matter

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A situation, subject, or affair that is being dealt with or considered.

   This is a serious matter that we need to discuss.

2. 2
   noun

   A problem or difficulty (often in 'what's the matter?').

   Is anything the matter?

3. 3
   noun

   The physical substance that everything is made of and that occupies space.

   Physicists study the nature of matter and energy.

4. 4
   noun

   An approximate amount or extent of time.

   I stayed for a matter of months.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Matter entered English in the Middle Ages and ultimately belongs to the Latin word family of mater, “mother.” The historical connection rests on the idea of material as the source from which something is made or brought into being.

From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin māteria (“wood”), from māter (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother. Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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