massage

Forms

massage m (plural massages)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French masser² + -age.^[2][1][3][4] The verb masser² “to massage” (1779) is from Arabic مَسَّ (massa, “to touch, feel”);^[2][5][6][1] the TLFi and the DHLF reject a Greek source because the verb first appears in accounts of travel in the East.^[2][5] Wiktionary and Etymonline mention an alternative source, Portuguese amassar (“to knead”), from massa.^[1][7]

It has a separate source from the verb meaning “to mass”, which is from masse¹.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi first finds massage in 1808, in the medical volumes of the Encyclopédie méthodique;^[2] Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and the Grand Robert give 1812, and the DHLF 1818.^[8][9][3][5] Littré defines it as pressing all the muscles of the body with the hands and pulling at the joints to make them supple.^[10]

Semantic evolution

At first an empirical practice, massage was used methodically after 1850 in hydrotherapy establishments, spas and Paris hospitals, and it became one of the main techniques of physiotherapy; the diploma of masseur-kinésithérapeute was created in 1946.^[5] The 20th century formed vibromassage (about 1960) and automassage (about 1950).^[5] Massage cardiaque is the rhythmic compression of the heart to revive a patient.^[2][4]

English borrowed massage in the last third of the 19th century (1874 in Etymonline, 1876 in the DHLF) and formed the verb to massage from it.^[7][5]

Timeline

• 1779 – The verb masser “to massage” appears in Le Gentil's voyage to the Indian seas.^[2][5]
• 1808 – Massage is recorded in the Encyclopédie méthodique.^[2]
• 1812 – Mozin's dictionary records it.^[9][8]
• 1874 – English borrows the word.^[7]
• 1946 – The diploma of masseur-kinésithérapeute is created.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Massage, the kneading, pressing or rubbing of parts of the body with the hands or with appliances, for health or relaxation: un massage du dos.^[11][4][12]
2. Massage cardiaque: cardiac massage, rhythmic compression of the heart in cardiac arrest.^[2][4][12]

Related words

• masser²
• masseur

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 19, 122
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
11. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)