Where does “mess” come from?
Mess comes from Middle English mes, from Old English mēse, from Vulgar Latin mesa, from Latin mensa meaning table, ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root meh₁- meaning to measure.
mess (English): A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things;...
Definitions
- A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things;...
Ancestry of “mess”, step by step
mess traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English mes
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mes | serving |
| 2 | Old French | mes | but; my |
| 3 | Latin | magis | more; more greatly; better |
| 4 | Dutch | magisch | magical, controlled or determined by supernatural... |
| 5 | Dutch | magie | magic, sorcery occult woo, black or white magic, etc.; hence supernatural occurrences or phenonomena |
| 6 | French | magie | magic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;... |
| 7 | Middle French | magie | — |
| 8 | Latin | magīa | magic, sorcery |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | μαγεία | theology of the Magians |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | Μάγος | magician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,... |
| 11 | Old Persian | 𐎶𐎦𐏁 | priest |
| 12 | Proto-Iranian | magúš | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | magʰúš | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ-ú-s | — |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | megʰ- | to be able |
via Medieval Latin missum
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medieval Latin | missum | accusative supine of mittō; inflection of... |
via German Mess
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Mess | — |