match English · revision 3459

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mætʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|equal, contest}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 971 (Old English gemæcca)|origins=gem-pro *gamakjô}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The equal is [[inh|enm|macche]], [[inh|ang|mæcca]], [[m|ang|gemæcca|t=companion, mate, spouse; an equal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) from [[gem-pro|*gamakjô]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) “fitting well together”,^(Etymonline) related to Old English [[m|ang|gemaca|t=companion]] and [[m|ang|macian|t=to make]].^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) Its cognates include [[osx|gimako|t=fellow, equal]] and [[goh|gimah|t=comfort, ease]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) and Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*mag-|t=to knead, fashion, fit]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[make]] and [[mate]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A husband or wife, a mate: Old English ''gemæcca'', before 971,^(Barnhart 1988) or before 831.^(OED 1989) One's equal or companion is from about 975.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''macche'' meant one's spouse about 1200, in the ''Ormulum'', and one's equal about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988) A person able to contend with another, an adequate opponent, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) which led to the sporting sense “contest”, from the 1540s^(Etymonline) or the early 16th century.^(Cresswell 2021) A person or thing that exactly corresponds to another is from about 1400.^(Etymonline) A marriage, as in ''a good match'', is from the 1570s.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to be an adequate opponent for” in the mid-14th century, and “to join, especially in marriage” in the late 14th.^(Etymonline) “To make agree or harmonize” is from the 1520s, and “to be equal to” from the 1590s.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 971 – Old English ''gemæcca'', mate.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – an equal; an opponent.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – verb, to rival.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – a counterpart.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – verb, to harmonize.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – a contest.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – a marriage.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A contest or game between opponents.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A person or thing able to compete equally with another.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A person or thing exactly like or harmonizing with another; a pair that go well together.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A marriage; a person seen as a prospective partner.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be exactly like; to correspond to.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To harmonize with; to find or provide a counterpart for.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To be equal to; to put in competition with.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[matcher]]

+ * [[matching]]

+ * [[matchless]]

+ * [[matchmaker]]

+ * [[mismatch]]

+ * [[match point]]

+ * [[rematch]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|lighter}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1378 (Piers Plowman)|origins=grc μύξα}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The lighter is [[inh|enm|macche|t=wick of a candle or lamp]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|meiche|t=wick of a candle]], modern [[m|fr|mèche]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[la-vul|*micca]], [[m|la-vul|*miccia]], of uncertain origin,^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) probably from [[la|myxa|t=nozzle of a lamp; lamp wick]], from [[grc|μύξα|tr=múxa|t=mucus, lamp wick]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024) the image being of a wick dangling from the spout like mucus from a nostril.^(Etymonline) Klein takes the Vulgar Latin word as a blend of ''myxa'' with another word.^(Klein 1966) Spanish [[m|es|mecha]] and Italian [[m|it|miccia]] are cognates.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The wick of a candle or lamp: about 1378, in a version of ''Piers Plowman'',^(Barnhart 1988) or 1377,^(OED 1989) a sense now obsolete.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The modern spelling is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) A cord or wick for firing a gun is from 1549,^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and a piece of cord or wood dipped in sulphur, used to light fires or candles, from 1530.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The modern friction match, tipped with a substance that ignites when struck, is so called from 1831^(OED 1989) or by 1830, and competed for much of the 19th century with ''lucifer''.^(Etymonline) ''Matchbook'' is from the 20th century.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1378 – a wick (''Piers Plowman'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1530 – a sulphured splint for lighting.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1549 – a fuse for a gun.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1831 – a friction match.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A short, thin piece of wood or cardboard with a tip that ignites when struck.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(historical)'' A slow-burning cord or wick once used to fire guns.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[matchbox]]

+ * [[matchstick]]

+ * [[matchbook]]

+ * [[matchlock]]

+ * [[matchwood]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[make]]

+ * [[mate]]

+ * [[mucus]]

+ * [[lucifer]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}