*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -mate

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der. Proto-Germanic *matiz Proto-Germanic *matjô Proto-West Germanic *gamatjôder. Old Saxon gimatoder. Middl

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Used to form nouns having the sense of "a comrade or fellow with whom what is denoted by the noun is shared".

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der. Proto-Germanic *matiz Proto-Germanic *matjô Proto-West Germanic *gamatjôder. Old Saxon gimatoder. Middle Low German matebor. Middle English mate English mate English -mate From the noun mate (“fellow, comrade, partner”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "mate",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe?\nProto-Indo-European *ḱóm\nProto-Germanic *ga-\nProto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der.\nProto-Germanic *matiz\nProto-Germanic *matjô\nProto-West Germanic *gamatjôder.\nOld Saxon gimatoder.\nMiddle Low German matebor.\nMiddle English mate\nEnglish mate\nEnglish -mate\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"messmate\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"beside\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"here\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ḱe\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ḱóm\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ga-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"wet\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*meh₂d-\", \"gloss\" : \"to be wet; grease, fat\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*matiz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*matjô\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*gamatjô\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Saxon\", \"term\" : \"gimato\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"osx\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle Low German\", \"term\" : \"mate\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gml\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"mate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"mate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-mate\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-mate\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "mate",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *ḱe?\nProto-Indo-European *ḱóm\nProto-Germanic *ga-\nProto-Indo-European *meh₂d-der.\nProto-Germanic *matiz\nProto-Germanic *matjô\nProto-West Germanic *gamatjôder.\nOld Saxon gimatoder.\nMiddle Low German matebor.\nMiddle English mate\nEnglish mate\nEnglish -mate"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*ḱe",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱe#Proto-Indo-European:_here"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱóm",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱóm#Proto-Indo-European:_beside"
    ],
    [
      "*ga-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ga-"
    ],
    [
      "*meh₂d-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/meh₂d-#Proto-Indo-European:_wet"
    ],
    [
      "*matiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/matiz"
    ],
    [
      "*matjô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/matjô"
    ],
    [
      "*gamatjô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/gamatjô"
    ],
    [
      "gimato",
      "gimato#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "mate",
      "mate#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "mate",
      "mate#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "mate",
      "mate#English"
    ],
    [
      "mate",
      "mate#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form nouns having the sense of \"a comrade or fellow with whom what is denoted by the noun is shared\"."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "bb62eae0d710ef2a202c8a11c102a06832fb395eb6539e26716a9db6e57c66d4",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0682081f61208ec8e564e64c8ef5bc3c8d05998ea0de8b569205a0c2d3041bee",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 8923266
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -mate →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LW1hdGU