MATE

I. transitive verb (~d; mating) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~r, from mat, noun, check~, ulti~ly from Arabic māt (in shāh māt) Date: 14th century check~ 2, II. noun Date: 14th century check~ 1, III. noun see: meat Date: 14th century 1. a. associate , companion , an assistant to a more skilled worker ; helper , friend , buddy , match , peer , a deck officer on a merchant ship ranking below the captain, one of a pair: as, either member of a couple and especially a married couple, either member of a breeding pair of animals, either of two matched objects, IV. verb (~d; mating) Date: 1509 transitive verb equal , match , to join or fit together ; couple , 3. to join together as ~s, to provide a ~ for, intransitive verb to become ~d , copulate