mat

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mat"

Languages (41)

Translingual • English

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Ainu • Albanian • Atong (India) • Breton • Catalan • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Emilian • Faroese • French • Garo • Gothic • Hrê • Icelandic • Luxembourgish • Malay • Maricopa • Marshallese • Middle English • Mwaghavul • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old French • Old Irish • Paipai • Polish • Romanian • Romansh • Semai • Slavomolisano • Slovak • South Efate • Spanish • Swedish • Tok Pisin • Volapük • Welsh

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Matlatzinca or Spanish matlatzinca.

Symbol

mat

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Matlatzinca.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Matlatzinca terms

English

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Old English meatte

Middle English matte

English mat

a doormat (1)

a beer mat or coaster (2)

a yoga mat

Inherited from Middle English matte (“mat”), from Old English meatte (“mat”), from Late Latin matta (“mat made of rushes”), from Punic or Phoenician (compare Hebrew מיטה \ מִטָּה (mitá, “bed, couch”)). Cognate with German Matte (“mat”), Danish måtte (“mat”), Faroese and Icelandic motta (“rug, mat”), Norwegian matte (“mat, rug”), Swedish matta (“carpet, rug, mat”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: măt, IPA^(key): /mæt/
• (US) enPR: măt, IPA^(key): /mæt/, [mæʔ(t̚)]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophones: Matt, matte
• Rhymes: -æt

Noun

mat (plural mats)

1. A flat piece of coarse material used for wiping one’s feet, or as a decorative or protective floor covering.

   Wipe your feet on the mat before coming in.

3. A small flat piece of material used to protect a surface from anything hot or rough; a coaster.

   They put mats on the table during mealtimes.

4. (athletics) A floor pad to protect athletes.

   The high jumper cleared the bar and landed safely on the mat.

5. A thickly tangled mess.

   a mat of weeds

   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:

     But to return to where we left her, I see her still, propped up in a kind of stupor against one of the walls in which this wretched edifice abounds, her long grey greasy hair framing in its cowl of scrofulous mats a face where pallor, languor, hunger, acne, recent dirt, immemorial chagrin and surplus hair seemed to dispute the mastery.

   • 2018, Steve Burrows, A Tiding of Magpies: A Birder Murder Mystery‎^[2], Oneworld Publications:

     and now only a sord of Mallards drifted through the dense mats of New Zealand pigmyweed that coated the surface of the water.

6. A thin layer of woven, non-woven, or knitted fiber that serves as reinforcement to a material.
7. A thin surface layer; superficial cover.

   Iceland moss growing in a mat

   • 2016 November 15, Donald R. Prothero, The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals‎^[3], page 222:

     The fad for blaming all mass extinctions (such as happened at the end of the Cretaceous when the dinosaurs vanished) on impacts of objects from space was extended to the Pleistocene in 2007. That year a group of scientists proposed that the North American extinctions were due to a comet or meteorite impact over the Carolinas, near the beginning of the Younger Dryas event, about 12,900 years ago. The original evidence for this supposed impact was a "black mat" of organic material in many Clovis sites, plus microscopic nano-diamonds in deep-sea cores, and rare Platinum group metals in Greenland ice cores from around 12,900 years ago.

Derived terms

• algal mat
• baking mat
• bath mat
• beer mat
• biomat
• bouldering mat
• camping mat
• chair mat
• cocomat
• collision mat
• crashmat
• dance mat
• demat
• doormat
• dustmat
• filtermat
• floormat
• floor mat
• floormat
• gauze mat
• go to the mat
• intermat
• lick mat
• mat amaranth
• matball
• matboard
• mat daisy
• matgrass
• matground
• matless
• matlike
• matmaker
• matmaking
• matman
• mat rush
• mat slab
• matty
• matweed
• mouse mat
• on the mat
• paunch mat
• place mat
• playmat
• prayer mat
• roll mat
• sea mat
• Siskiyou mat
• sleeping mat
• slipmat
• splat mat
• surf mat
• sword mat
• tablemat
• table mat
• tumbling mat
• welcome mat
• yoga mat
• Zanzibar mat

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: mat
• → Japanese: マット (matto)
• → Russian: мат (mat)
• → Spanish: mat
• → Welsh: mat

Translations

foot wiping device or floor covering

• Arabic: حَصِيرَة f (ḥaṣīra)

  Egyptian Arabic: حصيرة f (ḥaṣīra)

  Hijazi Arabic: دَعَّاسة f (daʕʕāsa)

• Baba Malay: tiker
• Bangi: litoko
• Bulgarian: изтривалка (bg) f (iztrivalka)
• Catalan: estora (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 席 (zh) (xí), 門口地墊 / 门口地垫 (ménkǒu dìdiàn), 擦腳墊 / 擦脚垫 (cājiǎodiàn)

• Comorian:

  Ngazidja Comorian: foot wiping device: tapi, floor covering: mkeka class 3/4, ɗao class 5/6

• Czech: rohožka (cs) f
• Danish: måtte (da) c
• Dutch: mat (nl) c, deurmat (nl) c
• Esperanto: mato (eo)
• Fataluku: petu
• Finnish: matto (fi)
• French: foot wiping device: paillasson (fr) m, tapis (fr) m, floor covering: carpette (fr) f, tapis (fr) m, natte (fr) f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Matte (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: κάνης m (kánēs), φορμός m (phormós), ψίαθος m (psíathos)

• Hindi: पायदान (hi) m (pāydān)
• Hungarian: lábtörlő (hu), gyékény (hu)
• Icelandic: motta (is) f
• Indonesian: tikar (id)
• Italian: stuoia (it) f, stoino m, graticcio (it) m, zerbino (it) m
• Japanese: マット (ja) (matto)
• Kikuyu: mũgeka class 3
• Korean: 매트 (ko) (maeteu)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: teges (la) f, storea f
• Lingala: litoko
• Malay: tikar (ms)
• Malayalam: പായ (ml) (pāya), തടുക്ക് (ml) (taṭukkŭ)
• Māori: whāriki, tūhara
• Middle English: matte
• Mongolian: чийрс (mn) (čiirs)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: matte (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: matte f

• Ojibwe: anaakan
• Old English: meatte f
• Persian: زیلو (fa) (zilu)
• Pohnpeian: lohs
• Polish: wycieraczka (pl) f, mata (pl) f
• Portuguese: capacho (pt) m, esteira (pt)
• Romanian: rogojină (ro) f
• Russian: foot wiping device: ко́врик (ru) m (kóvrik), полови́к (ru) m (polovík); floor covering made of straw: цино́вка (ru) f (cinóvka), мат (ru) m (mat); floor covering in general: подсти́лка (ru) f (podstílka)
• Somali: dermo (so)
• Spanish: alfombrilla (es) f, felpudo (es) m, limpiabarros m, felpo (es) m, choapino (es) m
• Swahili: mkeka (sw), mkeka (sw)
• Swedish: matta (sv) c
• Tabaru: jongutu
• Tarifit: ajartir m, tajartitš f
• Ternate: jongutu
• Tetum: biti
• Thai: พรม (th) (prom), พรมเช็ดเท้า
• Tibetan: གདན (gdan)
• Turkish: paspas (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: حصیر (hasır)

• Ulithian: choob
• Welsh: mat (cy) m

protector

• Bulgarian: подложка (bg) f (podložka)
• Catalan: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 桌墊 / 桌垫 (zhuōdiàn)

• Dutch: mat (nl) c, onderlegger (nl) m, placemat (nl) c
• Finnish: alunen (fi)
• German: Matte (de) f, Unterlage (de) f
• Italian: sottopiatto m
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: подста́вка (ru) f (podstávka)
• Spanish: salvamanteles m, posavasos (es) m (coaster)
• Swedish: matta (sv) c
• Thai: เสื่อ (th) (sʉ̀ʉa)

athletics: protective pad

• Azerbaijani: döşəkçə
• Bulgarian: постилка f (postilka)
• Catalan: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: mat (nl) c, turnmat c
• Finnish: matto (fi)
• German: Matte (de) f
• Italian: materassino m
• Polish: mata (pl) f
• Russian: мат (ru) m (mat), подсти́лка (ru) f (podstílka)
• Spanish: colchoneta (es) f
• Swedish: matta (sv) c

thickly tangled mess

• Catalan: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: takku (fi)
• French: épais fouillis
• Hungarian: csomó (hu)
• Irish: straille m
• Russian: ком (ru) m (kom), клубо́к (ru) m (klubók), of hair колту́н (ru) m (koltún)

thin layer of fiber as reinforcement

• Finnish: matto (fi), kangas (fi)
• Russian: подсти́лка (ru) f (podstílka)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} mato (eo)

Verb

mat (third-person singular simple present mats, present participle matting, simple past and past participle matted)

1. (transitive) To cover, protect or decorate with mats.
   • 1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], “Kalendarium Hortense: Or, The Gard’ners Almanac; […] ”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC:

     Be careful now to keep the Doors and Windows of your Conservatories well matted

2. (intransitive) To form a thick, tangled mess; to interweave into, or like, a mat; to entangle.
   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     And o'er his eyebrows hung his matted hair.

Derived terms

• unmat

Translations

cover, protect, decorate with mats

• German: mit Matten auslegen

form a thick tangled mess

• Bulgarian: оплитам (bg) (oplitam)
• German: verfilzen (de)

Etymology 2

Noun

mat (plural mats)

1. (video games slang, chiefly in the plural) Clipping of material.

   I used up all my mats cranking 90s and ended up getting one-pumped.

   • 2019 October 24, Christopher Groux, “'Fortnite' Weapon Upgrade Guide - Upgrade Bench Locations & More”, in Newsweek‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: Newsweek Publishing LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 March 2023:

     Using a Weapon Upgrade Bench, it's possible to upgrade a Common Shotgun, for example, all the way to Legendary provided you've harvested enough mats to do so.

   • [2020 November 28, Gökhan Çakır, “Common Fortnite terms and their meanings”, in Dot Esports‎^[5], archived from the original on 21 May 2023:

     While there are game modes where you can build without any requirements, you'll need to harvest materials to build in normal Fortnite games. Mats is the shortened version of materials.]

   • 2021 September 25, Alan Bernal, “Viral Fortnite TikTok trick shows how to use Armored Walls for easy kills”, in Dexerto‎^[6], archived from the original on 26 October 2021:

     Fortnite added a new trap with the Armored Wall reinforcement for mats and one viral TikTok showed just how deadly the new item can be in a close fight.

   • 2022 July 16, Sarthak Chauhan, “Fortnite YouTuber using 1000 mats in less than 30 seconds shows exactly what not to do”, in Sportskeeda‎^[7], archived from the original on 29 May 2023:

     The looper goes on laying more than a thousand mats in thirty seconds. He finally reaches his opponent, who is easily brought down with a shell of a shotgun and a burst of an SMG. Upon eliminating the opponent, he is ecstatic in celebration.

Related terms

• hazmat

Etymology 3

Compare matte.

Alternative forms

• matt

Noun

mat (plural mats)

1. (coppersmithing) An alloy of copper, tin, iron, etc.; white metal.
2. Alternative form of matte (“instrument for producing a dull, lustreless surface”).

Verb

mat (third-person singular simple present mats, present participle matting, simple past and past participle matted)

1. Alternative form of matte (“to produce a dull, lustreless surface on metal”).

Etymology 4

Etymology tree

French matinée

English matineeclip.

English mat

A clipped form of matinee.

Noun

mat (plural mats)

1. (dated slang) Abbreviation of matinee (“performance at a theater”).
   • 1898, The Hotel/Motor Hotel Monthly, volume 6, page 27:

     A gents' toilet room might be found in a house that caters for the cheaper class of theatrical patronage, where the slangy language of the "goin' to the mat this aft?" style prevails. A gents toilet room is not found in the Southern Hotel. It either "men's" or "gentlemen's".

Etymology 5

Noun

mat (plural mats)

1. Alternative spelling of matte (“decorative border around a picture”).

   the mat of a daguerreotype

Adjective

mat

1. Alternative form of matte (“not reflecting light”).
   • 2013, K. A. Spencer, Agromyzidae (Diptera) of Economic Importance, page 264:

     Frons mat black, orbits slightly paler, more greyish; mesonotum distinctly mat, greyish-black, but with some subshine; […]

Etymology 6

Noun

mat (plural mats)

1. (printing) Clipping of matrix.

Etymology 7

Borrowed from Russian мат (mat), abbreviated from the expression ма́терная брань (máternaja branʹ), ultimately from мать (matʹ, “mother”).

Noun

mat (uncountable)

1. Vulgar, obscene, or profane language in Russian and some other Slavic language communities.
   • 1991 September 16, Michael Rabinovich, “Profanity in the USSR”, in soc.culture.soviet‎^[8] (Usenet), archived from the original on 15 August 2025:

     Most teenagers go through times when they use mat "rather heavily" among themselves. I guess they associate it with being adults. In most cases though this goes away pretty fast, usually when they start dating girls. Using mat rather heavily after graduating from university is a differnet^[sic] matter.

   • 1993 March 31, Elena Tsifrina, “let's collect MAT”, in soc.culture.soviet‎^[9] (Usenet), archived from the original on 15 August 2025:

     Don't you people have anything better to do than collecting mat. I still can't undestand why people in (and from) the ex-USSR like to swear so much.

   • 1993 June 22, Boris A. Veytsman, “Russian "mat" and Russian mentality”, in talk.politics.soviet‎^[10] (Usenet), archived from the original on 15 August 2025:

     As the Russian mentality (hopefully) will be less medieval, mat will lose its social role. It will be less frequently used in the spoken language. From the other hand, books will lose its medieval sacrality, and mat will be allowed to be printed.

Further reading

• mat (profanity) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

See also

etymologically unrelated terms containing the word "mat"

• mat bean
• mat leave
• mat rep
• mat sci
• transmat

Anagrams

• AMT, ATM, MTA, TAM, TMA, amt, amt., atm, tam

Ainu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mát/, [mát̚]

Noun

mat (Kana spelling マッ)

1. (mainly in compounds) woman, female
2. wife

   mat etun

   take a wife

Verb

mat (Kana spelling マッ)

1. take a wife

   te wano anak mat ka a=kor kusu ne.

   From now on, I'm going to get a wife, too.

Synonyms

• menoko

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “woman”): okkayo (“man”)
• (antonym(s) of “wife”): hoku (“husband”)

Derived terms

• matne (“female”)

Albanian

Alternative forms

• matje

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *mata, from pre-Albanian *mn̥to, from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to tower, stand out”) (compare Welsh mynydd, Latin mōns, Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬙𐬌 (mati)).

Noun

mat m (plural mate, definite mati, definite plural matet)

1. seacoast
2. riverbank
3. sandy shore, sandy beach

Synonyms

• (sandy beach): ranishtë

Atong (India)

Etymology

Cognate with Garo mat/Garo mat-. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

mat

1. wild animal

Derived terms

• matburung
• matdam
• matdi
• mathai
• matrong
• matsa
• matsadu

References

• van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

Breton

Alternative forms

• mad

Etymology

From Old Breton mat, from Proto-Brythonic *mad, from Proto-Celtic *matis. Cognate with Cornish mas, Irish maith, Manx mie, Scottish Gaelic math, and Welsh mad.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːt/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

mat (comparative gwelloc'h / gwell, superlative gwellañ, exclamative gwellat)

1. good

Derived terms

• chañs vat (“good luck”)
• demat (“hello”)
• mad (“good”, noun)
• mataat (“to improve”)
• peurvat (“perfect”)

Related terms

• ma

Mutation

Mutation of mat

	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard
simple form	mat	vat	never occurs	never occurs

Catalan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

mat m (plural mats)

1. checkmate

Derived terms

• escac i mat

Czech

Etymology

Ultimately from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, literally “the king is amazed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmat]

Noun

mat m inan

1. checkmate

Declension

Declension of mat (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	mat	maty
genitive	matu	matů
dative	matu	matům
accusative	mat	maty
vocative	mate	maty
locative	matu	matech
instrumental	matem	maty

Derived terms

• dát mat
• matovat
• matový
• šachmat

Further reading

• “mat”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “mat”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “mat”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Adjective

mat (neuter mat, plural and definite singular attributive matte)

1. dull, not shiny
2. tired

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mat
• Rhymes: -ɑt

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch matte, borrowed from Latin matta. Cognates include English mat and German Matte.

Noun

mat m or f (plural matten, diminutive matje n)

1. rug, mat
2. (hairstyle, chiefly diminutive) mullet

Derived terms

• deurmat
• hangmat
• kokosmat
• mattenbies
• mattenklopper
• muismat
• rietmat
• slaapmat
• turnmat

Related terms

• placemat

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: mat

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch mat (“checkmate”), borrowed from Old French mat, borrowed from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king is dead”). Cognate to English checkmate.

Noun

mat n (plural matten, no diminutive)

1. (chess) checkmate

Related terms

• schaakmat

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch mat, borrowed from Old French mat, from Latin mattus (“depressed”). See also French mat (adjective).

Adjective

mat (comparative matter, superlative matst)

1. matte, not reflecting light
2. dull, uninteresting

Declension

Declension of mat
uninflected	mat
inflected	matte
comparative	matter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		mat	matter	het matst het matste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	matte	mattere	matste
	n. sing.	mat	matter	matste
	plural	matte	mattere	matste
definite		matte	mattere	matste
partitive		mats	matters	—

Derived terms

• matglas
• matkop

Verb

mat

1. inflection of matten:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

Etymology 4

See Dutch meten.

Verb

mat

1. singular past indicative of meten

References

• “mat” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]
• Notes:

Anagrams

• tam

Emilian

Alternative forms

• mât (Modenese, Reggiano)

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: mat

Noun

mat m (plural mat) (Mirandola)

1. insane

Synonyms

• matùs (Carpigiano)

Faroese

Etymology

From the noun matur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛaːt/
• Rhymes: -ɛaːt
• Homophone: mæt

Noun

mat

1. accusative singular of matur.

Anagrams

• amt

French

Etymology 1

Probably from Latin mattus, which is from madere; see Italian matto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat/
  • Rhymes: -at
  • Homophones: mate, matent, mates, math, maths, mats, matte, mattent, mattes (general), mâte, mâtent, mâtes (some speakers)
• (also) IPA^(key): /ma/
  • Rhymes: -a
  • Homophones: ma, mats (general), mât, mâts (some speakers)

Adjective

mat (feminine mate, masculine plural mats, feminine plural mates)

1. matt
2. pale

Derived terms

• matifier
  • matifiant
• matité

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of the French expression échec et mat, from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king is ambushed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat/
• Rhymes: -at
• Homophones: mate, matent, mates, math, maths, mats, matte, mattent, mattes (general), mâte, mâtent, mâtes (some speakers)

Adjective

mat (feminine mate, masculine plural mats, feminine plural mates)

1. checkmated

Noun

mat m (plural mats)

1. checkmate

Derived terms

• échec et mat

Further reading

• Littré, Émile (1873–1878), “mat”, in Dictionnaire de la langue française, Paris: L. Hachette
• “mat”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• AMT

Garo

Noun

mat

1. squirrel

Prefix

mat

1. prefix for mammals

Gothic

Romanization

mat

1. romanization of 𐌼𐌰𐍄

Hrê

Noun

mat

1. eye

Derived terms

• gùang mat (“eye glasses”)

References

• Trebilco, Oliver (2018), “mat”, in Hrê - English Dictionary, SIL International

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmaːt]
• Rhymes: -aːt

Etymology 1

Noun

mat n (genitive singular mats, nominative plural möt)

1. (usually uncountable) evaluation

Declension

Declension of mat (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	mat	matið	möt	mötin
accusative	mat	matið	möt	mötin
dative	mati	matinu	mötum	mötunum
genitive	mats	matsins	mata	matanna

Related terms

• meta (“to evaluate”)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mat

1. inflection of matur:
   1. indefinite accusative singular
   2. indefinite dative singular

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Old High German mit, from Proto-Germanic *midi. Cognate with German mit, Dutch met, West Frisian mei, Icelandic með.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑt/

  Rhymes: -ɑt

Preposition

mat

1. with

Antonyms

• ouni

Malay

Etymology 1

Shortening of mamat, from adapted name Mamat, from Muhammad, or alternatively from Ahmad, two common Malay names.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmat/ [ˈmat̪̚]

Noun

mat (plural mat-mat)

1. (colloquial) a male person, a guy or dude

   Synonyms: mamat, laki, lelaki, brader

2. (colloquial, used in the vocative) A term of address for someone, often but not exclusively a man, usually when showing concern or expression
3. (colloquial, in compound) a person, usually male, who associated with a stereotypic lable or nickname

Particle

mat

1. (colloquial) usually tagged at the end of a sentence to express discontent, shock, exhaustion or exasperation, in a chill and easygoing expression

   Coordinate terms: bodo, do, dowh, sial (more vulgar), siak, siot, babi (vulgar), bhai, gila, cok

   • 2022 October 2, @ainathirh__, Twitter‎^[11] (post):

     sakit mat bila member rapat sendiri tikam belakang

     Damn, it hurts when your close friend stabs you in the back

Usage notes

The usages of mat as a "lable or nickname" are most common in the early 80s and 90s but now almost fosilized. Some words can be replace with similar word kaki that are more gender neutral, e.g. kaki bodek, kaki gaduh and kaki lepak can be used for mat bodek, mat gaduh and mat lepak. However, both have a slightly different connotative meaning as mat refers more on stereotype while kaki focus on habits.

Derived terms

Affixations

• dimatkan

Compounds

• mat belia (“youngster”)
• mat bodek (“brownnoser”)
• mat botol (“alcoholic”)
• mat bunga (“romantic”)
• mat cabul (“pervert”)
• mat celoreng (“soldier”)
• mat cintan (“love addict guy”)
• mat dadah (“druggy”)
• mat disko (“clubster”)
• mat gaduh (“hoodlum; brawler”)
• mat gayut (“phone addict”)
• mat gian (“druggy”)
• mat jambu (“pretty boy”)
• mat jiwang (“romantic”)
• mat kapur (“stealer”)
• mat karok (“karaoke fan”)
• mat kelentong (“deceiver”)
• mat kencing (“deciever; cheat”)
• mat kental (“nerd”)
• mat kereta (“car guy”)
• mat lalok (“druggy”)
• mat lepak (“slacker; loafer”)
• mat motor (“motor guy”)
• mat pau (“moocher”)
• mat pen (“egoist”)
• mat pet (“druggy”)
• mat ragut (“snatcher”)
• mat rambu (“loiterer”)
• mat rempit (“illegal street racer”)
• mat rep (“delinquent”)
• mat rewang (“loiterer”)
• mat rok (“heavy metal fan”)
• mat sailang (“girlfriend-stealer”)
• mat salih (“White or European man”)
• Mat Salleh (“White or European man”)
• mat samun (“robber”)
• mat skodeng (“peeping Tom”)
• mat sunglap (“grafter”)
• mat tenggek (“freeloader”)
• mat terap, mat tiarap (“soldier”)
• mat tiang (“electrician”)

Related terms

• minah (a certain woman, a Jane Doe)

Etymology 2

Clipping of selamat

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmat/ [ˈmat̪̚]

Adjective

mat

1. (slang, text messaging, humorous) used only in certain phrases or expression to wish happiness or good fortune

   Mat ri ya ― Happy Eid

   Mat ri di ― happy birthday

   Mat hun ru ― Happy new year

   Mat pagi ― good morning

   Mat malam ― good night

Maricopa

Noun

mat

2. earth

Marshallese

Pronunciation

• (phonetics) IPA^(key): [mʲɑtˠ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /mʲætˠ/
• Bender phonemes: {mat}

Etymology 1

From Proto-Micronesian *masu, from Proto-Oceanic *masuʀ, contraction of Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *mabosuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bəsuR, from Proto-Austronesian *bəsuR.

Cognate with Tongan mahu (“abound in food”).

Adjective

mat

1. full (after eating); satiated

Etymology 2

Adjective

mat

1. cooked

References

• Abo, Takaji; Bender Byron W.; Capelle, Alfred; DeBrum, Tony (2009–), “mat”, in Marshallese–English Online Dictionary‎^[12]

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French mat, a backformation from eschec mat (“checkmate”).

Alternative forms

• maat, mate, matt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːt/, /mat/

Interjection

mat

1. (chess) Said when the opponent's king is captured.

Related terms

• chekmat
• maten

Descendants

• English: mate

References

• “māt, interj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

mat

1. checkmate, mate (moment of the opponent's king's capture)

Descendants

• English: mate

References

• “māt, interj. & n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adjective

mat

1. checkmated, defeated (in chess)

References

• “māt, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old French mat (“defeated, tired”), from Late Latin mattus. Compare modern English matte.

Alternative forms

• maat, mate, matt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːt/, /mat/

Adjective

mat (plural and weak singular mate)

1. vanquished, defeated, defenceless
2. tired, fatigued
3. depressed, sorrowful
4. confused, afraid

Related terms

• maten

References

• “māt, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

mat

1. alternative form of mate

Etymology 4

Noun

mat

1. alternative form of matte

Etymology 5

Verb

mat

1. alternative form of maten (“to overpower”)

Mwaghavul

Noun

mat

1. woman

References

• Zygmunt Frajzyngier, A Grammar of Mupun (1993)

Northern Sami

Pronoun

mat

1. nominative plural of mii

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maːt/, [mɑːt̻]

• Rhymes: -aːt

Etymology 1

From Old Norse matr. Cognates include: Danish mad, Swedish mat, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍄𐍃 (mats), Old English mete (English meat).

Noun

mat m (definite singular maten, uncountable)

1. food

Derived terms

• babymat
• barnemat
• boksemat
• ferdigmat
• fingermat
• hurtigmat
• julemat
• matallergi
• matbord
• matbutikk
• matforgiftning
• matjord
• matkilde
• matlaging
• matmangel
• matolje
• matrest
• matvane
• matvare
• sjømat
• søppelmat
• varmmat

Related terms

• mate

See also

• føde (“sustenance”)
• næring (“nutrition”)

Etymology 2

Verb

mat

1. imperative of mate

References

• “mat” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse matr.

Noun

mat m (definite singular maten, uncountable)

1. food

Derived terms

• andemat
• babymat
• barnemat
• boksemat
• ferdigmat
• fingermat
• jolemat
• julemat
• matallergi
• matbord
• matbutikk
• matjord
• matlaging
• matmangel
• matolje
• matrest
• matvane
• matvare
• sjømat
• søppelmat

References

• “mat” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Adjective

mat m (feminine mate)

1. checkmated; in checkmate

Old Irish

Verb

mat

1. third-person plural present subjunctive of masu
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 4^a27

     I⟨s⟩ samlid trá is lobur ar n-irnigde-ni, mat réte frecndirci gesme, et nín·fortéit-ni in spirut oc suidiu.

     Thus then our way of praying is feeble if present things are what we ask for, and the spirit does not help us with this.

Paipai

Noun

mat

1. land

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmat/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: mat

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic مَات (māt), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât).

Noun

mat m animal

1. (chess) checkmate

Declension

Declension of mat

	singular	plural
nominative	mat	maty
genitive	mata	matów
dative	matowi	matom
accusative	mata	maty
instrumental	matem	matami
locative	macie	matach
vocative	macie	maty

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Dutch maat.

Noun

mat m pers

1. (military, nautical) mate (ship's officer)
2. (nautical) mate (in naval ranks, a non-commissioned officer)

Declension

Declension of mat

	singular	plural
nominative	mat	maci/matowie
genitive	mata	matów
dative	matowi	matom
accusative	mata	matów
instrumental	matem	matami
locative	macie	matach
vocative	macie	maci/matowie

Etymology 3

Borrowed from German matt.

Noun

mat m inan

1. matt, matte (dull colour or surface)

Declension

Declension of mat

	singular
nominative	mat
genitive	matu
dative	matowi
accusative	mat
instrumental	matem
locative	macie
vocative	macie

Derived terms

adjective

• matowy

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mat f

1. genitive plural of mata

Further reading

• “mat”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[13] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “mat”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[14] (in Polish)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French mat.

Adjective

mat m or n (feminine singular mată, masculine plural mați, feminine/neuter plural mate)

1. matte

Declension

Declension of mat

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	mat		mată	mați	mate
	definite	matul		mata	mații	matele
genitive- dative	indefinite	mat		mate	mați	mate
	definite	matului		matei	maților	matelor

Romansh

Etymology

From Latin marītus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mat]

Noun

mat m

1. boy

Semai

Etymology

From Proto-Aslian *mat, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *mat (“eye”). Cognate with Khmer មាត់ (mŏət), Mon မတ် (mòt), Vietnamese mắt, Car Nicobarese mat.

Noun

mat

1. eye

Slavomolisano

Etymology

From Serbo-Croatian mati.

Noun

mat f

1. mother

Declension

Declension of mat (series-2b fem)

	singular	plural
nominative	mat	matare
genitive	matare, matre	matr, matari, matri
dative	mataru	matrami, matari, matri, matr
accusative	mataru	matare
locative	mataru	matare
instrumental	matarom, matrom	matrami, matari, matri, matr

References

• Ivica Peša Matracki and Nada Županović Filipin (2014), Changes in the System of Oblique Cases in Molise Croatian Dialect.
• Walter Breu and Giovanni Piccoli (2000), Dizionario croato molisano di Acquaviva Collecroce: Dizionario plurilingue della lingua slava della minoranza di provenienza dalmata di Acquaviva Collecroce in Provincia di Campobasso (Parte grammaticale).

Slovak

Etymology

Derived from Arabic مَاتَ (māta) in Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king is dead”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat/, [ˈmat]
• Rhymes: -at

Noun

mat m inan (relational adjective matový)

1. checkmate (final move in a chess game)

Declension

Declension of mat
(pattern dub)

	singular	plural
nominative	mat	maty
genitive	matu	matov
dative	matu	matom
accusative	mat	maty
locative	mate	matoch
instrumental	matom	matmi

Related terms

• šach-mat

Further reading

• “mat”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Anagrams

• tam
• tma

South Efate

Etymology

From Proto-North-Central Vanuatu *mate, from Proto-Oceanic *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay. Cognate with Big Nambas im'a.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat/

Verb

mat

1. to die

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Old English meatte

Middle English matte

English matbor.

Spanish mat

Borrowed from English mat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmat/ [ˈmat̪]
• Rhymes: -at
• Syllabification: mat

Noun

mat m (plural mats)

1. mat (for exercise)

Swedish

mat på en tallrik [food on a plate]

Etymology

From Old Norse matr, from Proto-Germanic *matiz, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-. Cognate with English meat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑːt/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

mat c

1. food

   mat och dryck

   food and drink

   Det är viktigt att äta mat så att man inte svälter ihjäl

   It is important to eat food so that you don't starve to death

   äta mat med kniv och gaffel (bestick)

   eat food with a knife and fork (cutlery)

   Var maten god?

   Was the food good?

   Maten var jättegod

   The food was really good / delicious [bit more informal]

   Smakade maten bra?

   Did the food taste good? / [pretty close in tone] Was the food good?

   Maten smakade utmärkt

   The food tasted excellent [bit more (possibly tongue-in-cheek) formal-sounding]

   Jag tycker om att laga mat

   I like cooking

   (literally, “I like to cook food”)

   När man matar en katt så ger man katten mat

   When you feed a cat, you give the cat food

   Efter maten satte vi oss i soffan och drack kaffe och samtalade

   After dinner [usually implied, possibly some other meal – "after the food"], we sat down on the couch and had coffee and talked [conversed]

   Mamma, när blir det mat?

   Mom, when's dinner?

   (literally, “Mom, when does it become [when will there be] food?”)

   Dinner usually implied here as well. See also the usage notes for bli (“become”).

Declension

Declension of mat

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	mat	mats
	definite	maten	matens
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Derived terms

• andmat
• barnmat
• basmat
• bekvämmat
• bjudmat
• blodmat
• burkmat
• dietmat
• favoritmat
• fiskmat
• färdigmat
• hundmat
• hämtmat
• kalasmat
• kattmat
• kvällsmat
• laga mat
• mataffär
• matare
• matavfall
• matback
• matberedare
• matbespisning
• matbestick
• matbit
• matbord
• matbox
• matbricka
• matbrist
• matbröd
• matbutik
• matdags
• matfett
• matfisk
• matfriare
• matfrisk
• matförgiftad
• matförgiftning
• matförråd
• matglad
• matgäst
• matho
• mathållning
• matig
• matinköp
• matjord
• matkasse
• matkniv
• matkonto
• matkontroll
• matkorg
• matkort
• matkostnad
• matkultur
• matkupong
• matkällare
• matkärl
• matkö
• matlag
• matlagare
• matlagerska
• matlagning
• matlust
• matlåda
• matmamma
• matmoder
• matmoms
• matmor
• matning
• matnyttig
• matolja
• matordning
• matos
• matpaket
• matpaus
• matpengar
• matplats
• matportion
• matpotatis
• matpris
• matranson
• matrast
• matrecept
• matrester
• matris
• matro
• matrum
• maträtt
• matsal
• matsedel
• matservering
• matservis
• matsilver
• matsked
• matskribent
• matsmältning
• matstrejk
• matstrejka
• matstrejkare
• matstrupe
• matställe
• matsvamp
• matsäck
• matte
• mattempel
• mattid
• mattvång
• matvanor
• matvara
• matvin
• matvrak
• matvrå
• matväg
• matvägra
• matvägran
• matvägrare
• matäpple
• middagsmat
• nattmat
• skräpmat
• smörgåsmat
• snabbmat
• vardagsmat

Related terms

• mata

See also

• anrättning
• arom
• avnjuta
• delikat
• dryck
• frukost
• föda
• god
• hungrig
• husmanskost
• inta
• kock
• krydda
• kvällsmat
• kök
• laga
• lunch
• läcker
• maträtt
• mellanmål
• middag
• mumma
• mums
• mums filibabba
• måltid
• mätt
• näring
• paltkoma
• proppmätt
• rätt
• smak
• smaka
• smarrig
• smaskens
• smaskig
• svälja
• tugga
• utsökt
• välj och svälj
• välsmakande
• äcklig
• äta

References

• “mat”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “mat”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• tam

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English mat.

Noun

mat

1. sitting or sleeping mat

Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat/

Noun

mat (genitive mata, plural mats)

1. marriage, wedlock, matrimony

Declension

Declension of mat

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mat	mats
Genitive	mata	matas
Dative	mate	mates
Accusative	mati	matis
Predicative1	matu	matus
Vocative	o mat	o mats

1. Introduced in Volapük Nulik.

Derived terms

• matan
• matikön
• matön

Welsh

Etymology

From English mat, from Middle English matte, from Old English meatte, from Late Latin matta, from Punic or Phoenician.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mat/

Noun

mat m (plural matiau or matau)

1. mat (flat piece of coarse material used for wiping one’s feet or as a decorative or protective floor covering)

Mutation

Mutated forms of mat

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
mat	fat	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “mat”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies