matar

See also: Matar, måtar, and mātar

Aragonese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

matar

(transitive) to kill

References

Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002), “matar”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Asturian

Etymology

Most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

Verb

matar (first-person singular indicative present mato, past participle matáu)

to kill

Conjugation

Conjugation of matar

person		first singular yo	second singular tu	third singular él/elli	first plural nosotros/nós	second plural vosotros/vós	third plural ellos
infinitive		matar
gerund		matando
past participle		m matáu, f matada, n matao, m pl mataos, f pl mataes
indicative	present	mato	mates	mata	matamos	matáis	maten
	imperfect	mataba	matabes	mataba	matábemos, matábamos	matabeis, matabais	mataben
	preterite	maté	matasti, matesti	mató	matemos	matastis, matestis	mataron
	pluperfect	matare, matara	matares, mataras	matare, matara	matáremos, matáramos	matareis, matarais	mataren, mataran
	future	mataré	matarás	matará	mataremos	mataréis	matarán
	conditional	mataría	mataríes	mataría	mataríemos, mataríamos	mataríeis, mataríais	mataríen
subjunctive	present	mate	mates, matas	mate	matemos	matéis	maten, matan
subjunctive	imperfect	matare, matara	matares, mataras	matare, matara	matáremos, matáramos	matareis, matarais	mataren, mataran
imperative		—	mata	—	—	matái	—

Related terms

matar

Catalan

Etymology

Most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /məˈta/

(Valencian) IPA^(key): /maˈtaɾ/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, past participle matat)

to kill
Synonym: (formal) occir
to extinguish
Synonyms: extingir, apagar

Conjugation

The past participle can optionally be mort.

Conjugation of matar (first conjugation)

person		singular			plural
infinitive			matar
present participle			matant
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		matat		matada
		plural		matats		matades
person		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	mato	mates	mata	matem	mateu	maten
	imperfect	matava	mataves	matava	matàvem	matàveu	mataven
	future	mataré	mataràs	matarà	matarem	matareu	mataran
	preterite	matí	matares	matà	matàrem	matàreu	mataren
	conditional	mataria	mataries	mataria	mataríem	mataríeu	matarien
subjunctive		jo	tu	ell/ella vostè	nosaltres nós	vosaltres vós	ells/elles vostès
	present	mati	matis	mati	matem	mateu	matin
	imperfect	matés	matessis	matés	matéssim	matéssiu	matessin
imperative		—	tu	vostè	nosaltres	vosaltres vós	vostès
imperative		—	mata	mati	matem	mateu	matin

Derived terms

matablat
matabou
matacabrit
matador
matadura
matafred
matagent
matallops
matament
matamosques
matança
mataparent
matapoll

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician and Old Portuguese matar, most likely from Latin mactāre, present active infinitive of mactō (through a Vulgar Latin root *mattāre). Alternatively, possibly from Vulgar Latin *mattāre, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /maˈtaɾ/

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite matei, past participle matado)

(transitive) to kill
(takes a reflexive pronoun) to accidently kill oneself
(takes a reflexive pronoun) to commit suicide
Synonym: suicidar
(takes a reflexive pronoun, figurative) to kill oneself (exert oneself)
Non te mates a barrer as follas agora; esta noite vai ventar. ― Don't kill yourself raking the leaves now; we're due for a windstorm tonight.
(transitive) to extinguish, turn off, quench
Synonym: apagar
first/third-person singular future subjunctive of matar
first/third-person singular personal infinitive of matar

Conjugation

Conjugation of matar

	singular			plural
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
Infinitive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
impersonal	matar
personal	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	mataren
Gerund
	matando
Past participle	singular			plural
masculine	matado			matados
feminine	matada			matadas
Indicative	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	mato	matas	mata	matamos	matades	matan
imperfect	mataba	matabas	mataba	matabamos	matabades	mataban
preterite	matei	mataches	matou	matamos	matastes	mataron
pluperfect	matara	mataras	matara	mataramos	matarades	mataran
future	matarei	matarás	matará	mataremos	mataredes	matarán
conditional	mataría	matarías	mataría	matariamos	matariades	matarían
Subjunctive	eu	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
present	mate	mates	mate	matemos	matedes	maten
preterite	matase	matases	matase	matásemos	matásedes	matasen
future	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	mataren
Imperative	–	ti	el/ela/Vde.	nós	vós	eles/elas/Vdes.
affirmative	–	mata	mate	matemos	matade	maten
negative	–	mates	mate	matemos	matedes	maten

Related terms

matachín
matadoiro
matador

References

“matar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
“matar” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
“matar” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
“matar” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
“matar” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Ladino

Verb

matar (Latin spelling)

to kill

Portuguese

Alternative forms

mattar (obsolete)
matá (eye dialect, Brazilian)

Etymology

From Old Portuguese matar, probably from Latin mactāre (through Vulgar Latin *mattāre). The development of -ct- would be irregular, however. Hence possibly derived from or influenced by Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus. Another possibility is an influence by Arabic مَاتَ‎ (māta, “to die”).[1]

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /maˈta(ʁ)/ [maˈta(h)]
- (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /maˈta(ɾ)/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /maˈta(ʁ)/ [maˈta(χ)]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /maˈta(ɻ)/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐˈtaɾ/

Hyphenation: ma‧tar

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite matei, past participle matado, short past participle morto)

to kill (to cause to die)
Mataram-no a tiros! ― They shot him dead! (literally, “[They] killed him with gunshots!”)
A geada matará a plantação. ― The frost will kill the crop.
Ela matou-se com a faca. ― She killed herself with the knife.
Synonym: assassinar
(figurative, transitive) to kill; to eradicate; to destroy
Matou-lhe as esperanças ― He killed his hopes.
Synonyms: erradicar, destruir, acabar com
(figurative, informal, transitive) to kill (to cause extreme pain, distress or exhaustion in)
Minhas pernas estão me matando ― My legs are killing me!
Essas palavras matam! ― These words kill!
Synonyms: acabar com, detonar, quebrar, arrebentar
(transitive) to kill (to write a story that conveys the death of)
Hobbes matara o positivismo acerca da revolução. ― Hobbes had killed the positivism surrounding the revolution.
(figurative, transitive) to satisfy, to satiate, to quench (to fulfil an emotional or physiological need)
Antes de matar meu desejo de caminhar, preciso matar minha sede. ― Before I satisfy my desire to walk, I need to quench my thirst.
Synonyms: saciar, satisfazer
(figurative, takes a reflexive pronoun) to break one's back (to make a great effort)
O homem se matava para sustentar a família. ― The man broke his back providing for his family.
Synonym: arrebentar-se
(colloquial, transitive) to spend [a period of time] doing unimportant things
A escola ficou fechada hoje; tive o dia inteiro para matar. ― School was closed today; I had the entire day to goof around.
Synonym: passar
(Brazil, slang, transitive) to skip (not to be present in a class)
Os alunos mataram a aula de geografia. ― The students skipped geography class.
Synonym: faltar
(informal, transitive) to solve (to find the solution to a mystery)
Finalmente matei a charada. ― I have finally solved the riddle.
Synonyms: resolver, solucionar
(Brazil, slang, transitive) to consume something entirely (especially an alcoholic drink); to knock down
Matamos uns cascos para relaxar. ― We knocked down a few forties to relax.
(sports, transitive) to stop a moving ball
Passei de longe para o atacante, que matou a bola no peito. ― I passed the ball to the striker from a distance; he then stopped it with his chest.
Synonym: parar
(cue sports, transitive) to pocket (to cause a ball to go into one of the pockets of the table)
Ela sempre mata duas ou três bolas na primeira tacada. ― She always pockets two or three balls with the first strike.
Synonym: encaçapar
inflection of matar:
1. first/third-person singular future subjunctive
2. first/third-person singular personal infinitive

Conjugation

Conjugation of matar (irregular short past participle) (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	matar
Personal	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	matarem
Gerund
	matando
Short past participle
Masculine	morto¹			mortos¹
Feminine	morta¹			mortas¹
Long past participle
Masculine	matado²			matados²
Feminine	matada²			matadas²
Indicative
Present	mato	matas	mata	matamos	matais	matam
Imperfect	matava	matavas	matava	matávamos	matáveis	matavam
Preterite	matei	mataste	matou	matamos³, matámos⁴	matastes	mataram
Pluperfect	matara	mataras	matara	matáramos	matáreis	mataram
Future	matarei	matarás	matará	mataremos	matareis	matarão
Conditional
	mataria	matarias	mataria	mataríamos	mataríeis	matariam
Subjunctive
Present	mate	mates	mate	matemos	mateis	matem
Imperfect	matasse	matasses	matasse	matássemos	matásseis	matassem
Future	matar	matares	matar	matarmos	matardes	matarem
Imperative
Affirmative		mata	mate	matemos	matai	matem
Negative (não)		não mates	não mate	não matemos	não mateis	não matem

¹Usually used with auxiliary verbs ser and estar.
²Usually used with auxiliary verbs haver and ter.
³Brazil.
⁴Portugal.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:matar.

Synonyms

(to commit suicide): suicidar

Derived terms

matador
matadouro, matadoiro
matança

References

1932, Antenor Nascentes, Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa.

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mâtar/
Hyphenation: ma‧tar

Noun

mȁtar m (Cyrillic spelling ма̏тар)

Alternative form of mȍtar (“sea fennel”)

Declension

Declension of matar

	singular	plural
nominative	matar	matri
genitive	matra	matara
dative	matru	matrima
accusative	matar	matre
vocative	matre	matri
locative	matru	matrima
instrumental	matrom	matrima

Spanish

Alternative forms

amatar (obsolete)

Etymology

Several possibilities:

From Latin mactō (through a Vulgar Latin *mattō). Thus, a potential cognate with English mactate.[1]
From Vulgar Latin *mattō, from Late Latin mattus (“drunk, intoxicated”), related to madidus. Compare Portuguese and Catalan matar, archaic Italian mattare.[2]
From Spanish mazar, in turn from maza (‘mace’, ‘club’) , compare Italian ammazzare, ‘to kill’.
From Arabic مَاتَ‎ (māta, “to die”), cf. Persian ‎, the probable source of the second part of English checkmate.[3]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /maˈtaɾ/ [maˈt̪aɾ]
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -aɾ
Syllabification: ma‧tar

Verb

matar (first-person singular present mato, first-person singular preterite maté, past participle matado)

to kill, slay
to put out, extinguish (a flame or light)
Synonyms: extinguir, apagar
to butcher
to injure, damage
Synonyms: dañar, enfermar
to fatigue, exhaust, tire out
Synonyms: fatigar, cansar
to dull (render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish)
Synonyms: apagar, deslustrar, opacar
to round off
to ruin
Synonym: arruinar
(colloquial) to kill (to annoy)
Synonyms: incomodar, molestar
(colloquial) to kill (to get mad at)
(colloquial) to kill (to amaze, exceed, stun)
Synonyms: sorprender, asombrar
(colloquial) to beat (to be better than)
to postmark
Synonym: matasellar
(reflexive) to kill oneself, to commit suicide
(reflexive) to be killed, to meet one’s death
(reflexive) to become galled, to become chafed, to get sores (said of horses)
(reflexive) to wear oneself out

Conjugation

Conjugation of matar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			matar
gerund			matando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		matado		matada
		plural		matados		matadas
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	mato	matas^{^tú} matás^{^vos}	mata	matamos	matáis	matan
	imperfect	mataba	matabas	mataba	matábamos	matabais	mataban
	preterite	maté	mataste	mató	matamos	matasteis	mataron
	future	mataré	matarás	matará	mataremos	mataréis	matarán
	conditional	mataría	matarías	mataría	mataríamos	mataríais	matarían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	mate	mates^{^tú} matés^{^vos²}	mate	matemos	matéis	maten
	imperfect (ra)	matara	mataras	matara	matáramos	matarais	mataran
	imperfect (se)	matase	matases	matase	matásemos	mataseis	matasen
	future¹	matare	matares	matare	matáremos	matareis	mataren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		mata^{^tú} matá^{^vos}	mate	matemos	matad	maten
	negative		no mates	no mate	no matemos	no matéis	no maten

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

Selected combined forms of matar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive matar
	dative	matarme	matarte	matarle, matarse	matarnos	mataros	matarles, matarse
	accusative	matarme	matarte	matarlo, matarla, matarse	matarnos	mataros	matarlos, matarlas, matarse

with gerund matando
	dative	matándome	matándote	matándole, matándose	matándonos	matándoos	matándoles, matándose
	accusative	matándome	matándote	matándolo, matándola, matándose	matándonos	matándoos	matándolos, matándolas, matándose

with informal second-person singular tú imperative mata
	dative	mátame	mátate	mátale	mátanos	not used	mátales
	accusative	mátame	mátate	mátalo, mátala	mátanos	not used	mátalos, mátalas

with informal second-person singular vos imperative matá
	dative	matame	matate	matale	matanos	not used	matales
	accusative	matame	matate	matalo, matala	matanos	not used	matalos, matalas

with formal second-person singular imperative mate
	dative	máteme	not used	mátele, mátese	mátenos	not used	máteles
	accusative	máteme	not used	mátelo, mátela, mátese	mátenos	not used	mátelos, mátelas

with first-person plural imperative matemos
	dative	not used	matémoste	matémosle	matémonos	matémoos	matémosles
	accusative	not used	matémoste	matémoslo, matémosla	matémonos	matémoos	matémoslos, matémoslas

with informal second-person plural imperative matad
	dative	matadme	not used	matadle	matadnos	mataos	matadles
	accusative	matadme	not used	matadlo, matadla	matadnos	mataos	matadlos, matadlas

with formal second-person plural imperative maten
	dative	mátenme	not used	mátenle	mátennos	not used	mátenles, mátense
	accusative	mátenme	not used	mátenlo, mátenla	mátennos	not used	mátenlos, mátenlas, mátense

Derived terms

aquí te pillo, aquí te mato
cada quien tiene su manera de matar pulgas
la curiosidad mató al gato
lo que no mata, engorda
matabichos
mataburros
matacandelas
matacucarachas
matadero
matado
matador
matadura
matahombres
matahormigas
Matajudíos
Matamoros
matamoros
matamoscas
matanza
matapolicías
matar al mensajero
matar dos pájaros de un tiro
matar el hambre
matarratas
matarratones
matasanos
matasellos
matasuegras
matavenados
mataviejos
matón
mató tunco tu tata
por un perro que maté, mataperros me llamaron
quien a hierro mata, a hierro muere
rematar
si la mirada matara
tanto peca el que mata a la vaca como el que le agarra la pata

Related terms

matarse
matarife

References

Posner, ‘The Romance Languages’, p. 321.
Edward A. Roberts.
Posner, ‘The Romance Languages’, p. 321. Edward A. Roberts.

Swedish

Verb

matar

present tense of mata.

Anagrams

Marta, ramat

[1] 1932, Antenor Nascentes, Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa.

[2] Posner, ‘The Romance Languages’, p. 321.

[3] Edward A. Roberts.

[4] Posner, ‘The Romance Languages’, p. 321. Edward A. Roberts.

matar

Aragonese

Etymology

Verb

References

Asturian

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Related terms

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

Galician

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Related terms

References

Ladino

Verb

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Quotations

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

Further reading

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Spanish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

References

Further reading

Swedish

Verb

Anagrams