Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)

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First published 1971 (DOST Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Mete, Meit, v.² P.t. met(t; also meitted. P.p. metit and Met. [ME. mete(n, p.t. mett(e, mete, mat(te etc., also me(e)tid etc., p.p. meten, moten etc., also me(e)tid, e.m.E. mete, meate etc., p.t. met(te, mott, mat etc., also meted, p.p. meten, mette, me(a)ted, OE. metan to measure, p.t. mæt, mǽton, p.p. ᵹemeten, ON. meta to value.] To measure. = Met v. tr. (and absol.) in various senses.(a) c1420 Wynt. ii. 444.
Dame Ceres … Fyrst gert corne wytht mesure mete [: fyrlete] 1425 Acts II. io/2.
A lele man sworne to mete all gudis sellabil be the watter met als wele colis als vthir gudis(b) c1515 Asl. MS. I. 153/7.
Julius Cesar … ordanit wys men to meit & discrive all the warld abowt 1519 Selkirk B. Ct. (ed.) 54.
We ordane that … ilk man meit his awine witell his selff 1600 Crim. Trials II. 206.
Williame Clerk wes meitting collis all the tyme in the South Incheabsol. 1522 Selkirk B. Ct. (ed.) 66.
That na mettaris to be tholit to meit … bot geif it be ane freman(b) a1400 Leg. S. iii. 1089.
Fore schow met it [sc. the distance from heaven to earth] quhen scho fell Of the hey hevine done to hell 1576 Orkney Oppress. 19.
With the quhilks cuttell, bismeir and can the said lawrichtman mesurit, met and weyit the saidis dewiteis of butter Ib. 23.
The large and wrangus gripping of the handis that mett the saimen 1698 Foulis Acc. Bk. 238.
To carie away the red for entrie to the quarrell as we meitted it(c) 1607 Melrose Reg. Rec. I. 30.
To the effect that the peice roume compeneanit betuix him and James Hall sould be metit and maircheit be the nychtbours

b. To measure, as to dimension, for magical purposes. Cf. Met p.p. 1 b, Metin(g vbl. n.² b, Metting vbl. n. 1 e. 1597 Misc. Spald. C. I 143.
Thow … keist a grene truff … and laid the new calffit calff theirvpon and mett the calff theirwith 1633 Dalyell Darker Superst. 179.
He horsed her backward from quhair scho lay to the kirk of Hoy, quhair he met the kirk sevin faddome