maté
Pluralmatés (some meanings)
- 1A drink like tea, made from the dried leaves of a South American plant.
Like tea, but made from a different kind of leaf.
He drinks maté every morning instead of coffee.
Maté tastes a little bitter, so many people add sugar.
Similaryerba
- 2One cup or serving of the maté drink.
Like a single cup of tea you sit down to enjoy.
She poured me a maté and we talked for hours.
He ordered two matés at the small café.
Note
- 3An evergreen tree from South America, grown for its leaves.
Like a tea bush, but tall like a tree.
The maté grows wild in the forests of Paraguay.
Farmers planted rows of maté along the hillside.
Similaryerba
Note
Less common meaning
- 4A small cup, often made from a dried shell, used to drink maté.
Like a cup made just for one special drink.
She filled the maté with hot water and herbs.
The maté is then filled with yerva, after the bombilla has been placed in position.
1856, The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, volume IVHere, maté means the small cup or gourd used to drink maté.Similargourd
Note
Practice
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Origin
It came from Spanish "mate," which came from the Quechua word "mati."