Where does “mascara” come from?
Mascara derives from Italian maschera, from Latin masca, though the ultimate origin and original meaning remain uncertain.
mascara (English): A cosmetic used to darken and thicken the...
Definitions
- A cosmetic used to darken and thicken the...
Ancestry of “mascara”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | maschera | mask; surface, fiction; cinema attendant |
| 2 | Latin | masca | witch, hag; spectre; nightmare; mask |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *maskā | mesh, net |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | maskwǭ | loop, knot; mesh, netting; mesh used as a filter,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | mozgo- | netting, mesh, knot, loop |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mezgʷ- | to knit, tie, make a loop; to knit, tie; to knit,... |