matches

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
match1

▶noun

• 1 a contest in which people or teams compete against each other.

• 2 a person or thing able to contend with another as an equal.

• 3 a person or thing that resembles or corresponds to another.

  ■ Computing a string that fulfils the specified conditions of a computer search.

  ■ a pair that corresponds or is very similar.

• 4 a person viewed in regard to their eligibility for marriage.

  ■ a marriage.

▶verb

• 1 correspond or cause to correspond in some essential respect; make or be harmonious.

• 2 be equal to in quality or strength.

  ■ equalize (two coupled electrical impedances) so as to bring about the maximum transfer of power from one to the other.

• 3 place in contest or competition with another.

• 4 (match someone with) archaic bring about the marriage of someone to.

– derivatives
matchable adjective,
matching adjective.

– origin OE gemæcca ‘mate, companion’, of W. Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
match2

▶noun

• 1 a short, thin piece of wood or cardboard used to light a fire, being tipped with a composition that ignites when rubbed against a rough surface.

• 2 historical a piece of wick or cord designed to burn at a uniform rate, used for firing a cannon or lighting gunpowder.

– origin ME: from OFr. meche, perh. from L. myxa ‘spout of a lamp’, later ‘lamp wick’.