I. ˈmēt, usu -ēd.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English meten, from Old English metan; akin to Old Saxon metan to measure, Old Frisian meta, Middle Dutch meten, Old High German mezzan to measure, Old Norse meta to value, Gothic mitan to measure, Latin modus measure, moderation, manner, meditari to meditate, modestus moderate, modest, moderari to moderate, Old Irish midiur I judge, Greek medesthai to be mindful of, medimnos grain measure; basic meaning: to measure
1. archaic
a. : to find the quantity, dimensions, or capacity of by any rule or standard : measure
metes the thin air and weighs the flying sound — George Crabbe †1832
b. : to determine the value of : appraise
a pattern or a measure … by which his Grace must mete the lives of others — Shakespeare
2. : to assign by measure : deal out : allot , apportion — usually used with out
mete out punishment
so has my portion been meted out to me — Oscar Wilde
II. noun
( -s )
: measure
sprinkled sugar over it with neither mete nor measure — Della Lutes
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Anglo-French, from Latin meta goal, boundary
: boundary — now used chiefly in the phrase metes and bounds