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matting

 [mat-ing]   Origin

mat·ting

1   [mat-ing]
noun
1.
a coarse fabric of rushes, grass, straw, hemp, or the like, used for floor covering, wrapping material, etc.
2.
material for mats.
3.
mats collectively.
4.
the making of mats.
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Origin:
1675–85; mat1 + -ing1

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Matting is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

mat·ting

2   [mat-ing]
noun
a dull, slightly roughened surface, free from polish, produced by the use of a matte.
Origin:
1680–90; matte1 + -ing1

mat

1   [mat] noun, verb, mat·ted, mat·ting.
noun
1.
a piece of fabric made of plaited or woven rushes, straw, hemp, or similar fiber, or of some other pliant material, as rubber, used as a protective covering on a floor or other surface, to wipe the shoes on, etc.
2.
a smaller piece of material, often ornamental, set under a dish of food, a lamp, vase, etc.
3.
Sports.
a.
the padded canvas covering the entire floor of a wrestling ring, for protecting the contestants from injury when thrown.
b.
a thick pad placed on the floor for the protection of tumblers and others engaged in gymnastic sports.
4.
a thickly growing or thick and tangled mass, as of hair or weeds.
5.
a sack made of matting, as for coffee or sugar.
EXPAND
6.
a slablike footing of concrete, especially one for an entire building.
7.
a heavy mesh reinforcement for a concrete slab.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
8.
to cover with or as if with mats or matting.
9.
to form into a mat, as by interweaving.
verb (used without object)
10.
to become entangled; form tangled masses.
Idiom
11.
go to the mat, to contend or struggle in a determined or unyielding way: The President is going to the mat with Congress over the proposed budget cuts.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English matte < Late Latin matta mat of rushes < Semitic; compare Hebrew mittāh bed

Related forms
mat·less, adjective

matt

   [mat]
adjective, noun, verb (used with object)
matte1.

matte

1   [mat] adjective, noun, verb, mat·ted, mat·ting.
adjective
1.
having a dull or lusterless surface: matte paint; a matte complexion; a photograph with a matte finish.
noun
2.
a dull or dead surface, often slightly roughened, as on metals, paint, paper, or glass.
3.
a tool for producing such a surface.
4.
Metallurgy. an unfinished metallic product of the smelting of certain sulfide ores, especially those of copper.
5.
Movies. matte shot.
verb (used with object)
6.
to finish with a matte surface.
Also, mat, matt.

Origin:
1640–50; < French mat (masculine), matte (feminine), Old French < Late Latin mattus moist, soft, weak, perhaps < *maditus, derivative of Latin madēre to be wet

mat

2   [mat] noun, verb, mat·ted, mat·ting.
noun
1.
a piece of cardboard or other material placed over or under a drawing, painting, photograph, etc., to serve as a frame or provide a border between the picture and the frame.
verb (used with object)
2.
to provide (a picture) with a mat.
Origin:
1835–40; apparently mat1, influenced by matte1

mat

3   [mat]
adjective, noun, verb, mat·ted, mat·ting.
matte1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To matting
Collins
World English Dictionary
matting1 (ˈmætɪŋ)
 
—n
1.  a coarsely woven fabric, usually made of a natural fibre such as straw or hemp and used as a floor covering, packing material, etc
2.  the act or process of making mats
3.  material for mats

matting2 (ˈmætɪŋ)
 
—n
1.  another word for mat
2.  the process of producing a mat finish

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

mat
O.E. matte, from L.L. matta "mat made of rushes" (4c.), probably from Punic or Phoenician (cf. Heb. mittah "bed, couch"). Meaning "piece of padded flooring used in gymnastics or wrestling" is attested from 1903.
EXPAND

matte
1648, "lusterless," from Fr. mat "dull, dead surface," from O.Fr. mat "beaten down, withered," probably from L. mattus "maudlin with drink," from madere "to be wet or sodden, be drunk," from PIE base *mad- "to be wet, drip" (see mastectomy). Noun sense "backing for a
picture" is an 1845 borrowing from Fr.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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