Etymology
1. O.E.
metan "to measure" (class V strong verb; past tense
mæt, pp.
meten), from P.Gmc.
*metanan (cf. O.Fris., O.N.
meta, Du.
meten, Ger.
messen, Goth.
mitan "to measure"), probably ultimately from the same PIE base as
meter. Only used now with
out.
2. 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”).
3. 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”). See: Old English '
metan', Proto-Germanic '
*metaną', Frisian, Saterlandic 'meete', Dutch '
meten', German, old spelling '
messen', Swedish '
mäta'.
Verbs referencing "mete"
Luxembourgish
miessen.