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
- A principal mountain mass; A block of the earth's...
Ancestry of “massif”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | massif | massif; massive |
| 2 | Old French | massiz | — |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | *massīcius | — |
| 4 | Latin | massa | mass, bulk; load, burden; dough |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μᾶζα | barley-bread or cake |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | μάσσω | to handle, work with my hands, knead; to wipe |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mh₂ǵyéti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | meh₂ǵ- | to knead, stroke |