▪ I. ‖ mater
(ˈmeɪtə(r))
[L. = mother.]
1. The thickest plate of the astrolabe. (Cf. mother.) Obs.
| 1594 Blundevil Exerc. vi. Introd. (1636) 599 The fore-part contayneth two principall parts, that is, the Mater, which is unmovable, and the Rete, which is movable. Ibid. 600. 1905 Sci. Amer. 12 Aug. 120/2 The Astrolabe of Regiomontanus... Mater is the name given to the large disk divided into degrees. 1974 Ibid. Jan. 101/1 Each plate being engraved on both sides and all being stacked in the mater, or main body, of the astrolabe. |
2. Anat. See dura mater, pia mater.
3. Chiefly in schoolboys' slang, used familiarly for mother. (Cf. pater.)
| 1864 Hemyng Eton School Days i. 3 ‘Good-bye, mater; good-bye, Letty’, said Philip. ‘Mind you write often’, said his mother. 1888 J. Payn Myst. Mirbridge xxvii, The Mater will do anything for me. 1897 Brit. Weekly 7 Jan. 214/3 Brydon's mater was a veritable matchmaker. |
▪ II. mater
obs. form of matter, mehtar.