mesh

English

Etymology

From Middle English mesche, from Old English masc (“net”) (perhaps influenced in form by related Old English mæscre (“mesh, spot”)) both from Proto-Germanic *maskrǭ, *maskwǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *mezg- (“to knit, twist, plait”). Akin to Old High German māsca (“mesh”), Old Saxon maska (“net”), Old Norse mǫskvi, mǫskun (“mesh”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛʃ/
• Rhymes: -ɛʃ

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

mesh (plural meshes)

1. A structure made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material, with evenly spaced openings between them.
   • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:

     a golden mesh to entrap the hearts of men

2. The opening or space enclosed by the threads of a net between knot and knot, or the threads enclosing such a space.
3. The engagement of the teeth of wheels, or of a wheel and rack.
4. A measure of fineness (particle size) of ground material. A powder that passes through a sieve having 300 openings per linear inch but does not pass 400 openings per linear inch is said to be -300 +400 mesh.
5. (computer graphics) A polygon mesh.

Synonyms

• (space and threads): lattice, network, net

Derived terms

• mesh number
• navmesh
• polymesh

Translations

structure

• Belarusian: се́тка f (sjétka), сець f (sjecʹ), мярэ́жа f (mjaréža)
• Bulgarian: мре́жа (bg) f (mréža)
• Catalan: malla (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 網孔 (zh), 网孔 (zh) (wǎngkǒng)

• Czech: síť (cs) f
• Danish: net n
• Dutch: net (nl) n
• Finnish: verkko (fi)
• French: maillage (fr) m
• German: Netz (de) n, Gitter (de)
• Hungarian: háló
• Italian: maglia (it) f, rete (it) f

• Japanese: 網 (ja) (あみ, ami)
• Korean: 그물 (ko) (geumul)
• Norwegian: nett (no) n, garn (no)
• Persian: توری‎ (fa) (turi)
• Polish: sieć (pl) f, siatka (pl) f
• Portuguese: malha (pt) f
• Romanian: rețea (ro) f, plasă (ro)
• Russian: се́тка (ru) f (sétka), сеть (ru) f (setʹ)
• Slovak: sieť f
• Spanish: malla (es) f, rejilla (es) f
• Swedish: nät (sv) n
• Ukrainian: сі́тка f (sítka), сіть f (sitʹ), мере́жа f (meréža)
• Welsh: rhwyll (cy) f

opening

• Catalan: malla (ca) f
• Danish: maske c
• Dutch: maas (nl) f
• Finnish: reikä (fi)
• French: maille (fr) f
• Hungarian: hálószem (hu)
• Icelandic: lykkja (is) f, möskvi (is) m
• Maori: tākekenga, raumata

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: maske (no) m

  Nynorsk: maske f

• Portuguese: malha (pt) f
• Russian: пе́тля́ (ru) f (pétljá), яче́йка (ru) f (jačéjka)
• Spanish: malla (es) f
• Swedish: maska (sv) c, ögla (sv) c

engagement of teeth of gears

• Finnish: ryntö (fi)
• French: engrenage (fr) m

• Russian: зацепле́ние (ru) n (zaceplénije)
• Spanish: engranaje (es) m

measure of fineness

computing: polygon mesh — see polygon mesh

Verb

mesh (third-person singular simple present meshes, present participle meshing, simple past and past participle meshed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To connect together by interlocking, as gears do.
2. (intransitive, figuratively, by extension) To fit in; to come together harmoniously.

   The music meshed well with the visuals in that film.

3. (transitive) To catch in a mesh.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Surrey to this entry?)

Translations

fit in, come together

• French: concorder (fr)
• Russian: сочетаться (ru) impf (sočetatʹsja), подходить (ru) impf (podxoditʹ)

• Serbo-Croatian: уклопити се (uklopiti se)

Anagrams

• Hems, Mehs, Shem, hems, mehs