Where does “massless” come from?
Massless derives from English mass, which comes from Middle English messe, formed by adding the Middle English suffix -y to Latin massa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots related to measuring and gathering.
massless (English): Having no mass
Definitions
- Having no mass
Ancestry of “massless”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Mass | The principal liturgical service of the Church,... |
| 2 | Middle English | messe | Mass; The Eucharist; Holy Communion; The act of... |
| 3 | Old English | mæsse | mass |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | messa | Eucharist, dismissal; Eucharist; dismissal;... |
| 5 | Latin | missa | Mass; Christian eucharistic liturgy; nominative... |
| 6 | Latin | missum | accusative supine of mittō; inflection of... |
| 7 | Latin | mittō | to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | meitō | to put forth, put out |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | meyth₂- | to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to... |