matter 
operation of thought; the content of experi- 
ence. 
All the matter of perception is but our own affection. 
J. Hutchinson Stirling, Mind, X. 63. 
3. That of which anything is or may be com- 
posed; plastic, formative, or formed material 
of any kind; material: as, the prime matters 
of textile fabrics (wool, cotton, silk, etc.); the 
book contains much useless matter. 
Perpetueel matere of the flr of helle. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
The upper regions of the air receive the collection of 
the matter of tempests before the air here below. Bacon. 
A goodly monument, which the Great Mogor hath beene 
nine yeares in building. . . . The matter is fine Marble, 
the forme nine square, two English miles about, and nine 
stories in height. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 478. 
Fancy and judgment are a play's full matter. 
Ford, Fancies, Epil. 
That other mortal . . . 
Whom of our matter time shall mould anew. 
Dryden, tr. of Lucretius, iii. 30. 
4. Specifically, in printing : (a) Material for 
work; copy: as, to Keep the compositors sup- 
plied with matter, (b) Type set up ; material to 
be printed from, or that "has been printed from 
and will not again be required : in the former 
case called distinctively live matter, and in the 
latter dead matter. 5. In a restricted sense, 
mere effete substance; that which is thrown 
off by a living body, or which collects in it as 
the result of disease; pus: as, fecal matter; 
purulent or suppurative matter (often called 
simply matter); the discharge of 'matter from 
an abscess or a wound. 6. The material of 
thought or expression ; the substance of a 
mental act or a course of thought; something 
existing in or brought forth by the mind; a con- 
ception or a production of the intellect con- 
sidered as to its contents or significance, as 
distinguished from its form. 
I will answer also my part, . . . for I am full of matter. 
Job xxxii. 17, 18. 
Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, 
Brags of his substance, not of ornament. 
Shak., E. and J., ii. 6. 30. 
Euery man's stile is for the most part according to the 
matter and subiect of the writer, or so ought to be, and 
conformable thereunto. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 124. 
I know no man a greater master in commanding words 
to serve matter. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, Pref., p. x. 
Upon this theme his discourse is long, his matter little 
but repetition. Milton, Eikonoklastes, xiiii 
His manner in court was excelled by his matter. 
Sumner, Hon. John Pickering. 
7. Material or occasion for thought, feeling, 
or expression; a subject or cause of mental 
operation or manifestation; intellectual basis 
or ground; theme; topic; source: as, matter 
for reflection; a matter of joy or grief. 
Thurgh vnwarnes of wit that thi wirdis cast, 
Thow ges matir to men mony day after, 
fforto speke of thi spede, & with spell herkyn 
Of thi lure and thi losse for a high wille. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.X 1. 2089. 
It is made but a laughing matter, but a trifle ; but it is 
a sad matter, and an earnest matter. 
Latimer, Sermou bef. Edw. VI., 1650. 
Hail, Son of God ! Saviour of men ! Thy name 
Shall be the copious matter of my song. 
Milton, P. L.,iii. 413. 
The wavering and cowardly policy of England furnished 
matter of ridicule to all the nations of Europe. 
Macaulay, Bacon. 
8. A subject of or for consideration or action ; 
something requiring attention or effort; ma- 
terial for activity ; affair ; concern : as, matters 
of state or of business. 
Ye now wolde vs meve with other materes and tales other 
weyes, and ther-fore we pray you and requyre speke no 
more ther-of. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 681. 
For their priuate matters they can follow, fawne, and flat- 
ter noble Personages. Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 83. 
To your quick-conceiving discontents, 
111 read you matter deep and dangerous. 
Shot., 1 Hen. IV., i. 3. 190. 
I have matter of danger and state to impart to Crosar. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, v. 1. 
High matter thou enjoin'st me, O prime of men ! 
Sad task and hard. Milton, P. L., v. S63. 
She knows but matters of the house. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, xcvii. 
9. A subject of debate or controversy; a ques- 
tion under discussion ; a ground of difference 
or dispute. 
Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every 
small matter they shall judge. Ex. xviii. 22. 
Dare any one of you, having a matter against another, 
go to law? 1 Cor. vl. 1. 
[They brought] divers arguments against it, whereof 
some were weighty, but not to the matter. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 164. 
3662 
Adr. Why, man, what is the matter ? 
Dro. S. I do not know th e matter .-he's rested on the case. 
Shale., C. of E., iv. 2. 42. 
A fawn was reasoning the matter with a stag, why he 
should run away from the dogs. Sir Jt. L Estramje. 
The word matter has always meant, in legal proceedings, 
the Question in controversy. 
Davis, Law in Shakspeare, p. 134. 
10. An object of thought in general ; a thing 
engaging the attention ; anything under con- 
sideration indefinitely: as, that is a matter of 
no moment ; a matter of fact. 
For they speak not peace : but they devise deceitful mat- 
ters against them that are quiet in the land. Ps. xxxv. 20. 
My heart is inditing a good matter. Ps. xlv. 1. 
What impossible matter will he make easy next? 
Shale., Tempest, ii. 1. 88. 
Matters succeeded so well with him, that everybody was 
in admiration to see how mighty rich he was grown. 
Sir H. L'Ketramje. 
With many thousand matters left to do. 
Tennyson, Princess, iv. 
Money matters seem likely to go on capitally. My ex- 
penses, I find, will be smaller than I anticipated. 
Macaulay, in Trevelyan, I. 331. 
And the power of creation is not a matter of static abil- 
ity ; it is a matter of habits and desires. 
W. E. Cliford, Mental Development, p. 104. 
11. A circumstance or condition as affecting 
persons or things ; a state of things ; especially, 
something requiring remedy, adjustment, or ex- 
planation : as, this is a serious matter; what is 
the matter? 
"It's a very strange matter, fair maiden," said he, . . . 
"I canua' blaw my horn, but ye call on me." 
Lady Isabel and the Elf-Kniyht (Child's Ballads, I. 190). 
Then go with me to make the matter good. 
Shak., T. of the S., iv. 2. 114. 
I'll tell you what the matter is with you. 
Milton, Ans. to Salmasius, i. 21. 
So when you plague a fool, 'tis still the curse, 
You only make the matter worse and worse. 
Pope, Donne Versified, Sat. Iv. 
What has been the matter' you were denied to me at 
first ! Sheridan, The Rivals, i. 21. 
12t. An inducing cause or occasion ; explana- 
tory fact or circumstance ; reason. 
The matter of seditions is of two kinds : much poverty 
and much discontent. Bacon, Seditions and Troubles. 
And this is the matter why interpreters . . . will not 
consent it to be a true story. Milton. 
13. Significance; sense; meaning; import. 
I was born to speak all mirth and no matter. 
Shak., Much Ado, ii. 1. 344. 
14. Ground of consideration; importance; con- 
sequence : used especially in interrogative and 
negative phrases, sometimes with an ellipsis 
of the verb. 
Whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me. 
Gal. ii. 6. 
Much matter was made of this, as fearing it would be 
taken as an act of rebellion. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, 1. 175. 
No matter who's displeased when you are gone. 
Shak.,1. G. of V., ii. 7. 66. 
No matter what is done, so it be done with an air. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 6. 
If to be perfect in a certain sphere, 
What matter [is it], soon or late, or here or there? 
, Pope, Essay on Man, i. 74. 
Mr. Surface, what news do you hear? though indeed it 
is no matter, for I think one hears nothing else but scan- 
dal. Sheridan, School for Scandal, i. 1. 
1 5. Something indefinite as to amount or quan- 
tity ; a measure, distance, time, or the like, ap- 
proximately or vaguely stated. 
One of his pinnaces was about forty tons, of cedar, built 
at Barbathes, and brought to Virginia by Capt. Powell, 
who there dying, she was sold for a small matter. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 228. 
Away he goes to the market-town, a matter of seven 
miles off. Sir H. L'Eetrange. 
The Dutch, as 1 have before observ'd, do often buy Proe- 
bottoms for a small matter of the Maylayans. 
Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 111. 
I have Thoughts to tarry a small matter in Town, to learn 
somewhat of your Lingo first, before I cross the Seas. 
Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 16. 
16. In law: (a) Statement or allegation: as, 
the court may strike out scandalous matter from 
a pleading. (6) A proceeding of a special na- 
ture, commenced by motion on petition or or- 
der to show cause, etc., as distinguished from 
a formal action by one party against another, 
commenced by process and seeking judgment : 
as, the matter of the application of A. B. for 
the appointment of a trustee. 17t. Wood: 
apparently with reference to the hard stem of 
the vine. 
Heine hem uppe with canne and litel stakes, 
And yeve hem streng yeres after three. 
At yeres IIII uppe III matiers takes 
On hem, alle ronk yf that the landes be. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 72. 
matterful 
Abstraction from singulars but not from matter. 
See abstractiun. All is a mattert, it is all one thing sub- 
stantially; hence, it is wholly indifferent. 
Whether we make the common readers to laugh or to 
lowre, all is amatter. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 86. 
A matter of course. See course^.A. matter of life 
and death. See life. Close matter. See close'*!. 
Coloring matter. See color. Common mattert, that 
which all things have in common; being. Contingent 
matter. See contitiyent. Dead matter. See def. 4 (b). 
First mattert. (a) In metaph., matter unformed and 
chaotic. (6) The material or substance of which anything 
is composed. Also prime matter, materia prima. For 
that matter, as far as that goes ; so far as that is con- 
cerned. 
For that Matter, Sit, be ye 'Squire, Knight, or Lord, 
I'll give you whate'er a good Inn can afford. 
Prior, Down-Hall, st. 21. 
Intelligible matter. See intelligible. lAve matter. 
See def. 4 (b). Matter of a proposition, the subject of 
the proposition : also called the material matter, in contra- 
distinction to the formal matter, which is the fact signified. 
Matter of a syllogism, the propositions and terms of 
the syllogism. The formal matter of a proposition has, 
since the twelfth century, been distinguished as natural, 
contingent or casual, and remote or unnatural, according 
as the character signified by the predicate term must, 
may or may not, or cannot, inhere in the subject. Mat- 
ter of cognition. See def. 2 (e). Matter of composi- 
tion, or permanent matter, that of which anything con- 
sists. Matter Of fact, (a) A reality, as distinguished 
from what is fanciful, hypothetical, or hyperbolical. 
Lady Sneer. Strange, indeed ! 
Crabt. Matter of fact, I assure you. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, i. 1. 
(b) In law, that which is fact or alleged as fact : in contra- 
distinction to matter of law, which consists in the resulting 
relations, rights, and obligations which the law establishes 
in view of given facts. Thus, the questions whether a 
man executed a contract, and whether he was intoxicated 
at the time, relate to matters of fact ; whether, if so, he 
is bound by the contract, and what the instrument means, 
are matters of law. The importance of the distinction is 
that in pleading allegations of the former are essential 
and of the latter unavailing, and that the former are 
usually questions for the jury, the latter for the judge, (c) 
A particular element or fact of experience. 
Some particular existence, or, as it is usually termed, 
matter-of-fact. Locke, Human Understanding, IV. xvL 6. 
What is the nature of that evidence which assures us of 
any real existence and matter of fact, beyond the present 
testimony of our senses? 
Hume, Human Understanding, iv. 
Matter of generation, or transient matter, that out 
of which anything is made, as seed. Matter Of law. 
See matter of fact (ft). Matter of record, that which 
is recorded, or which may be proved by record. In law the 
term imports a judicial, or at least an official, record. See 
record. Second matter, in metaph., matter formed. See 
first matter. Sensible matter, the matter of sensible 
things. signate, designate, determinate, or indi- 
vidual matter, that which is diverse, though not in any 
character different, in all individuals. This distinction ori- 
ginated with Thomas Aquinas. Spiritual matter, the 
matter of the incorruptible body after the resurrection. 
Standing matter, composed types that have not yet been 
printed or molded from, or that have been so used and are 
set aside for further service. To make a matter of con- 
science. See conscience. To make mattert, to make 
no matter. See makei. Upon the mattert, upon the 
Whole matter, on the whole ; taking all things into view. 
So that upon the matter, in a great wit, deformity is an 
advantage to rising. Bacon, Deformity. 
Waller, with Sir William Balfour, exceeded in horse, but 
were, upon the whole matter, equal in foot. Clarendon. 
What's the matter with (a thing or act) ? what is your 
objection to (it)? a humorous use, at once assuming that 
objection has been made, implying that there is no ground 
for the objection, and recommending the thing or act 
mentioned, 
matter (mat'er), c. [< matter, n.~\ I. intrans. 
1. To be of importance; import; signify: 
chiefly used in negative and interrogative 
phrases: as, it does not matter; what does it 
matter f 
For Sosianus and Sagitta were men vile and of no ac- 
count, neither mattered it where they lined. 
Sir H. Sank, tr. of Tacitus, p. 161. 
To a man of virtue and honour, indeed, this mattered 
little. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xvii. 
2f. To form pus ; collect or be discharged, as 
matter in an abscess ; also, to discharge pus. 
Each slight sore mattereth. Sir P. Sidney. 
Earth's milk 's a ripened core, 
That drops from her disease, that matters from her sore. 
Quarles. Emblems, i. 12. 
II. trans. If. To regard; care for: mind. 
I repulsed her once and again ; but she put by my re- 
pulses, and smiled. Then I began to be angry ; but she 
mattered that nothing at all. 
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 339. 
The low Land is sometimes overflown with water in the 
time of Harvest yet they matter it not, but gather the 
crop and fetch it home wet in their Canoas. 
Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 25. 
I had rather receive Money than Letters. I don't mat- 
ter Letters, so the Money does but come. 
X. Jlailey, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 106. 
2. To approve of. Halliicell. [Prov. Eng.] 
matterful (mat'er-ful). fl. [< matter + -fnl.] 
Full of matter, substance, good sense, or the 
like: pithy; pregnant. 
