meet English · revision 3659

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /miːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|come together}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Old English mētan, Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *mōtijaną}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ To come together is [[inh|enm|meten]], [[inh|ang|mētan|t=to find, come upon, encounter]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[gem-pro|*mōtijaną]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a derivative of the noun that gave Old English [[m|ang|gemōt|t=meeting, assembly]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) Its cognates include [[non|mœta|t=to meet]] and [[osx|mōtian|t=to meet]], and Gothic has gamōtjan, “to meet”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Outside Germanic, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster compare Armenian matčim, “I approach”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and Etymonline gives a root [[ine-pro|*mod-|t=to meet, assemble]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[moot]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To come upon, find or fall in with: Old English ''mētan'', in ''Beowulf'' (about 725);^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) Middle English ''meten'' is recorded probably before 1200, in Layamon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By about 1300 the verb was used of things coming into contact or joining, and of people approaching each other from opposite directions or meeting in combat.^(Etymonline) The intransitive sense “to come together” is from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline) and of members of an organized body, “to assemble”, from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) “To come upon, encounter” in the abstract (''meet with approval'', ''meet one's destiny'') dates from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and “to satisfy, be in agreement with” (''meet expectations'') from the 1690s,^(Etymonline) or 1694 according to the Historical Thesaurus.^(HTOED) ''Meet halfway'' in the figurative sense of mutual concession is from the 1620s.^(Etymonline) The noun ''meeting'' is probably from before 1300, in ''Kyng Alisaunder''.^(Barnhart 1988) The noun ''meet'' arose in 1831–34 for a gathering of hounds and riders before a hunt,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and was later used of cyclists, athletes and other competitors.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''mētan'' (''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – Middle English ''meten'' (Layamon).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – of things, to join; of people, to approach from opposite directions.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1300 – ''meeting''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-14th century – to come together.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – of a body of members, to assemble.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1620s – ''meet halfway''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1690s – to satisfy (''meet expectations'').^(Etymonline)

+ * 1831 – noun, a meet of hounds.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To come upon by chance or by arrangement.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To be present at the arrival of: ''meet the train''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To be [[introduce|alt=introduced]] to.^(AHD)

+ # To come into contact or [[conjunction]] with; to join.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To come together; to [[assemble]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To experience or undergo: ''met with disaster''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To deal with or [[satisfy]]: ''meet the demand''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To come together as opponents.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A meeting or competition, especially in [[athletics]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A gathering of hounds and riders for a [[hunt]].^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A point of intersection; the intersection of sets.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[meeting]]

+ * [[meeter]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|fitting, proper}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 961 (Old English gemǣte)|origins=gem-pro *ga-mētijaz}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The adjective “fitting” is [[inh|enm|mete]], shortened from earlier [[m|enm|imete]],^(Hoad 1986) [[inh|ang|gemǣte|t=suitable, of the same dimensions]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[gem-pro|*ga-mētijaz]],^(Etymonline) formed from the collective prefix [[m|gem-pro|*ga-]] and the base of [[mete|alt=mete]], “to measure”.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*med-|t=to take appropriate measures]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Its cognates include [[goh|gamāzi|t=suitable]] and [[de|gemäß|t=in accordance with]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Hoad and Etymonline note that its root sense, “commensurate”, matches the formation of [[commensurate]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Having the right shape or size, made to fit: about 1300.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English ''gemǣte'' meant “commensurate”,^(SOED 2002) and it is first recorded about 961.^(Barnhart 1988) “Proper, appropriate” is from the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and “fit (to do something)” from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The King James Bible has ''It is not meet to take the children's bread''.^(SOED 2002) The word is now archaic.^(SOED 2002)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 961 – Old English ''gemǣte''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – made to fit.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – proper, appropriate.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – fit to do something.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(archaic)'' Fitting, proper or suitable.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[meetly]]

+ * [[meetness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[moot]]

+ * [[mete]]

+ * [[met]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}