mate 1
— mateless , adj.
/mayt/ , n. , v. , mated, mating .
n.
1. husband or wife; spouse.
2. one member of a pair of mated animals.
3. one of a pair: I can't find the mate to this glove.
4. a counterpart.
5. an associate; fellow worker; comrade; partner (often used in combination): classmate; roommate.
6. friend; buddy; pal (often used as an informal term of address): Let me give you a hand with that, mate.
7. Naut.
a. See first mate .
b. any of a number of officers of varying degrees of rank subordinate to the master of a merchant ship.
c. an assistant to a warrant officer or other functionary on a ship.
8. an aide or helper, as to an artisan; factotum.
9. a gear, rack, or worm engaging with another gear or worm.
10. Archaic. an equal in reputation; peer; match.
v.t.
11. to join as a mate or as mates.
12. to bring (animals) together for breeding purposes.
13. to match or marry.
14. to join, fit, or associate suitably: to mate thought with daring action.
15. to connect or link: a telephone system mated to a computerized information service.
16. to treat as comparable.
v.i.
17. to associate as a mate or as mates.
18. (of animals) to copulate.
19. (of animals) to pair for the purpose of breeding.
20. to marry.
21. (of a gear, rack, or worm) to engage with another gear or worm; mesh.
22. Archaic. to consort; keep company.
[ 1350-1400; ME mette, OE gemetta messmate, guest. See MEAT ]
mate 2
/mayt/ , n. , v.t. , mated, mating , interj. Chess.
checkmate (defs. 1, 3, 5).
[ 1175-1225; ME mat defeated (adj.), defeat (n.) ]
mate 3
/mah"tay, mat"ay/ , n.
maté.