- mete (v.)
- O.E. metan "to measure" (class V strong verb; past tense męt, pp. meten), from P.Gmc. *metanan (cf. O.Fris., O.N. meta, Du. meten, Ger. messen, Goth. mitan "to measure"), probably ultimately from the same PIE base as meter. Only used now with out.
- mete (n.)
- "boundary," now only in phrase metes and bounds, 1471, from O.Fr. mete, from L. meta "goal, boundary."