Mattered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To hold relevance or importance in a given context
2. Was regarded as important or of consequence in a specific situation
3. Had an effect or influence that made a difference in circumstances

Etymology: "Mattered" is simply the past tense of "matter," so its history is that of the verb "to matter," which runs back through a striking chain of meanings. The noun "matter" comes from Latin "māteria," meaning "wood" or the timber of a tree, and that word derives from "māter," "mother." The link is that a tree's trunk was seen as the source or stuff from which things were made, so the sense of raw material grew out of the idea of wood. Ancient Greek "húlē" followed a similar path, meaning both "wood" and "material." English took the noun from Anglo-Norman and Old French forms in the Middle English period. The verb, meaning to be of importance or consequence, developed from the noun's broad sense of "substance" or "affair." Old English had "intinga," meaning "matter, affair, business," which shows how the idea of a concern or business could stand behind the modern sense of weight and consequence. The verb's past form "mattered" follows the regular pattern for verbs ending in a consonant.

Synonyms: counted, signified

Antonyms: ignored, disregarded