A pair of restaurant owners whose bistro has been described as "matchless" asked us to peer into the many meanings of match in our lexicon. Match can name a marriage or a pair suitably associated; it can name a contest between two or more parties, and it can name a contest completed when one side wins a specified number of sets or games. Match can refer to a prospective partner in marriage, to one able to cope with another, and to an exact counterpart. (来源：英语学习门户网站EnglishCN.com)

And of course, match can name a short, slender piece of flammable material (such as wood) tipped with a combustible mixture that bursts into flame when slightly heated through friction (as by being scratched against a rough surface). And it can refer to a chemically prepared wick or cord formerly used in firing firearms or powder.

It didn't strike us until after we were well into our research that for all the many meanings ascribed to match, these senses have only two etymologies. The origin of the fiery match is meche, an Anglo-French and Middle English word meaning "candlewick." The other match, the one that gives us the matchless that means "having no equal," has Middle and Old English ancestors meaning "mate; equal, spouse."