Cheers, mate! Common in many parts of the UK and Australia, 'mate' is a friendly way to address a person informally. 'Alright, mate? ' is a casual way to ask how someone is. The word 'mate' is very useful when talking to someone you've already been introduced to but whose name you have forgotten.
So, 'mate' is British slang for a friend. But, like a lot of British slang, mate is a word that is used as much sarcastically as it is sincerely. You're just as likely to call someone 'mate' when they're your friend as when they're annoying you.
Mate is used as a term of endearment, but also frequently used to casually ingratiate oneself with a stranger or new acquaintance. You might refer to a waiter or fellow bar fly using the word 'mate'. When used to address somebody or get their attention, the word mate is usually reserved for men only.
The Australian National Dictionary explains that the Australian usages of mate derive from the British word 'mate' meaning 'a habitual companion, an associate, fellow, comrade; a fellow-worker or partner', and that in British English it is now only in working-class use.
The word “mate” is very common in Australian and British English and can help you sound a lot more natural when speaking Englsih in these places. Although it's not used in American English, it is understood by English speakers all over the world.
1. Cheers, mate! Common in many parts of the UK and Australia, 'mate' is a friendly way to address a person informally.
Ozzie. Meaning: (Noun) An alternative way to spell and pronounce Aussie, also short for Australian.
In reference to the British, first attested in Australia in 1912 as rhyming slang for immigrant with additional reference to the likelihood of sunburn turning their skin pomegranate red.
In Australia, a 'mate' is more than just a friend and is a term that implies a sense of shared experience, mutual respect and unconditional assistance.
used as a friendly way of talking to someone, especially a man: Have you got the time, mate? "I've bought you a drink." "Cheers, mate."
2. “Mate” What does it mean? Another word for friend. Common in Britain as well, but used even more enthusiastically by Aussies, who pepper the ends of their sentences with a longer, stretched out “maaaaate” that conveys friendliness and establishes a relaxed bond between the speakers.
Mate made its way in the 1300s to Middle English from the Middle Low German ge-mate, meaning the act of eating at the same table. It is related to maat in both Proto-Germanic and Dutch, meaning partner, colleague or friend. To make the leap to today, we might think about friends gathered around a barbecue.
The term "mate" is essentially gender neutral in Australia.
This applies almost in all cases except perhaps if you're a male and bump into a woman who is 'generationally' older than you.
The shoe known in Australia as a “thong” is one of the oldest styles of footwear in the world. Worn with small variations across Egypt, Rome, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Korea, Japan and some Latin American cultures, the shoe was designed to protect the sole while keeping the top of the foot cool.
Before discussing their language, it's important to know what people from Australia and New Zealand call themselves and their countries. People from Australia call their homeland “Oz;” a phonetic abbreviation of the country's name, which also harkens to the magical land from L.
Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of the HMS Sirius, and commissioned him to establish an agricultural work camp there for British convicts.
dunny – a toilet, the appliance or the room – especially one in a separate outside building. This word has the distinction of being the only word for a toilet which is not a euphemism of some kind. It is from the old English dunnykin: a container for dung. However Australians use the term toilet more often than dunny.
Why Do Aussies Use So Many Abbreviations? Nenagh Kemp, a psychologist at the University of Tasmania, told Australian Geographic her theories behind why Australians use these shortened words so often. Her theory is that Australians use them as a way of coming across as more friendly and less pretentious.
Americans and British people both say “cheers” when they are out drinking and clink their glasses together. The difference is that people from the UK also use “cheers” to mean “thank you”.
Although some did point out that "Hip hip, hooray!" is used in the UK and Canada — so it's just Americans who are the "weird ones".