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(), n.[OE. matere, F. matire, fr. L. materia; perh. akin to L. mater mother. Cf. Mother, Madeira, Material.] 1. That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment. He is the matter of virtue. B. Jonson. 2. That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance. Matter is usually divided by philosophical writers into three kinds or classes: solid, liquid, and ariform. Solid substances are those whose parts firmly cohere and resist impression, as wood or stone. Liquids have free motion among their parts, and easily yield to impression, as water and wine. Ariform substances are elastic fluids, called vapors and gases, as air and oxygen gas. 3. That with regard to, or about wh Mat"ter (), v. i.[imp. & p. p.Mattered (); p. pr. & vb. n.Mattering.] 1. To be of importance; to import; to signify. It matters not how they were called. Locke. 2. To form pus or matter, as an abscess; to maturate. [R.] "Each slight sore mattereth." Sir P. Sidney. Mat"ter v. t.To regard as important; to take account of; to care for. [Obs.] He did not matter cold nor hunger. H. Brooke. スポンサード リンク
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