Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “messen” come from?

messen (Middle English) comes from Old French mes, from Latin magis, from Dutch magisch, from Dutch magie, from French magie, from Middle French magie, from Latin magīa, from Ancient Greek μαγεία — to be able.

messen (Middle English): To hold Mass or the Eucharist; To deliver food...

Definitions

  1. To hold Mass or the Eucharist; To deliver food...

Ancestry of “messen”, step by step

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