Where does “massif” come from?

Massif comes from French massif, derived from French masse combined with the Latin suffix -ivus, ultimately from Latin mattea.

massif (English): A principal mountain mass; A block of the earth's...

Definitions

  1. A principal mountain mass; A block of the earth's...

Ancestry of “massif”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchmassifmassif; massive
2Old Frenchmassiz—
3Vulgar Latin*massīcius—
4Latinmassamass, bulk; load, burden; dough
5Ancient Greekμᾶζαbarley-bread or cake
6Ancient Greekμάσσωto handle, work with my hands, knead; to wipe
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmh₂ǵyéti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmeh₂ǵ-to knead, stroke
Every word from Proto-Indo-European meh₂ǵ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mh₂ǵyéti →Every word from Ancient Greek μάσσω →