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# matter

«matter» in Mova's early modern english dictionary: **affair, thing; subject** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### kind

archaic sense

### modern equivalent

affair, thing; subject

### part of speech

noun (matter, matters); verb (matter, matters, mattered)

### meaning for a pupil

An affair or subject of concern, or a thing being discussed. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/M/matter/#m1)

### how it differs from today

Today "matter" usually means a problem or substance, as in "there's something the matter". In the first sentence it means an affair or business, which is an old sense.

### examples

- And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. (Torah GEN.24.9, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/M/matter/#x1)
- There's nothing the matter with me. (Andersen's Fairy Tales) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/M/matter/#x2)
- A cipher for the matter: twenty-two (numbers) [objects] in one body. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/M/matter/#x3)

### primary record

matter

### tests

manual 10.3; corpora 773 (Torah 18, tales 741, Sefer Yetzirah 14); EWT 22; ratio 1.9 (Torah alone 0.9); Wiktionary archaic (a sense)

### In the corpora

- [And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.629/)
- [And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.526/)
- [Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.654/)
- [Now they that died by the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/NUM.658/)
- [But the lad knew not any thing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/1SA.617/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «matter» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/emode/M/matter/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.