Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Michaelmas term” come from?

Michaelmas term (English) comes from English Michaelmas, from English Mas, from French mas, from Occitan mas, from Latin magis, from Dutch magisch, from Dutch magie, from French magie.

Michaelmas term (English): The first term of the legal year, running from...

Definitions

  1. The first term of the legal year, running from...

Ancestry of “Michaelmas term”, step by step

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