| 1 | Middle English | mesche | — |
| 2 | Old English | māsc | mash; mixture, mash |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *maskā | — |
| 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,... |