Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - measure

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English mesure, from Anglo-French, from Latin mensura, from mensus, past participle of metiri to ~; akin to Old English m?th ~, Greek metron  Date: 13th century  1.  a.  (1) an adequate or due portion  (2) a moderate degree; also moderation, temperance  (3) a fixed or suitable limit ; bounds rich beyond ~  b. the dimensions, capacity, or amount of something ascertained by measuring  c. an estimate of what is to be expected (as of a person or situation)  d.  (1) a ~d quantity  (2) amount, degree  2.  a. an instrument or utensil for measuring  b.  (1) a standard or unit of ~ment — see weight table  (2) a system of standard units of ~ metric ~  3. the act or process of measuring  4.  a.  (1) melody, tune  (2) dance; especially a slow and stately dance  b. rhythmic structure or movement ; cadence: as  (1) poetic rhythm ~d by temporal quantity or accent; specifically meter  (2) musical time  c.  (1) a grouping of a specified number of musical beats located between two consecutive vertical lines on a staff  (2) a metrical unit ; foot  5. an exact divisor of a number  6. a basis or standard of comparison wealth is not a ~ of happiness  7. a step planned or taken as a means to an end; specifically a proposed legislative act  II. verb  (~d; measuring)  Date: 14th century  transitive verb  1.  a. to choose or control with cautious restraint ; regulate ~ his acts  b. to regulate by a standard ; govern  2. to allot or apportion in ~d amounts ~ out three cups  3. to lay off by making ~ments  4. to ascertain the ~ments of  5. to estimate or appraise by a criterion ~s his skill against his rival  6. archaic to travel over ; traverse  7. to serve as a means of measuring a thermometer ~s temperature  intransitive verb  1. to take or make a ~ment  2. to have a specified ~ment  • measurability noun  • measurable adjective  • measurably adverb  • ~r noun