mean
part of speech
verb (mean, means, meant, meaning); adjective (mean, meaner, meanest); noun (the mean — average)
meaning for a pupil
1) To mean is to have a sense: What does this word mean? tree →
2) To mean is to want to say: I mean the red one. tree →
3) To mean to do something is to plan it: I didn't mean to break it. tree →
4) Mean (adjective) means unkind: Don't be mean. tree →
5) In maths, the mean is the average: add the numbers and divide by how many there are. tree →
6) Means, in the plural, is money or wealth, so a man of means is a rich man. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: In the verse about Passover, children ask "What mean ye by this service?" The rabbis saw this as the question of the child at the Seder, which parents must answer by telling the story of the Exodus. In the primary lessons: what a word stands for in the operation («Coming together means adding»); a word's meaning can change with the words around it; in maths the mean (average); in everyday life «I didn't mean it», «mean» as unkind; in friendship and safety: tell an adult if someone is mean to you again and again
examples
- And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves?' (Torah GEN.21.29, JPS 1917) tree →
- And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you: What mean ye by this service? (Torah EXO.12.26, JPS 1917) tree →
- And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves, or of the young pigeons, such as his means suffice for; (Torah LEV.14.30, JPS 1917) tree →
- No man can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him — (Writings PSA.49.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men. (Writings PRO.22.29, JPS 1917) tree →
- What mean ye that ye crush My people, and grind the face of the poor?' saith the Lord, the GOD of hosts. (Prophets ISA.3.15, JPS 1917) tree →
- Coming together means adding; going away means subtracting. tree →
- Here the word «more» does not mean adding … tree →
- «Half» means one of two equal parts. tree →
- What does «huge» mean? tree →
- Sorry, I didn't mean to bump you. tree →
- It's mean to laugh at someone who falls. tree →
- A red light means stop. tree →
- The mean of 2, 4 and 6 is 4. tree →
- He was a man of means. tree →
note
A word's meaning can change with the words around it. Past «meant» (say «ment»). Noun «meaning». Trap: «mean» as unkind and «the mean» as average are different words with the same spelling.
In the corpora
- And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What mean these seven ewe-lambs which thou hast set by themselves?'
- And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you: What mean ye by this service?
- Then I said unto them: What meaneth the high place whereunto ye go?
- And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying: Wilt thou not tell us what thou meanest by these?
- Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mean» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.