Where does “masa” come from?

masa (Bikol Central) comes from Spanish masa, from Latin massa, from Ancient Greek μᾶζα, from Ancient Greek μάσσω, from Proto-Indo-European mh₂ǵyéti, from Proto-Indo-European meh₂ǵ- — to knead, stroke.

Ancestry of “masa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishmasadough; mass; drove
2Latinmassamass, bulk; load, burden; dough
3Ancient Greekμᾶζαbarley-bread or cake
4Ancient Greekμάσσωto handle, work with my hands, knead; to wipe
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmh₂ǵyéti
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmeh₂ǵ-to knead, stroke
Every word from Proto-Indo-European meh₂ǵ-