Etymology

Compare Daco-Romanian mătură, Meglenitic m(i)etură, Istro-Romanian meture, from *metula (compare Albanian mettulë), from South Slavic *metla ‘broom’ (compare Serbo-Croatian метла ‎(mètla), Slovene metla, Bulgarian метла ‎(metla)). Another theory suggests possibly a substratum word, akin to Common Slavic metla. Alternatively based on Late Latin matta ("mat of rushes"), possibly through a root *mattula, and perhaps influenced by metere. Has several near-cognates in Southern Italian dialects. Compare also Italian matta, Spanish mata.