▪ I. mete, n.1
(miːt)
Also 5 mette, 6 met, 6–7 mett, 7 meate, 7–8 meet.
[a. OF. mete, mette, ad. L. mēta goal, boundary.]
† 1. A goal. Obs.
| 1402 Repl. Friar Daw Topias in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 86 Thou concludist thi silf, and bryngest thee to the mete there I wolde have thee. 1480 Caxton Ovid's Met. x. viii, He passed her and cam to the mette to fore her. |
2. A boundary or limit (material or immaterial); a boundary stone or mark; esp. in phrase metes and bounds [= AF. metes et boundes (1325 in Rolls Parlt. I. 434/2)], common in legal use; also fig.
| 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 363 And fynably they were brought to so strayte metes and boundes that [etc.]. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. 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 J. Dolman in Mirr. Mag., Ld. Hastings xcii, Untimely neuer comes the liues last mett. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. i. 19 If the ditches, which are the ordinary meeres, meates and bounds betweene seueral mens lands, be confounded. 1768 Conn. Col. Rec. (1885) XIII. 52 To ascertain by meets and bounds the width of said cart-road thro said meadow. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 197 Dower was assigned by metes and bounds, because it was a tenancy of the heir. 1878 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. |
▪ II. † mete, n.2
anglicized form of meatus.
| 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 16 Þe palesye vniuersel comeþ of haboundaunce of viscous humouris closynge þe metis of vertu animale, sensityue, and motyue. |
▪ III. mete, n.3
(miːt)
[f. mete v.1; cf. met n.1]
Measure.
| 1768 J. Ross Ode loss Friend Wks. 224 (MS.) The pow'r Of solemn Young or softer Thomson's mete! 1834 Hogg Mora Campbell 30 Noted for heroes tall and fair Of manly mete and noble mien. a 1871 A. Cary Nobility ii. (Funk), We get back our mete as we measure. |
▪ IV. mete, v.1
(miːt)
Inflected meted, meting. Forms: inf. 1 metan, (meotan), 3, 6 mette, 4–6 meet(e, 6–7 meat(e, mett, 8 met, 3– mete. pa. tense 1 mæt, 4–6 mett(e, 4–7 met, (4 mat(te, maat, mete, me(e)tid, 4–5 metede, 6 mott), 7– meted. pa. pple. 1–2 ᵹemeten, 1–6 meten, 2–3 imeten, 3– 6 mett(e, (4 ymeten, metun, 5 metyn, 6 metten, -on, mottun, meated, 7 mete, dial. 9 metit), 4–6 moten, metid, 4–8 (9 dial.) met, 7– meted.
[A Com. Teut. originally str. vb.: OE. metan (mæt, mǽton, ᵹemeten) corresponds to OFris. meta, OS. metan (Du. meten), OHG. mezzan (MHG. mezzen, mod.G. messen), ON. meta to value (Sw. mäta to measure), Goth. mitan:—OTeut. *met- (:mat-: mæ̂t-):—pre-Teut. *med- (:mod-: mēd-) cogn. w. Gr. µέδιµνος medimn, L. modius bushel; other cognates are L. meditārī and the words cited s.v. meditate.
The Teut. *met- has no direct connexion with the synonymous L. mētīrī; but many scholars regard the W. Indogermanic *mē̆d- and mē̆t- as parallel extensions of mē̆-.
The verb was frequently conjugated weak as early as the 14th c.; the original strong inflexions did not entirely disappear until late in the 16th c.]
1. trans. To ascertain or determine the dimensions or quantity of; = measure v. 2. Also with dimensions as obj. Now only poet. and dial., exc. in allusions to Matt. vii. 2.
| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. vii. 2 In ðæm ᵹemete þe ᵹe metaþ bið eow meten. c 1000 ælfric Gram. xiii. (Z.) 84 ælc þæra ðinga, þe man wihð on wæᵹan oððe met on fate. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 213 Gif hit chepinge be þe me shule meten oðer weien þe [etc.]. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 244/142 Þe schipmen..token þe bischope wel i-metene Ane houndred quarteres ȝwete. 1382 Wyclif Ezek. xl. 5 He metid [1388 mat] the breede of the beeldyng with oo ȝerd. 1388 ― Ruth iii. 15 He mete [1535 Coverdale meet] sixe buyschels of barly. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 4620 And w{supt} hurre fote he metede þe lengthe of þat space. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 44 Paulyn..Hath so moche moten Of corne..That he may no more for age. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. xcii. 49 Our mesurs mette to other, shal to vs be mottun. 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. ii. i, Lands that were mete by the Rod. 1781 Crabbe Library 302 She..Metes the thin air and weighs the flying sound. 1805 in Chambers Pop. Poems Scot. (1862) 152 Says Tam, ‘We'll hae them met;’ They measured just eight score o' pecks. 1865 Swinburne Lament. 23 No hand has meted his path. |
| with clause. a 1225 Ancr. R. 232 He þet meteð hu heih is þe heouene & hu deope is þe eorðe. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §42 a, Mete how many foot ben be-twen þe too prikkis. |
| fig. a 1556 Ld. Vaux in Parad. Dainty Dev. (1578) 7 b, When I..mette in mind eache steppe youth strayed a wry. 1876 Blackie Songs Relig. & Life 48 All men Who..mete with kingly ken The starry-peopled sky. |
b. To be the ‘measure’ of. poet. rare.
| 1844 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile Poems 1850 I. 52 Cast out, cast down—What word metes absolute loss? |
† c. To complete the full ‘measure’ or amount of. Also with forth, out. Obs.
| 1600 Fairfax Tasso xv. xxxix. 274 Nor yet the time hath Titans gliding fire Met forth. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 12 Their Wings..mete out twice their length. Ibid. 240 To Bury metes out Twelve Miles more. 1791 Burns To Mr. Maxwell of Terraughty on his Birthday ii, This day thou metes threescore eleven. |
† 2. absol. or intr. To take measurements; = measure v. 1 h. Obs.
| 1388 Wyclif Exod. xvi. 18 Thei metiden [1382 mesurden] at the mesure gomor. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 16 Dame, mete well. 1530 Palsgr. 635/2, I wyll nat mete by your busshell. 1649 R. Hodges Plain Direct. 13 A yard to mete withal. |
† b. To measure distances for shooting at a mark; hence, to aim at. Obs.
| 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. i. Wks. 1157/2 We shal nowe meate for the shoote and consider..how farre of your arrowes are from the prik. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 134 Let the mark haue a pricke in 't to meat at. |
† 3. trans. To mark (out) the boundary or course of; = measure v. 3. Obs.
In late use prob. regarded as a derivative of mete n.1
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lix. 9, & ᵹemære ᵹetelda ic meotu [Vulg. metibor]. a 1000 Cædmon's Exod. 92 (Gr.) Wicsteal metan. 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxi. 2 The spacis of alle the cytees bi enuyroun shal be meetid from the place of the careyn. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 336/1 Meete londe, or set bowndys, meto. 1513 [see measure v. 3]. 1535 Coverdale Ps. lix. [lx.] 6, I wil deuyde Sichem, & mete out the valley of Suchoth. 1567 Drant Horace, Ep. i. xvi. E vij, Hebrus that meteth Thracia. 1568 Grafton Chron. I. 96 He met out a large and great circuit of ground. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 29 Command sall be giuen to the Schiref, to cause mett, and measure the samine [sc. a dowry]. 1632 Heywood 1st Pt. Iron Age i. i. Wks. 1874 III. 267 Of all your flourishing line..Not one shal liue to meate your Sepulchre. a 1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd i. ii, And a fair dial to mete out the day. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 137 The heralds had the rink-room metit, The barriers set, and lists completit. |
4. To estimate the greatness or value of; to appraise; = measure v. 6. arch.
In OE. also = to compare (const. wið, be).
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xiii. §1 Ne sint hi no wið eow to metanne. 971 Blickl. Hom. 133 Se sweᵹ wæs þæs Halᵹan Gastes be winde meten. 1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. x. 12 We metinge, or mesuringe, vs in vs silf, and comparisownynge vs silf to vs. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P. R. ii. iv. (1495) 31 They [aungels] deuyde mete and waye all mennes werkes good and euyll. c 1440 York Myst. xxiii. 116 Þat goddis sone is þis, Euyn with hym mette and all myghty. 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 365 For not by measure of her owne great mynd, And wondrous worth, she mott my simple song. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iv. 77 A Patterne, or a Measure..By which his Grace must mete the liues of others. 1702 Jefferson Writ. (1830) III. 489 A simple measure by which every one could mete their merit. 1866 J. H. Newman Gerontius §3 Spirits and men by different standards mete The less and greater in the flow of time. |
† 5. To traverse (a distance); = measure v. 11. Also absol. or intr. (and refl.). To go, proceed. Obs.
| Beowulf 1633 Ferdon forð..foldweᵹ mæton. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7695 Himself fra erth, upward met þat way, When he stey tylle heven. a 1400–50 Alexander 455 Þan metis he him to Messadone. Ibid. 4803 Þan metis he doun of þe mounte in-to a mirk vale. 1621 Quarles Feast for Worms viii. G 3, A Citty..whose ample wall, Who vnder⁓takes to mete with paces, shall [etc.]. 1697 Creech tr. Manilius iii. 107 Take all that space the Sun Meets out, when every daily Round is Run. |
| impers. pass. a 1400–50 Alexander 374 Qwen it was metyn to þe merke þat men ware to ryst. Ibid. 564 Fra þe none tyme Till it to mydday was meten on þe morne efter. |
6. (Often with out.) To apportion by measure; to assign in portions; to portion or deal out; esp. to allot (punishment, praise, reward, etc.).
Uncommon till the 19th c.; now the chief current sense, but only in literary use.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 26529 [Christ] þat metes ilk man his mede. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems ii. 23 Thou..mett thame moonshyn ay for meill. 1676 G. Towerson Decalogue 463 Our recreations should be meted by smaller portions. 1721 Ramsay Tartana 263 When beauty's to be judg'd without a vail, And not its powers met out as by retail, But wholesale. 1798 Malthus Popul. (1817) I. 278 The food of the country would be meted out..in the smallest shares that could support life. 1842 Tennyson Ulysses 3, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. iv. viii. (1872) II. 17 His very sleep was stingily meted out to him. 1878 H. M. Stanley Dark Cont. II. xiii. 382 What punishment shall I mete to this thief? |
▪ V. † mete, v.2 Obs.
Forms: inf. 1 mǽtan, 3–6 mete, 4 meete(n, 6 meit. pa. tense 1 mǽtte, 1–5 mete, 3 matte, 3–5 mette, 3–6 mett, 3–7 met. pa. pple. 3 imet, 3–4 met, 4 mete, 4–5 ymet.
[OE. mǽtan wk. vb.; not found outside English.]
1. impers. me mette: it occurred to me in a dream; I dreamt. Also with n., as me mette sweven, I dreamt a dream.
The analogy of ON, draum dreymdi mik (see dream v.2 3) suggests taking sveven (or equivalent n.) as accus. and the vb. as impers.; on the other hand, the n. may be the nom. and the vb. may have the meaning ‘to occur to (a person) in a dream’.
| c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxxvii. 5 Witodlice hit ᵹelamp þæt hine mætte. c 1000 ― Deut. xiii. 1 Gif æniᵹ witeᵹa..secge þæt him mætte swefen. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4140 At tyme of midniȝt of þe niȝt him mette a greuous cas. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 26 Me mette swiche a swevening, That lykede me wonders wel. c 1385 ― L.G.W. Prol. 210 Me mette how I lay in the medewe thoo. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. 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. a 1400–50 Alexander 422 Quen he wroȝt had his will þen witrely him metis, Þat he bowes to hire belechiste. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary ii. ii. (1651) 26 All night me met eke that I was at Kirke. [The speaker is ‘Robert Moth, an Antiquary’.] |
2. trans. To dream (a dream, that something happened, etc.).
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 176 Gyf man mete þæt he fela gosa hæbbe. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 281/104 Seint Domenic matte..þat seint petur him bi-tok Ane staf. 13.. Seuyn Sag. (W.) 2063 Ich mot mete a sweuen to-night. c 1381 Chaucer Parl. Foules 104 The louere met he hath his lady wonne. c 1430 Hymns Virg. 81 Al þat we haue lyued heere, It is but as a dreem y-met. 1513 Douglas æneis ii. v. 36 The first quiet Of naturale sleip..Stelis on fordoverit mortale creaturis, And in thair swewynnis metis quent figuris. c 1570 Pride & Lowl. (1841) 65, I..mused of these matters that I mett. |
3. intr. To dream (of).
| a 1300 K. Horn 1522 (Camb. MS.) Þat niȝt horn gan swete, And heuie for to mete Of Rymenhild his make. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xii. 167 In a wynkynge ich worth and wonderliche ich mette. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 6567 Al night I haue of him met. |
Hence i-met ppl. a.
| a 1225 Juliana 74 Ant as imet sweuen aswindeð hire murhðen. |
▪ VI. † mete, v.3 Obs.
[OE. métan; not found outside Eng.]
trans. and intr. To paint, design.
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. xxviii. (Z.) 174 Pingo ic mete. c 1200 Ormin 1047 Þeȝȝ haffdenn liccness metedd Off Cherubyn. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2701 He carf..Two likenesses, so grauen & meten [etc.]. |
▪ VII. mete
see mate a., meat, meet, met.