matey

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈmeɪti/ UK /ˈmeɪti/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
friendly and sociable; (British) a familiar term of address

He was instantly matey with everyone at the bar.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · friendly and sociable;... friendly sociablechummyamiable genial companionable

Opposites

unfriendly aloof standoffish hostile

Word family

Derived forms mateyness

Related forms mate mateship

Etymology

From mate ('companion', from Middle Low German mate) plus the adjectival suffix -y. Chiefly British, meaning friendly or sociable, or used as a familiar form of address.

mate Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# matey

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˈmeɪti
**IPA (UK):** ˈmeɪti

## Meanings
1. friendly and sociable; (British) a familiar term of address

## Examples
- He was instantly matey with everyone at the bar.

## Synonyms
- friendly
- sociable
- chummy
- amiable
- genial
- companionable

## Antonyms
- unfriendly
- aloof
- standoffish
- hostile

## Derived Forms
- mateyness

## Related Forms
- mate
- mateship

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mate

## Etymology
From mate ('companion', from Middle Low German mate) plus the adjectival suffix -y. Chiefly British, meaning friendly or sociable, or used as a familiar form of address.

## AI Etymology
Matey comes from mate ('companion', from Middle Low German mate) plus the adjectival suffix -y. Chiefly British, meaning friendly or sociable, or used as a familiar form of address. The etymological trail includes gml mate. As an adjective, matey means friendly and sociable; (British) a familiar term of address. The same family is visible in derived forms such as mateyness and related forms such as mate and mateship.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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matey

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