mete

Definition

To dispense, measure in order to dispense, allot (especially punishment, reward etc.).

Etymology

From Middle English meten, from Old English metan (“to measure, mete out, mark off, compare, estimate; pass over, traverse”), from Proto-West Germanic *metan, from Proto-Germanic *metaną (“to measure”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure, consider”). Cognate with Scots mete (“to measure”), Saterland Frisian meete (“to measure”), West Frisian mjitte (“to measure”), Dutch meten (“to measure”), German messen (“to measure”), Swedish mäta (“to measure”), Latin modus (“limit, measure, target”), Ancient Greek μεδίμνος (medímnos, “measure, bushel”), Ancient Greek μέδεσθαι (médesthai, “care for”), Old Armenian միտ (mit, “mind”).

Example Sentences

• "Match'd with an agèd wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race"
• "Every generation metes out substantially the same punishment to those who fall far below and those who rise high above its standards."
• "For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."