Ruminations.
Where does the word "meet" come from?
"Meet" as a verb meaning "to come into the presence of for the first time" comes from Old Englishmetan, "to find out, encounter, obtain, come into the same place with," appearing around 1350. Original meanings include "to combat, to unite with." By the 1690s it could mean "to be in agreement with." The adjective comes from a different Old English word, gemæte, meaning "suitable." The noun version, meaning "a gathering of huntsmen or bicyclists," comes from the verb form, appearing in 1831. The OED lists 47 different meanings for the word - 30 verbs, 7 nouns, 6 adjectives, and 4 adverbs. The adverbial forms are all either obsolete or rare, meaning "copiously; in a proper manner; tightly; and precisely, or 'just now.'" The noun form is used in the sense of "an equal" by Chaucer, but apparently by noone else; he is also the first author we know of to use the noun form. The earliest written use of the adjective is around 1325, in a document known as the Northern Passion within Cambridge MS. Gg.1.1. Other interesting obsolete uses of the verb include "to strike at" (1400-1500), "to get even with" (1625), and "to have sexual intercourse with, or to simply embrace or caress." (1330-1425) Links.NightCafe Image Source