Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mease

/miːz/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.38 in modern English

Syllables: mease
IPA: /miːz/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A measure of varying quantity, often five or six (long or short) hundred, used especially when counting herring.

British usage; Dated

noun

A mess, a mese: a meal.

Obsolete

noun

A dwelling or messuage.

Obsolete

noun

Obsolete spelling of mesh (of a fishing net).

Obsolete

verb

To catch or enmesh (fish) by the head in a seine.

name

Example Sentences

"a mease of herrings"
"The weekly returns will show a great falling off in the herring fishing which it may be said was a complete failure—and consequently caused a falling off of the revenues of the Harbour. There were only 521 mease of herrings sold at an average price of £1 2s 7¾d., or total £590."
"During the past few days large quantities of herrings have been caught at Clovelly. One fisherman, James Small, brought in about twenty mease (mease, 600). The prices realised have fallen so low as 5s. per mease."
"At Portavogie a few mease of herring were landed in June by some twenty-five boats."
"I want my mease of milk when I go to my work."
"they shal have [...] every mease of two dishes, one with pottage & boiled meate, the other roste (if it be no fasting day.) And if it be a fish daye, then they shal have two like meases of white meate & fish."

Etymology

The English Dialect Dictionary suggests Old Norse meiss (“wooden box, as would be used for counting fish”) as a source; The Century Dictionary suggests that the term comes via Old French from a Latin word *mesa (“barrel”). One can also compare German Mass (“measure”) and indeed measure itself.

Origin

Source language: Old Norse

Word Breakdown

Root: meiss, -

Usage

British usage
Dated
Obsolete

Inflected Forms

meases (plural) meases (present, singular) measing (participle, present) meased (participle, past) meased (past)

Homonyms

mise

Rhymes With

these please she's chinese disease japanese trees sees cheese degrees fees keys

Questions

How do you pronounce mease?: The recorded pronunciation is /miːz/.
What does mease mean?: A measure of varying quantity, often five or six (long or short) hundred, used especially when counting herring.
Where does mease come from?: It is traced to Old Norse.

How to pronounce mease

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “mease”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/miːz/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “mease” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.