▪ I. commensurate, a.
(kəˈmɛnsjʊərət, -ʃər-)
[ad. L. commensūrāt-us (Boeth.), f. com- together + mensūrāt-us measured, f. mensūrāre to measure: see commensurable.]
1. Having the same measure; of equal extent, duration, or magnitude; coextensive. Const. with.
| 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 57 He..whose actions are exactly commensurate with equity and justice. 1666 J. Smith Old Age 191 (T.) An age, a certain long space of time, that is commensurate with the duration of the thing that is spoken of. a 1742 Bentley (J.), Matter and gravity are always commensurate. 1832 Macaulay Burleigh, Ess. (1851) I. 224 The life of Burleigh was commensurate with one of the most important periods. 1855 Milman Lat. Chr. (1864) II. 5 Christendom and.. the Roman Empire, according to his notions commensurate. a 1862 Buckle Misc. Wks. I. 2 In modern Europe the influence of women and the spread of civilization have been nearly commensurate. |
† b. Formerly also with to. Obs.
| 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. (1682) ii. 201 Having a Duration..commensurate to Eternity. 1696 Whiston Th. Earth ii. (1722) 162 The Solar Year, and the Lunar Year too, were..exactly commensurate to one another. 1713 Derham Phys.-Theol. 10 note, If the Fish..be of equal Weight to the Water, that is Commensurate to the Bulk of it, the Fish will rest there. 1750 Johnson Rambler No. 71 ¶14 The duties of life are commensurate to its duration. |
2. Of corresponding extent, magnitude, or degree; proportionate, adequate. Const. to, also with.
| 1649 Hammond Serm. Wks. 1684 IV. 554 That our hope be but commensurate to our sincerity. 1660 W. Secker Nonsuch Prof. 15 A drop of praises is not commensurate to a sea of favours. 1691 Ray Creation (1714) 157 The necks of Birds and Quadrupeds are commensurate to their legs. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 95 You know how it can act when its power is commensurate to its will. 1839 James Louis XIV, II. 374 To assist him with a force at all commensurate to the undertaking. 1863 Tyndall Heat iii. 59 If we have firmness to imitate his [Newton's] example, we shall, no doubt, reap a commensurate reward. 1873 Cook Job (Speaker's Comm.) IV. 3/2 Prosperity and misery are not always..commensurate with man's deserts. |
† 3. Corresponding in nature (with, to); belonging to the same sphere or realm of things. Obs.
| 1643 Milton Divorce ii. iii. (1851) 68 Herein he..judges and is judg'd, measures and is commensurat to the right reason. 1674 Govt. Tongue (J.), By the mediation of some organ equally commensurate to soul and body. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 15 Plato adds..that according to Empedocles, the Definition of Colour was this, ἀποῤῥοὴ σχηµάτων ὄψει σύµµετρος καὶ αἰσθητὸς, The Defluxion of Figures..Commensurate to the Sight and Sensible. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 276 Colour is an effluence of form, commensurate with sight, and sensible. |
4. Characterized by a common measure; = commensurable 1. rare.
| 1690 Locke Hum. Und. i. xvii, We can..have no positive idea of any space or duration..not made up, and commensurate to repeated numbers of feet or yards, or days, and years, which are the common measures. 1788 Priestley Lect. Hist. iii. xiii. 107 Were these three periods commensurate to one another, that is, did a month consist of any equal number of days and the year of a certain number of lunar months. 1833 Herschel Astron. xi. 346 The mean motions of no two planets are exactly commensurate. |
▪ II. † commensurate, v. Obs.
(kəˈmɛnsjʊəreɪt, -ʃər-)
[f. prec.: see -ate3: cf. mensurate and L. mensūrāre to measure.]
1. intr. To be of the same measure or extent with; to agree or ‘square’ with. (rare.)
| 1643 R. O. Man's Mort. i. 5 Let us see how it commensurates with the vniversallity of Scripture and Reason. Ibid. v. 21 Being only commensurates with Time, or length of dayes. |
2. trans. To make commensurate; to proportion; to make to correspond in nature.
| 1655–60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 481/2 Nature..hath equally commensurated the Senses according to the Sensibles. a 1679 T. Goodwin Wks. II. iii. 81 (R.) Fitly and suitably commensurated and proportioned each to other. a 1711 Ken Hymnarium Poet. Wks. 1721 II. 19, I..will..To Loveliness immense, commensurate my Love. |
3. To reduce to a measure or standard; to define the extent of; to put a measure to; to measure.
| 1646 W. Jenkyn Remora 30 His designe shall commensurate his reformation, gives it leave to go to such a degree and no further. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi. vii. 312 The aptest termes to define or commensurate the longitude of places. 1655–60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 421/1 Before the World there were..neither year nor seasons, by which this generable World is commensurated. |