Where does “messing” come from?

messing (English) comes from German Messing, from Middle High German messinc, from Proto-Germanic masjinga-.

messing (English): present participle of mess

Definitions

  1. present participle of mess

Ancestry of “messing”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanMessingbrass
2Middle High Germanmessinc—
3Proto-Germanicmasjinga-—
Every word from Proto-Germanic masjinga- →Every word from Middle High German messinc →Every word from German Messing →