Paul Schleifer

Mete means to dispense or distribute or give someone according to a specific measurement. It is often used with the particle out. It comes from the Old English metan “to measure,” which comes from the Proto-Germanic *metan “to measure,” which comes from the PIE root *met- “take appropriate measures,” according to www.etymonline.com. As a noun, it can also mean “boundary,” but that meaning doesn’t come until the late 15th century, and it comes from Old French mete “limit, bounds.”
According to the OED, mete more specifically means to dispense justice or even punishment.
Today is April 15. For a long time, April 15 was Tax Day in the U.S., the day when people were required to post their tax returns, though admittedly a six-month extension was automatic, as long as you paid what you owed, if you owed anything. Many Americans get to April 15 having had more withheld than they actually should have, so they get the overage back. They call it a refund, and they get all excited as if it is free money when it was really an interest-free loan they gave to the federal government all along.
But April 15 is also the anniversary of a number of interesting events in history.
On April 15, 1755, Samuel Johnson published “A Dictionary of the English Language.” Johnson took on the project of a dictionary at the request of a group of booksellers, and though he had the help of secretaries, he did the primary work himself. He based his dictionary on historical principles, looking for examples of the words in the literature of bygone eras. It took him over 7 years to complete the dictionary, And until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary, it was considered the finest dictionary in the language.
On Wednesday, April 15, 1896, the organizers of the first modern Olympic Games held the closing ceremonies. In addition to the ancient games of Athens, the modern Olympics had their origin in the Wenlock Olympian Games, which began in 1850 in Shropshire in the UK. Pierre de Coubertin was inspired by both sets of games to propose an international athletic competition. Athens, Greece, was chosen for the first version of the games by the International Olympic Committee, established to run the modern Olympics. And these first games were held from April 6 to April 15, 1896.
On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sank in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into its maiden voyage from England to New York. It had been billed as “The Millionaires’ Special” because of its lavish accommadations. She was carrying almost 900 crew and over 1300 passengers (actually less than 2/3 of her capacity). Over 1500 people died, though not a single one of them was named Leonardo DiCaprio.
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first African-American man to play in the major leagues. Robinson struggled mightily with racism in his inaugural season in the bigs, but he shone; he because the first recipient of the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award. Later, he was chosen to six All Star teams, played in six World Series, and was the 1949 NL Most Valuable Player. Starting in 2004, MLB made April 15 Jackie Robinson Day, and clubs celebrate by honoring Robinson in a variety of ways.
Finally, on this date 5 years ago, 3 were killed and several hundred people were injured when two homemade bombs were detonated by two Muslim terrorists. One of the perpetrators died in the manhunt, and the other has been sentenced to death. The meting out of such justice, however, has not taken the stiing out of April 15 for many people.

The image is of Samuel Johnson, the creator of “A Dictionary of the English Language,” published on this date in 1755.