Толковый словарь английского языка - mate

I. transitive verb (~d; mating) Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~r, from mat, noun, check~, ulti~ly from Arabic māt (in shāh māt) Date: 14th century check~ 2, II. noun Date: 14th century check~ 1, III. noun see: meat Date: 14th century 1. a. associate, companion, an assistant to a more skilled worker ; helper, friend, buddy, match, peer, a deck officer on a merchant ship ranking below the captain, one of a pair: as, either member of a couple and especially a married couple, either member of a breeding pair of animals, either of two matched objects, IV. verb (~d; mating) Date: 1509 transitive verb equal, match, to join or fit together ; couple, 3. to join together as ~s, to provide a ~ for, intransitive verb to become ~d , copulate