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Added 1 October 2026

matter

/ˈmætə/ noun

In Latin: māteria Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about matter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Material; substance. Anything with mass and volume. Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles.
vegetable matter
Anything with mass and volume.
Matter made up of normal particles, not antiparticles.

verb

To be important. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
The only thing that matters to Jim is being rich.
To care about, to mind; to find important.
To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate.

Origin

From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin māteria (“wood”), from māter (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother. Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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