mass
- mass
\ \ English has two distinct words mass. The one meaning ‘Eucharist’ [OE] comes from late Latin missa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of mittere ‘send’ (source of English admit, commit, dismiss, mission, etc) possibly arising from Ite, missa est ‘Go, it is the dismissal’, the last words of the Latin Eucharist service. Mass ‘amount of matter’ [14] comes via Old French masse and Latin massa from Greek maza ‘barley cake’, hence ‘lump, mass’. The derivative massive [15] goes back ultimately to Vulgar Latin *massīceus. A possible relative is massage [19], a borrowing from French. It was a derivative of masser ‘massage’, which may have been acquired from Portuguese amassar ‘knead’, a verb based on massa ‘mass, dough’.
\ \ Cf.⇒ ADMIT, COMMIT, DISMISS, MISSION, TRANSMIT; MASSAGE, MASSIVE
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
Synonyms:
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mass — mass … Dictionnaire des rimes
Mass — Mass, n. [OE. masse, F. masse, L. massa; akin to Gr. ? a barley cake, fr. ? to knead. Cf. {Macerate}.] [1913 Webster] 1. A quantity of matter cohering together so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Mass — Pontifical Mass † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Pontifical Mass Pontifical Mass is the solemn Mass celebrated by a bishop with the ceremonies prescribed in the Cæremoniale Episcoporum , I and II. The full ceremonial is carried out when the… … Catholic encyclopedia
mass — Ⅰ. mass UK US /mæs/ adjective [before noun] ► having an effect on or involving a large number of people: »There have been two decades of mass unemployment. mass audience/appeal »A smaller company could produce a breakthrough product with mass… … Financial and business terms
Mass — (m[.a]s), n. [OE. masse, messe, AS. m[ae]sse. LL. missa, from L. mittere, missum, to send, dismiss: cf. F. messe. In the ancient churches, the public services at which the catechumens were permitted to be present were called missa catechumenorum … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
mass — [mas] n. [ME masse < OFr < L massa, a lump, mass < Gr maza, barley cake < massein, to knead < IE base * menk , to knead > MINGLE] 1. a quantity of matter forming a body of indefinite shape and size, usually of relatively large… … English World dictionary
Mass — ist: ein Theaterstück von Leonard Bernstein, siehe Mass (Theater) eine Messkomposition von Steve Dobrogosz, siehe Mass (Dobrogosz) die in Bayern übliche Kurzbezeichnung mit kurzem a für einen Masskrug Mass ist der Familienname folgender Personen … Deutsch Wikipedia
mass — 1 n: an aggregation of usu. similar things (as assets in a succession) considered as a whole mass 2 adj: participated in by or affecting a large number of individuals mass insurance underwriting mass tort litigation Merriam Webster’s Dictionary… … Law dictionary
mass — mass; mass·i·ness; soul·mass; mass·cult; mass·less; bio·mass; mass·less·ness; … English syllables
Mass — [ mæs ] noun count or uncount a ceremony in the Christian Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, in which Jesus Christ s last meal with his DISCIPLES is remembered: attend/hear Mass celebrate Mass (=perform the ceremony): The Pope will… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English