▪ I. matter, n.1
(ˈmætə(r))
Forms: 3–4 materie, 4 matery, 4–5 matiere, mate(e)re, matire, -yr(e, 4–6 -ir, 4–7 mater, matier, (5 mateer, mattir, 6 mattier, mattar, Sc. maiter), 5– matter.
[ME. materie, matere, matiere, a. OF. matere, matiere (mod.F. matière), ad. L. māteria (also māteriēs), building material, timber, hence stuff of which a thing is made, subject of discourse or consideration, also (in philosophical use) ‘matter’ in contradistinction to ‘mind’ or to ‘form’.
It has been conjectured that L. māteria represents a prehistoric *dmāteria, f. *dmā- (cf. Doric Gr. νεο-δµᾱ-τος new-built) related to the Indo-germanic root *dem-, *dom- (occurring, e.g. in L. domus house and Eng. timber). The primary sense continued to be prominent in late popular Latin: cf. Sp. madera, Pg. madeira wood, and the derivative F. merrain timber:—late L. māteriāmen (Lex Salica, etc.). The sense-development of the word in Latin was influenced by that of the Gr. ὕλη, of which it was the accepted equivalent in philosophical use. In the derived senses the Latin word has been adopted in all the Rom. langs.: Sp., Pg., It. materia, Romanian materie.]
I. In purely physical applications.
1. a. The substance, or the substances collectively, out of which a physical object is made or of which it consists; constituent material; also, a particular kind of substance serving as material. Now only with implication of sense 3 or 5.
| 1340 Ayenb. 152 Þet hi [sc. þe speche] by y-weȝe ase guode moneye..þet is þet hi by of guode matire, ase of guod metal and of guode ssepþe þet is of guode manere y-speke. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 36 If a man were Mad al togedre of o matiere Withouten interrupcioun. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 195 b, To assemble matere wherof myght be made and edefyed a chyrche. 1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. 15 He vsed no golde but pure beryll and christall, and other like mattier to drinke in. 1573 G. Harvey Common-pl. Bk. (1884) 25 As there is matter of poison to the spider where wuld be matter of honi to the bee. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xxi. 187 Vpon that coast there rise no vapors, sufficient to engender raine for want of matter. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 89 The glasse makers of Venice..have a more noble matter, and thereof make much better glasse than we can. 1659 J. Leak Waterwks. 33 The matter of the Summer which ought to be of Oak. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 137 ¶13 In all Operas..where it thunders and lightens..the Matter of the said Lightning is to be of the finest Rosin. 1728 tr. Newton's Treat. Syst. World 1 marg., That the matter of the Heavens is fluid. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. i. i. §1 (1876) 15 The matter of the globe is not an inert recipient of forms..impressed by human hands. |
† b. Timber, wood. Obs. rare. [A Latinism.]
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 437 Nowe matere is to falle..For pale, or hegge, or hous, or shippe. |
† 2. A substance used or acted upon in a physical operation; Obs. (merged in 3).
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxii. (Iustin) 735 [He gert]..þarein be done blak pic &..brynstane bla, & vndir it a fyre gert ma, til þat mater wes moltyne thyne. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. T. 217 The care and wo That we hadde in our matires sublyming. c 1460 Bk. Quintessence 4 Þis is þe watri mater fro which is drawe oure quinta essencia. 1530 Palsgr. 666/2, I make the printe of a thyng in any mater or stuffe. 1635 N. Carpenter Geog. Del. i. iii. 54 Electricall bodies drawe and attract not without rubbing and stirring vp of the matter first. 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 175 As there is different Matter or Substance to be Turned, so there is also different Ways..to be used in Turning each different Matter. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 85 They beat this Stuff with one hand..stooping at every blow, and nothing but the flat side of the Club hits the matter. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VII. 772/1 (Glass), He takes up a small ball of matter, which sticks to the end of the tube by constantly turning it. |
3. In wider sense: Used as a vague designation for any physical substance not definitely particularized, e.g. applied in Physiology to the fluids of the body, excrementitious products, etc. Often with qualifying adj., as in colouring matter, extractive matter, fæcal, etc. matter.
grey matter, white matter (of the brain): see the adjs.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 93 Cankre..comeþ of a wounde yuel heelid, to whom comeþ a malancolient mater rotid. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xxv. 196 Ther are places in th' earth, whose vertue is to draw vaporous matter, and to convert it into water. 1608 Topsell Serpents (1658) 725 There is no part of the Frog so medicinable as is the bloud, called also the matter or the juyce, and the humor of the Frog. 1664 Evelyn Sylva i. 16 Oaks bear also a knur, full of a Cottony matter. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) X. 684/2 The earthy and stony substances in which these metallic matters are inveloped. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 18 Animal matters are the soonest destroyed by the Operation of air, heat and light. Vegetable substances yield more slowly. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 737 Mix these matters in a large iron or copper pan. 1851 Longfellow Gold. Leg. vi. School Salerno, To report if any confectionarius Mingles his drugs with matters various. 1891 Law Times XCII. 94/1 Milk which on analysis proved to be deficient in fatty matter to the extent of 33 per cent. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 794 An obstruction to the passage of matter along the intestines. 1899 Ibid. VIII. 730 Hyperidrosis..soaking the boots and stockings with a stinking matter. |
4. spec. (= corrupt matter.) Purulent discharge, pus. [So F. matière.]
| [c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 52 Poudre of mirtilles..castiþ to þe wounde þe corrupt mater þat is in þe place þat is brusid.] c 1420 St. Etheldreda in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 293 A gret swellyng abouȝt my throte þer is,..Were hit ybroke & þe mater ouȝt y-renne,..To my body..myche eysse hit wolde do. 1486 Bk. St. Albans c vij, Kutt theys botches with an knyfe and let owte the mater of theym. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. G 5 b, A glaunder, whan it breaketh, is lyke matter. 1641 French Distill. vi. (1651) 191 It..expells the matter of a carbuncle by sweat. 1722 Lond. Gaz. No. 6045/8 The Matter taken on a Person who has had the Small Pox by Inoculation. 1885 W. Roberts Pract. Treat. Urinary Dis. (ed. 4) iii. v, She began to pass considerable quantities of what she considered ‘matter’ with the urine. |
5. a. Physical or corporeal substance in general (of which the chemical elements and their compounds are the separate kinds), contradistinguished from immaterial or incorporeal substance (spirit, soul, mind), and from qualities, actions, or conditions.
| a 1626 Bacon New Atl. (1900) 24 Wee maintaine a Trade, not for Gold..Nor any other Commodity of Matter. 1677 Gale Crt. Gentiles ii. iv. 307 Metaphysic mater..without the least physic extension or mater. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iv. x. §10 Matter,..by its own strength, cannot produce in itself so much as motion. 1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. ii. 40 Matter and Motion cannot think. a 1721 J. Keill Maupertius' Diss. (1734) 6 In order..for the former to be in æquilibrio with the latter, it would be necessary for it to contain a greater quantity of Matter; it ought to be longer. 1759 Johnson Rasselas xlvii, Matter is inert, senseless, and lifeless. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xxiv. (1819) 397 The essential superiority of spirit over matter. 1846 Sir W. Hamilton Reid's Wks. 935 Mind and matter exist for us only as they are known by us. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 271 All our applications of mathematics are applications of our ideas of space to matter. 1885 Watson & Burbury Electr. & Magn. I. 46 Let there be at O a particle of matter of mass m. |
† b. subtile matter [tr. materia subtilis]: the name given by Descartes to a fluid which he supposed to fill the whole of space. Obs.
| 1717 Prior Alma iii. 55 Deny Des-cart his subtil matter, You leave him neither fire nor water. |
II. Metaph., Logic, etc.: contrasted with form.
6. Philos. a. In Aristotelian and scholastic use: That component of the essence of any thing or being which has bare existence, but which requires the addition of a particular ‘form’ (see form n. 4 a) to constitute the thing or being as determinately existent. Also † matter subject: see subject a.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. v. pr. iv. (Morris) 164 Þe wit comprehendiþ fro wiþ outen furþe þe figure of þe body of þe man þat is establissed in þe matere subiect [L. in subjecta materia]. But the ymaginacioun comprehendith only the figure with owte the matere. 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 257 Matere, and forme, and ende of her graunt. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1582 As matier apetitith forme alwey. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. x. ii. (1495) 372 Matere is neuer seen wythout fourme. 1413 [see form n. 4 a]. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iii. (1577) O iij b, It is the opinion of most wise men that man is likened to the Forme, the woman to the Mattier. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 162 Aristotle saith, that nature in one respect is said to be the first and chiefe matter subject of every thing that hath being. 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass 46 It is that will..that keepes a comely decorum in observing the time, the place, the matter subject, the object, and every singular circumstance. 1625 N. Carpenter Geog. Del. i. i. (1635) 7 The principles whereof the Spheare is composed are two; viz. Matter, and Forme. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 197 Piscator affirms ‘The matter of a particular church to be a company of believers’. 1651 Hobbes (title) Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth. 1727–52 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Aristotle makes three principles, matter, form, and privation. 1845 Stoddart in Encycl. Metrop. I. 5/1 By the form..of language..we mean its signification; by the matter of language we mean the sound of words in speech [etc.]. |
† b. The result of the first creative fiat was often viewed by the scholastics as consisting in the production of matter without form. Hence Bacon speaks of ‘the matter’ as equivalent to ‘Chaos’. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 348 Þe mater first þer of he mad, þat es þe elementis to sai Þat first scapless al samen lay. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxxii. 9 He sayd..& þai ere made, þat is, þai ere fourmyd of vnfourmyd matere. 1625 Bacon Ess., Truth (Arb.) 500 First he breathed Light vpon the Face of the Matter or Chaos. |
c. first matter (= L. materia prima, Gr. ἡ πρώτη ὕλη): cf. the quots.
| 1619 Purchas Microcosm. lviii. 564 Vncreated Chaos, or Hyla, or first Matter. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 47 One first matter all, Indu'd with various forms, various degrees Of substance. a 1687 H. More App. to De Philos. Cabbal. viii. (1713) 183 That Hyle or first Matter is mere Possibility of Being, according to Aristotle. |
| fig. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xl. (1739) 60 Though the Saxons were in name our first matter. |
d. In Kantian and subsequent use, applied to that element of knowledge that is supplied by sensation, regarded apart from the ‘form’ which it receives from the categories of the understanding.
| 1838 tr. Kant's Critick of Pure Reason 90 Experience, which contains two very dissimilar elements, namely, a Matter for cognition arising out of the senses, and a certain Form to order it, arising from the internal source of pure intuition and thought. |
7. Theol. (Sacraments are said to have matter and form: see form n. 4 b.)
| c 1315 Shoreham Poems i. 366 Ich mot of þis sacrement Ȝou telle þe materie. Ibid. 1170 Þe matyre of þis sacrement Hys ryȝt þe oylle allone. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, With what thyng, or what matter they dyd Baptise the childe. a 1600 Hooker Eccl. Pol. vi. iv. §3 Surely to admit the matter as a part, and not to admit the form, hath small congruity with reason. 1883 Cath. Dict. (1897) 812/2 The Scotists, who make absolution both the form and matter of Penance. |
8. Logic. The particular content of a proposition or syllogism as distinguished from its form.
| 1697 [see material a. 2]. 1827 Whately Elem. Logic ii. ii. §3 (ed. 2) 81, 82 ‘All islands (or some islands) are surrounded by water’, must be true, because the matter is necessary:..again, ‘some islands are fertile’, ‘some are not fertile’, are both true, because it is Contingent Matter. 1855 Abp. Thomson Laws Th. Introd. 19 The matter of any representation is that part of it which with reference to any given law is non-formal. 1864 Bowen Logic vi. 149 In respect to their Matter, both the Premises and the Conclusion may be false. |
III. Material of thought, speech, or action.
9. Material for expression; something to say; fact or thought as material for a writing or speech. Also † matter subject: see subject a.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 93 Mater fynd ȝe large and brade? Þof rimes fele of hir be made, Qua-sa will of hyr fayrnes spell, Find he sal inogh to tell. 1340 Ayenb. 118 Ous be-houeþ to spekene mid greate reuerence of zuo heȝe matiere ase of þe zeuen holy yefþes of þe holy gost. c 1450 Holland Houlate 35, I haue mekle matir in metir to gloss Of ane nothir sentence. 1543 Leland N.-Y. Gift in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) I. App. cxviii. 331, I have matter at plenty already prepared to this purpose, that is to say, to wryte an hystory. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 28 We will intreat of the passions of the soule, as of our chiefe matter subject. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. i. 68, I loue to cope him in these sullen fits, For then he's full of matter. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. iv. §3 Here therefore, is the first distemper of learning, when men studie words and not matter. 1611 Bible Job xxxii. 18 For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. 1634 W. Tirwhyt Balzac's Lett. I. 43, I will here conclude, rather out of discretion than for want of matter. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 455 The mean Matter which my Theme affords, To embellish with Magnificence of Words. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 150 ¶8 Whether they have Matter to talk of or not. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. Pref. 6 A clear line of demarcation, both as to matter and method. |
† 10. The subject of a book or discourse; a theme, topic, subject of exposition. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 321 Turne we tille our matere, & on our gest to hie. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 663 (Kölbing) Al hou, y no may nouȝt tellen, ywis, Mi matery wer to long. a 1340 Hampole Psalter Prol. 4 The matere of this boke is crist & his spouse. c 1450 Merlin xxvii. 503 But now repeireth the tale to his mater that he hath lefte for to telle this thinge. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 86 But to my matter, as I began. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie (Arb.) 161 It behooueth the maker or Poet to follow the nature of his subiect, that is if his matter be high and loftie that the stile be so to. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. iv. 3 Thee, O Queene! the matter of my song. 1625 A. Gill Sacr. Philos. Pref., Raimund de Sabunde though his writings be easie and quicke, yet his matiers are scattered. 1704 Prior Let. Despreaux 54 How hard is it for me To make my matter and my verse agree! |
11. a. The substance of a book, speech, or the like; that which a spoken or written composition contains in respect of the facts or ideas expressed; often as opposed to the form of words (‘manner’) in which the subject is presented.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame ii. 353 Hard langage and hard matere Is encombrous for to here. 1592 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 62 This invective seemeth to have been over⁓sharpe in the matter but not in manner. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. ii. 83 Was euer booke containing such vile matter So fairely bound? 1641 J. Jackson True Evang. T. i. 5 This Text..is rich as the High Priests pectoral both for words and matter. 1695 Dryden Parall. Poetry & Painting Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 123 Though I cannot much commend the style, I must needs say, there is somewhat in the matter. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind iv. Wks. (1813) 34 If the matter of a book be really valuable and deserving. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. xi. 150 It is immaterial with respect to the essence of a libel, whether the matter of it be true or false. 1800 Colquhoun Comm. Thames Pref., The importance of the Work..can only be appreciated by a..Review of the various matter it contains. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 9 He was always serious in meaning and laborious in matter. 1885 Nature 19 Mar. 453/1 When we look from the manner to the matter of his speech, we are unable to bestow such unqualified praise. |
† b. Sense, substance (as opposed to nonsense or trifling). Obs.
| 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 344, I was borne to speake all mirth, and no matter. 1605 ― Lear iv. vi. 178 O matter, and impertinency mixt, Reason in Madnesse. |
† c. there is (a) matter in it: some importance attaches to it. Obs.
| 1549 Latimer 4th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 110 If Salomon sayd it, there is a matter in it. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iv. 139 There's matter in't indeed, if he be angry. 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iv. 874 To him will I present them, there may be matter in it. |
† 12. That with which a science, art, law, etc. has to do; that which belongs to a subject of study; the subject-matter of a study. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28868 We find..þat almus, Es þe best biginging Of alle penances..And for þer mater es gode to knau, of almus sal i for-þer drau. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 403 Þis Seneca..hadde..greet knowleche of þynges, and wel nyh al matir of study [L. omnem studiorum materiam] of witte and of sciens. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 89 Of Arsmitique the matiere Is that of which a man mai liere, What Algorisme in nombre amonteth. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §4 Natheles, theise ben obseruauncez of iudicial matiere & rytes of paiens, in which my spirit ne hath no feith. 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 149 The matter of all armes..is seuered into the same three parts that the Embleme is. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. xv. §3 The subject or matter of laws in general is thus far forth constant: which matter is that for the ordering whereof laws were instituted. |
13. Ground, reason, or cause for doing or being something: † a. Followed by an inf. or clause, or simply. Often qualified by an adj., as good, much, little. to seek matter: to seek a pretext or occasion. Obs.
| 1340 Ayenb. 136 He [sc. þe milde herte] ne wille nenne zuo kuead,..þet he ne can draȝe materie god uor to herie. c 1375 Cursor M. 20080 (Fairf.) Þai me do alle þis shame, wiþ-oute mater bere I blame. 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 301 He..fenȝeit to mak bettir cher, Then he had matir to, be fer. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2089 Thow ges matir to men mony day after, fforto speke of þi spede. c 1450 Burgh Secrees 2236 He wyl redily Seeke mateer, And soone consente to thyn destruccioun. 1532 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 347 So his high pleasure is that ye shall do if ye see good matier to bere it. 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xli. 81 Ȝit hes thow mater for to murne. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. x. 103 Having..shewed, that the burning Zone is much subiect vnto raine, it appears that there is matter in it, to temper the violence of the heat. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 58 What is the matter. That..I am so dishonour'd, that [etc.]. 1630 B. Jonson Magn. Lady iii. iv, I have done the part of a friend..In furnishing your fear with matter first, If you have any; or, if you dare fight, To..comfort your resolution. 1644 Milton Divorce ii. iii. 38 This is the matter why Interpreters..will not consent it to be a true story. |
b. Const. for, of. Now only: What occasions or is fitted to occasion some specified feeling: chiefly pred.
| c 1420 Ploughmans Prayer in Foxe A. & M. (1583) 400/1 Here is much matter of sorow, to see [etc.]. 1509 Fisher Wks. (1876) 305 Yf she had contynued in this worlde, she sholde dayly haue herde & sene mater and cause of sorowe. 1625 Bacon Ess., Envy (Arb.) 512 Neither can he, that mindeth but his own Businesse, finde much matter for Enuy. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 951 Matter of scorne, not to be given the Foe. 1712 M. Henry Daily Comm. God Wks. 1855 I. iii. 235 Whenever we go to bed, we shall not want matter for praise, if we did not want a heart. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. World Pref. 22 Making it a sufficient matter for his contempt of any man, that he had served in the navy. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe i, Mynheer Calf..is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman name when he becomes matter of enjoyment. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. xiii, The acquisition of which has been, to me, matter of great sorrow. 1865–6 Tennyson ‘I stood on a Tower’, in Gd. Words IX. 144 Science enough and exploring..Matter enough for deploring, But aught that is worth the knowing? 1884 Manch. Exam. 17 June 5/2 The annual migration of the Viceroy to Simla is an old matter of complaint. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad l, 'Tis sure small matter for wonder If sorrow is with one still. |
c. with attributive n. prefixed.
| 1676 W. Allen Addr. Nonconf. 121 They are prayer matter, and thanksgiving matter. |
† 14. Means of doing something. Obs.
| 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 265 They perceiued a kinde of courtly Maiestie in the minde of their host, though he wanted matter to shew it in his house. 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. xv. 89 In all the benefites which wee haue receiued of God we must consider in what taking wee had bene if wee had gone without them: and wee shall haue matter good store wherewith to doe that if we are not wilfully blinde. |
† 15. Material cause; element or elements of which something consists or out of which it is developed. Obs.
| 1570 Billingsley Euclid vii. ii. 184 Vnitie is as it were the very matter of number. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 258 Voyde of all matter of probabilitie. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Of Seditions (Arb.) 398 Let vs..speake of the Materialls, and the causes, and the remedyes. The matter of seditions is of two kindes, Much povertye and much discontent. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. x. §3 (1622) 304 His vncompounded simplicitie is the true matter of his Vnitie. 1751 Harris Hermes Wks. (1841) 208 To know the nature and powers of the human voice, is in fact to know the matter or common subject of language. 1825 Bentham Ration. Reward 237 There are many things which may constitute part of the matter of wealth, which, when taken separately or in small quantities, would hardly be called wealth. |
16. a. In vague sense, nearly equivalent to ‘things’, ‘something’; esp. with qualifying words (adj. or n. prefixed, or of with n. following), things or something of a specified kind, involving or related to a specified thing.
| 1449 Rolls of Parlt. V. 148/2 It is mater of Parlement longyng to the Kynges Highnesse. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 26 The first [Letter] whereof shall be for matter of unkindnesse. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. ii. vii. §2 That in matter of fact there is some credite to be giuen to the testimonie of man, but not in matter of opinion and iudgement. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 365 The King of France hauing any occasion to write for matter of Graunt. 1601 B. Jonson Poetaster v. i, I haue Matter of danger, and state, to impart to Cæsar. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. ii §11 The Chronicle..red before Ahassuerus..contained matter of affaires. 1651 G. W. tr. Cowel's Inst. 198 This is rather matter of fact then of Law. 1660 Jer. Taylor Ductor Dubit. iii. v. Rule iv heading, The Fathers power does not extend to matter of Religion. 1788 G. White Selborne v, This must have been matter of mere accident. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xiii, I have matter for thy private ear. 1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma (1876) 388 Certainly in the Gospels there is plenty of matter to call out our feelings. 1884 Manch. Exam. 29 May 4/7 That it is eminently desirable to attain this end is not now matter of dispute. |
b. spec. in Law. Something which is to be tried or proved; statements or allegations which come under the consideration of the court. matter in deed, matter of record, nude matter (see quots.).
| 1532 St. German Doctor & Stud. ii. liv. 138 It is nat alleged in the Indytement by matter in dede that he had suche weapon. 1607 J. Cowell Interpr. s.v., Mater in deede seemeth to be nothing else, but a truth to be proued, though not by any Record: and mater of Record, is that which may be proued by some Record. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey) s.v., Nude Matter, is a naked Allegation of a thing done, to be prov'd only by Witnesses, and not by a Record, or other Specialty in Writing under Seal. 1727–51 Chambers Cycl., Foreign Matter, in law, is matter triable in another county; or matter done in another county. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 344 Assurances by matter of record are such as do not entirely depend on the act or consent of the parties themselves. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IX. 413/2 He may plead the general issue, and give the special matter in evidence. 1853 Stocqueler Milit. Encycl., Matter,..in reference to court-martials..the specific charges which are brought against a prisoner, and to which the president and members must strictly confine themselves. |
† c. matter in deed, also (? orig.) by matter in deed: in point of fact, as a matter of fact; truly, really. matter in fact: a matter of fact. Obs.
| 15.. New Notbroune Mayd 144 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 7 Matter in dede, My sydes dyde blede For man. 1530 Palsgr. 833/1 By matter in dede, par effet. 1533 tr. Erasmus' Expos. Comm. Crede 78 The Iewes do graunte..that Iesus was crucified verye matter in dede. 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 113 The question whether this cause had a sufficient hearinge, or noe, which is matter in facte. |
17. a. Things printed or written; often with qualification, e.g. printed matter, manuscript matter, type-written matter. In Printing applied techn. to (a) the body of a printed work, as distinguished from the titles, headings, etc.; in newspapers, the general contents as distinguished from the advertisements; (b) type set up; (c) manuscript prepared for printing, ‘copy’.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxii. ¶5 He Sets the Title of the Chapter or Section in a..different Character than his Matter is Set in. Ibid. xxiii, The like mark he makes in Matter and Margin if two Letters are Transpos'd. Ibid. 386 Open Matter. Full of Breaks and Whites. 1824 J. Johnson Typogr. II. xviii. 588 A new mode in the arrangement of the matter. 1838 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 106 We have printed half the matter. 1875 [see live matter s.v. live a. 9]. 1886–94 Spencer Autobiog. I. xxxiii. 512 Matter which has been revised in manuscript, and again revised in proof. 1887, 1890 [see face v. 8 c]. |
b. (postal) matter: whatever may be sent by post.
| 1891 Century Dict. s.v. First-class, First-class matter, in the postal system of the United States, matter which is in writing, or sealed against inspection. Ibid. s.v. Second-class, Second-class matter,..mail matter consisting of newspapers and other periodical publications. Ibid. s.v. Third-class. 1896 Strand Mag. 338/2 [Letters and other] postal matter, such as book parcels, post-cards, newspapers, circulars, telegrams, etc. |
18. Idiomatic phrases. a. it makes no matter, later it is (occas. † skills) no matter = it is of no consequence or importance; now often with ellipsis of the vb., no matter, also what matter..? Often with dependent clause or an interrogative pronoun or adv. used ellipt. † (it is) no matter for: there is no importance attaching to, (the thing in question) does not matter. Also with mixed constr. † it is not a (one) farthing matter.
| 1478 [see make v.1 25]. 153. Tindale Expos. Matt. v-vii. (? 1550) 61 What mater maketh it, yf I speake wordes whych I vnderstand not? c 1550 Bale K. Johan (Camden) 14 N. To the church, I trust, ye wyll be obedyent. K. J. No mater to yow whether I be so or no. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 128 My behauiour hathe not deserued, any such doggishe dealing: but makes it any great matter? 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 334 Sp. Item, she doth talke in her sleepe. La. It's no matter for that, so shee sleepe not in her talke. Ibid. ii. vii. 66 No matter who's displeas'd, when you are gone. 1609 Dekker Guls Horne-bk. vii. 33 How course soeuer the stuffe be, tis no matter so it hold fashion. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 45 No great matter where. 1670 in Cosin's Corr. (Surtees) ii. 251 It skills no matter what Neile's atturney said to you. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 39 So be we get into the way, what's matter which way we get in? 1693 Congreve Old Bach. iv. xv, Bell. My patch, my patch. Læt... No matter for your patch. 1712–13 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 3 Mar., Tis not a farthing matter her death, I think. a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 351 But no matter for the tides in the moon; it is very well if they have satisfactorily explained the tides upon earth. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xix. 169 ‘He has lost the key of the trunk..’ ‘No matter; we can break it open’. 1862 Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §21 (1875) 66 After no matter how great a progress in the colligation of facts. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 18 But what matter..from whom I heard this? |
b. † to make much (no) matter of: to make much (nothing) of (obs.). to make a matter: to make a fuss or to-do.
| a 1586 Montgomerie Misc. Poems iii. 19 For men of merit sho [sc. Fortune] no mater maks. a 1649 Winthrop New Engl. (1853) I. 175 Much matter was made of this. 1893 Stevenson Catriona 82 Because you said a word too much in a friend's ear..to make such a matter! |
IV. A thing, affair, concern; corresponding to L. res, which it is often employed to render.
19. a. An event, circumstance, fact, question, state or course of things, etc. which may be an object of consideration or practical concern; a subject, affair, business.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 270 Of þis ilke materie ich spec muchel þeruppe. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 836 Lo, goode men, a flie and eek a frere Woln falle in every dissche and matiere. 1411 Rolls of Parlt. III. 650/1 He knoweth wel that in the matier on hym surmetted by the sayd Bille, he ne hath noght born hym as he sholde hav doon. c 1450 Merlin vii. 114, I praye yow,..that ye will me counseile in this matere. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. Ded. A 2, To judge by matters past, what shalbe the consequent, and end of things to come. 1611 Bible Acts xix. 39 But if yee enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shalbe determined in a lawfull assembly. 1625 Bacon Ess., Truth (Arb.) 499 One of the later Schoole of the Grecians examineth the matter, and is at a stand [etc.]. 1710 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 12 Oct., He..then falls on his sword; and, to make the matter sure, at the same time discharges a pistol through his own head. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 73 Upon this we dropt the Matter, and began to discourse concerning the Provisions. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) I. 1 They order, said I, this matter better in France. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xiii. 105 The brewer cut the matter short, by saying, he had not time to argue. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain xxviii, To mend the matter, the hostess was a most intolerable scold and shrew. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. ii. 154 In default of help from Rome, he would lay the matter before parliament. 1883 Manch. Exam. 24 Oct. 4/6 One of the leading matters under consideration was the report of the Ecclesiastical Commission. 1887 E. Stuart In His Grasp iii. 39, I tried to lead the conversation to personal matters. |
b. with possessive (or equivalent): An affair or business specially belonging to some person or persons; (one's) cause, concern, or affair. ? Obs.
In later use app. only collect. pl.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 613, I wold meng al mi mater ȝif I miȝt for schame. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶775. 2931 We putten..al our matere and cause al hoolly in your goode wil. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1794 Lordes han for to done So mych for hem-self, þat my mateere Out of hir mynde slippith away soone. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xv. (1885) 145 Thai were so occupied with thair owne maters, and with the maters off thair kynne,..þat thai entendet but litle..to þe kynges maters. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. xii. 234 By me your mater shall be well sped. 1530 Palsgr. 473/2 If thou se my lerned counsayle in Westmynster hall, call upon them to remember my mater agaynst Bulkyn [Fr. mon proces contre Bulkyn]. a 1568 R. Ascham Scholem. i. (Arb.) 83 Though, for their priuate matters they can follow, fawne, and flatter noble Personages. 1612 Brerewood Lang. & Relig. xv. 157 You may see them..in Possevins book of the matters of Moscovia. 1625 Bacon Ess., Envy (Arb.) 512 To know much of other Mens Matters. a 1657 Mure Psalm xxi. 2 Lord, in thy strength the King sall joy;..To his minde Thow makst his maters goe. 1837 T. Hook Jack Brag v, Take my advice, Jack,..try them both. Manage your matters well—lead them both on. 1857 Borrow Rom. Rye xi. 74 Let the matters of my sister and Jasper Petulengro alone, brother. |
c. pl. (without article or qualification): Events, affairs, circumstances, etc., understood to refer to a particular occasion, but not further specified.
| 1570 Sir H. Sidney Let. in Life of Sir P. Carew (1857) 241 Thomond matters have gone verie leisurelie on. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 79 If matters grow to your likings. a 1649 Winthrop New Eng. (1853) I. 369 At Providence matters went after the old manner. 1671 Milton Samson 1348 Matters now are strain'd Up to the highth, whether to hold or break. 1699 T. Brown in R. L'Estrange's Erasmus Colloq. (1725) 390, I will take a proper occasion to discourse matters with your Husband. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 52, I will bring you to her as a stranger, and so you may bring matters about. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. 351 This seems to be carrying matters too far. 1868 Pall Mall G. 9 Dec. 10 Matters are very different in France. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 235/2 A state of matters which..was..attended with heavy loss to this country. |
d. In pl. sometimes used vaguely of concrete things. ? Obs.
| 1709 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 291 Which MS{supt}. he has been pleas'd to give to the writer of these matters. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 207 That we did not want great Matters, only barely enough to support Life. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 50 After a short repast of some small matters. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's ii, She [the landlady] retired after these acts of hospitality, and left the stranger to enjoy in quiet the excellent matters which she had placed before him. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. iv, Cups, balls, and rings, and other mysterious-looking matters, which generally accompany a conjuror. |
20. contextually. A subject of contention, dispute, litigation, or the like. More explicitly matter in dispute, question, † variance, † difference.
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶65 Thilke Iuge is wys, that sone understondeth a matere [v.r. matiere] and iuggeth by leyser. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 181 Non withinne the cite In destorbance of unite Dorste ones moeven a matiere. 1462 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 314 Hit is grawnt..that hit be lawfull to determe all maner materis and make lawes. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. i. 726 And quarels and maters thow hast now a dayes for ladyes and gentilwymmen more than euer thou were wonte to haue. 1532 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 348 Touching a certen matier in varyaunce betwixt thexecutours of Sir William Spencer disceasyd and my ladye spencer. 1535 Coverdale Deut. xvii. 8 Yf a matter be to harde for the in iudgment betwixte bloude and bloude. 1597 Bacon Coulers Gd. & Evill (Arb.) 140 If the matter should be tryed by duell betweene two Champions. 1774 [see difference n. 3]. 1774 Burke Sp. Amer. Taxation Sel. Wks. I. 147 Not being troubled with too anxious a zeal for any matter in question. 1825 [see dispute n. 1 b]. 1886 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew viii, They rarely met without crossing swords on one matter if not another. |
† b. Phr. to make a matter to (a person), to pick a quarrel with. to have a matter with or against, to have a quarrel with. Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 618, I make a mater to one, I pycke a quarell to him..I make no mater to hym, je ne luy demande riens. 1535 Coverdale Judg. xii. 2, I and my people had a greate matter with y⊇ children of Ammon. 1611 Bible Acts xix. 38 If Demetrius, and the craftesmen..haue a matter against any man, the law is open. |
21. a. With qualification (attribute, or of and n.): A thing, affair, subject, etc., of the kind denoted by or pertaining to the thing denoted by the qualification.
For the illustration of such phrases as galley, halfpenny, hanging, laughing, massing, money matter, see the first element. See also matter of course, matter of fact.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Chron. i. xvii. (MS. Cott.) heading, Þe fyrst materis of mawmentry Þat clerkis callis ydolatry. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 122 Euer ymagynyng in mynd materis of evill. 1509 Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 292 She dyde translate dyuers maters of deuocyon out of Frensshe into Englysshe. 1549 Latimer 5th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 149 It is taken for a laughynge matter. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 4 b, All their ancient orders and proceedings in matters Militarie. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. i. 2, I will make a Star-Chamber matter of it. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. 73 Matters of faith..are so plainly setled by the Scriptures, that [etc.]. 1678 Wanley Wond. Lit. World v. i. §99. 468/1 Mens Consciences are not to be forced in matters of Religion. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xcvi[i]. 31 She knows but matters of the house, And he, he knows a thousand things. 1900 Daily News 22 Oct. 3/4 The campaign is nearly over—as a field matter it is fully at an end. |
b. a matter of: a circumstance which involves or brings into play..; a ‘case’ of.
| 1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) V. 179 When once we steer a hair's-breadth out of the sphere of every day's practice, everything is a matter of cross and pile. 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 51 As a matter of economy, it is suggested [etc.]. 1843 Grove Corr. Phys. Forces (1846) 35 This, however, must be taken merely as a matter of opinion. 1849 James Woodman ix, This is a matter of life and death. 1868 W. K. Clifford Mental Development Lect. & Ess. (1879) I. 104 The power of creation is not a matter of static ability;..it is a matter of habits and desires. |
22. a. Used, like thing, as an indeterminate n. to which to attach an epithet. Also in phrases like it is no such matter, another matter.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 427 But hit a ful confuse matere Were al the gestes for to here. 14.. Lydg. Isop. (Zup.) 48 In matyrs þat touche poetry. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 301 Instinct is a great matter. c 1600 ― Sonn. lxxxvii. 14 In sleepe a King, but waking no such matter. 1610 ― Temp. ii. i. 88 What impossible matter wil he make easy next? 1611 Bible Ps. xxxv. 20 They deuise deceitfull matters against them that are quiet in the land. 1692 Ray Disc. (1732) Pref. 9, I had taken notice of five matters of ancient tradition. 1736 Butler Anal. ii. i. Wks. 1874 I. 153 It cannot in any wise be an indifferent matter, whether we obey or disobey those commands. 1828 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) II. 249 If actresses are bad, no manager can help it; but to take pains to turn a bad woman into an actress is another matter. 1842 Browning Waring i. iv, Truth's a weighty matter. 1847 Tennyson Princess iv. 438 Who desire you more Than..dying lips, With many thousand matters left to do, The breath of life. 1876 Black Madcap V. xvii, The pronunciation of the word allegro is not a matter of very grave moment. |
† b. all is a matter: it is all the same. Obs.
| 1589 Puttenham Poesie ii. xii. [xiii.] (Arb.) 127 Whether we make the common readers to laugh or to lowre, all is a matter. 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin ii. 118 Let me sob, roar, or swoon, 'tis all a matter To marble-hearted John. |
† c. (any, some, no) great matter: (something, nothing) considerable. Obs.
| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (Cattley) (K.O.), It is no great matter. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII 120 It did shew manifestly vnto the World, that hee [Perkin] was some Great matter. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) II. 554 This..may seem to be no great matter at first sight. 1717 Berkeley Jrnl. Tour Italy Wks. 1871 IV. 528 We saw an armoury which seemed no great matter. |
d. for that matter: = ‘for the matter of that’ (see 25 e).
| 1673 Dryden Marr. à-la-Mode iii. ii. 47 Pala. But who told you I was here?..Rho. O, for that matter, we had intelligence. 1693 Congreve Old Bach. iv. xxii, No, no, for that matter, when she and I part, she'll carry her separate maintenance about her. 1898 Times 10 Jan. 13/3 The..shivering drivers..who (like every one else, for that matter) had to lie out in it [the rain] without tents. |
23. a. With qualifying adj., usually small: A (certain) quantity or amount (of). ? Obs.
| 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 265 [He] sold them their liberties for a small matter. Ibid. 271 It is thought that the Empire receiveth every way above seven millions, which is a great matter. 1652 Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 472 At first an easie matter was demanded by the King of Denmark, and now more exacted than they can possibly bear. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. 71 They can live upon a small matter; and provided they have Rice [etc.]. 1712 W. Rogers Voy. (1718) 33 It produces a small matter of Indico. 1723 Lond. Gaz. No. 6142/3 One sorrel Horse Colt,..with a small matter of White in his Face. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iv. v, I..sent a small matter to his wife. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 114 My son here has been of some little matter of use to you. Ibid. IV. 26 You will oblige us by..taking some little matter of supper with us. |
b. a small matter, occas. a matter, used advb. = Somewhat, slightly. Obs. or arch.
| 1690 Child Disc. Trade (ed. 4) 133 Very large quantities of Timber..may be had, though some small matter dearer than in Norway. 1700 Congreve Way of World iii. xv, I have thought to tarry a small matter in town to learn somewhat of your lingo. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 275 Open them a small matter wider, or shut them a small matter closer. 1788 Smeaton in Phil. Trans. LXXIX. 4 The socket and spindle being a small matter taper. 1834 Landor Exam. Shaks. Wks. 1853 II. 267/1 Carnaby did quail a matter at these words. |
24. a matter of: used to qualify a numeral, indicating that it is not to be taken as literally exact. Also rarely matter of (? obs.), the matter of.
| c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) I. 193 The French that came over with Her Majesty..are all casheer'd this week, about a matter of sixscore, wherof the Bishop of Mende was one. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 360 [He] lets him have a great deal of it for a matter of a shilling. 1653 Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xi. 34 Accompanied with a matter of seven hundred men. 1771 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 7 July, He had had, as he phrased it, a matter of four wives. 1829 Landor Imag. Conv. Wks. 1853 I. 378 Hither have I been riding of matter of thirteen miles. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. ii. i, Lackland..boarded once, for the matter of a fortnight, in St. Edmundsbury Convent. 1862 Borrow Wales lxxxiii. (1901) 258 ‘Is it long since your honour was in Durham county?’ ‘A good long time. A matter of forty years’. |
25. the matter (in various idiomatic uses). † a. That which is contemplated, intended, or desired. to the matter: to the point, relevant(ly); = L. ad rem. from the matter: irrelevant(ly). much about the matter: not far from the point. Obs.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 30 a, Thou aunswerest Luther, more unreverently, then it becommeth thee, and not sufficientlye to the matter. 1597 Bacon Ess., Discourse (Arb.) 22 To vse too many circumstances ere one come to the matter is wearisome. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 169. 1626 Bacon Sylva §326 To helpe the Matter, the Alchymists call in..many Vanities, out of Astrologie. 1658 Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 951 It shall not be from the matter to tax in brief the madnesse of the ancient Gentiles. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. v. xii. 55 If you take 5 parts Lead, and one part Stone, it will come very near the matter. a 1694 Tillotson Serm. (1714) I. 12 He grants it [sc. the deluge] to have come so near the matter, that but very few escap'd. 1725 Bailey Erasm. Colloq. (1733) 483 You're much about the Matter [L. haud multum aberras a scopo]. |
b. The circumstance or state of things which actually involves or concerns some person or thing, esp. one which calls for remedy or explanation; chiefly in what is the matter? and similar expressions. Phr. (colloq.) what is the matter with..? = What ails, troubles, or is amiss with..? hence (jocular) What is the objection to, What is there to complain of in..?
| 1469 Plumpton Corr. (Camden) 23 Maister Rochif asked him what the matter was, if I might have any ease. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xxii. 8 Whan he hath tolde his tayle, he sayeth: what is the matter? 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 323 b, No man knew what the matter was. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 163 What is the matter heere? 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. vii. §15 Alexander happed to say: Doe you thinke these men would haue come from so farre to complaine, except they had iust cause of griefe? and Cassander answered, Yea, that was the matter, because they thought they should not be disprooued. 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin iii. 6 The Canto tells you, what's the matter. 1713 Swift Cadenus & Vanessa, Why she likes him, admire not at her; She loves herself, and that's the matter. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iv. (1841) I. 88, I beseech what is the matter with you. 1802 Spirit Publ. Jrnls. (1803) VI. 8 What's the matter with the peace? 1833 H. Martineau Three Ages ii. 75 The children..amused themselves as if nothing was the matter. 1837 [see leg n. 1]. 1847–9 Helps Friends in C. ii. (1851) 5 There was something the matter with the old man. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 69 ‘What's the matter?’ ‘Nothing is the matter, Matilda’, he said. |
† c. on or upon the matter (also upon the whole m.): taking the thing as a whole, speaking generally; for all practical purposes, practically speaking. Obs.
| c 1560 Misogonus iii. i. 192 (Brandl), Pounder matter, well, if she should not knowt, who showlde knowe? 1612 Bacon Ess., Deformity (Arb.) 254 So that vpon the whole matter [ed. 1625 vpon the matter], in a great wit, deformity is an aduantage to rising. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xxxvii. (1640) 93 That Christians are not bound to keep faith with idolaters, the worshippers of a false god, as the Egyptian Caliph was on the matter. 1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 120 The Rules they both work by are upon the matter the same, in Sawing, Mortessing,..&c. 1689 Burnet Tracts I. 79 This is upon the matter a Pension paid under a more decent name to the most considerable Men of the Country. 1691 South Serm. (1823) II. 188 Upon the whole matter it is absurd to think that conscience can be kept in order without frequent examination. a 1710 G. Bull Serm. xviii. Wks. 1827 I. 439 He is upon the matter sure of a long life. |
d. Phr. in the matter of (= law Latin in re): in relation to, with regard to; chiefly in Law.
| 1790 Ambler Chancery Rep. 78 In the Matter of Annesley, a Lunatic. 1834 Adolphus & Ellis 1 K.B. Rep. 843 In the Matter of Elmy and Sawyer. 1876 Law Rep., Prob. Div. I. 423 In the Matter of the Petition of Sheehy. 1881 Saintsbury Dryden iv, He [Dryden] had ‘seen many others’, as an admirable Gallicism has it, in the matter of attacks. 1882 Times 30 June 5 In the matter of Egypt,..the German Chancellor will leave them to act as they like. 1904 Standard 29 Nov. 9/7 In the Matter of an Arbitration between the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company (Claimants) v. The Swinton and Pendlebury Urban District Council (Purchasing Authority). |
e. for the matter of that: as far as that goes.
| 1764 Foote Mayor of G. i. (1783) 24 For the matter of that, we can afford it well enough as it is. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxi, ‘Consider, my dear’, cries the husband, ‘she is a gentlewoman’... ‘As for the matter of that’, returned the hostess, ‘gentle or simple, out she shall pack with a sussarara’. |
26. attrib. and Comb., as matter-hating, matter-moulded, matter-woven adjs.; † matter-bear (see quot.); matter wave Physics, a de Broglie wave (see de Broglie).
| 1612 S. Sturtevant Metallica (1854) 117 The matter-beare, is a generall part of a Furnace which beereth and holdeth the substances of the Raw-matters. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xc[i]v, In matter-moulded forms of speech. 1853 Kingsley Hypatia viii. 98 Facts, objects, are but phantoms matter-woven. 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 17 The matter-hating principles of this school. 1930 Ruark & Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta xxi. 722 When electrons impinge on polycrystalline metal surfaces the fraction scattered at an angle θ with the normal to the surface does not decrease uniformly as θ increases... The results seemed likely to remain unexplained, until Einstein discussed de Broglie's matter waves, in 1924 and 1925. 1972 Sci. Amer. Oct. 106/3 The bombarding particles have the properties not only of particles but also of waves. Such ‘matter waves’ are called de Broglie waves (after Louis de Broglie, who first suggested that the wave-particle duality observed for electromagnetic radiation might also exist for matter). 1974 G. Reece tr. Hund's Hist. Quantum Theory xi. 141 The intuitive theory of matter waves and of fields of matter is modified to the point where there is room for the idea of particles. |
▸ matter transmission n. Science Fiction transportation of a person or object using a matter transmitter.
| [1877E. P. Mitchell in N.Y. Sun 25 Mar. 2/2 There was no reason why matter could not be telegraphed, or to be more etymologically accurate, ‘telepomped’. It was only necessary to effect at one end of the line the disintegration of the molecules into atoms and to convey the vibrations of the chemical dissolution by electricity to the other pole, where a corresponding reconstruction could be effected.] 1945G. O. Smith in Astounding Sci. Fiction Mar. 74/2 By Franks' matter transmitter to Mojave. Spacecraft to Luna. More *matter transmission from Luna to Phobos. 1999 Analog Dec. 75/2 These folks have matter transmission. Time control. They can build a pocket environment on Venus, for chrissakes! |
▸ matter transmitter n. Science Fiction a hypothetical device for conveying matter over a distance by transforming it into energy or information, beaming this to another location, and reconstituting the original matter at the destination.
| 1931L. F. Stone in Wonder Stories Apr. 1280/1 With me at her side, Geble hastened to the beam station and there in the *matter transmitter we dispatched our physical beings to the palace at Tola. 1999 Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Oct.–Nov. 266/2 Matter..is at bottom a message, since it can be turned into energy and propagated. Nevertheless, the awesome radio did not develop into a matter transmitter, which is no closer to reality than it was a century ago. |
▸ matter-transmitting adj. Science Fiction designating or relating to a matter transmitter.
| 1932J. Williamson in Wonder Stories Mar. 1034/1 Any other creature of the moon..that might have been brought with her on the *matter-transmitting beam. 1992 Classic Images Dec. 26 (advt.) Men are being mysteriously murdered by a vengeful madman known as ‘the Telegian’, who uses a matter transmitting device to find his intended victims no matter where they hide. |
▪ II. † ˈmatter, n.2 Obs.
Also 7 matteyer.
[f. mat n.1 + -er1.]
A mat-maker.
| 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 613/38 Storiator, a mattere. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. lxvii. (1869) 101 Whan þus hadde seid me þe mattere [F. natier] who he was. 1611 Cotgr., Nattier, a Matter; or maker of mats. 1614 Acc. Revels at Court (Shaks. Soc. 1842) p. xliv, To Richard Ansell Matteyer to his Ma{supt}{supy}..for his paines and chardges in nayling downe the greene clothe in the Banquetting House..for the Maske. |
▪ III. matter, v.
(ˈmætə(r))
Also 6 mattre, matier.
[f. matter n.1]
1. a. intr. To discharge matter or pus; to suppurate.
| 1530 Palsgr. 633/2 Whan thynke you that your byle wyll matter? 1544 T. Phaer Bk. Childr. (1553) S iv b, The..skin of an adder..boiled in oile.. is also good for an eare that mattereth. 1658 A. Fox Surg. Guide iii. iv. 227 Every wound mattereth, and desireth to make a separation of that which is destroyed. 1736 Ainsworth Lat. Dict., Suppuro,..to matter, to suppurate. [1875–86 Elworthy W. Som. Gloss., Mattery, to discharge pus.] |
† b. To exude in the form of matter or pus.
| 1635 Quarles Embl. i. xii. 49 Earth's milk's a ripen'd core That drops from her disease, that matters from her sore. |
2. To be of importance; to signify: chiefly in interrogative and negative sentences. (Freq. impers. with dependent clause.) Const. to; also (poet. rare) with dat..
| 1581 Savile Tacitus, Hist. iv. (1612) 161 Sosianus & Sagitta were men vile & of no account, neither mattered it where they liued. a 1617 Bayne Lect. (1634) 68 What those are who are not under our houshold gouernment, mattereth not to our discredit. 1633 Hall Occas. Medit. (1851) 18 It matters not, O God, how I am vexed here below, a while. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 252 ¶1 What matters it what she says to you? 1817 Southey Wat Tyler i. i. Poet. Wks. II. 25 What matters me who wears the crown of France? 1840 Marryat Poor Jack xxvi, We haven't spent any to matter. 1846 Landor Imag. Conv. I. 156 Nor does it matter a straw whether we use the double e instead of ete in sweet. 1873 Dixon Two Queens I. iv. i. 175 His pretext mattered little. 1878 Tennyson Revenge xi, We die—does it matter when? 1884 Law Rep. 26 Chanc. Div. 128 It mattered nothing to them whether the other Corporators were eight or a thousand. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 181 ‘It matters not’, she said, calmly. 1909 H. W. C. Newte Sparrows xl. 505 With your appearance and talents you should be a great social success with people who matter. 1926 G. B. Shaw Translations & Tomfooleries ii. 49 Well, what about Edith? Doesn't she matter? 1933 E. A. Robertson Ordinary Families x. 233 Wives still matter politically, if a man's to be offered a comfortable Conservative seat. |
3. a. With a negative: To be concerned about, care for, regard, heed, mind. (Sometimes with dependent clause.) Obs. exc. dial. in the sense: To approve of, like.
| 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. (1653) 96 Let his Land be fit for one, or fit for another use, he matters it not. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. xi. 37, I matter not what careless abuses there may be put upon a word. 1720 Humourist Ded. 13 They matter it not of a straw. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones ii. vi, If it had been out of doors I had not mattered it so much. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) I. 26 He did not matter cold, nor hunger, nor what he eat, nor what he drank. 1804 E. de Acton Tale without Title I. 215 Oh! as to your fine speeches, Miss, I matter not them a straw. 1892 M. C. F. Morris Yorksh. Folk-Talk 89 If a workman does not take kindly to his occupation, he would say that he did not matter it much. |
b. absol. or intr. To care, mind. ? Obs.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 43 Let it somewhat fall short or exceed that number they matter not. 1713 in G. Sheldon Hist. Deerfield, Mass. (1895) I. 350 If he would not marry them they matter'd not. 1729 P. Walkden Diary (1866) 80, I mattered not if we exchanged, so he took my box, and I his. |
† 4. To arrange the subject-matter of. nonce-use.
| 1548 Geste Pr. Masse Ded., Whiche I can neyther word, matier, ne reason accordynglye, and so [etc.]. |