Mate

māt, n. a companion: an equal: one of a pair, the male or female of animals that go in pairs: in a merchant-ship the first-mate is the second in command—in the navy the term is now confined to petty-officers, such as boatswain's mate , gunner's mate , .: an a istant, deputy.— v.t. to be equal to: to become a companion to: to marry.— adj. Mate′le , without a mate or companion. [A.S. ge-mac a ; Ice. maki , an equal, from the same root as make . Cf. match . Prob. mate in its naut. sense is Dutch—Old Dut. maet , mod. maat .]