Where does “masse” come from?

masse (Middle Dutch) comes from Old French masse, from Latin massa, from Ancient Greek μᾶζα, from Ancient Greek μάσσω, from Proto-Indo-European mh₂ǵyéti, from Proto-Indo-European meh₂ǵ- — to knead, stroke.

Ancestry of “masse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmasse
2Latinmassamass, bulk; load, burden; dough
3Ancient Greekμᾶζαbarley-bread or cake
4Ancient Greekμάσσωto handle, work with my hands, knead; to wipe
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmh₂ǵyéti
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmeh₂ǵ-to knead, stroke

Words derived from “masse

Every word from Proto-Indo-European meh₂ǵ-