þæt he fela gosa hæbbe, god þæt byð.

c1300 St. Dominic (Laud) 104 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 281 Seint Domenic matte..þat seint petur him bi-tok Ane staf.

c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) 2053 Ich mot mete a sweuen tonight.

c1430 (c1380) G. Chaucer Parl. Fowls 105 The lovere met he hath his lady wonne.

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 81 (MED) Al þat we haue lyued heere, It is but as a dreem y-met.

a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. v. 36 The first quiet Of naturale sleip..Stelis on fordoverit mortale creaturis, And in thair swewynnis metis quent figuris.

?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Fiii I..mused of these matters that I mett.

3. intransitive. To dream, esp. of something.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > measure out something

metec1300

measurec1384

admeasure?c1425

mete1600

the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > dream > [verb (intransitive)]

swevenc1000

metec1300

dreama1325

to be adreamed1556

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 1408 Þat niȝt horn gan swete & heuie for to mete Of Rymenhild.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) Orig. draft l. 335 (MED) Þou [ha]st y met [c1380 Ashm. y dremed] of venysoun, [þou mostest] drynke a torn.

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xii. 167 In a wynkynge ich worth, and wonderliche ich mete.

a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) 6567 Al night I haue of him met.

c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) ii. A. 393 (MED) Som meete of vayn thynges glorious and gay.

Derivatives

i-met adj.

ΚΠ

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) 66 Ant as imet sweuen aswindeð hire murhðen.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

† metev.³

Forms: Old English metan, Middle English mete. Past participle Old English gemet, Old English gemett, Old English gemyt (perhaps transmission error), Middle English metedd ( Ormulum), Middle English meten.

Origin: Of uncertain origin.

Etymology: Origin uncertain; probably cognate with East Frisian mōt spot, West Frisian mot inkblot, Dutch moet spot, stain, Old Icelandic mót mark, stamp (also móta to mark, stamp), Norwegian (Nynorsk) mot mould, pattern, manner, Old Swedish mot mould, stamp, manner, Old Danish mod mould for coins (compare also Shetland Scots mud indistinct shape or outline < the unattested Norn reflex of the early Scandinavian word represented by the Scandinavian forms listed above); further etymology uncertain.Perhaps in origin a causative verb from the Germanic base of moot n.¹ (compare meet v.) with an original sense ‘to put or press one thing against another so as to leave a mark or impression’; or perhaps related to the Germanic bases of meal n.² or mete v.¹ A connection with Russian madež (also in forms matež , malež ) spot or discoloration of the skin on the face, especially of a pregnant woman, Serbian and Croatian madež (also in forms madeš , mladež ) birthmark, mole, Slovene madež spot, stain, speck, mark, has been suggested (see G. S. Lane in Jrnl. Eng. & Germanic Philol. (1933) 32 294), but this is difficult to explain phonologically. The irregular strong past participle form meten is perhaps after mete v.¹

Obsolete.

transitive and intransitive. To paint, depict; to design.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > paint [verb (transitive)]

meteOE

depaint?c1225

paintc1275

stain1519

to paint out1553

depeinct1579

limn1593

impaint1598

pencil1610

stroke1624

depencil1631

brush1897

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 174 Pingo, ic mete.

OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 43 Sicut sepulchrum depicto mausoleo, intus plenum fetore : swa swa bergyls metton ofergeweorke, wiþinnan full stence.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1104 Ætywdan feower circulas.., ælc under oðran gebroiden, swylce hi gemette wæron.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1047 Þeȝȝ haffdenn liccness metedd. Off cherubyn.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 545 (MED) Þi wichecreft schal..lette..a swiðe wunderlich hweol meten ant makien.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2701 He carf..Two likenesses, so grauen & meten [etc.].

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

n.¹1402

n.²1768

v.¹eOE

v.²eOE

v.³OE

单词	mete
释义	meten.¹ Brit. /miːt/, U.S. /mit/ Forms: late Middle English met, late Middle English mette, late Middle English– mete, 1500s–1600s mett, 1600s meat, 1600s meate, 1600s–1700s meet; also Scottish pre-1700 met. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French mete. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman mete and Middle French mete, mette boundary, limit (1283 in Old French in form mete ), target, goal (14th cent.) < classical Latin mēta meta n.¹ Compare meith n.In phrase metes and bounds (see sense 2) after Anglo-Norman metes et boundes (1325); compare also post-classical Latin metae et bundae (from 1229 in British sources). †1. A particular point or position, esp. a turning point or finishing point. Also: a mark or target. Also figurative. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > goal or target markc1275 lodestarc1374 aimc1400 mete1402 pricka1450 butta1522 level1525 white marka1533 goal1540 Jack-a-Lent1553 blankc1557 scope1562 period1590 upshot1591 bird1592 golden goal1597 nick1602 quarry1615 North Star1639 huba1657 fair game1690 endgame1938 target1942 cockshot1995 1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 86 Thou concludist thi silf and bryngest thee to the mete there I wolde have thee. a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) 2857 (MED) The canonys, the bumbard..bloweth out the voys & stonys grete..In goth the serpentyne aftir his mete. a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 5023 (MED) Þei shullen worche al her maistrie..in certeine oures and metis And certein pointis of planetis. 1480 W. Caxton tr. Ovid Metamorphoses x. ix. 23 He passed her, and cam to the mette to-fore her. a1500 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Stowe) 16549 Thow art the Mete and the Mark off alle labour. 2. A boundary or limit (material or immaterial); a boundary stone or mark. Usually (now only) (chiefly Law) metes and bounds. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > [noun] goalc1350 bounda1387 list1389 finea1400 frontier1413 enda1425 limit1439 buttal1449 headroom1462 band1470 mete?1473 buttinga1475 bounder1505 pale?a1525 butrelle1546 scantlet1547 limesa1552 divisec1575 meta1587 line1595 marginc1595 closure1597 Rubicon1613 bournea1616 boundary1626 boundure1634 verge1660 terminary1670 meta1838 ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) II. lf. 181 And fynably they were brought to so strayte metes and boundes that [etc.]. a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 592 To have and to hold, the forseide diche..as the metis and boundes tiwene hem shewen. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cci. [cxcvii.] 615 The kynge hathe clerely gyuen to hym..the hole duchy of Acquytayne, so as it extendeth in metes and lymytacyons. 1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Hastings xcii Untimely neuer comes the liues last mett. 1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue i. 19 If the ditches, which are the ordinary meeres, meates and bounds betweene seueral mens lands, be confounded. 1622 W. Scot Course Conformitie 152 The lines and cords of mens wit that creep in and raxe out may serve for civill and secular mets and merches. 1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. v. §411. 177 It is a common speech, That the dower of a woman ought to be assigned unto her by metes and bounds. 1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Perambulation of the Forest, is the Surveying or Walking about the Forest, or the Limits of it, by Justices, or other Officers..to set down the Metes and Bounds thereof. 1768 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1885) XIII. 52 To ascertain by meets and bounds the width of said cart-road thro said meadow. 1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 197 Dower was assigned by metes and bounds, because it was a tenancy of the heir. 1878 S. Lanier Marshes of Glynn 39 As a belt of the dawn, For a mete and a mark To the forest-dark. 1894 Q. Rev. Jan. 30 The introspective genius knows his metes and bounds. 1950 D. M. Stenton Eng. Society in Early Middle Ages iii. 106 The metes and bounds of the forest. 1974 Anderson (S. Carolina) Independent 19 Apr. 8B/6 That piece, parcel or lot of land..known and designated as Lots Nos. 4, 5, 6 & 7,..and having..the following metes and bounds, to wit [etc.]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † meten.² Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mete v.¹ Etymology: Probably < mete v.¹; however, it is possible that the word represents a survival of forms of met n.¹ with lengthened stem vowel. N.E.D. (1906) gives the pronunciation as (mīt) /miːt/. Obsolete. Chiefly poetic. Extent (size, character, etc.) as ascertainable by measuring; a person's calibre or stamp; (more generally) a measure. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [noun] rhymec1175 metrec1390 measurec1450 rhythm1656 mete1768 metric1883 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > [noun] > measured or prescribed scantillona1425 scantlet1502 scantlec1525 scantling1526 mensuration1675 sized1824 mete1834 the world > relative properties > measurement > [noun] > a measure mealeOE metlOE metea1871 1768 J. Ross Ode on Loss of Friend in Wks. (MS) 224 The pow'r Of solemn Young or softer Thomson's mete! 1834 J. Hogg Mora Campbell 30 Noted for heroes tall and fair Of manly mete and noble mien. a1871 A. Cary Nobility ii We get back our mete as we measure. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2019). metev.¹ Brit. /miːt/, U.S. /mit/ Forms: Old English meotan (Anglian), Old English metan, Middle English–1500s mette, Middle English–1600s meet, Middle English–1600s meete, Middle English– mete, 1500s–1600s meat, 1500s–1600s meate; English regional 1800s– meat (northern), 1800s– meet (northern), 1800s– met (chiefly northern and East Anglian), 1800s– mett (chiefly northern and East Anglian); Scottish pre-1700 meit, pre-1700 1700s mett, pre-1700 1700s–1800s met, pre-1700 1700s–1800s mette, pre-1700 1700s– mete. Past tense α. Old English mæt (1st and 3rd singular indicative), Old English mæton (plural indicative), Middle English maat, Middle English mat, Middle English matte, Middle English mete, Middle English–1500s mett, Middle English–1500s mette, Middle English–1600s met, 1500s meet; Scottish pre-1700 mett, pre-1700 1700s met. β. Middle English meetid, Middle English metede, Middle English metid, 1600s– meted; Scottish pre-1700 meitted, pre-1700 metted, 1800s– meted. γ. 1500s mott. Past participle α. Old English–early Middle English gemeten, Old English–1500s meten, Middle English imeten, Middle English mettam (transmission error), Middle English mettyn, Middle English metun, Middle English metyn, Middle English ymeten, 1500s meaten, 1500s metten, 1500s metton. β. Middle English imete, Middle English ymete, Middle English–1500s mett, Middle English–1500s mette, Middle English–1700s met, 1600s meat, 1600s mete; Scottish pre-1700 meit, pre-1700 meitt, pre-1700 mit, pre-1700 1700s mete, pre-1700 1700s mett, pre-1700 1700s–1800s met. γ. Middle English metyd, Middle English–1500s metid, 1500s meated, 1600s– meted; Scottish pre-1700 mettit, pre-1700 1800s metit, 1800s– meted. δ. Middle English mote, Middle English motyne, Middle English–1500s moten, 1500s mottun. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian meta , Middle Dutch mēten (Dutch meten ), Old Saxon metan (Middle Low German mēten , German regional (Low German) meten ), Old High German mezzan (Middle High German mezzen , German messen ), Old Icelandic meta to value, Old Swedish mäta to measure (Swedish mäta ), Gothic mitan < an Indo-European base meaning ‘to measure, weigh, consider, judge’; compare Avestan mad- (in the compound vī-mād- doctor), ancient Greek μέδειν to protect, rule, μέδεσθαι to be mindful of, provide for, μέδιμνος medimnus n., classical Latin meditārī meditate v., medērī to heal (compare medic n.¹), Early Irish midithir weighs, judges, med weight, measure, Welsh meddwl thought, judgement, mind; compare also (with o -grade) classical Latin modus mode n., modius modius n.; and (with lengthened grade) ancient Greek μήδεα (plural) counsels, plans, Armenian mit thought, mind, and Germanic forms cited s.vv. i-mete adj., met n.¹ The Indo-European base is probably ultimately related (in a way that has not been satisfactorily explained) to the bases of measure n. and meal n.²In Old English the prefixed form gemetan is also attested, and survives into early Middle English. In later Middle English the verb was frequently conjugated weak from the 14th cent. onwards (compare past tense β forms); the original strong inflections did not entirely disappear until late in the 16th cent. (compare past participle α forms). An alternative development in Middle English was for mete (like many other verbs historically of Class V: compare tread v., weave v.¹) to be transferred to the pattern of historical Class IV verbs like bear v.¹ (compare past tense γ forms, past participle δ forms); in the case of mete this development did not survive the 16th cent. Forms with a short vowel in the infinitive, e.g. met , mett (which are found from the end of the 14th cent. onwards chiefly in Scots and northern English), are probably inferred from past tense forms with a short vowel (and probably also influenced by met n.¹). †1. a. transitive. To ascertain or determine the dimensions or quantity of; = measure v. 2a. Also figurative. Obsolete (archaic, poetic, and regional in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] bemetec893 meteOE mensurec1429 gaugec1440 measure1456 to take a scantling of1585 fathom1611 admetiate1623 quantify1627 span1641 to take (also get) the measure of1650 mensurate1653 to take the gauge of1780 spoil1794 quantitate1900 pace1955 OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 84 Ælc þæra ðinga, þe man wihð on wægan oððe met on fate. OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xv. 6 Þu gedydest þæt we mætan ure land mid rapum. lOE St. Nicholas (Corpus Cambr.) (1997) 91 Þa mæten hi þæt corn ut of heora scipen; eal swa hi hit underfengon æt Alexandrian, þa fundon hi hit eal swa fullice swilc þær an corn nære fram gedon. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 213 Gif hit chepinge be þe me shule meten oðer weien þe [etc.]. c1200 (?OE) Grave (1890) l. 6 Nu me sceæl þe meten and þa molde seoðða. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Ezek. xl. 5 He metid [a1425 L.V. mat] the breede of the beeldyng with oo ȝerd. a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 4620 Wt hurre fote he metede þe lengthe of þat space. 1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 41 Paulyn..Hath so moche moten Of corne..That he may no more for age. a1556 Ld. Vaux in R. Edwards Paradyse Daynty Deuises (1576) sig. Bii When I..mette in mind, eache steppe youth strayed a wry. 1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. ii. sig. D^v Lands that were meat by the Rod. 1722 R. Blackmore Redemption iv. 216 No measure can this distance mete. 1741 H. Brooke Constantia in Poet. Wks. (1792) II. 357 Hope, elevate, the distant journey metes, And to his march his heart the measure beats. 1805 in R. Chambers Pop. Poems Scotl. (1862) 152 Says Tam, ‘We'll hae them met;’ They measured just eight score o' pecks. 1807 G. Crabbe Library (rev. ed.) in Poems 149 She..Metes the thin Air, and weighs the flying Sound. 1865 A. C. Swinburne Lament. 23 No hand has meted his path. 1876 J. S. Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 48 All men Who..mete with kingly ken The starry-peopled sky. b. transitive. With clause as object. Obsolete. ΚΠ ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 171 He þet meteð hu hech is þe heouene. a1400 G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (St. John's Cambr.) Suppl. §42a 4 Mete how many foot ben be-tween the woo prikkes. c. intransitive. To make or take measurements. Cf. measure v. 2a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > take measurements [verb (intransitive)] metec1300 measurea1382 to take (the, one's) measures (also measure)c1395 c1300 St. Nicholas (Laud) 145 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 244 (MED) Huy meten and founden al þe fulle. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xvi. 18 Thei metiden [a1425 E.V. mesurden] at the mesure gomor. 1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 15 Dame mete well. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 635/2 I wyll nat mete by your busshell. 1649 R. Hodges Plainest Direct. 13 A yard to mete withal. d. intransitive. To measure distances for shooting at a mark; to take aim at something. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > archery > practise archery [verb (intransitive)] > measure distances for shooting at mark metea1535 the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > aim at mete1598 rove1598 levy1618 mean1633 to cover (with a gun, pistol, etc.)1693 to draw a bead upon1831 target1837 sight1871 bead1888 a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) i. xvi. sig. D.i^v We shal now mete for the shoote and consider..howe farre of, your arrowes are from the pricke. 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost iv. i. 131 Let the mark haue a prick in't, to meate at. View more context for this quotation e. transitive. To complete the full measure or amount of; to have a measurement of, be calculated to be (a specified magnitude or quantity); = measure v. 9a. Also with forth, out. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > measure out something metec1300 measurec1384 admeasure?c1425 mete1600 the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > make complete [verb (transitive)] > complete the full amount of mete1600 to fill up1611 complete1649 to fill up (also fill full) the measure of1820 1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne xv. xxxix. 274 Nor yet the time hath Titans gliding fire Met forth. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 12 Their Wings..mete out twice their length. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 240 To Bury metes out Twelve Miles more. a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 570 This day thou metes threescore eleven. f. transitive. poetic. To be the equivalent of. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1844 E. B. Barrett Drama of Exile in Poems I. 68 Cast out, cast down—What word metes absolute loss? 2. transitive. [In later use perhaps regarded as a derivative of mete n.¹] To mark the boundary or course of, to delimit; = measure v. 5b. Frequently with out. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > edge, border, or margin > boundary > bound or form boundary of [verb (transitive)] > fix boundary of meteeOE markeOE mereOE bound1393 determinea1398 terminea1398 rede1415 measurea1513 butt1523 space1548 limit1555 determinate1563 to mark out1611 contermine1624 to run out1671 verge1759 demarcate1816 outline1817 define1843 rope1862 delimit1879 delimitate1879 eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lix. 5 (8) Et conuallem tabernaculorum metibor : & gemære getelda ic meotu. OE Exodus 92 Leode ongeton..þæt þær drihten cwom..wicsteal metan. ?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) 143 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës (1802) II. 276 He Everwik made and met, More then Londone by sevé stret. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 336/1 Meete londe, or set bowndys, meto. a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. ii. sig. a.v^v The..ryuer and water of Mersee..Mesurynge and metynge the bondes..Bitwene chesshyr & lancashyr. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lix. [lx.] 6 I wil deuyde Sichem, & mete out the valley of Suchoth. 1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Evij^v Hebrus that meteth Thracia. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 96 He met out a large and great circuit of ground. 1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem f. 29 Command sall be giuen to the Schiref, to cause mett, and measure the samine [sc. a dowry]. 1632 T. Heywood Iron Age i. sig. B2 Of all your flourishing line..Not one shal liue to meate your Sepulchre. a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd i. iii. 15 in Wks. (1640) III And a faire Dyall to meete out the day. View more context for this quotation 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 137 The heralds had the rink-room metit, The barriers set, and lists completit. 1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. V. xvii. 45 And officers he appoints thereto, and augurs;..like a camp of legions, To mete out cross streets, forum-place and walls. †3. transitive. To travel over or traverse (a path, route, distance, etc.); = measure v. 4a. Also (occasionally) reflexive and intransitive: to go, proceed. Obsolete.In quots. a1450 at sense 1a with it as subject (with reference to time). ΘΚΠ society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] nimeOE becomec885 teec888 goeOE i-goc900 lithec900 wendeOE i-farec950 yongc950 to wend one's streetOE fare971 i-wende971 shakeOE winda1000 meteOE wendOE strikec1175 seekc1200 wevec1200 drawa1225 stira1225 glidea1275 kenc1275 movec1275 teemc1275 tightc1275 till1297 chevec1300 strake13.. travelc1300 choosec1320 to choose one's gatea1325 journeyc1330 reachc1330 repairc1330 wisec1330 cairc1340 covera1375 dressa1375 passa1375 tenda1375 puta1382 proceedc1392 doa1400 fanda1400 haunta1400 snya1400 take?a1400 thrilla1400 trace?a1400 trinea1400 fangc1400 to make (also have) resortc1425 to make one's repair (to)c1425 resort1429 ayrec1440 havea1450 speer?c1450 rokec1475 wina1500 hent1508 persevere?1521 pursuec1540 rechec1540 yede1563 bing1567 march1568 to go one's ways1581 groyl1582 yode1587 sally1590 track1590 way1596 frame1609 trickle1629 recur1654 wag1684 fadge1694 haul1802 hike1809 to get around1849 riddle1856 bat1867 biff1923 truck1925 society > travel > [verb (reflexive)] wendeOE meteOE drawc1175 flitc1175 do?c1225 kenc1275 teemc1275 movec1300 graitha1325 dightc1330 redec1330 windc1330 yieldc1330 dressa1375 raikc1400 winc1400 pass?a1425 get1492 tirec1540 flitch?1567 frame1576 betake1639 rely1641 society > travel > [verb (transitive)] > traverse a distance or ground runeOE overcomeOE meteOE through-gangOE passc1300 to pass over ——c1300 overpassc1325 tracec1381 travela1393 traverse?a1400 travelc1400 measure?a1425 walkc1450 go1483 journey1531 peragrate1542 trade1548 overspin1553 overtrace1573 tract1579 progress1587 invade1590 waste1590 wear1596 march1606 void1608 recovera1625 expatiate1627 lustrate1721 do1795 slip1817 cover1818 clear1823 track1823 itinerate1830 betravel1852 to roll off1867 OE Beowulf 1633 Ferdon forð þonon..ferhþum fægne, foldweg mæton. OE Exodus 171 Wlance þegnas mæton milpaðas meara bogum. c1300 St. Andrew (Harl.) 217 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 550 He it [sc. the distance between heaven and earth] met þo he vel from heuene to helle Wiþ Lucifer. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 7695 Himself fra erth, upward met þat way When he stey tylle heven. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 374 Qwen it was metyn to þe merke þat men ware to ryst. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 455 Þan metis he him to Messadone. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 564 Fra þe none tyme Till it to mydday was meten on þe morne efter. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 4803 (MED) Þen metis he doun of þe mounte in-to a mirk vale. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 152 (MED) He þat metyþe þis way, he can best telle þe myles and þe lengþe of hom. 1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes viii. sig. G3 A Citty..whose ample wall, Who vndertakes to mete with paces, shall [etc.]. 1697 T. Creech tr. Manilius Five Bks. iii. vii. 107 Take all that space of time the Sun Meets out, when every daily Round is Run. 1803 J. Leyden Scenes of Infancy ii. 53 The younger swains, with active feet, Pace the loose weeds, and the flat tombstone mete. †4. transitive. To estimate or judge the greatness or value of, to appraise; = measure v. 14. In early use: to compare (by, to, with). Obsolete (archaic and rare in later use). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)] > according to rule or standard meteeOE examine1340 puta1382 measurec1384 scan?c1550 cantle1603 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) l. 389 He mæt ðone welan & ðone wyrðmynd to ðære winestran handa. eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xiii. 29 Ne sint hi no wið eow to metanne. OE Blickling Homilies 133 Se sweg wæs þæs Halgan Gastes be winde meten. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) 2 Cor. x. 12 We metinge, or mesuringe vs in vs silf..we schulden not gloire into ful moche. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 13^v [Angels]..metiþ & weyeþ al men workes goode & euele. a1450 York Plays (1885) 189 Þat goddis sone is þis, Euyn with hym mette and all myghty. 1595 E. Spenser Colin Clouts come Home Againe sig. C For not by measure of her owne great mynd, And wondrous worth she mott my simple song. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. iii. 77 A pattern, or a measure..By which his grace must mete the liues of other. View more context for this quotation 1802 T. Jefferson Let. 1 Apr. in Writings (1903) X. 307 A simple measure by which every one could mete their merit. 1866 J. H. Newman Dream of Gerontius §3 Spirits and men by different standards mete The less and greater in the flow of time. 5. transitive. To apportion by measure; to assign in portions; to portion or deal out; esp. to allot (punishment, praise, reward, etc.). Also intransitive. Now usually (in transitive use) with out.Uncommon till the 19th cent. except as a translation of or in allusion to Matthew 7:2 and synoptic parallels. Now the main current sense. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > count or measure out meteOE measurea1325 markc1330 admeasure1469 tale1631 dimensea1641 to count out1865 OE (Mercian) Rushw. Gospels: Matt. vii. 2 In qua mensura mensi fueritis remittietur uobis : in ðæm gemete þe ge metaþ bið eow meten. a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 159 Bi þat ilke met þe ȝe meteð nu ȝiwe weldede, shal ben meten ȝiwer mede. c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 550 (MED) Alswich met as þu metest me, Alswich i wole mete to þe. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vii. 2 In what mesure ȝe meten, it shal be meten to ȝou. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 26529 [Christ] þat metes [a1400 Fairf. merkis] ilk man his mede. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Ruth iii. 15 He mete [v.r. maat; 1535 Coverdale meet] sixe buyschels of barly. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie xcii. 49 Our mesurs mette to other, shal to vs be mottun. ?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) 129 Thou..mett thame moonshyn ay for meill. 1645 D. Featley Καταβάπτισται Κατάπτυστοι: Dippers Dipt sig. ST2^v Christ himselfe more then once taxeth the vanitie and hypocrisie of such as mete out their devotion by the ell. 1721 A. Ramsay Tartana 263 When beauty's to be judg'd without a vail, And not its powers met out as by retail, But wholesale. 1803 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (new ed.) i. xi. 138 The food of the country would be meted out..in the smallest shares that could support life. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Ulysses in Poems (new ed.) II. 88 I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race. 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. iv. viii. 472 His very sleep was stingily meted-out to him. a1871 A. Cary in A. Cary & P. Cary Poet. Wks. (1877) 158/1 We must love our neighbor to get his love,—As we measure, he will mete. 1878 H. M. Stanley Through Dark Continent II. xiii. 382 What punishment shall I mete to this thief? 1903 ‘T. Collins’ Such is Life vii. 267 I meted out half a pint of water to him. 1946 E. Waugh Diary 19 Nov. (1979) 663 I trust you will mete out condign punishment to this unhappy child. 1970 A. Toffler Future Shock v. 77 The worst punishment an American parent can mete out to a teen-ager is to..deprive him of the use of an automobile. 1992 H. N. Schwarzkopf It doesn't take Hero xx. 380 Only a few of the commanders had any idea of the plan I was about to present or of the tough assignments I was going to mete out. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † metev.² Forms: Old English mætan, late Old English metan, Middle English meete, Middle English–1500s mete; Scottish pre-1700 meit, pre-1700 mete. Past tense Old English mætte, Middle English matte, Middle English mete, Middle English mette, Middle English–1500s mett, Middle English–1600s met; Scottish met, mett; Past participle Old English gemæted, Old English metod (probably transmission error), Middle English imet, Middle English imette, Middle English met, Middle English mete, Middle English mett, Middle English mette, Middle English ymet. Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymology: Origin unknown. There are no known cognates in Germanic or other Indo-European languages.In Old English the prefixed form gemǣtan is also attested, and survives into early Middle English. Obsolete. 1. transitive (impersonal). me (etc.) metes: it occurs to me (him, etc.) in a dream; I (he, etc.) dream. Also with noun complement, as me (etc.) metes sweven: I (he, etc.) dream a dream. Frequently in past tense.In Old English with accusative (or occasionally dative) of person and accusative of dream (when expressed; cf. Old Icelandic draum dreymdi mik (see dream v.² 1)). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > dream > [verb (impersonal)] me (etc.) metes sweveneOE me dreamsc1300 eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxvi. 58 Ge..magon hwæthwugu ongitan swelce eow m[æt]e be eowrum frumsceafte. OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xxxvii. 5 Witodlice hyt gelamp þæt him mætte. OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) xiii. 1 Gyf ænig witega..secge ðæt hine mæte swefen. c1300 St. Clement (Harl.) 21 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 516 Me mette þat on of oure godes her com bifore þe. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 4140 (MED) At tyme of midniȝt..him mette a greuous cas. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vi. 109 Thenne mette [v.r. mete] me moche more þan ich by-fore tolde Of þe mater þat ich mette fyrst on maluerne hulles. c1450 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 210 Me mette how I lay in the medewe thoo. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 422 Þen him metis Þat he bowes to hire belechiste. 1532 Romaunt Rose in Wks. G. Chaucer f. cxxviii/1 Me mette suche a sweuenyng That lyked me wonders wele. a1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary (1651) ii. ii. 26 All night me met eke that I was at Kirke. [The speaker is ‘Robert Moth, an Antiquary’.] 2. transitive. To dream (a dream, etc.). Also with that-clause as object. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > dream > [verb (transitive)] meteOE seea1325 dreamc1390 somniate1657 OE Prognostics (Tiber.) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1908) 120 303 Gif man mæte, þæt he fela hunda ætsomne geseo, þonne scilde he hine wið his fynd ful georne. lOE Prognostics (Hatton) in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1916) 134 292 Gyf man mete þæt he fela gosa hæbbe, god þæt byð. c1300 St. Dominic (Laud) 104 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 281 Seint Domenic matte..þat seint petur him bi-tok Ane staf. c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) 2053 Ich mot mete a sweuen tonight. c1430 (c1380) G. Chaucer Parl. Fowls 105 The lovere met he hath his lady wonne. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 81 (MED) Al þat we haue lyued heere, It is but as a dreem y-met. a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. v. 36 The first quiet Of naturale sleip..Stelis on fordoverit mortale creaturis, And in thair swewynnis metis quent figuris. ?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Fiii I..mused of these matters that I mett. 3. intransitive. To dream, esp. of something. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > measure out something metec1300 measurec1384 admeasure?c1425 mete1600 the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > sleep > dream > [verb (intransitive)] swevenc1000 metec1300 dreama1325 to be adreamed1556 c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 1408 Þat niȝt horn gan swete & heuie for to mete Of Rymenhild. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) Orig. draft l. 335 (MED) Þou [ha]st y met [c1380 Ashm. y dremed] of venysoun, [þou mostest] drynke a torn. c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xii. 167 In a wynkynge ich worth, and wonderliche ich mete. a1450 Generides (Pierpont Morgan) (1865) 6567 Al night I haue of him met. c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) ii. A. 393 (MED) Som meete of vayn thynges glorious and gay. Derivatives i-met adj. ΚΠ c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) 66 Ant as imet sweuen aswindeð hire murhðen. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2021). † metev.³ Forms: Old English metan, Middle English mete. Past participle Old English gemet, Old English gemett, Old English gemyt (perhaps transmission error), Middle English metedd ( Ormulum), Middle English meten. Origin: Of uncertain origin. Etymology: Origin uncertain; probably cognate with East Frisian mōt spot, West Frisian mot inkblot, Dutch moet spot, stain, Old Icelandic mót mark, stamp (also móta to mark, stamp), Norwegian (Nynorsk) mot mould, pattern, manner, Old Swedish mot mould, stamp, manner, Old Danish mod mould for coins (compare also Shetland Scots mud indistinct shape or outline < the unattested Norn reflex of the early Scandinavian word represented by the Scandinavian forms listed above); further etymology uncertain.Perhaps in origin a causative verb from the Germanic base of moot n.¹ (compare meet v.) with an original sense ‘to put or press one thing against another so as to leave a mark or impression’; or perhaps related to the Germanic bases of meal n.² or mete v.¹ A connection with Russian madež (also in forms matež , malež ) spot or discoloration of the skin on the face, especially of a pregnant woman, Serbian and Croatian madež (also in forms madeš , mladež ) birthmark, mole, Slovene madež spot, stain, speck, mark, has been suggested (see G. S. Lane in Jrnl. Eng. & Germanic Philol. (1933) 32 294), but this is difficult to explain phonologically. The irregular strong past participle form meten is perhaps after mete v.¹ Obsolete. transitive and intransitive. To paint, depict; to design. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > paint [verb (transitive)] meteOE depaint?c1225 paintc1275 stain1519 to paint out1553 depeinct1579 limn1593 impaint1598 pencil1610 stroke1624 depencil1631 brush1897 OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 174 Pingo, ic mete. OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 43 Sicut sepulchrum depicto mausoleo, intus plenum fetore : swa swa bergyls metton ofergeweorke, wiþinnan full stence. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1104 Ætywdan feower circulas.., ælc under oðran gebroiden, swylce hi gemette wæron. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1047 Þeȝȝ haffdenn liccness metedd. Off cherubyn. c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 545 (MED) Þi wichecreft schal..lette..a swiðe wunderlich hweol meten ant makien. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2701 He carf..Two likenesses, so grauen & meten [etc.]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2020). < n.¹1402n.²1768v.¹eOEv.²eOEv.³OE
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