Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter M - Page 24

Materialize (v. t.) To regard as matter; to consider or explain by the laws or principles which are appropriate to matter.

Materialize (v. t.) To cause to assume a character appropriate to material things; to occupy with material interests; as, to materialize thought.

Materialize (v. t.) (Spiritualism) To make visable in, or as in, a material form; -- said of spirits.

A female spirit form temporarily materialized, and not distinguishable from a human being. -- Epes Sargent.

Materialize (v. i.) To appear as a material form; to take substantial shape. [Colloq.]

Materialize (v. i.) To come into existence; as, the promised donations never materialized.

Materialize (v.) Come into being; become reality; "Her dream really materialized" [syn: happen, materialize, materialise] [ant: dematerialise, dematerialize].

Materially (adv.) In the state of matter.

I do not mean that anything is separable from a body by fire that was not materially preexistent in it. -- Boyle.

Materially (adv.) In its essence; substantially.

An ill intention is certainly sufficient to spoil . . . an act in itself materially good. -- South.

Materially (adv.) In an important manner or degree; essentaily; as, it materially concern us to know the real motives of our actions.

Materially (adv.) With respect to material aspects; "psychologically similar but materially different."

Materially (adv.) To a significant degree; "it aided him materially in winning the argument".

Materialness (n.) The state of being material.

Materia medica () Material or substance used in the composition of remedies; -- a general term for all substances used as curative agents in medicine.

Materia medica, () That branch of medical science which treats of the sources, nature and properties of all the substances that are employed for the cure of diseases, primarily with natural preparations, rather than pure or synthetic medicines; pharmacognosy.

Materia medica (n.) The science or study of drugs: their preparation and properties and uses and effects [syn: pharmacology, pharmacological medicine, materia medica].

Materiarian (n.) See Materialist. [Obs.]

Materiate (a.) Alt. of Materiated.

Materiated (a.) Consisting of matter. [Obs.] -- Bacon.

Materiation (n.) Act of forming matter. [Obs.] -- Sir T. Browne.

Materiel (n.) Those objects in a complex system which constitute the materials, or instruments employed, in distinction from the personnel, or men; for example, the buildings, libraries, and apparatus of a college, in distinction from its officers; -- used in a collective sense.

Materiel (n.) Specifically: (Military) The arms, munitions, baggage, equipment, provisions, etc., of an army.

Materiel (n.) Equipment and supplies of a military force [syn: materiel, equipage].

Materious (a.) See Material. [Obs.]

Maternal (a.) Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness.

Syn: See Motherly.

Maternal (a.) Characteristic of a mother; "warm maternal affection for her guest"- Dorothy Sayers [ant: paternal].

Maternal (a.) Relating to or derived from one's mother; "maternal genes"

Maternal (a.) Relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent; "parental guidance" [syn: parental, maternal, paternal] [ant: filial].

Maternal (a.) Related on the mother's side; "my maternal grandmother" [syn: enate, enatic, maternal(p)].

Maternal, () That which belongs to, or comes from the mother: as, maternal authority, maternal relation, maternal estate, maternal line. Vide Line.

Maternally (adv.) In a motherly manner.

Maternally (adv.) In a maternal manner; as a mother; "she loved her students almost maternally" [syn: maternally, motherly].

Maternity (n.) The state of being a mother; motherhood.

Maternity (n.) The character or relation of a mother ; maternal quality; motherliness.

Maternity (n.) The maternity ward; the maternity department of a hospital.

Maternity (a.) Of or pertaining to childbirth or the period during which a woman is pregnant; as, maternity care; a maternity hospital.

Maternity (a.) For use during pregnancy; as, a maternity outfit.

Maternity (n.) The state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus [syn: pregnancy, gestation, maternity].

Maternity (n.) The kinship relation between an offspring and the mother [syn: motherhood, maternity].

Maternity (n.) The quality of having or showing the tenderness and warmth and affection of or befitting a mother; "the girl's motherliness made her invaluable in caring for the children" [syn: motherliness, maternalism, maternal quality, maternity].

Matfelon (n.) (Bot.) The knapweed ({Centaurea nigra).

Math (n.) A mowing, or that which is gathered by mowing; -- chiefly used in composition; as, an aftermath. [Obs.]

The first mowing thereof, for the king's use, is wont to be sooner than the common math. -- Bp. Hall.

Math (n.) A science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement [syn: mathematics, math, maths].

Mathematic (a.) See Mathematical.

Mathematical (a.) 數學的；數學上的；精確的 Of or pertaining to mathematics; according to mathematics; hence, theoretically precise; accurate; as, mathematical geography; mathematical instruments; mathematical exactness. -- Math`e*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Mathematical (a.) Of or pertaining to or of the nature of mathematics; "a mathematical textbook"; "slide rules and other mathematical instruments"; "a mathematical solution to a problem"; "mathematical proof".

Mathematical (a.) Relating to or having ability to think in or work with numbers; "tests for rating numerical aptitude"; "a mathematical whiz" [syn: numerical, mathematical] [ant: verbal].

Mathematical (a.)  Beyond question; "a mathematical certainty".

Mathematical (a.) Statistically possible though highly improbable; "have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs".

Mathematical (a.) Characterized by the exactness or precision of mathematics; "mathematical precision".

Mathematician (n.)  數學家 [C] One versed in mathematics.

Mathematician (n.) A person skilled in mathematics.

Mathematician (n.) An expert in or student of mathematics.

‘One of the world's foremost theoretical mathematicians.’

Mathematics (n.) [U] 數學 [J]；數學運算；數學應用 [G] That science, or class of sciences, which treats of the exact relations existing between quantities or magnitudes, and of the methods by which, in accordance with these relations, quantities sought are deducible from other quantities known or supposed; the science of spatial and quantitative relations.

Note: Mathematics embraces three departments, namely: 1. Arithmetic. 2. Geometry, including Trigonometry and Conic Sections. 3. Analysis, in which letters are used, including Algebra, Analytical Geometry, and Calculus. Each of these divisions is divided into pure or abstract, which considers magnitude or quantity abstractly, without relation to matter; and mixed or applied, which treats of magnitude as subsisting in material bodies, and is consequently interwoven with physical considerations.

Mathematics (n.) A science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement [syn: mathematics, math, maths].

Mather (n.) See Madder.

Compare: Madder

Madder (n.) (Bot.) Rubia+({Rubia+tinctorum">A plant of the genus Rubia ({Rubia tinctorum). The root is much used in dyeing red, and formerly was used in medicine. It is cultivated in France and Holland. See Rubiaceous.

Note: Madder is sometimes used in forming pigments, as lakes, etc., which receive their names from their colors, such as madder yellow.

Field madder, An annual European weed ({Sherardia arvensis) resembling madder.

Indian madder, The East Indian Rubia cordifolia, used in the East for dyeing; -- called also munjeet.

Wild madder, Rubia peregrina of Europe; also the Galium Mollugo, a kind of bedstraw.

Madder (n.) 【植】茜草屬的植物；【紡】洋茜；人造茜草染料 Eurasian herb having small yellow flowers and red roots formerly an important source of the dye alizarin [syn: madder, Rubia tinctorum].

Madder (v.) Color a moderate to strong red.

Mathes (n.) (Bot.) The mayweed. Cf. Maghet.

Mathesis (n.) Learning; especially, mathematics. [R.] -- Pope.

Mathurin (n.) (R. C. Ch.) See Trinitarian.

Matico (n.) (Bot.) A Peruvian plant (Piper, / Artanthe, elongatum), allied to the pepper, the leaves of which are used as a styptic and astringent.

Matie (n.) (Zool.) A fat herring with undeveloped roe. [Written also matty.] [Eng. & Scot.]

Matin (n.) (Zool.) A French mastiff.

Matin (n.) Morning. [Obs.] -- Shak.

Matin (n.) pl. [F. matines. See Etymol. above.] （英國國教）晨禱；（天主教）早課；【詩】晨歌 Morning worship or service; morning prayers or songs.

The winged choristers began To chirp their matins. -- Cleveland.

Matin (n.) Time of morning service; the first canonical hour in the Roman Catholic Church.

Matin (a.) 早晨的；晨禱的 Of or pertaining to the morning, or to matins; used in the morning; matutinal.

Matinal (a.) Relating to the morning, or to matins; matutinal.

Compare: Levee

Levee (n.) The act of rising. " The sun's levee." -- Gray.

Levee (n.) A morning assembly or reception of visitors, -- in distinction from a soir['e]e, or evening assembly; a matin['e]e; hence, also, any general or somewhat miscellaneous gathering of guests, whether in the daytime or evening; as, the president's levee.

Note: In England a ceremonious day reception, when attended by both ladies and gentlemen, is called a drawing-room.

Levee (v. t.) To attend the levee or levees of.

He levees all the great. -- Young.

Levee (n.) 堤壩，堤岸；碼頭 An embankment to prevent inundation; as, the levees along the Mississippi; sometimes, the steep bank of a river. [U. S.]

Levee (v. t.) 給……築堤 To keep within a channel by means of levees; as, to levee a river. [U. S.]

Levee (n.) A formal reception of visitors or guests (as at a royal court).

Levee (n.) A pier that provides a landing place on a river.

Levee (n.) An embankment that is built in order to prevent a river from overflowing.

Matinee (n.) A reception, or a musical or dramatic entertainment, held in the daytime. See SoirEe.

Matinee (n.) A theatrical performance held during the daytime (Especially in the afternoon).

Matrass (n.) (Chem.) A round-bottomed glass flask having a long neck; a bolthead.

Compare: Bolthead

Bolthead (n.) (Chem.) A long, straight-necked, glass vessel for chemical distillations; -- called also a matrass or receiver.

Bolthead (n.) The head of a bolt.

Matress (n.) See Mattress.

Mattress (n.) A large pad stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable soft material, and quilted or otherwise fastened, used as or in a bed, to support the human body while lying down. [Written also matress.]

Mattress (n.) (Hydraulic Engin.) A mass of interwoven brush, poles, etc., to protect a bank from being worn away by currents or waves.

Innerspring mattress, () A variety of mattress [1] having springs inside to provide a flexible support; it is considered more comfortable than a stuffed mattress.

Mattress (n.) A large thick pad filled with resilient material and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or part of a bed.

Matriarch (n.) The mother and ruler of a family or of her descendants; a ruler by maternal right.

Matriarch (n.) A woman who dominates or is the most important member of a group or organization; in businesses, often the founder or owner of the largest interest.

Matriarch (n.) A venerated old woman.

Matriarch (n.) A female head of a family or tribe [syn: {matriarch}, {materfamilias}].

Matriarch (n.) A feisty older woman with a big bosom (as drawn in cartoons).

Matriarch (n.) A woman who rules a family, clan, or tribe. [Syn: materfamilias] When the matriarch of the clan appeared in the doorway, all conversation immediately ceased.

Matriarchal (a.) Of or pertaining to a matriarch; governed by a matriarch or matriarchs; as, a matriarchal society.

Matriarchal (a.) Characteristic of a matriarchy [ant: patriarchal].

Matriarchate (n.) The office or jurisdiction of a matriarch; a matriarchal form of government.

Matriarchate (n.) A form of social organization in which a female is the family head and title is traced through the female line [syn: matriarchy, matriarchate]

Matrice (n.) See Matrix.

Matricidal (a.) Of or pertaining to matricide.

Matricide (n.) The murder of a mother by her son or daughter.

Matricide (n.) One who murders one's own mother.

Matricide (n.) A person who murders their mother.

Matricide (n.) The murder of your mother.

Matriculate (v. i.) 准許入學 To go though the process of admission to membership, as by examination and enrollment, in a society or college.

Matriculated (imp. & p. p.) of Matriculate.

Matriculating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Matriculate.

Matriculate (v. t.) 准許……入學；錄取……入大學 To enroll; to enter in a register; specifically, to enter or admit to membership in a body or society, particularly in a college or university, by enrolling the name in a register.

In discovering and matriculating the arms of commissaries from North America. -- Sir W. Scott.

Matriculate (a.) Matriculated. -- Skelton. -- n. One who is matriculated. -- Arbuthnot.

Matriculate (n.) One who is matriculated.

Matriculate (n.) Someone who has been admitted to a college or university.

Matriculate (v.) Enroll as a student.

Matriculation (n.) 大學入學許可 The act or process of matriculating; the state of being matriculated.

Matriculation (n.) Admission to a group (especially a college or university) [syn: matriculation, matric].

Matrimoine (n.) Matrimony. [Obs.]

Matrimonial (a.) Of or pertaining to marriage; derived from marriage; connubial; nuptial; hymeneal; as, matrimonial rights or duties.

If he relied upon that title, he could be but a king at courtesy, and have rather a matrimonial than a regal power. -- Bacon.

Syn: Connubial; conjugal; sponsal; spousal; nuptial; hymeneal.

Matrimonial (a.) Of or relating to the state of marriage; "marital status"; "marital fidelity"; "married bliss" [syn: marital, matrimonial, married].

Matrimonial (a.) (Formal) 婚姻的；夫妻的 Related to marriage or people who are married.

Matrimonially (adv.) In a matrimonial manner.

Matrimonious (a.) Matrimonial. [R.] -- Milton.

Matrimony (n.) The union of man and woman as husband and wife; the nuptial state; marriage; wedlock.

If either of you know any impediment, why ye may not be lawfully joined together in matrimony, ye do now confess it. -- Book of Com. Prayer (Eng. Ed.)

Matrimony (n.) A kind of game at cards played by several persons.

Matrimony vine (Bot.), A climbing thorny vine ({Lycium barbarum) of the Potato family. -- Gray.

Syn: Marriage; wedlock. See Marriage.

Matrimony (n.) The state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce); "a long and happy marriage"; "God

bless this union" [syn: marriage, matrimony, union, spousal relationship, wedlock].

Matrimony (n.) The ceremony or sacrament of marriage

Matrices (n. pl. ) of Matrix.

Matrix (n.) (Anat.) The womb.

All that openeth the matrix is mine. -- Ex. xxxiv. 19.

Matrix (n.) Hence, that which gives form or origin to anything.

Matrix (n.) (Mech.) The cavity in which anything is formed, and which gives it shape; a die; a mold, as for the face of a type.

Matrix (n.) (Min.) The earthy or stony substance in which metallic ores or crystallized minerals are found; the gangue.

Matrix (n.) pl. (Dyeing) The five simple colors, black, white, blue, red, and yellow, of which all the rest are composed.

Matrix (n.) (Biol.) The lifeless portion of tissue, either animal or vegetable, situated between the cells; the intercellular substance.

Matrix (n.) (Math.) A rectangular arrangement of symbols in rows and columns. The symbols may express quantities or operations.

Matrix (n.) (Mathematics) A rectangular array of quantities or expressions set out by rows and columns; treated as a single element and manipulated according to rules.

Matrix (n.) (Geology) Amass of fine-grained rock in which fossils, crystals, or gems are embedded.

Matrix (n.) An enclosure within which something originates or develops (from the Latin for womb).

Matrix (n.) The body substance in which tissue cells are embedded [syn: matrix, intercellular substance, ground substance].

Matrix (n.) The formative tissue at the base of a nail.

Matrix (n.) Mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or other relief surface.

Matrix (n.) What the Opus BBS software and sysops call FidoNet.

Matrix (n.) Fanciful term for a cyberspace expected to emerge from current networking experiments (see the network). The name of the rather good 1999 cypherpunk movie The Matrix played on this sense, which however had been established for years before.

Matrix (n.) The totality of present-day computer networks (popularized in this sense by John Quarterman; rare outside academic literature).

Matrix, () What the Opus BBS software and sysops call FidoNet.

Matrix, () Fanciful term for a cyberspace expected to emerge from current networking experiments (see network, the).

Matrix, () The totality of present-day computer networks. [{Jargon File]

Matron (n.)  （尤指有身分的）已婚女子；遺孀；女總管；女舍監；護士長；女看守 A wife or a widow, especially, one who has borne children; a woman of staid or motherly manners.

Your wives, your daughters, Your matrons, and your maids. -- Shak.

Grave from her cradle, insomuch that she was a matron before she was a mother. -- Fuller.

Matron (n.) A housekeeper; esp., a woman who manages the domestic economy of a public instution; a head nurse in a hospital; as, the matron of a school or hospital.

Jury of matrons (Law), A jury of experienced women called to determine the question of pregnancy when set up in bar of execution, and for other cognate purposes.

Matron (n.) A married woman (usually middle-aged with children) who is staid and dignified.

Matron (n.) A wardress in a prison.

Matron (n.) A woman in charge of nursing in a medical institution.

Matronage (n.) （總稱）主婦；主婦的身分；主婦似的照料 The state of a matron.

Matronage (n.) The collective body of matrons. -- Burke.

Can a politician slight the feelings and convictions of the whole matronage of his country? -- Hare.

Matronal (a.) Of or pertaining to a matron; suitable to an elderly lady or to a married woman; grave; motherly.

Matronhood (n.) The state of being a matron.

Matronized (imp. & p. p.) of Matronize.

Matronizing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Matronize.

Matronize (v. t.) To make a matron of; to make matronlike.

Childbed matronizes the giddiest spirits. -- Richardson.

Matronize (v. t.) To act the part of a marton toward; to superintend; to chaperone; as, to matronize an assembly.

Matronlike (a.) Like a matron; sedate; grave; matronly.

Matronly (a.) Advanced in years; elderly.

Matronly (a.) Like, or befitting, a matron; grave; sedate.

Matronly (a.) Befitting or characteristic of a fully mature woman; "her matronly figure".

Matronymic (n.) See Metronymic.

Matronymic (n.) A name derived from the name of your mother or a maternal ancestor [syn: matronymic, metronymic].

Matross (n.) Formerly, in the British service, a gunner or a gunner's mate; one of the soldiers in a train of artillery, who assisted the gunners in loading, firing, and sponging the guns. [Obs.]

Mat (v. t.) [imp. & p. p. Matted; p. pr. & vb. n. Matting.] To cover or lay with mats. -- Evelyn.

Mat (v. t.) To twist, twine, or felt together; to interweave into, or like, a mat; to entangle.

And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair. -- Dryden.

Mat (n.) A name given by coppersmiths to an alloy of copper, tin, iron, etc., usually called white metal. [Written also matt.]

Mat (a.) Cast down; dejected; overthrown; slain. [Obs.]

When he saw them so piteous and so maat. -- Chaucer.

Mat (v. i.) To grow thick together; to become interwoven or felted together like a mat, as hair when wetted with a sticky substance; as, a long-haired cat whose fur is matted. Matabele

Mat (n.) A thick flat fabric of sedge, rushes, flags, husks, straw, hemp, or similar material, placed on the floor and used for wiping and cleaning shoes at the door, for covering the floor of a hall or room to protect its surface, and for other purposes.

Mat (n.) Any similar flat object made of fabric or other material, such as rubber or plastic, placed flat on a surface for various uses, as for covering plant houses, putting beneath dishes or lamps on a table, securing rigging from friction, and the like.

Mat (n.) Anything growing thickly, or closely interwoven, so as to resemble a mat in form or texture; as, a mat of weeds; a mat of hair.

Mat (n.) An ornamental border made of paper, pasterboard, metal, etc., put under the glass which covers a framed picture; as, the mat of a daguerreotype.

Mat grass. (Bot.) A low, tufted, European grass ({Nardus stricta).

Mat grass. (Bot.) Same as Matweed.

Mat+rush+(Bot.),+a+kind+of+rush+({Scirpus+lacustris">Mat rush (Bot.), a kind of rush ({Scirpus lacustris) used in England for making mats.

Mat (a.) Not reflecting light; not glossy; "flat wall paint"; "a photograph with a matte finish" [syn: flat, mat, matt, matte, matted].

Mat (n.) A thick flat pad used as a floor covering.

Mat (n.) Mounting consisting of a border or background for a picture [syn: mat, matting].

Mat (n.) Sports equipment consisting of a piece of thick padding on the floor for gymnastic sports [syn: mat, gym mat].

Mat (n.) A mass that is densely tangled or interwoven; "a mat of weeds and grass".

Mat (n.) A master's degree in teaching [syn: Master of Arts in Teaching, MAT].

Mat (n.) The property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss [syn: flatness, lusterlessness, lustrelessness, mat, matt, matte].

Mat (n.) A small pad of material that is used to protect surface from an object placed on it.

Mat (v.) Twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; "The child entangled the cord" [syn: entangle, tangle, mat, snarl] [ant: disentangle, straighten out, unsnarl].

Mat (v.) Change texture so as to become matted and felt-like; "The fabric felted up after several washes" [syn: felt, felt up, mat up, matt-up, matte up, matte, mat].

Matt (n.) See Matte. -- Knight.

Matt (a.) Not reflecting light; not glossy; "flat wall paint"; "a photograph with a matte finish" [syn: flat, mat, matt, matte, matted].

Matt (n.) The property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss [syn: flatness, lusterlessness, lustrelessness, mat, matt, matte].

Mattages (n.) (Zool.) A shrike or butcher bird; -- called also mattages. [Prov. Eng.]

Mattages (n.) (Zool.) A shrike or butcher bird; -- written also matagasse. [Prov. Eng.]

Mattamore (n.) A subterranean repository for wheat.

Matte (n.) (Metallurgy) A partly reduced copper sulphide, obtained by alternately roasting and melting copper ore in separating the metal from associated iron ores, and called coarse metal, fine metal, etc., according to the grade of fineness. On the exterior it is dark brown or black, but on a fresh surface is yellow or bronzy in color.

Matte (n.) A dead or dull finish, as in gilding where the gold leaf is not burnished, or in painting where the surface is purposely deprived of gloss.

Matte (a.) Having a dull, lusterless surface finish; opposed to glossy or polished; as, a matte photograph; a proof coin with matte figures on a polished field.

Matte (a.) Not reflecting light; not glossy; "flat wall paint"; "a photograph with a matte finish" [syn: flat, mat, matt, matte, matted].

Matte (n.) A mixture of sulfides that forms when sulfide metal ores are smelted.

Matte (n.) The property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss [syn: flatness, lusterlessness, lustrelessness, mat, matt, matte].

Matte (v.) Change texture so as to become matted and felt-like; "The fabric felted up after several washes" [syn: felt, felt up, mat up, matt-up, matte up, matte, mat].

Matted (a.) Covered with a mat or mats; as, a matted floor.

Matted (a.) Tangled closely together; having its parts adhering closely together; as, matted hair.

Matted (a.) Having a dull surface; unburnished; as, matted gold leaf or gilding.

Matted glass, Glass ornamented with figures on a dull ground.

Entangled (a.) In a confused mass. Contrasted with untangled. [Narrower terms: afoul(postnominal), foul, fouled; knotted, snarled, snarly; matted; rootbound; intertwined].

Syn: tangled.

Entangled (a.) Deeply involved especially in something problematic; as, entangled in the conflict.

Syn: embroiled.

Entangled (a.) Constrained by or as if by a convoluted rope or net; ensnared.

Matted (a.) Tangled in a dense mass; "tried to push through the matted undergrowth".

Matted (a.) Not reflecting light; not glossy; "flat wall paint"; "a photograph with a matte finish" [syn: flat, mat, matt, matte, matted].

Matter (n.) That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment.

He is the matter of virtue. -- B. Jonson.

Matter (n.) That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance.

Note: Matter is usually divided by philosophical writers into three kinds or classes: solid, liquid, and gaseous. Solid substances are those whose parts firmly cohere and resist impression, as wood or stone. Liquids have free motion among their parts, and easily yield to impression, as water and wine. Gaseous substances are elastic fluids, called vapors and gases, as air and oxygen gas.

Matter (n.) That with regard to, or about which, anything takes place or is done; the thing aimed at, treated of, or treated; subject of action, discussion, consideration, feeling, complaint, legal action, or the like; theme. "If the matter should be tried by duel." -- Bacon.

Son of God, Savior of men! Thy name Shall be the copious matter of my song. -- Milton.

Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge. -- Ex. xviii. 22.

Matter (n.) That which one has to treat, or with which one has to do; concern; affair; business.

To help the matter, the alchemists call in many vanities out of astrology. -- Bacon.

Some young female seems to have carried matters so far, that she is ripe for asking advice. -- Spectator.

Matter (n.) Affair worthy of account; thing of consequence; importance; significance; moment; -- chiefly in the phrases what matter ? no matter, and the like.

A prophet some, and some a poet, cry; No matter which, so neither of them lie. -- Dryden.

Matter (n.) Inducing cause or occasion, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing; difficulty; trouble.

And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife. -- Milton.

Matter (n.) Amount; quantity; portion; space; -- often indefinite.

Away he goes, . . . a matter of seven miles. -- L' Estrange.

I have thoughts to tarry a small matter. -- Congreve.

No small matter of British forces were commanded over sea the year before. -- Milton.

Matter (n.) Substance excreted from living animal bodies; that which is thrown out or discharged in a tumor, boil, or abscess; pus; purulent substance.

Matter (n.) (Metaph.) That which is permanent, or is supposed to be given, and in or upon which changes are effected by psychological or physical processes and relations; -- opposed to form. -- Mansel.

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