| matins |
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) in the Roman Catholic Church, the first of the seven canonical hours, or the service for this, usu. held between midnight and four A.M. [2 definitions] |
| matri- |
mother. |
| matriarch |
a woman who acts as head of a family, tribe, or other group of people. |
| matriarchy |
a social system in which the mother is considered head of the family or other group, and ancestry and descent are reckoned on the mother's side. (Cf. patriarchy.) |
| matricide |
the act or an instance of killing one's mother. [2 definitions] |
| matriculate |
to enroll or be enrolled in an organization, esp. a college or university. [2 definitions] |
| matrilineal |
pertaining to, derived from, or tracing descent through the mother's family. |
| matrimonial |
of or relating to marriage; conjugal; marital. |
| matrimony |
the act, ceremony, or sacrament of marriage. [2 definitions] |
| matrimony vine |
a thorny shrub of the nightshade family that is cultivated for its foliage, small pink flowers, and red berries; boxthorn. |
| matrix |
an environment that gives form to or provides for the origin or development of something. [5 definitions] |
| matron |
a married woman, usu. of mature age, with an established and dignified position in the community. [2 definitions] |
| matron of honor |
a married woman serving as the bride's chief attendant at a wedding. |
| matte |
having a finish lacking in shine and luster; dull. [3 definitions] |
| matted1 |
tangled together in a dense mass or clump. [2 definitions] |
| matted2 |
having a dull, matte finish. |
| matter |
all substances that occupy space and can be seen, otherwise sensed, or measured; material stuff of the universe. [8 definitions] |
| matter of course |
an event that is logically or naturally expected to occur. |
| matter-of-course |
occurring in the normal or logical course of events; inevitable; routine. [2 definitions] |
| matter-of-fact |
concerned with facts; unimaginative or literal. [2 definitions] |
| Matthew |
one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, traditionally regarded as the author of the first Gospel in the New Testament. [2 definitions] |