Where does “Messrs.” come from?
Messrs. comes from English messieurs, the plural of monsieur, from French mes and sieur, ultimately from Latin magnus meaning "great."
Messrs. (English): plural of Mr; plural of M
Definitions
- plural of Mr; plural of M
Ancestry of “Messrs.”, step by step
Messrs. traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French Messieurs
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | Messieurs | plural of Monsieur |
| 2 | French | mes | my |
| 3 | Old French | mes | but; my |
| 4 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 5 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 6 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 7 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 8 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 9 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 12 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 13 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ-ú-s | — |
via English messieurs
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | messieurs | plural of monsieur |
| 2 | English | monsieur | A man, especially a French gentleman |
| 3 | French | Monsieur | Alternative letter-case form of monsieur Used to... |
| 4 | French | mon | my; Followed by rank, obligatory way of... |
| 5 | French | oncle | uncle |
| 6 | Middle French | oncle | uncle |
| 7 | Old French | oncle | uncle |
| 8 | Vulgar Latin | aunclum | — |
| 9 | Latin | avunculus | maternal uncle, mother's brother; mother's... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂éwh₂os | maternal grandfather; maternal uncle |