Where does “mata” come from?

mata (Galician) comes from Old Portuguese mata, from Late Latin matta — reed mat; mat of rushes.

mata (Galician): forest, woodland; bush, shrub; kill

Definitions

  1. forest, woodland; bush, shrub; kill

Ancestry of “mata”, step by step

mata traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Portuguese mata

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Portuguesemata—
2Late Latinmattareed mat; mat of rushes

via Galician Matar

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GalicianMatarto kill
Every word from Late Latin matta →Every word from Old Portuguese mata →