mete
UK[miːt]US[miːt]
v
To distribute or allot something, especially punishment, justice, or reward.
Etymology
The verb 'mete' originates from the Old English metan, a robust Germanic term meaning "to measure." This root is part of a widespread Indo-European family, connecting to Latin modus (measure, manner) and Greek medesthai (to deliberate), all stemming from the Proto-Indo-European root med-, meaning "to take appropriate measures." Over centuries, its general sense of measuring became specialized, particularly in legal and poetic contexts. In modern English, it survives almost exclusively in the fixed phrase "mete out," where the original concept of measuring a quantity evolves into the abstract act of dispensing justice, punishment, or reward in measured portions.
Analysis
The word is a simplex form derived from Old English metan, meaning "to measure." It is of Germanic origin, related to Dutch meten and German messen, and from an Indo-European root shared by Latin modus meaning "measure."
Examples
The judge will mete out a sentence appropriate to the crime.
It is not for us to mete out vengeance; that is for a higher authority.
The old king was known to mete justice with a firm but fair hand.