Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mat \Mat\, n. [AS. matt, meatt, fr. L. matta a mat made of
   rushes.]
   1. A fabric of sedge, rushes, flags, husks, straw, hemp, or
      similar material, used for wiping and cleaning shoes at
      the door, for covering the floor of a hall or room, and
      for other purposes.

   2. Any similar fabric for various uses, as for covering plant
      houses, putting beneath dishes or lamps on a table,
      securing rigging from friction, and the like.

   3. Anything growing thickly, or closely interwoven, so as to
      resemble a mat in form or texture; as, a mat of weeds; a
      mat of hair.

   4. An ornamental border made of paper, pasterboard, metal,
      etc., put under the glass which covers a framed picture;
      as, the mat of a daguerreotype.

   {Mat grass}. (Bot.)
      (a) A low, tufted, European grass ({Nardus stricta}).
      (b) Same as {Matweed}.

   {Mat rush} (Bot.), a kind of rush ({Scirpus lacustris}) used
      in England for making mats.