Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mast” come from?

Mast comes from French masse, from Latin massa, from Latin mattea, from Ancient Greek μάσσω, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to knead or mix.

mast (English): A tall, slim post or tower, usually tapering...

Definitions

  1. A tall, slim post or tower, usually tapering...

Ancestry of “mast”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishmastAlternative form of mased
2Old Englishmæstsuperlative degree of miċel: biggest, most; most;...
3Old Norsemestrsuperlative degree of mikill; most; largest
4Proto-Germanicmaistazsuperlative degree of *mikilaz; most
5Proto-Germanicmikilazgreat, large; much, many
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmeǵa-—

Words derived from “mast”

  • masthead
  • mainmast
  • foremast
  • topmast
  • masted
  • mizzenmast
  • foretopmast
  • maintopmast
  • mizenmast
  • mastless
  • neuromast
  • jiggermast
  • dismast
  • mastlike
  • masty
  • mastman
  • remast
  • foremastman
  • undermasted
  • mastful
  • unmast
  • overmast
  • demast
  • mainmastman
Every word from Proto-Indo-European meǵa- →