n.
Variant: or ma · te
Pronunciation: ' mä- ˌ t ā
Function: noun
Etymology: French & American Spanish; French maté, from American Spanish mate maté, vessel for drinking it, from Quechua mati vessel
Date: 1758
1 : a tealike beverage drunk especially in So. America
2 : a So. American shrub or tree ( Ilex paraguariensis ) of the holly family whose leaves and shoots are used in making maté also : these leaves and shoots