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mete¹

(mēt)

tr.v. met·ed, met·ing, metes

1. To distribute or allot. Often used with out: mete out justice.

2. Archaic To measure.

[Middle English meten, from Old English metan; see med- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

mete²

(mēt)

A boundary line; a limit.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin mēta, turning post, boundary.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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