match1
n.
- a contest in which people or teams compete against each other.
- a person or thing able to contend with another as an equal.
- a person or thing that resembles or corresponds to another.
▸Computing a string that fulfils the specified conditions of a computer search.
▸a pair that corresponds or is very similar.
- a person viewed in regard to their eligibility for marriage.
▸a marriage.
v.
- correspond or cause to correspond in some essential respect; make or be harmonious.
- be equal to in quality or strength.
▸equalize (two coupled electrical impedances) so as to bring about the maximum transfer of power from one to the other.
- place in contest or competition with another.
-
(match someone with)
archaic bring about the marriage of someone to.
Derivative
- matchable adj.
- matching adj.
Etymology
OE gemæcca ‘mate, companion’, of W. Gmc origin.
match2
n.
- a short, thin piece of wood or cardboard used to light a fire, being tipped with a composition that ignites when rubbed against a rough surface.
- historical a piece of wick or cord designed to burn at a uniform rate, used for firing a cannon or lighting gunpowder.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. meche, perh. from L. myxa ‘spout of a lamp’, later ‘lamp wick’.