Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “messmate” come from?

Messmate comes from English mate, Middle English mes, Old English mēse, Vulgar Latin mesa, Latin mensa meaning table, and ultimately Proto-Indo-European ḱóm.

messmate (English): an associate with whom one shares a mess on a...

Definitions

  1. an associate with whom one shares a mess on a...

Ancestry of “messmate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmessA disagreeable mixture or confusion of things;...
2Middle Englishmesserving
3Old Frenchmesbut; my
4Latinmagismore; more greatly; better
5Dutchmagischmagical, controlled or determined by supernatural...
6Dutchmagiemagic, sorcery ; hence supernatural occurrences...
7Frenchmagiemagic; A magical, surprising, fascinating feat;...
8Middle Frenchmagie—
9Latinmagīa—
10Ancient Greekμαγεία—
11Ancient GreekΜάγοςmagician, and derogatorily sorcerer, trickster,...
12Old Persian𐎶𐎦𐏁priest
13Proto-Iranianmagúš—
14Proto-Indo-Iranianmagʰúš—
15Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-ú-s—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European megʰ-ú-s →