Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MAT'RAS, n. [Fr. matras; D. id. In French, the word signifies an arrow; Arm. matara, to throw a dart. This verb coincides with L. mitto. It seems then to be so called from its long neck.]

A cucurbit; a chimical vessel in the shape of an egg, or with a tapering neck open at the top, serving the purposes of digestion, evaporation, &c. Nicholson. Quincy.