matter
[ mat-er ]
/ ˈmæt ər /
noun
verb (used without object)
to be of importance; signify: It matters little.
Pathology.
to suppurate.
Idioms for matter
Origin of matter
1175–1225; Middle English
mater(
e),
materie < Anglo-French, Old French
mat(
i)
ere, materie < Latin
māteria woody part of a tree, material, substance, derivative of
māter
mother1
synonym study for matter
1.
Matter,
material,
stuff,
substance refer to that of which physical objects are composed (though all these terms are also used abstractly).
Matter, as distinct from mind and spirit, is a broad word that applies to anything perceived, or known to be occupying space:
solid matter; gaseous matter.
Material usually means some definite kind, quality, or quantity of matter, especially as intended for use:
woolen material; a house built of good materials.
Stuff, a less technical word, with approximately the same meanings as
material, is characterized by being on an informal level when it refers to physical objects (
Dynamite is queer stuff ), and on a literary or poetic one when it is used abstractly (
the stuff that dreams are made on ).
Substance is the matter that composes a thing, thought of in relation to its essential properties:
a sticky substance.
historical usage of matter
Matter has a spectacular history. The English noun ultimately comes from Latin
māteria (also
māteriēs ) “timber, wood for building, the woody part of a tree (as opposed to the root or bark).”
Māteria is a derivative of
māter “mother, source, origin of (material and abstract) things.”
In the first century b.c., the Roman poet and Epicurean philosopher Lucretius and his elder contemporary Cicero, statesman and man of letters, began using māteria in the sense “any substance that makes up a physical object,” also “the basic substance of the physical universe,” a translation of Greek hýlē “timber, firewood, wood for building.” Two hundred years earlier, Aristotle was using hýlē in the extended sense “the basic substance of the physical universe, matter,” prefiguring the Romans.
Māteria maintained its original, pre-Aristotelian sense “wood” in Portuguese, becoming madeira by regular phonetic change. The island of Madeira is so called because it is (or was) thickly wooded, and the fortified wine originating on that island is known as Madeira or Madeira wine (first occurring in English at the end of the 16th century). Some would claim that, more than wood, wine is the basic substance, or stuff, of life.
In the first century b.c., the Roman poet and Epicurean philosopher Lucretius and his elder contemporary Cicero, statesman and man of letters, began using māteria in the sense “any substance that makes up a physical object,” also “the basic substance of the physical universe,” a translation of Greek hýlē “timber, firewood, wood for building.” Two hundred years earlier, Aristotle was using hýlē in the extended sense “the basic substance of the physical universe, matter,” prefiguring the Romans.
Māteria maintained its original, pre-Aristotelian sense “wood” in Portuguese, becoming madeira by regular phonetic change. The island of Madeira is so called because it is (or was) thickly wooded, and the fortified wine originating on that island is known as Madeira or Madeira wine (first occurring in English at the end of the 16th century). Some would claim that, more than wood, wine is the basic substance, or stuff, of life.
OTHER WORDS FROM matter
mat·ter·ful, adjective mat·ter·less, adjective non·mat·ter, nounWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH matter
madder matterWords nearby matter
Definition for matter (2 of 3)
Definition for matter (3 of 3)
matte
1
or mat, matt
[ mat ]
/ mæt /
adjective
having a dull or lusterless surface: matte paint; a matte complexion; a photograph with a matte finish.
noun
a dull or dead surface, often slightly roughened, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.
a tool for producing such a surface.
Metallurgy.
an unfinished metallic product of the smelting of certain sulfide ores, especially those of copper.
Movies.
matte shot.
verb (used with object), mat·ted, mat·ting.
to finish with a matte surface.
Origin of matte
1
1640–50; < French
mat (masculine),
matte (feminine), Old French < Late Latin
mattus moist, soft, weak, perhaps <
*maditus, derivative of Latin
madēre to be wet
Example sentences from the Web for matter
British Dictionary definitions for matter (1 of 4)
matter
/ (ˈmætə) /
noun
verb (intr)
to be of consequence or importance
to form and discharge pus
Word Origin for matter
C13 (n), C16 (vb): from Latin
māteria cause, substance, esp wood, or a substance that produces something else; related to
māter mother
British Dictionary definitions for matter (2 of 4)
matt
matte
/ (mæt) /
adjective, noun, verb
variant spellings of mat 2 (def. 2), mat 1 (def. 3), mat 2 (def. 5)
British Dictionary definitions for matter (3 of 4)
matte
1
/ (mæt) /
noun
an impure fused material consisting of metal sulphides produced during the smelting of a sulphide ore
Word Origin for matte
C19: from French
British Dictionary definitions for matter (4 of 4)
matte
2
/ (mæt) /
noun
films television
a mask used to blank out part of an image so that another image can be superimposed
Medical definitions for matter
matter
[ măt′ər ]
n.
Something that occupies space and can be perceived by one or more senses.
A specific type of substance.
Discharge or waste, such as pus or feces, from a living organism.
Scientific definitions for matter
matter
[ măt′ər ]
Something that has mass. Most of the matter in the universe is composed of atoms which are themselves composed of subatomic particles. See also energy state of matter.
Cultural definitions for matter
Idioms and Phrases with matter
matter