MEASURE

I. noun Etymology: Middle English mesure, from Anglo-French, from Latin mensura, from mensus, past participle of metiri to ~; akin to Old English mǣth ~, Greek metron Date: 13th century 1. a. an adequate or due portion, a moderate degree, a fixed or suitable limit ; bounds , the dimensions, capacity, or amount of something ascertained by measuring, an estimate of what is to be expected (as of a person or situation), d. a ~d quantity, amount , degree , 2. an instrument or utensil for measuring, b. a standard or unit of ~ment, a system of standard units of ~ , the act or process of measuring, 4. a. melody , tune , dance , rhythmic structure or movement ; cadence : as, poetic rhythm ~d by temporal quantity or accent, musical time, c. a grouping of a specified number of musical beats located between two consecutive vertical lines on a staff, a metrical unit ; foot , an exact divisor of a number, a basis or standard of comparison , a step planned or taken as a means to an end, II. verb (~d; measuring) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to choose or control with cautious restraint ; regulate , to regulate by a standard ; govern , to allot or apportion in ~d amounts , to lay off by making ~ments, to ascertain the ~ments of, to estimate or appraise by a criterion , to travel over ; traverse , to serve as a means of measuring , intransitive verb to take or make a ~ment, to have a specified ~ment, measurability noun measurable adjective measurably adverb ~r noun