Matrimony Mat"ri·mo·ny noun [ Middle English matrimoine , through Old French, from Latin matrimonium , from mater mother. See Mother .]

1. 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. )

2. A kind of game at cards played by several persons.

Matrimony vine (Botany) , a climbing thorny vine ( Lycium barbarum ) of the Potato family. Gray.

Syn. -- Marriage; wedlock. See Marriage .

Matrix Ma"trix (mā"trĭks) noun ; plural Matrices (măt"rĭ*sēz). [ Latin , from mater mother. See Mother , and confer Matrice .]

1. (Anat.) The womb.

All that openeth the matrix is mine.

Ex. xxxiv. 19.

2. Hence, that which gives form or origin to anything ; as: (a) (Mech.) The cavity in which anything is formed, and which gives it shape; a die; a mold, as for the face of a type. (b) (Min.) The earthy or stony substance in which metallic ores or crystallized minerals are found; the gangue. (c) plural (Dyeing) The five simple colors, black, white, blue, red, and yellow, of which all the rest are composed.

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

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

Matron Ma"tron noun [ French matrone , Latin matrona , from mater mother. See Mother .] 1. 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.

2. 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.

Matronage Mat"ron·age noun 1. The state of a matron.

2. The collective body of matrons. Burke.

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

Hare.

Matronal Mat"ron·al adjective [ Latin matronalis .] Of or pertaining to a matron; suitable to an elderly lady or to a married woman; grave; motherly.

Matronhood Ma"tron·hood noun The state of being a matron.

Matronize Mat"ron·ize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Matronized ; present participle & verbal noun Matronizing .] 1. To make a matron of; to make matronlike.

Childbed matronizes the giddiest spirits.

Richardson.

2. To act the part of a matron toward; to superintend; to chaperone; as, to matronize an assembly.

Matronlike Ma"tron·like` adjective Like a matron; sedate; grave; matronly.

Matronly Ma"tron·ly adjective 1. Advanced in years; elderly.

2. Like, or befitting, a matron; grave; sedate.

Matronymic Mat`ro·nym"ic noun [ Latin mater mother + -nymic , as in patronimic .] See Metronymic .

Matross Ma·tross" noun [ Dutch matroos , from French matelot .] (Mil.) 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. [ Obsolete]

Matt Matt noun See Matte . Knight.

Mattages Mat`ta·ges" noun (Zoology) A shrike or butcher bird; -- written also matagasse . [ Prov. Eng.]

Mattamore Mat"ta·more` noun [ French matamore , from Arabic matmōra .] A subterranean repository for wheat.

Matte Matte (măt) noun [ French matte ; confer French mat , masc., matte , fem., faint, dull, dim; -- said of metals. See Mate checkmate.] 1. (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.

2. 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.

Matted Mat"ted adjective [ See Matte .] Having a dull surface; unburnished; as, matted gold leaf or gilding.

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

Matted Mat"ted adjective [ See 3d Mat .] 1. Covered with a mat or mats; as, a matted floor.

2. Tangled closely together; having its parts adhering closely together; as, matted hair.

Matter Mat"ter noun [ Middle English matere , French matière , from Latin materia ; perhaps akin to Latin mater mother. Confer Mother , Madeira , Material .] 1. 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.

2. 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.

» Matter is usually divided by philosophical writers into three kinds or classes: solid , liquid , and aëriform . 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. Aëriform substances are elastic fluids, called vapors and gases , as air and oxygen gas.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

9. (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.

10. (Print.) Written manuscript, or anything to be set in type; copy; also, type set up and ready to be used, or which has been used, in printing.

Dead matter (Print.) , type which has been used, or which is not to be used, in printing, and is ready for distribution. -- Live matter (Print.) , type set up, but not yet printed from. -- Matter in bar , Matter of fact . See under Bar , and Fact . -- Matter of record , anything recorded. -- Upon the matter , or Upon the whole matter , considering the whole; taking all things into view.

Waller, with Sir William Balfour, exceeded in horse, but were, upon the whole matter , equal in foot.

Clarendon.

Matter Mat"ter intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Mattered ; present participle & verbal noun Mattering .] 1. To be of importance; to import; to signify.

It matters not how they were called.

Locke.

2. To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. [ R.] "Each slight sore mattereth ." Sir P. Sidney.

Matter Mat"ter transitive verb To regard as important; to take account of; to care for. [ Obsolete]

He did not matter cold nor hunger.

H. Brooke.

Matter-of-fact Mat"ter-of-fact" adjective Adhering to facts; not turning aside from absolute realities; not fanciful or imaginative; commonplace; dry.

Matterless Mat"ter·less adjective 1. Not being, or having, matter; as, matterless spirits. Davies (Wit's Pilgr. ).

2. Unimportant; immaterial. [ Obsolete]

Mattery Mat"ter·y adjective 1. Generating or containing pus; purulent.

2. Full of substance or matter; important. B. Jonson.

Matting Mat"ting noun [ From Mat , transitive verb & i. ] 1. The act of interweaving or tangling together so as to make a mat; the process of becoming matted.

2. Mats, in general, or collectively; mat work; a matlike fabric, for use in covering floors, packing articles, and the like; a kind of carpeting made of straw, etc.

3. Materials for mats.

4. An ornamental border. See 3d Mat , 4.

Matting Mat"ting noun [ See Matte .] A dull, lusterless surface in certain of the arts, as gilding, metal work, glassmaking, etc.

Mattock Mat"tock noun [ Anglo-Saxon mattuc ; confer W. matog .] An implement for digging and grubbing. The head has two long steel blades, one like an adz and the other like a narrow ax or the point of a pickax.

'T is you must dig with mattock and with spade.

Shak.

Mattoid Mat"toid noun [ Italian matto mad (cf. Latin mattus , matus , drunk) + -oid .] A person of congenitally abnormal mind bordering on insanity or degeneracy.

Mattoir Mat·toir" noun [ French matoir .] (Engraving) A kind of coarse punch with a rasplike face, used for making a rough surface on etching ground, or on the naked copper, the effect after biting being very similar to stippled lines.

Mattowacca Mat`to·wac"ca noun [ Indian name.] (Zoology) An American clupeoid fish ( Clupea mediocris ), similar to the shad in habits and appearance, but smaller and less esteemed for food; -- called also hickory shad , tailor shad , fall herring , and shad herring .

Mattress Mat"tress noun [ Old French materas , French matelas , Late Latin matratium ; confer Spanish & Portuguese al madraque , Pr. al matrac ; all from Arabic matrah a place where anything is thrown, what is thrown under something, from taraha to throw.]

1. A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or other suitable material, and quilted or otherwise fastened. [ Written also matress .]

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

Maturant Mat"u·rant noun [ Latin maturans , present participle See Maturate .] (Medicine) A medicine, or application, which promotes suppuration.

Maturate Mat"u·rate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Maturated ; present participle & verbal noun Maturating .] [ Latin maturatus , past participle of maturare to make ripe, from maturus ripe, mature. See Mature , v. & adjective ] 1. To bring to ripeness or maturity; to ripen.

A tree may be maturated artificially.

Fuller.

2. To promote the perfect suppuration of (an abscess).

Maturate Mat"u·rate intransitive verb To ripen; to become mature; specifically, to suppurate.

Maturation Mat`u·ra"tion noun [ Latin maturatio a hastening: confer French maturation .] The process of bringing, or of coming, to maturity; hence, specifically, the process of suppurating perfectly; the formation of pus or matter.

Maturative Mat"u·ra·tive adjective [ Confer French maturatif .] Conducing to ripeness or maturity; hence, conducing to suppuration.

Maturative Mat"u·ra·tive noun (Medicine) A remedy promoting maturation; a maturant.

Mature Ma·ture" adjective [ Compar. Maturer ; superl. Maturest .] [ Latin maturus ; probably akin to English matin .]

1. Brought by natural process to completeness of growth and development; fitted by growth and development for any function, action, or state, appropriate to its kind; full-grown; ripe.

Now is love mature in ear.

Tennison.

How shall I meet, or how accost, the sage,
Unskilled in speech, nor yet mature of age ?

Pope.

2. Completely worked out; fully digested or prepared; ready for action; made ready for destined application or use; perfected; as, a mature plan.

This lies glowing, . . . and is almost mature for the violent breaking out.

Shak.

3. Of or pertaining to a condition of full development; as, a man of mature years.

4. Come to, or in a state of, completed suppuration.

Syn. -- Ripe; perfect; completed; prepared; digested; ready. -- Mature , Ripe . Both words describe fullness of growth. Mature brings to view the progressiveness of the process; ripe indicates the result. We speak of a thing as mature when thinking of the successive stayes through which it has passed; as ripe , when our attention is directed merely to its state. A mature judgment; mature consideration; ripe fruit; a ripe scholar.

Mature Ma·ture" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Matured ; present participle & verbal noun Maturing .] [ See Maturate , Mature .] To bring or hasten to maturity; to promote ripeness in; to ripen; to complete; as, to mature one's plans. Bacon.

Mature Ma·ture" intransitive verb 1. To advance toward maturity; to become ripe; as, wine matures by age; the judgment matures by age and experience.

2. Hence, to become due, as a note.

Maturely Ma·ture"ly adverb 1. In a mature manner; with ripeness; completely.

2. With caution; deliberately. Dryden.

3. Early; soon. [ A Latinism, little used] Bentley.

Matureness Ma·ture"ness noun The state or quality of being mature; maturity.

Maturer Ma·tur"er noun One who brings to maturity.

Maturescent Mat`u·res"cent adjective [ Latin maturescens , present participle of maturescere to become ripe, v. incho. from maturus . See Mature , adjective ] Approaching maturity.

Maturing Ma·tur"ing adjective Approaching maturity; as, maturing fruits; maturing notes of hand.

Maturity Ma·tu"ri·ty noun [ Latin maturitas : confer French maturité .]

1. The state or quality of being mature; ripeness; full development; as, the maturity of corn or of grass; maturity of judgment; the maturity of a plan.

2. Arrival of the time fixed for payment; a becoming due; termination of the period a note, etc., has to run.

Matutinal Mat`u·ti"nal adjective [ Latin matutinalis , matutinus : confer French matutinal . See Matin .] Of or pertaining to the morning; early.

Matutinary Ma·tu"ti·na·ry adjective Matutinal. [ R.]

Matutine Mat"u·tine adjective Matutinal. [ R.]

Matweed Mat"weed` noun (Botany) A name of several maritime grasses, as the sea sand-reed ( Ammophila arundinacea ) which is used in Holland to bind the sand of the seacoast dikes (see Beach grass , under Beach ); also, the Lygeum Spartum , a Mediterranean grass of similar habit.

Maty Mat"y noun [ Etymology uncertain.] A native house servant in India. Balfour (Cyc. of India).

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