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COBBER - 2 reference results
Neckbandoo Beat the Heat
$5.94 each with a Free S&H offer Huge Selection of Prints & Solids
www.badgersden.com
Cobber
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Mate (colloquialism)
Mate is a colloquialism used to refer to a friend and is commonly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. It is or has been used interchangeably with many equivalent terms, such as buddy (originally United States/Canada but now used more widely) or cobber (Australian/New Zealand only - originally derived from Yiddish, now rare).

Origin

Mate is a colloquialism with sketchy origins, although it is theorised that it started with use by dock workers in the Victorian era. It might also be derived from the Dutch word "maat" which means the same as mate in English.

In Australia, the use of "mate" and the subsequent concept of "mateship", conceptualised a widespread egalitarian ethos, especially among working class white males.

Usage

Mate is also often used to address strangers as a nicety. When the term is used outside Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, or Ireland, mate is generally seen as referring to a person's spouse (when used as a noun) or a zoological term for copulation (when used as a verb). However words like classmate, which is in common usage around the world keeps the original meaning. The term is informal and is a mild endearment, though can be used in ironical ways as an accompaniment to an aggressive or rude statement.

See also

References

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday September 19, 2008 at 15:57:29 PDT (GMT -0700)
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Neckbandoo Beat the Heat
$5.94 each with a Free S&H offer Huge Selection of Prints & Solids
www.badgersden.com
Cobber
Shop & Save - Quality Luggage Store Ratings. Consumer Reviews.
Sponsored Results www.Shopping.com
Cobbers surprise Johnnies; Concordia's late rally ends pair of streaks.(SPORTS)
Oct 17, 2004; Byline: Jerry Zgoda; Staff Writer Collegeville, Minn. -- CONCORDIA 21, ST. JOHN'S 20 Their junior placekicker maintained, even in...
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Cobber Band to Perform Music of Middle East
Feb 10, 2009; Concordia College issued the following news release: Concordia College's Cobber Band, conducted by Dr. Nathaniel Dickey, will...
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Fed: Costello praises Fahey as a real cobber
May 15, 2001; AAP General News (Australia) 05-15-2001 Fed: Costello praises Fahey as a real cobber CANBERRA, May 15 AAP - Treasurer Peter...
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Ladies down under hit show for caxtons ; Strewth cobber, Caxton Players have got a right ribtickler of a show, with bags full of surfing and sand.
Mar 09, 2009; Strewth cobber, Caxton Players have got a right ribtickler of a show, with bags full of surfing and sand. Set in Oz, Ladies Down...
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Cobber Kids Closed March 27
Mar 26, 2009; Concordia College issued the following news release: Cobber Kids Corner childcare center at Concordia College will be closed on...
Read more with a free trial on HighBeam.com »
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