Mature

How to spell mature

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce mature

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does mature mean?

1. adjectiveFully developed in body, mind, or character; showing the sense expected of an adult.
2. verbTo become fully developed, ripe, or due; to reach a final or adult state.

Mature in a sentence

• adjective

  The company wants a mature candidate who can handle pressure calmly.

• verb

  The savings bond will mature in ten years and pay out in full.

• adjective

  His response to the criticism was calm and mature.

• verb

  Good wine needs time to mature in the cellar before drinking.

Where does mature come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Mature comes from the Latin adjective maturus, which meant 'ripe', 'timely', or 'ready', as in fruit that has come fully to its proper season. The Romans used it not just of crops but of anything that had reached its right and fitting moment, and it is the same root that gives us the name of the goddess Matuta, associated with the ripening dawn, and the word 'matins' for early morning prayer. English borrowed mature in the late 1300s, partly through Old French, first applying it to fruit and produce and then extending it to people, judgement, and plans that had reached full development. The financial sense, where a bond or policy 'matures' on the date it falls due, grew naturally from the idea of something reaching its proper time. The spelling stays close to the Latin matur-, so the trap is mainly the unstressed final '-ure' ending and the soft 't' that sounds like 'ch' in speech.

How the word is built

• matur- (from Latin maturus: ripe, timely)
• -e