matn.1
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ I. Coarse material; something made of or relating to this.
1.
a. A piece of a coarse material, usually woven or plaited, used for lying, sitting, or kneeling on, or as a protective covering for floors, walls, etc. Later also: a small rug of any kind.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [noun] > mat
mateOE
foot-cloth1344
nata1425
foot pace1543
stuorie1555
mattress1658
petate1843
eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 110/1 Spiato [for psiato, ψιάθῳ], matte.
OE Ælfric Gloss. (St. John's Oxf.) 315 Matta, meatte.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 162 Storea uel psiata, meatta.
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) ii. xi. 125 Ða bebead se Godes wer þær rihte, þæt he hine aledon in on his cytan uppon his meattan, þe he gewunode on uppan to gebiddenne.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 379 (MED) Þe matte [L. matta] þat was under hym whan he bad his bedes.
c1390 (?c1350) St. Augustine 1490 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 87 (MED) In þe chirche an old monk sat, Seyinge his psauter vppon a mat.
a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 1234 Leuer he had..To sytte vpon a matte of þe Angoras.
1462–3 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 279 (MED) In ijbus mattis emp. pro aula.
1511 Pylgrymage Richarde Guylforde (Pynson) f. xiv Jacobyns..brought vnto vs mattes for oure money to lye vpon.
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Djv Laying them on mattes or couerlettes.
1587–8 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 138 A Matt for the Clarke to kneell vpon, 6d.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §696 Fleas breed Principally of Straw or Mats, where there hath beene a little Moisture.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) (Corrections pages), Shaded over head with trees, and with matts when the boughs fail.
1728 J. Swift Phyllis in J. Swift et al. Misc. Prose & Verse (ed. 2) II. 133 She..on the Mat devoutly kneeling, Wou'd lift her Eyes up to the Ceiling.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) ii. v. §118. 388 The Discovery of 80 Musquets in the Lord Grey's House, that were packed in Matts.
1768 C. Beatty Jrnl. Two Months' Tour 44 It is covered with an handsome matt, made of rushes.
1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 131 They appeared to be dressed in mats.
1830 Encycl. Brit. II. 632/2 Mats, swung from trees serve them [sc. South American Indians] both as seats and hammocks.
1856 ‘E. S. Delamer’ Flower Garden 34 In winter, cover with mats during frosty weather.
1938 R. K. Narayan Dark Room iv. 58 Janamma was enjoying a siesta on a mat.
1963 S. Plath Bell Jar vii. 88 In a few days it was soiled and dull and indistinguishable from any mat you could buy for under a dollar in the Five and Ten.
1987 C. Achebe Anthills of Savannah iv. 48 Joy was now having her hair done, seated on a mat on the floor.
2000 Japan Times 5 Feb. 3/1 The exhibition [sc. Japan: Through the Eyes of a Child]..includes a tatami room, where kids can experience cleaning the mats with a vacuum cleaner.
b. The material of which mats are made; plaited or woven rushes, straw, etc.; matting. Later only in compounds, as mat-bag: see Compounds 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from other vegetable fibres > [noun] > matting
mat1523
matting1618
kajanga1811
1523–4 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1904) 322 Paid for ij yerdys of wykur matt for þe childrens fete, xvj d.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. viii. 175 These are appareilled in matte, made of a certayne softe kinde of mere rushes.
1594–5 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 143 40 yeardes of matte for ye parishoners to kneele on the time of commvnion.
a1625 J. Fletcher Bonduca iv. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Hhhh3v/1 I defie thee, thou mock-made man of mat.
1688–9 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. 348 461 yards of Matt.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 516 Having..Woollen-Yarn, Bass-matt, or such like to bind them withall.
c1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 284 Rowles of Matt very naturall at their head and feete.
1733 A. Pope Of Use of Riches 15 In the worst Inn's worst room, with matt half-hung.
II. A piece of matting or similar material used for a particular purpose.† 2. An underlay for a bed; esp. a coarse piece of sacking on which a feather bed is laid. Frequently in mat and cord. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) 91 To bedreafe genihtsumige to hæbbenne meatte and hwitel and bedfeld [read bedfelt] and heafodbolster.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 10 & wummen wið hare greate matten & hare hearde heren.
a1400 Ancrene Riwle (Pepys) (1976) 5 Many oþer wiþ her grete Matten þat hij layen jnne & harde hayren.
1538 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1907) VII. 90 For ane steik of quhite fustiane deliverit to the tapisshare to mak ane mat to Lady Jane to ly upoun, and ane bowstare, price thairof, 1s.
1587 in M. A. Havinden Househ. & Farm Inventories Oxfordshire (1965) 246 A liverie bedsted with a matte and coard.
1617 Inventory J. Sturges in J. S. Moore Goods & Chattels Forefathers (1976) 45 One standing bedsted and one truckle bedsted, with matts and cords.
1666 S. Pepys Diary 15 June (1972) VII. 167 A very fine Affrican Matt (to lay upon the ground under a bed of state).
1702 S. Centlivre Beau's Duel iv. i. 38 I'll have no Matts, but such as lie under the Feather-Beds.
1790 Pluckley Vestry Bk. 25 Oct. in Eng. Dial. Dict (1905) IV. 52/1 1 flock bed... Fram matt and cords.
3. Nautical. A piece of coarse fabric or matting used for any of various purposes on a ship; spec. †a thick web of rope yarn used to protect the standing rigging from the friction of other ropes (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > rigging > [noun] > fixed rigging > mat to save standing rigging from chafe
mat1497
1296 in Archaeologia Aeliana (1926) 4 186 J Warprape, ij Schetes..j Matte, ij Cabule, tres ancore.
1393 in L. T. Smith Exped. Prussia & Holy Land Earl Derby (1894) 222 (MED) Item, pro vj mattes ad cooperiendum le biscwhit in galeia.
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 251 Grete mattes for couerying of the seid Cordage.
1508 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 47 For iij stane small takill and for mattis to hir [sc. the Raven].
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. Matts are broad clowtes, weaved of synnet and thrums..and are used in these places: To the maine and fore-yards, at the ties, (to keep the yards from galling against the mast) [etc.].
1793 R. H. Gower Treat. Theory & Pract. Seamanship 75 Mats, made the width of the round of the cable, and about three fathoms long, are very convenient to have at hand, to lace on the cable with expedition in cases of necessity.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 473 Where it is possible, rounding is now used instead of mats.
4. British regional. A bag made of matting, used to hold sugar, coffee, flax, etc.; the amount contained in such a bag.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > bag > [noun] > sack
sackc1000
mat1748
sack-bag1842
1653 in E. Melling Kentish Sources (1969) VI. 60 Brought two matts of sugar and divers other goods.
1685 Inverness Imports May in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) A matt hards..tuo litle mattis hards.
1748 in G. Hampson Portsmouth Customs Let. Bks. (1994) 46 We transmitted your Honour's an Account of a Seizure of Empty Cask's, Bags & Old Matt's, which Mr Baskerville..Seized.
1798 Hull Advertiser 1 Dec. 2/1 40 mats Lexia raisins.
1798 Hull Advertiser 15 Dec. 2/1 26 matts of best Rake Liebau Flax.
1885 R. C. Praed Head Station (new ed.) 157 Sacks of flour and mats of ration sugar.
5.
a. A covering (originally and still often made of matting) placed on the floor near a door for people entering to wipe their shoes; = doormat n. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning shoes > [noun] > mats and scrapers
doormat1665
scraper1745
mud-scraper1788
bear1795
foot scraper1796
mata1818
shoe-scraper1842
scraper-mat1884
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 6 A very convenient substance to make Bed-matts, or Door-matts of.
a1818 Miss Rose in G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 75 There had been a heavy mat on the floor-cloth.
1842 R. Browning Pied Piper of Hamelin in Bells & Pomegranates No. III: Dramatic Lyrics 51 Only a scraping of shoes on the mat.
1886 G. M. Fenn Master of Cerem. v He paused on the mat to draw a long, catching breath.
1917 E. Wharton Summer xi. 154 She went around to the kitchen door and felt under the mat for the key.
1988 Independent 14 Nov. 16 The excitement..that is experienced on seeing an envelope, the address handwritten, on the mat.
b. A thin piece of resistant material, originally plaited straw but now often cork, plastic, etc., placed on a table or other surface to protect it from heat or moisture from an object placed on top. Later also: any of various articles with a similar or ornamental function, or simply ornamental, made of needlework, lace, etc.place, table-mat, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > household linen > table linen > [noun] > table mat
roundel1548
mat1779
place mat1931
1779 in Dict. Amer. Eng. (1944) IV. 2284/2 12 table mats.
1800 M. Edgeworth Basket-woman in Parent's Assistant (ed. 3) V. 29 These here half dozen little mats, to put under my dishes.
1852 E. C. Gaskell Let. Dec. (1966) 217 The little ones had worked mats, & gathered flowers &c &c for her dressing-room.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1408/1 Mat, a small piece of oil-cloth, fabric, or worsted work, to place beneath a hot dish or wet pitcher, to preserve the polish of a table.
1904 Pilot 2 Apr. 307 Muslin hangings to your looking-glass, bows on your chair-rails, mats on your tables.
1995 M. Amis Information (1996) 85 The bowls and spoons and mats laid out on the table for the morning.
c. Bowls. = footer n.1 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [noun] > mat
footer1844
mat1892
1892 J. Brown Man. Bowling (ed. 2) 69 The mat shall be placed by the lead of the party who lost the previous head.
1910 Encycl. Brit. IV. 347/2 The bowler delivers his bowl with one foot on a mat or footer, made of india-rubber or cocoa-nut fibre, the size of which is also prescribed by rule as 24 by 16 in.
1959 Times 12 Aug. 4/6 Their No. 3..went to the mat.
1988 Bowls Internat. Dec. 48/3 When I walked up to the mat for that last bowl..I was trying to work out the weight required to take the jack into the ditch.
d. A piece of resilient, usually padded material on which wrestling bouts, gymnastic displays, etc., are performed.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > gymnastics > [noun] > equipment
plummet?1537
springboard?1780
horse1785
trampoline1798
club1815
gallows1817
Indian club1825
rope1825
horizontal bar1827
trapeze1830
vaulting bar1839
parallel bars1850
wooden horse1854
trapezium1856
giant stride1863
ring1869
vaulting horse1875
mast1880
fly-pole1884
pommel1887
Roman ring1894
mat1903
wall bar1903
pommel horse1908
buck1932
pommel vault1932
landing mat1941
rebounder1980
1903 P. Longhurst Wrestling i. 5 Ordinary gymnasium mats covered with canvas or sail-cloth form the best surface for this style of wrestling.
1950 Oxf. Junior Encycl. IX. 489/1 In this type of wrestling a ‘fall’ is gained by bringing the opponent's two shoulders simultaneously into contact with the mat.
1967 V. L. Drehman Head over Heels i. 3 Wide mats must be used for the learner in tumbling.
1983 Sports Laws (Diagram Group) 422 On being called to the mat by name the competitors go to the appropriate corner according to the color of costume they were ordered to wear.
6. New Zealand. Any of various outer garments worn by Maori, originally made of a woven material resembling matting; a Maori cloak or cape. Also used allusively, with reference to the Maori way of life: see quot. 1849 and Phrases 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > loose clothing > cloak, mantle, or cape > types of > other
cowlc961
rocheta1325
dud1355
paenulaa1400
jornay1495
jornet1502
glaudkin1518
paludament1543
mantoon1623
mantoplicee1672
bavaroy1713
roquelaure1716
poncho1717
manteel1733
pelerine1744
mat1773
wrap-rascal1796
benish1797
nabob1803
scarf cloak1804
ruana1814
witzchoura1823
all-rounder1837
pardessus1843
visitec1847
tilma1851
talma1852
sontag1859
Inverness cape1865
dolman1872
Niçois1873
Mother Hubbard1877
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > customs, values, or beliefs of a society or group > [noun] > of specific society or group
dharma1785
dhamma1837
Arthurianism1854
colonialism1855
zadruga1887
mat1905
outbackery1961
1770 J. Cook Jrnl. 31 Mar. (1955) I. 279 Their common clothing are very much like square thrum'd matts that are made of rope yarns &c. to lay at the doors or passages into houses.]
1773 J. R. Forster Resol. Jrnl. 28 Mar. (1982) II. 242 The oldest man..had a redbrown Matt on his back.
1807 J. Savage Some Acct. N.Z. viii. 50 The dress of the natives consists in a mat finely wove of the native flax.
1832 A. Earle Narr. Resid. N.Z. 12 They were clothed in mats, called Ka-ka-hoos.
1849 W. T. Power Sketches in N.Z. xvii. 146 New habits are rapidly modifying the old ones... In throwing off the mat and the blanket, they also dispense with shark oil and red ochre.
1874 J. C. Johnstone Maoria i. 16 The rough pureki..when seen upon the men in the canoes which boarded the first vessels that visited the Island, was not inappropriately called ‘a mat’, and the ugly name came to be applied to any description of garment worn by the Maoris.
1905 W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 54 He is a warrior; and at any moment may cast off his mat and defend his privileges.
1984 Metro (Auckland) May 124 The coffin was covered with a Maori mat and borne by Cabinet ministers.
7. Scottish. A woollen or quilted bed covering. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > household linen > bedclothes > [noun] > outer cover
coverture?c1225
chalon1301
coverlet1382
coverlida1400
quiltpointc1400
pane1405
counterpointa1475
liggera1483
happing1503
counterpane1626
palampore1676
spread1750
duvet1759
mata1894
suggan1907
eiderdown1950
a1894 J. Shaw in R. Wallace Country Schoolmaster (1899) 350 In Renfrewshire a mat meant a thick woollen covering for the bed, generally wrought into a pattern.
III. Extended uses.† 10. Bast used for tying plants. Also mat-tie. Obsolete.
8. [In use with numerals translating Japanese -jō ( < Middle Chinese), suffix used specifically for counting tatami mats.] In Japan: a unit of area equal to approx. 6 feet by 3 feet (1.8 metres by 0.9 metre), corresponding to the traditional size of a tatami.In quot. 1613 used as a measurement of length, equal to approx. 6 feet. For a discussion of the possible origin of this use, see E. M. Satow Voy. Capt. J. Saris to Japan, 1613 (1900) (note).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun]
nail1442
mat1613
centrobaric1624
labour1825
1613 in A. Farrington Eng. Factory in Japan (1991) II. 1023 Our chiefest commoditie intended for those parts being broadcloth (which, according to former intelligence, had lately been sold there at fortie rialls the matte, which is two yards, as aforesaid).
1861 C. P. Hodgson Residence at Nagasaki & Hakodate xii. 234 The size is always calculated by ‘mats’, the measure for everything in Japan, from land to houses.
1936 J. Harada Lesson of Japanese Archit. 162 (caption) A small room ready for a go game... It is 9ft square, what is known as a four-and-a-half mat room.
1986 J. Melville Go gently, Gaijin vii. 54 The very small inner room of their flat..was a four-and-a-half mat room, about nine feet square. The living room was..six mats in size.
9.
a. A tangled mass of hair, vegetation, etc., esp. one forming a dense layer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > close texture > [noun] > matted substance
feltc1400
mat1800
felt-work1844
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > tuft > tangled mass
mat1800
tardle1898
1800 J. Woodforde Diary 26 Aug. (1931) V. 271 All the Barley..is grown up amazingly indeed, I never saw any thing like it—it is black and all in a Matt.
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 164 To break the mats of the raw wool and to render it light.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. ix. 137 A very heavy mat of sandy hair.
1897 Outing 30 220/2 The favorite haunts of the bass are about reefs, mats of weeds [etc.].
1916 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms (ed. 3) 224/1 Mat, a closely intertwined vegetation, with roots and rhizomes intermixed.
1973 Nature 4 May 12/1 The meeting concluded with a field trip to the algal mats at the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.
1988 A. Desai Baumgartner's Bombay i. 15 His chin sank down into the mat of black hair on his chest.
b. A compact group (of people, etc.). rare.
ΚΠ
1839 Z. Leonard Narr. Adventures 2/1 Instead of travelling in a close mat as heretofore, we now scattered over a considerable range of country for the purpose of hunting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > fibre or cloth to tie plants
tack1545
Russia mat1737
shreds1796
mat1824
raffia1850
fillis1900
1824 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) §1514 The flat-headed..nail, used either with lists, loops of cord, or mat; and the eyed..nail, used with mat-ties.
1824 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) §1519 When mat, bark, rush,..or straw are used [for tying].
11.
a. Lacemaking. The more solid part of a lace design, usually (in bobbin lace) worked in whole-stitch. Also called toilé.
ΚΠ
1865 F. B. Palliser Hist. Lace vii. 107 Brussels lace-makers divide the plat into three parts, the ‘mat’, the close part answering to the French ‘toilé’ [etc.].
1908 M. Jourdain Old Lace xix. 105 At various periods, but especially during the eighteenth century, blondes were produced with a cordonnet of chenille..and sometimes the ‘mats’ were of coloured silk.
1983 S. M. Levey Lace 122/1 Mat.., term used to describe the solidly-worked pattern areas of both needle and bobbin lace.
b. A style of weaving in which the warp and weft form small squares. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > other methods of weaving
cross-weaving1843
Swedish work1882
satin weave1884
plain-weave1888
swivel-weaving1894
swivel-weft1894
mat1904
tabby weave1906
tablet weaving1921
basket weave1925
ikat1931
folk weave1938
pebble weave1941
1904 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 384/1 Mat, Celtic or Basket Mat, a type of weave in which the warp and weft form small squares.
12. A structure consisting of bundles of brushwood, willow branches, or the like, woven together and used as a retaining wall for a river bank. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > structures protecting from water or flooding > [noun] > embankment on river
levee1718
mat1876
1876 Ann. Rep. Chief of Engineers (U.S. Army) II. 404 A mat..is composed of 6 or 7 fascines laid side by side, and tightly bound between 4 poles tied together at the ends and middle with lath-yarn; its dimensions are about 12 feet by 5 feet by 8 inches.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 587/1 Mat, a woven structure of willows, weeds, or brush, secured by ropes or wires into a continuous mat, and used as a revetment for river banks.
13. Compressed fibreglass or similar material, used for any of various purposes in building; a flat sheet of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [noun] > glass > fibreglass
glass-fibre1882
mat1936
fibreglass1937
1936 Business Week 1 Feb. 13/1 Another is fibrous glass. This is produced in three different forms: (1) in a fluffy mass commercially available as insulation for homes; (2) in the size of broom straw assembled into mats, about two inches thick, for use as air-filters; [etc.].
1968 P. I. Smith Plastics as Metal Replacements i. 45 The manufacturer makes available to the moulder..pre-impregnated chopped strand glass mat all ready for moulding.
1983 J. S. Foster Struct. & Fabric (rev. ed.) I. iii. 94/2 External insulation may be in the form of..mats or batts.
Phrases
P1. colloquial (originally U.S.). to go to the mat: to take part in a wrestling bout; (figurative) to engage in a vigorous dispute or argument.
ΚΠ
1908 W. G. Davenport Butte & Montana (1909) 273 Brown went to the mat with the grippe and failed to take the count.
1912 Hampton's Mag. Jan. 842/1 He done me dirt..and I ain't seen him since; but when I do, me and him goes to the mat.
1924 P. G. Wodehouse Leave it to Psmith i. 28 I..heard..you and Aunt Constance going to the mat about poor old Phyllis.
1937 D. Aldis Time at her Heels i. 26 She just didn't have time at the moment to call him in and go to the mat with him about it.
1990 Independent 28 Dec. 11 He likes to have a lawyer who will go to the mat for him!
P2. colloquial (originally British Military). on the mat: in trouble with authority; due to be severely reprimanded. Cf. on the carpet at carpet n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > in adversity [phrase]
on the gridiron1590
under a cloudc1605
down the weather1611
up the (also a) pole1897
on the mat1917
1898 Pearson's Mag. Oct. 372/2 [Close to the medical officer's desk is a thick padded carpet about a yard square.] The sergeant..shouts with military brevity: ‘On to the mat, John Smith.’]
1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 302 On the mat, when Tommy is hauled before his commanding officer to explain why he has broken one of the seven million King's regulations for the government of the Army.
1919 Athenæum 1 Aug. 695/1 ‘He's on the mat’ means the same [as ‘He's for the high jump’]; the pre-war orderly room was furnished with a piece of carpet, in the exact centre of which the accused stood.
1949 J. R. Cole It was so Late 62 Then I was on the mat again. Now it seems a wonder I kept out of trouble as long as I did.
1973 J. Thomson Death Cap x. 136 Mrs Holbrook had been given the impression that she was on the mat in front of her husband's superior officer.
P3. New Zealand. to go back (also return, etc.) to the mat: to return to the traditional Maori customs and way of life. Also (occasionally) to wear the mat.
ΚΠ
1933 N. Scanlan Tides of Youth 109 Some of the Maoris, educated in youth and brought up in British ways, returned in later life ‘to the mat’.
1938 ‘G. B. Lancaster’ Promenade 117 One day I think all Maoris will wear the mat again.
1947 ‘A. P. Gaskell’ Big Game 92 She must have been somewhere to a Maori High School and then come back to the mat.
1970 D. M. Davin Not here, not Now iii. vi. 197 All a man can do is go back to the mat and cry, or laugh.
1994 J. Lasenby Dead Man's Head 15 Her mother had more than a touch of the tar brush, and the girl will end up going back to the mat.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
(a)
mat awning n.
ΚΠ
1730 W. Wriglesworth MS Log-bk. of ‘Lyell’ 30 Aug. Received a New Matt Awning and fixed it for the Main Deck.
mat-bag n.
ΚΠ
1773 J. R. Forster Resol. Jrnl. 16 Sept. (1982) II. 367 A Mat-bag..with 2 Looking Glasses..was stolen.
1856 A. Faulkner Dict. Commerc. Terms Mat-bags, are formed of the leaves of the date and other palm trees, and are extensively used in Bombay and many parts of India for packing goods.
1956 R. Pieris Sinhalese Social Organization vi. i. 197 A small mat-bag..containing..ginger.
mat-house n.
ΚΠ
1834 A. Smith Diary 11 Sept. (1939) I. 80 He has a mat house and no furniture.
1898 W. C. Scully Between Sun & Sand ii. 18 On either side of it stood, respectively, a mat-house and a square tent.
mat hut n.
ΚΠ
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 195 We found a small village of three or four families and as many mat huts.
mat-lodge n.
ΚΠ
1805 M. Lewis & W. Clark Jrnl. 16 Oct. (1905) III. 122 Passed 3 verry large mat lodges at 2 mile on the Stard Side.
1806 P. Gass Jrnl. 24 Apr. (1807) 203 We encamped at two mat-lodges of the natives.
mat roof n.
ΚΠ
1897 Daily News 15 Jan. 5/3 The snake was sliding through the mat roof.
mat-sail n.
ΚΠ
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xviii. 492 We had a good substantial Mast, and a mat Sail, and good Outlagers lasht very fast and firm on each side..made of strong poles.
1894 B. Thomson S. Sea Yarns 80 The great mat-sail was spread upon the sand.
mat-satchel n.
ΚΠ
1777 G. Forster Voy. round World II. 321 Most of them were married, and carried their children in a mat-satchel on their backs.
mat-screen n.
ΚΠ
1905 N.E.D. at Mat Mat-screen.
mat-shed n.
ΚΠ
1847 R. Fortune Three Years' Wanderings China ii. 17 A Coolie..was borne off his feet, but saved himself by catching hold of the frame of a mat-shed.
1939 ‘A. Bridge’ Four-part Setting ii. 8 To sit in a mat-shed on the sand and drink cocktails.
1976 tr. Chu Min-shen in Yenan Seeds 45 He imagined himself still living in the mat-shed by the river.
mat-skirt n.
ΚΠ
1908 Daily Chron. 15 Aug. 1/6 A Maori chief..saying..he was to fasten the native mat-skirt about his body.
(b)
mat-roofed adj.
ΚΠ
1871 F. T. Palgrave Lyrical Poems 224 The mat-roof'd cabin where we crouch'd And scorn'd the storm together.
1898 R. Kipling Day's Work (U.K. ed.) 239 Some of them were in mat-roofed stables close to the polo-ground.
b. Instrumental.
mat-clad adj.
ΚΠ
1852 G. C. Mundy Our Antipodes II. xiii. 386 These are the lineal successors to the tattooed, mat clad, cannibal old caterans.
mat-covered adj.
ΚΠ
1865 H. W. Baxley What I saw on West Coast 160 On the beach below bordering the sea there are many small mat-covered huts, arranged in rows and clusters.
1903 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 605 The cat..scrambles quickly on to the mat-covered floor.
c. Objective.
(a)
mat-layer n.
ΚΠ
1617 in J. Imrie & J. G. Dunbar Accts. Masters of Wks. (1982) II. 78 To Johne Hay and Henry Bellenger matleyeris for their waigis.
1665 Whitehall Accts. (P.R.O.: Works 5/7) f. 20 Matlayers Employed in niw matting the Ks throne wth Portugall matt, taking vp thi old matts at the Kings back stairs.
mat-maker n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > manufacture of fabric from specific materials > manufacture of articles made from twigs, etc. > mat-making > one who
matter1263
mat-maker1377
1377 in E. G. Kimball Rolls Warwickshire & Coventry Sessions (1939) 7 Iohannes Mattemaker.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 599/1 I knyt, as a matte maker knytteth, je tys.
1634 in Index Bedfordshire Probate Rec. (1994) ii. 525 William Purriar, Cranfield, matmaker.
?1881 Census Eng. & Wales: Instr. Clerks classifying Occupations & Ages (?1885) 17 Mat maker.
1941 E. Carr Klee Wyck 8 One day, by grin and gesture, I got permission to sketch an old mat-maker.
mat-making n.
ΚΠ
1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 283 Might not the basket, stable-broom, mat-making, corn-parching, linen-spinning, and pottery business have thrived here.
1890 F. D. Lugard Diary 21 Feb. (1959) I. ii. 111 The Banga reed grows by the river here, but very poorly, and useless for building and mat-making.
1987 Demography 24 281 The indigenous occupations include farming, pottery, weaving, dyeing, leather work, embroidery, and mat making.
mat-mender n.
ΚΠ
1905 N.E.D. at Mat Mat-mender.
1922 E. Blunden Shepherd (ed. 2) 28 The mat-mender squatting near wearily braids his string.
(b)
mat-forming adj.
ΚΠ
1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) IV. 1878/1 [Saxifraga] Section 2. Hirculus. Mat-forming plants with undivided, deciduous, oval leaves.
1990 Garden Answers Nov. 17/2 Be sure to give spreaders, like the mat-forming aubrietia and helianthemum, room to expand.
C2. † mat reed n. [compare early modern Dutch mattenlisch] Obsolete rare the leaves of the reed mace or bulrush Typha latifolia, as used for matting.† mat tree n. [after French bois de natte] Obsolete rare a Mauritian tree, Mimusops maxima (family Sapotaceae).† mat-wood n. [after French bois de natte] Obsolete rare = mat tree n.
mat boat n. rare = mattress boat n. at mattress n.1 Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 587/1 Mat boat, a frame of ways supported on scows, on which mat for revetment is woven.
mat braid n. Needlework a type of thick braid used as a trimming (see quot. 1882).
ΚΠ
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 342/2 Mat Braid. A thick worsted Braid, woven after the manner of plaiting..employed as a trimming.
mat canvas n. now rare a dress material with a coarse texture.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > coarse or rough > for clothing
paniot1310
kelter1502
buffin1572
box cloth1727
horse-cloth1892
mat canvas1902
ratine1913–14
éponge1928
1902 Daily Chron. 14 June 10/4 Mat canvas is decidedly a fashionable fabric.
mat-grass n. any of several grasses having a matlike growth or used for matting; esp. (a) a wiry, densely tufted grass, Nardus stricta, often dominating acid heaths and moorland in Europe and temperate Asia (also moor mat-grass); (b) (more fully sea mat-grass) marram grass, Ammophila arenaria.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > mat-grass
white bent1620
wire bent1756
mat-grass1777
nardus1777
nard1866
small matweed1866
1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica I. 90 [Nardus stricta] Mat-Grass. Anglis. On moors and heaths frequent.
1789 J. Pilkington View Derbyshire I. viii. 331 Nardus stricta, Matgrass... This grass is stiff and hard to the touch.
1818 C. I. La Trobe Jrnl. Visit S. Afr. 372 A peculiar kind of grass [in St Helena], called mat-grass, from its spreading..over the ground in such thickness, that it forms a cover resembling thick matting.
1840 J. Paxton Pocket Bot. Dict. Sea matgrass, Psamma arenaria.
1881 D. L. Phares Farmer's Bk. Grasses 39 C[alamagrostis] arenaria, mat grass... Much property has been saved by a judicious planting of this grass in the eastern States.
1911 C. E. Moss in A. G. Tansley Types Brit. Vegetation v. 132 The most abundant and characteristic grass of the drier siliceous grassland is the mat-grass (Nardus stricta).
1988 W. Horwood Duncton Quest iii. 39 Insidiously, like the spread of rotten root disease beneath a raft of mat-grass.
matman n. slang (originally U.S.) a wrestler.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > wrestler
wrestlerc1050
athlete1585
palaestrian1599
warsler1820
matman1923
chanty wrastler1954
1923 N.Y. Times 11 Feb. i. ii. 1/4 (heading) Navy matmen on top... In a finely contested wrestling match..the Naval Academy won.
1968 Globe & Mail Mag. (Toronto) 17 Feb. 8/3 He became one of the best known mat men in Canada. ‘Wrestling always fascinated me,’ he says now.
1988 Sun (Brisbane) 8 Sept. 53/6 Matmen dumped. Australia's wrestlers have been having trouble finding training partners after being shunned by the secretive South Koreans.
mat plant n. any of various dense low-growing plants which cover the ground in a mat.
ΚΠ
1899 C. MacMillan Minnesota Plant Life ii. 24 The mat-plant, such as a purslane or carpet-weed, adapted to life on a flat plane.
1991 New Scientist 25 May 36/1 A spread of xerophytic mat plants able to capitalise on increased light.
mat plaiting n. the making of mats by plaiting; spec. a children's activity which involves weaving strips of coloured paper into patterns.
ΚΠ
1864 All Year Round 12 Mar. 99/1 They worked for their sins at sailcloth weaving, rope-making, and mat-plaiting.
1880 L. S. Floyer Plain Hints Examiners Needlework Gloss. 76 The rudimentary teaching of this darning is taught in the Kindergarten system, under the name of ‘mat platting’.
1922 A. B. Brewster Hill Tribes of Fiji xvii. 170 A girl is at once placed on a mat that she may grow up skilled in mat plaiting and other feminine occupations.
2000 M. Clyde in R. Wollons Kindergartens & Cultures iv. 96 In 1884 or 1886, Elizabeth Banks..was appointed... She worked with the five-year-old children on ‘kindergarten activities’ including drawing, paper-folding, paper-coloring, mat-plaiting, and stick-laying.
mat pole n. rare a pole used in positioning mats (sense 12).
ΚΠ
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 588/1 Mat pole, a pole..used in placing mats of brush for shore protection, jetties, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > bulrush or club-rush > parts of
mat reed1578
tule root1890
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. liii. 513 The leaues are called Matte reede, bycause they make mattes therewith.
mat-rush n. [compare early modern Dutch mattenbies] any of several rushlike plants used to make matting; esp. (a) the common clubrush, Schoenoplectus lacustris (now rare) †(b) marram grass, Ammophila arenaria (obsolete); (c) Australian any of various plants with rushlike leaves of the genus Lomandra (family Xanthorrhoeaceae).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > bulrush or club-rush
bulrushc1440
holrushc1440
glagol1480
cat's tail1548
reedmace1548
Typha1548
sun's brow1567
marsh beetle1578
marsh pestle1578
mat-rush1578
pole rush1578
water torch1578
water cat's-tail1597
ditch-down1611
doda1661
club-rush1677
deer-hair1777
club-grass1787
draw-ling1795
raupo1823
tule1837
boulder1847
blackheads1850
cat-o'-nine-tails1858
flax-tail1861
bull-sedge1879
mace reed1901
totora1936
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > rush and related plants
rusheOE
sharp rushc1050
seave14..
junk?a1425
candle-rushc1440
rush1562
sea-rush1562
camel's-straw1578
mat-rush1578
sprot1595
frog grass1597
matweed1597
rush grass1597
sprata1600
spart1614
bumble1633
toad-grass1640
moss-rush1670
thresha1689
spreta1700
bog rush1760
black grassa1763
goose-corn1762
toad-rush1776
wood-rush1776
stool-bent1777
scrub-grass1811
beak-rush1830
salt-weed1836
wiwi1840
thread rush1861
three-leaved rush1861
kill-cow1898
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. lii. 511 The fourth is called..in English, the pole Rushe, or bull Rushe, or Mat Rushe.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Ionc à cabas, the pole-rush, mat-rush, fraile-rush.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum xiii. xxxv. 1197 Matt weed or Mat rushes.
1989 L. Cronin Conc. Austral. Flora 22/2 Lomandra longifolia, long or spiny headed Mat Rush... Widespread in sandy sites, often near watercourses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > non-British timber trees > [noun] > African
shittima1382
citrus1555
cam-wood1699
jacaranda1753
kokerboom1774
quiver tree1789
geelhout1790
rooihout1790
yellowwood1790
mat-wood1792
assegai1793
assegai tree1793
hardpear1801
rooi els1801
argan1809
beaver-wood1810
mat tree1812
saffraan1819
salie1819
sneezewood1834
African teak1842
hyawaballi1851
sage-wood1854
mvule1858
til1858
yari-yari1858
cannibal stinkwood1859
kiaat1862
knobwood1862
milkwood1862
tryssil1862
sulphur-tree1863
khaya1864
cailcedra1866
flat-crown1868
umzimbeet1870
kuka1882
odum1887
iroko1890
opepe1891
Natal mahogany1904
muhimbi1906
obeche1906
agba1908
makoré1915
afara1920
agboin1920
abura1921
podo1922
afrormosia1923
guarea1936
Mansonia1936
dahoma1955
utile1956
1812 J. Pinkerton tr. M. de Guignes Observ. in Voy. & Trav. XI. 92 Among the trees of the Isle of France must be noticed..the mat tree [Fr. bois de natte] with large and small leaves.
matweed n. any of various grasses growing in mats or used for matting; esp. (a) (more fully hooded matweed) a Spanish grass, Lygeum spartum, used like esparto grass; (b) (more fully sea matweed, †English matweed) marram grass, Ammophila arenaria; (c) (in full heath matweed, small matweed) mat-grass, Nardus stricta.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > other grasses
feather-top grass1597
hooded matweed1597
millet grass1597
spring grass1643
moor grass1749
melic1762
finger grass1767
feather-grass1776
aegilops1777
oat-grass1802
prairie grass1812
oat-grass1814
tansy mustard1856
purple moor grass1859
whorl-grass1861
Molinia1866
onion grass1868
káns1874
Turk's-head grass1882
Pangola finger-grass1947
tor grass1954
bush-grass-
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > rush and related plants
rusheOE
sharp rushc1050
seave14..
junk?a1425
candle-rushc1440
rush1562
sea-rush1562
camel's-straw1578
mat-rush1578
sprot1595
frog grass1597
matweed1597
rush grass1597
sprata1600
spart1614
bumble1633
toad-grass1640
moss-rush1670
thresha1689
spreta1700
bog rush1760
black grassa1763
goose-corn1762
toad-rush1776
wood-rush1776
stool-bent1777
scrub-grass1811
beak-rush1830
salt-weed1836
wiwi1840
thread rush1861
three-leaved rush1861
kill-cow1898
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sea bent or sea reed grass
sea-reedc1550
sea-bent1562
sea matweed1597
sea reed-grass1777
sand-reed1805
bent-star1822
sea matgrass1840
sand-sedge1842
sand-oat1881
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > mat-grass
white bent1620
wire bent1756
mat-grass1777
nardus1777
nard1866
small matweed1866
1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 39 English Mat weede hath a rushie roote.
1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) App. 1631 Heath Mat-weed.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum xiii. xxxv. 1197 Matt weed or Mat Rushes... Our Matweed or Marram..the other of our Sea Matweedes.
1763 J. Mills New Syst. Pract. Husbandry III. 342 Matweed, Gramen Sparteum is of the broom kind, and delights in sandy places.
1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 41 Lygéum. Mat-weed.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 725/2 Matweed, Ammophila arenaria, also called Sea Matweed... Hooded [Matweed], Lygeum Spartum... Small [Matweed], Nardus stricta.
1944 W. J. Stokoe Caterpillars of Brit. Butterflies 219 Almost everywhere on our sandy sea-shores the Maram or Sea Matweed will be found.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > non-British timber trees > [noun] > African
shittima1382
citrus1555
cam-wood1699
jacaranda1753
kokerboom1774
quiver tree1789
geelhout1790
rooihout1790
yellowwood1790
mat-wood1792
assegai1793
assegai tree1793
hardpear1801
rooi els1801
argan1809
beaver-wood1810
mat tree1812
saffraan1819
salie1819
sneezewood1834
African teak1842
hyawaballi1851
sage-wood1854
mvule1858
til1858
yari-yari1858
cannibal stinkwood1859
kiaat1862
knobwood1862
milkwood1862
tryssil1862
sulphur-tree1863
khaya1864
cailcedra1866
flat-crown1868
umzimbeet1870
kuka1882
odum1887
iroko1890
opepe1891
Natal mahogany1904
muhimbi1906
obeche1906
agba1908
makoré1915
afara1920
agboin1920
abura1921
podo1922
afrormosia1923
guarea1936
Mansonia1936
dahoma1955
utile1956
1792 J. Trapp tr. A. Rochon Voy. Madagascar Introd. p. xxvi [In the Isle of France are] bamboos, ebony, matt-wood [Fr. bois de natte] with large and small leaves [etc.].
mat-work n. (a) matting; a structure resembling a mat; (b) Architecture = nat n.1 3 (rare); (c) physical exercises performed on a mat.
ΚΠ
1828 R. Knox tr. H. Cloquet Syst. Human Anat. 417 Whence there results an interlacement resembling mat-work [Fr. un tissue natté].
1860 R. F. Burton in Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 1859 29 290 A thick growth of aquatic vegetation, which forms a kind of matwork.
1890 Cent. Dict. Mat-work, in arch., same as nattes.
1916 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 30 July 23/4 He has water on one knee and has had several operations for relief from the condition, but it will be impossible for him to do any mat work.
1956 C. Yerkow Judo Katas i. 14 This training is called kata and means form-practice, both for stand-up techniques and in mat-work.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† matn.2
Cards. Obsolete.
= matador n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > ombre and quadrille > [noun] > specific cards
basto1660
manille1674
matador1674
punto1674
spadillo1680
spadille1728
mat1766
1766 C. Anstey New Bath Guide (ed. 2) Epil. i. 117 Madam Shuffledumdoo..Has sold your poor Guide for two Fish and a Mat.
1861 Macmillan's Mag. Dec. 131 The three best trump cards..are called Matadores..or shortly Mats.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2018).
matn.3
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ 1. Originally: an ornamental (often gold) border of paper, metal, etc., surrounding a framed picture. Later also: a border or mount of white or tinted cardboard; a sheet of cardboard on which a print or drawing is placed, and then covered by a mount which forms a margin round the area of the print (rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > mat > cardboard backing
mat1845
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [noun] > mat > border
mat1845
1845 Pract. Hints on Daguerreotype 37 Leather Cases, with..gilt mats and glasses complete.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1408/1 Mat,..an ornamental plate or passe-partout laid over a daguerreotype, etc., and forming an oval or other symmetrical border to the picture, as well as keeping the plate from abrasion by the glass.
1886 Art Jrnl. Nov. 327/1 It is common..to set off water-colours with a broad golden mat of pasteboard.
1886 P. Fitzgerald in Art Jrnl. 327/1 A snow-white cardboard mat.
1890 W. D. Howells Shadow of Dream 163 Engravings with wide mats in frigid frames of black.
1909 F. Weitenkampf How to appreciate Prints xiii. 291 Sometimes mat and mount are fastened together on all four sides, forming what is known as a ‘sunk mount’.
1932 F. Weitenkampf Quest of Print xii. 270 Some collectors place a sheet of celluloid, cellophane, or similar material..over the print and under the mat.
1967 Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. b58/7 Sometimes prints come with a mat (white space around the art), but the framed picture is much better if the mat is made from a mat board.
1977 Q. Jrnl. Libr. Congr. July 286/1 A full-color facsimile of the famous engraving is presented in a red folder which forms a mat for the print.
1987 Art & Design Oct. 34/2 McCollum had embarked on..multiple mass-produced objects that seemed to be paintings but were only meant to suggest pictures in the loosest way: their ‘frames’ surrounding white ‘mattes’ which surrounded black images.
2. A dull, roughened, frosted, or figured finish or ground on a metal surface; the dull, lustreless appearance of unburnished metal. Also: metal, esp. gold, which has been left unburnished.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > artistic work in metal > [noun] > specific finish
mat1852
1852 C. Tomlinson Cycl. Useful Arts (1854) I. 757/2 Parts of the gilding which are to be in dead gold, (called matt..).
1887 L. L. Haslope Repoussé Work 51 These [markings] may be arranged so as to touch one another, forming a close mat, or placed a little distance apart, as an open mat, so as to form a grounding to the picture.
1910 Hawkins' Electr. Dict. Mat, in electroplating, a dead or dull finish obtained by leaving the metal unburnished after it has been deposited.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > metalworking equipment > [noun] > casting equipment > tool for making fancy patterns
mat1867
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > artistic work in metal > [noun] > tools
mat1867
1867 Rep. Artisans Visit Paris Universal Exhib. 321 The French chaser seldom uses a mat, as we English ones do; but instead he uses tools of his own making.
1890 C. Peters Home Handicrafts 19 (Repoussé work.) When backgrounds with patterns upon them are required, punches shaped like crescents at the point, or as circles, stars, crosses, will be required. These fancy punches..are technically called ‘mats’.
1898 T. B. Wigley Art Goldsm. & Jeweller 79 Punches of various shapes, called..Freezer-Mat. Dead Mat. Hair Mat.
4. In glass-painting: a layer of colour matted on the glass (see matt v. 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [noun] > colouring for glass
stain1832
mat1881
colour1914
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > ornamental glass-work > [noun] > glass-colouring > glass-painting > layer of colour
stain1832
mat1881
1881 Art Interchange (N.Y.) 27 Oct. 90/3 [Painting on glass.] Laying a mat will greatly facilitate tracing... There are two kinds of mat in use, ‘water mat’ and ‘oil mat’.
1896 H. Holiday Stained Glass i. 23 Stipple-shading..is in common use now together with another method, consisting of a series of ‘matts’.
Compounds
General attributive, esp. (in senses 1 and 2) mat board, mat paper, mat process, mat work.
ΚΠ
1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 170/1 Matt-work is protected with one or two coats of finish-size; but burnished gold is [etc.].
1896 H. Holiday Stained Glass i. 24 The painter has..to repeat the two matt processes.
1965 C. Zigrosser & C. M. Gaehde Guide to Collecting Orig. Prints vii. 100 Quality of Mat Board. Only 100 percent rag-fiber mat stock is to be used.
1969 R. Mayer Dict. Art Terms & Techniques 166 Mordant gilding and unburnished water gilding are known as mat gilding.
1974 P. Highsmith Ripley's Game v. 50 He needed more mat paper.
1991 Atlantic Feb. 91/2 (advt.) ‘Americae’ is printed on heavy acid-free mat paper.
1996 Classic Toy Trains Sept. 54/1 The background is matte-board accented with pastel chalks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
matn.4
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ English regional (East Anglian). rare.
A mattock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > mattock, hoe, or hack > mattock
mattockeOE
beckc1000
twibillc1440
cabbie1653
pattock1729
two-bill1808
mat1895
1895 W. Rye Gloss. Words E. Anglia 137 Mat, a tool for stubbing furze, ling, &c.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
matn.5
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ A matinee performance at a theatre, cinema, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > a performance > performance at specific time
morning performance1827
matinee1848
mat1914
first house1930
midnight matinée1952
1914 G. Atherton Perch of Devil i. viii. 55 Although Mr. Compton won't take me to any balls, there are the movin' pictures and the mats—matinées.
1940 Amer. Speech 15 204/2 Mats, matinees.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
matn.6
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ Printing.
= matrix n. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > type founding > type-founding equipment > [noun] > matrix
matrice1587
matrix1626
strike1871
mat1923
1923 M. V. Atwood Country Newspaper 20 Just a word should be added about matrices, or ‘mats’ as they are always called.
1937 G. Frankau More of Us viii. 92 We tapped the keys that set our linotype up, Locking our formes, and casting from our matts.
1967 V. Strauss Printing Industry v. 225/2 Matrices, called mats by the industry, are intermediate elements in the production of stereotypes but they are also independent items of commerce.
1975 Printing Hist. Soc. Newslet. No. 28. 3 A few large display matrices of the Caslon series (original founders' mats) are offered to PHS members.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
matv.1
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ΚΠ
a1425 Medulla Gram. (Stonyhurst) f. 62v Storiare, to matten.
2. transitive (usually in passive).
a. To cover or protect with mats or matting; to provide with a mat. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > with cloth or textile > specific
mat1549
down1602
blanket1608
rug1818
quilt1840
towel1865
felt1883
tarpaulin1891
velvet1959
tarp1979
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > floor-covering > [verb (transitive)] > cover with mat
mat1549
bemat1868
1549 [implied in: 1549 in Acts Privy Council (1890) II. 269 To James Rufford for matting of the chambers of Westminster. (at matting n.1 1a)].
1576–7 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1901) III. 717 For mattinge ye com'on pue, 2s. 8d.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 24 Temples, kept cleane and matted neatly.
1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 81 in Sylva Keep the Doors and Windows of your Conservatories well matted.
1672–3 in Trans. Devonshire Assoc. Adv. Sci. (1894) 26 345 Ffor stopping of the presentment at the Deane Ruralls Renewing ffor nott Matting the seates.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 200. ⁋14 He mats his stairs and covers his carpets.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia I. i. xi. 144 The three eldest..were hard at work with their mother in matting chair-bottoms.
1823 L. Hunt in Liberal 2 268 Poor drenched pillars, which it seems a sin Not to mat up at night-time.
1851 Beck's Florist Aug. 184 It will withstand the vicissitude of our climate when planted against a wall, if matted up during severe frosty weather.
1882 E. A. Floyer Unexplored Baluchistan 52 A side room..well and neatly built of mud, and matted with pīsh matting.
1933 R. V. C. Bodley Japanese Omelette xii. 116 The dining room floor, instead of being matted with tatami as in Japan, was made of some kind of oilcloth.
1999 Gymnast Jan. 40/2 Judo is available to children from the ages of six... This room is fully matted and has a ‘Fighting Square’.
b. In extended use: to cover with a layer resembling a mat; to cover with a tangled or interwoven mass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > thickly or overwhelmingly
mat1577
farce1582
smothera1592
smother1598
overlay1993
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 80 The ground is matted, and as it were netted with the remaynes of the olde rootes.
1610 W. Folkingham Feudigraphia i. vi. 13 With what Herbage the Crust or Sword is matted, mantled and swarthed.
1627 M. Drayton Quest of Cynthia in Battaile Agincourt 137 The Banck with Daffadillies dight, with grasse like Sleaue was matted.
1747 B. Franklin Let. in Wks. (1887) II. 82 Take the whole together, it is well matted, and looks like a green corn-field.
1824 J. C. Loudon Green-house Compan. i. 167 If the ball is much matted with roots..it is a sure indication of the vigour of the plant.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1855) 1st Ser. xv. 255 A temple..matted with ivy.
1902 O. Wister Virginian ix. 104 He held out to his pony a slice of bread matted with sardines, which the pony expertly accepted.
1988 P. Armstrong Risings 52 I have come silent-footed Through firs, on paths Matted with the years' Shed needles.
3.
a. transitive. To form into a mat; to tangle or entwine in a thick mass (with something else). Also with together. Usually in passive. Occasionally reflexive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > intertwining or interweaving > intertwine or interweave [verb (transitive)]
wind971
braidc1000
writheOE
biwevec1300
enlacec1374
winda1387
tracec1400
bredec1440
knit1470
embraid1481
interlace1523
entrail?1530
wreathea1547
beknit1565
twist1565
wand1572
embroid1573
mat1577
complect1578
intertex1578
inweave1578
lace1579
plight1589
entwine1597
bewreath1598
interweave1598
implicate1610
twine1612
complicatea1631
implex1635
intertwine1641
plash1653
enwreathe1667
raddle1671
intertwist1797
pleach1830
impleach1865
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > close texture > [verb (transitive)] > mat
felt1513
mat1577
felter1615
tat1829
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 51 When I haue thus done, I matte it [sc. a plashed hedge] thicker and thicker euery yeere.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §746 Bats haue beene found in Ouens, and other Hollow Close Places, Matted one vpon another.
1682 H. More Contin. Remark. Stories 35 In the night, the Daughter had..her hair snarled and matted together in that manner, that [etc.].
1701 N. Grew Cosmol. Sacra i. iv. §17 In the Skin..the Fibers are Matted, as Wooll is in a Hat.
1763 A. Tucker Freewill §59. 254 To..disentangle the boughs where they had matted themselves together.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller II. 9 I sought my mother's grave: the weeds were already matted over it.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. IV. 120 Sometimes the material which mats the intestines together can be stripped off.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. 693/3 Kurdaitcha,..2. A kind of shoe, made of emu-feathers matted together with human blood.
1981 M. Gee Dying 5 Her long dark hair was matted with blood and black ice.
b. intransitive. To become tangled, form tangled masses. Frequently with together.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > wool > [verb (intransitive)] > become matted or tangled
mat1676
felt1791
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > close texture > [verb (intransitive)] > become matted
balter1601
felter1621
mat1676
1676 J. Evelyn Philos. Disc. Earth 61 Mould to entertain the Fibers, which else you will find to mat in unexplicable intanglements.
1736 W. Ellis London & Country Brewer II. i. 6 Malt..in that Time,..would grow musty, or matt together.
1763 J. Mills New Syst. Pract. Husbandry IV. 144 They will mat together, and rot each other.
1847 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 8 i. 69 The [wheat] plants get too forward, and do not mat on the ground.
1851 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 12 i. 134 The wheat..began then to mat and to tiller.
1897 ‘O. Rhoscomyl’ For White Rose Arno (U.K. ed.) 217 In the face of this bluff there dripped and matted a close-grown thicket of oak and ash, hazel and holly.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. xxi. 671 The soft wool of sheep that tends to mat together so that the fleece of the Shetland ‘murrit’ sheep may come off in one piece.
1983 Belle (Austral.) July 132/1 Nylon..has poor resilience, tends to matt and soils rapidly.
c. transitive. To make by interlacing; to weave into a mat. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [verb (transitive)] > mat-making
mat1824
1824 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) §1506 Garden or bass mats are woven or matted from the bast or inner bark of..the lime.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind vii. 188 Weaving, which consists of matting twisted threads.
1921 K. S. Woods Rural Industries round Oxf. ii. i. 108 Women usually work at home, caning and ‘matting’ i.e. rushing chair seats.
4. transitive. colloquial. To reprimand (a person, esp. a subordinate). Usually in passive. Cf. carpet v. 4, mat n.1 Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > rebuke or reprove [verb (transitive)]
threac897
threapc897
begripea1000
threata1000
castea1200
chaste?c1225
takec1275
blame1297
chastya1300
sniba1300
withnima1315
undernima1325
rebukec1330
snuba1340
withtakea1340
reprovec1350
chastisea1375
arate1377
challenge1377
undertake1377
reprehenda1382
repreync1390
runta1398
snapea1400
underfoc1400
to call to account1434
to put downc1440
snebc1440
uptakec1440
correptc1449
reformc1450
reprise?c1450
to tell (a person) his (also her, etc.) own1450
control1451
redarguec1475
berisp1481
to hit (cross) one over (of, on) the thumbs1522
checkc1530
admonish1541
nip1548
twig?1550
impreve1552
lesson1555
to take down1562
to haul (a person) over the coals1565
increpate1570
touch1570
school1573
to gather up1577
task1580
redarguate?1590
expostulate1592
tutor1599
sauce1601
snip1601
sneap1611
to take in tax1635
to sharp up1647
round1653
threapen1671
reprimand1681
to take to task1682
document1690
chapter1693
repulse1746
twink1747
to speak to ——1753
haul1795
to pull up1799
carpet1840
rig1841
to talk to1860
to take (a person) to the woodshed1882
rawhide1895
to tell off1897
to tell (someone) where he or she gets off1900
to get on ——1904
to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908
strafe1915
tick1915
woodshed1935
to slap (a person) down1938
sort1941
bind1942
bottle1946
mat1948
ream1950
zap1961
elder1967
1948 Sunday Pictorial 29 Aug. 7/3 Carpet, a three month sentence; carpeted, on a charge for misbehaviour (also ‘cased’ or ‘matted’).
1969 ‘W. Haggard’ Doubtful Disciple iv. 44 The interviewer had been matted and now he was uncertain.
1982 Sunday Times 10 Oct. 1/1 He'd been cornered and couldn't approve because he'd be matted by the bishops if he did.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† matv.2
English regional (East Anglian). Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To break up with a mattock.
ΚΠ
1855 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 16 ii. 319 It is a better way to mat up the hassocks and ant-hills.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
matv.3
/mat/, U.S. /mæt/ transitive. To mount (a print, etc.) on a cardboard backing; to provide (a print, etc.) with a border.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > equipment for painting or drawing > [verb (transitive)] > mat
mat1965
1965 C. Zigrosser & C. M. Gaehde Guide to Collecting Orig. Prints vii. 100 The collector or owner who will have to rely on commercial framers to have his prints matted is cautioned to insist on the following points.
1981 M. Angelou Heart of Woman ii. 34 He looked at..the Van Gogh prints I had chosen and matted.
1988 A. Lurie Truth about Lorin Jones viii. 130 She..drew out Lorin Jones' gouache of the pond in Truro, now professionally matted and framed.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> see also
also refers to : -matcomb. form
<
n.1eOE
n.21766
n.31845
n.41895n.51914n.61923v.1a1425v.21855v.31965see also
- lay a weapon about one
- lay a wed
- lay a-sunning
- lay aback
- lay abbot
- lay aboard
- lay about
- lay about one
- lay abroad
- lay adown
- lay all in the dirt
- lay all one's irons in the fire
- lay along
- lay an ambush
- lay an egg
- lay an eyeball on
- lay an information
- lay analysis
- lay analyst
- lay any one on his back
- lay apart
- lay aside
- lay aside the tomahawk
- lay asunning
- lay at