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Origin and history of mature

mature(v.)

c. 1400, maturen, "encourage suppuration;" mid-15c., of plants, "cause to ripen, bring to maturity," from Latin mātūrare "to ripen, bring to maturity," from mātūrus "ripe, timely, early," related to māne "early, of the morning," from PIE *meh-tu- "ripeness." De Vaan writes that "The root is probably the same as in mānus 'good'." Intransitive sense of "come to a state of ripeness, become ripe or perfect" is from 1650s. The financial sense of "reach the time for payment" is by 1861. Related: Matured; maturing.

mature(adj.)

mid-15c., of fruits, "ripe, complete in natural growth or development," also, of deliberations, etc., "careful, well-considered, thorough," from Latin mātūrus "ripe, timely, early" (see mature (v.)). Of persons, "having fully developed powers of body and mind," c. 1600. The euphemistic sense of "older than usual" is by 1953.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to mature

demure(adj.)

late 14c. (early 14c. as an Anglo-French surname), "calm, settled;" of persons, "sober, grave, serious," from an Anglo-French extended form of Old French meur "mature, fully grown, ripe," hence "discreet" (Modern French mûr), from Latin maturus "mature" (see mature (v.)). The de- in this word is of uncertain meaning and origin. Barnhart suggests the Anglo-French word is from Old French demore, past participle of demorer "to stay," and influenced by meur. Klein suggests Old French de (bon) murs "of good manners," from murs (Modern French moeurs).

Now usually meaning "affectedly decorous, reserved, or coy" (1690s). Related: Demurely; demureness.

immature(adj.)

1540s, "untimely, premature," from Latin immaturus "untimely, unripe," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + maturus "ripe, timely, early" (see mature (v.)). In 16c., usually in reference to early death; main modern sense of "not fully developed" first recorded 1640s. In reference to mentalities or behaviors not considered age-appropriate, from 1920. Related: Immaturely.

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manana
from Spanish mañana, "tomorrow," from cras manñana, literally "tomorrow early," from Vulgar Latin *maneana "early," from Latin mane "in the morning," from PIE *ma- "good," with notion of "occurring at a good time, timely, early" (compare matins; and see mature (v.)). "Often taken
manes
in Roman religion, "spirits of the dead considered as tutelary divinities of their families," from Latin manes "departed spirit, ghost, shade of the dead, deified spirits of the underworld," usually said to be related to Latin mānus "good," thus properly "the good gods," a euphem
maturation
early 15c., maturacioun, "the coming to a head of a boil, etc.; a state of producing pus," from Latin mātūrationem (nominative mātūratio) "a hastening, accelerating," noun of action from past-participle stem of mātūrare "to ripen, grow ripe; make ripe; to quicken" (see mature (v.
adult
"grown, mature," from Latin adultus "grown up, mature, adult, ripe," past participle of adolescere "grow up, come to maturity...The meaning "mature in attitude or outlook" is from 1929....
matron
late 14c., matrone, "married woman," usually one of rank or social respectability and mature years (old enough to be the...
amphibian
hippopotamuses; the restriction to the class of animals between fishes and reptiles with life cycles that begin in water and mature...
season
Intransitive sense of "become mature, grow fit for use" is by 1670s....
change
c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),
find
Old English findan "come upon, meet with; discover; obtain by search or study" (class III strong verb; past tense fand, past participle funden), from Proto-Germanic *findan "to come upon, discover" (source also of Old Saxon findan, Old Frisian finda, Old Norse finna, Middle Dutch
modify
late 14c., modifien, "alter, amend, adjust, change the properties, form, or function of;" also "set limits, keep within the bounds of reason; choose a middle course," from Old French modifier (14c.), from Latin modificare "to limit, measure off, restrain," from modus "measure, ma

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