Related Directory Categories
- Sailor Anima-mates (20)
- Screen Mates (16)
- Yerba Mate (12)
- Courtship and Mating Rituals (8)
- Mate Selection (5)
- Sailor Iron Mouse (5)
- Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, The (5)
- Sailor Galaxia (4)
- Bofill i Mates, Jaume (3)
- Sailor Lead Crow (3)
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Mate (colloquialism)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mate is a colloquialism used to refer to a friend and is commonly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. It is or has been used interchangeably with many equivalent terms, such as buddy (originally United States/Canada but now used more widely) or cobber (Australian/New Zealand only; now rare).
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Mate is a colloquialism with sketchy origins, although it is theorised that it started with use by dock workers in the Victorian era. It might also be derived from the Dutch word "maat" which means the same as mate in English.
In Australasia, the use of "mate" and the subsequent concept of "mateship", conceptualised a widespread egalitarian ethos, especially among working class white males. The term was considered by some to be a contracted form of "mutual aid",[citation needed] though this may be a false etymology. It is also common, especially amongst young males, to refer to friends as "mates".
Mate is also often used to address strangers as a nicety, although generally good friends or good mates refer to each other as "mate". It is also common, especially amongst young males, to refer to friends as "mates". When the term is used outside Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, or Ireland, mate is generally seen as referring to a person's spouse (when used as a noun) or a zoological term for copulation (when used as a verb). However words like classmate, which is in common usage around the world keeps the original meaning. The term is informal and is a mild endearment, though can be used in ironical ways as an accompaniment to an aggressive or rude statement.
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