Matrass
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A bolt for a crossbow. obsolete
- 2 A type of bolthead flask used in chemical distillation. archaic
"So the learn’d Alchemist exulting sees / Rise in his bright matrass Diana’s trees […]."
Example
More examples"So the learn’d Alchemist exulting sees / Rise in his bright matrass Diana’s trees […]."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Anglo-Norman matraz (“shaft, dart”), Middle French materas, from an unattested post-classical variant of Latin mataris, materis (“Gaulish throwing-spear”), from a Gaulish language.
Etymology 2
From New Latin matracium and its source, Middle French matheras, matraz etc., either from Middle French materas (see Etymology 1, above), with reference to its shape, or from Arabic مطرة, مطارة (“leather bottle, vase”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.