miter

[mahy-ter]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR miter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the official headdress of a bishop in the Western Church, in its modern form a tall cap with a top deeply cleft crosswise, the outline of the front and back resembling that of a pointed arch.

the office or rank of a bishop; bishopric.

Judaism. the official headdress of the ancient high priest, bearing on the front a gold plate engraved with the words Holiness to the Lord. Ex. 28:36–38.

a fillet worn by women of ancient Greece.

Carpentry. an oblique surface formed on a piece of wood or the like so as to butt against an oblique surface on another piece to be joined with it.

Nautical. the inclined seam connecting the two cloths of an angulated sail.

verb (used with object)

to bestow a miter upon, or raise to a rank entitled to it.

to join with a miter joint.

to cut to a miter.

to join (two edges of fabric) at a corner by various methods of folding, cutting, and stitching.

Also especially British, mi·tre.

Origin of miter

1350–1400; Middle English mitre (noun) < Latin mitra < Greek mítra turban, headdress

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for miter

small, mini, headdress, headband, juncture, crossing, intersection, confluence, terminal, administrator, pontiff, pope, cleric, patriarch, director, priest, prelate, helmet, hat, turban

Examples from the Web for miter

Historical Examples of miter

A strut joint is a form of miter joint used in making trusses.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes
This is called the "miter" and may be 45 degrees or any other angle.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes
I will give him back to you with the cross and miter, monseigneur.
The Conspirators
Alexandre Dumas (Pere)
Their insignia of office, the miter and crosier, are familiar to every one.
An Introduction to the History of Western Europe
James Harvey Robinson
I also learned that what I called the bishop's hat was a miter.
A Childhood in Brittany Eighty Years Ago
Anne Douglas Sedgwick

British Dictionary definitions for miter

miter

noun, verb

the usual US spelling of mitre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for miter

n.2

in the carpentry sense of "joint at a 45 degree angle," 1670s, perhaps from mitre, via notion of joining of the two peaks of the folded cap. As a verb from 1731.

n.1

alternative spelling of mitre (see -re).