maundy

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English maunde, also maundie,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman mandé, also mandet (from about 1120),^[5][6] and Old French mandé (1223),^[5][7][8][4] from Latin mandātum (“commandment, order”),^[5][7][4][9] the neuter past participle of mandō (“to commit to one's charge”), the source of mandate.^[3][9] It refers to the new commandment of John 13:34: Jesus' words in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another", spoken after he had washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper, were the first antiphon sung at the foot-washing ceremony, which was therefore named after its first word in Latin.^{[5][8][7][9][10]} The same Latin word gave Old High German mandāt (“washing of feet”), in Otfrid.^[5][11] Klein thinks the English form was influenced by maund, a basket.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Last Supper, and the ceremony of washing the feet of poor people: before 1325, in the South English Legendary life of Saint Brendan and the Northern Passion.^[5][2] Etymonline and Weekley date the word to about 1300.^[10][11]

Semantic evolution

In Anglo-Norman and Old French the word meant mainly the foot-washing, but it was extended to the giving of alms that went with it;^[5][6] the Anglo-Norman word had both senses from the 1120s.^[6] In English the ceremony was performed by kings and other great people, or by clergy, on the Thursday before Easter, and was usually followed by gifts of clothing, food or money.^[5][8] The day itself, Maundy Thursday, is recorded from 1440.^[5][12][10] In Middle English maunde also meant the Last Supper, and in the 16th century the Eucharist and any feast; these senses died out in the 17th century, as did a figurative use for almsgiving or bounty.^[5][8][2][4] Today the word mainly names the British monarch's yearly gift of specially minted silver coins to chosen people on Maundy Thursday; since 1850 it has also named the money itself.^[8][5] In East Anglia a maundy was a feast, especially for children, usually held on Maundy Thursday.^[13]

Timeline

• before 1325 – the Last Supper (obsolete by 1656); the foot-washing ceremony.^[5][2]
• 1440 – Maundy Thursday, in Capgrave.^[5][12]
• 1533 – the Eucharist; a feast (both obsolete by the mid 17th century).^[5]
• 1595 – figuratively, almsgiving or bounty (obsolete by 1647).^[5][8]
• 1850 – the money given by the British monarch at the Royal Maundy.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ceremony of washing the feet of poor people on Maundy Thursday, in memory of Jesus washing his disciples' feet.^[4][14][5]
2. The alms given out at that ceremony or on Maundy Thursday; in Britain, the special silver coins the monarch gives to chosen people, also called Maundy money or the Royal Maundy.^[4][5][8]
3. (obsolete, before 1325–1656) The Last Supper.^[5][2][8]
4. (obsolete, 1533–1644) A feast.^[5][4]
5. (obsolete, 1595–1647) Almsgiving; bounty.^[5][8]

Word family

• Maundy Thursday

Related words

• mandate
• maund

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
14. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins