Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Michaelmas” come from?

Michaelmas comes from Middle English Mighelmes, a compound of the archangel Michael's name and Old English mæsse meaning "mass" or religious festival.

Ancestry of “Michaelmas”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMasMaster, used as a title of respect; The title of...
2Frenchmasfarm, ranch, house
3Occitanmasfarmhouse, typical country house
4Latinmagismore; more greatly; better
5Dutchmagischmagical, controlled or determined by supernatural...
6Dutchmagiemagic, sorcery ; hence supernatural occurrences...
7Frenchmagiemagic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;...
8Middle Frenchmagie—
9Latinmagīa—
10Ancient Greekμαγεία—
11Ancient GreekΜάγοςmagician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,...
12Old Persian𐎶𐎦𐏁priest
13Proto-Iranianmagúš—
14Proto-Indo-Iranianmagʰúš—
15Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-ú-s—

Words derived from “Michaelmas”

  • Michaelmas term
Every word from Proto-Indo-European megʰ-ú-s →