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Matter
Definitions
- 1 A surname.
- 1 Material; substance.; Anything with mass and volume. countable, uncountable
- 2 that which has mass and occupies space wordnet
- 3 Material; substance.; Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles. countable, uncountable
- 4 (used with negation) having consequence wordnet
- 5 Material; substance.; A kind of substance. countable, uncountable
"vegetable matter"
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- 6 a vaguely specified concern wordnet
- 7 Material; substance.; Printed material, especially in books or magazines. countable, uncountable
"He always took some reading matter with him on the plane."
- 8 a problem wordnet
- 9 Material; substance.; Aristotelian: undeveloped potentiality subject to change and development; formlessness. Matter receives form, and becomes substance. countable, uncountable
- 10 some situation or event that is thought about wordnet
- 11 An affair, condition, or subject, especially one of concern or (especially when preceded by the) one that is problematic. countable, uncountable
"Something is the matter with him."
- 12 written works (especially in books or magazines) wordnet
- 13 An approximate amount or extent. countable, uncountable
"I stayed for a matter of months."
- 14 Legal services provided by a lawyer or firm to their client in relation to a particular issue. countable
"Please find attached an invoice for three outstanding matters."
- 15 Essence; pith; embodiment. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"He is the matter of virtue."
- 16 (The) inducing cause or reason, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife."
- 17 Pus. countable, dated, uncountable
- 18 Importance. uncountable
"What matter if we unrewarded must strive, / If Wall Street and gamblers around it may thrive? / What matter if we doubly pay for our food / To support the monopolist kings of the road?"
- 1 To be important. intransitive, stative
"The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich."
- 2 have weight; have import, carry weight wordnet
- 3 To care about, to mind; to find important. Caribbean, England, regional, transitive
"Besides, if it had been out of doors I had not mattered it so much; but with my own servant, in my own house, under my own roof […]"
- 4 To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. archaic, intransitive
"Each slight sore mattereth."
Etymology
From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin materia (“wood”), from mater (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother. Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).
From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin materia (“wood”), from mater (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother. Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).
See also for "matter"
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