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masse

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French has two main words spelled masse: “mass, bulk”, from Latin massa, and “mace, sledgehammer”, of different origin.[1][2][3]

masse1 mass

Pronunciation

Forms

masse f (plural masses)[4]

Etymology

The word for a mass is inherited from Latin massa (“dough; lump, mass”), a borrowing of Ancient Greek μᾶζα (mâza, “barley cake; lump”).[5][1][6][3][4][7] The Greek word is derived from μάσσω (mássō, “to knead”) (see magma), from an Indo-European root also behind Latin mācerō (see macérer) and the Germanic words for “to make”, such as English make and German machen.[5][8]

Cognate with Italian massa, Occitan massa, Catalan massa, Spanish masa and Portuguese massa.[8][3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has it of people, grant masse de ses humes “a great crowd of his men”; the Chanson de Roland has grant masse of goods.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

From the 12th century it mostly meant a relatively large quantity of solid or pasty matter without definite shape (about 1170); a 12th-century text says un pou de levains mainet tote la masse “a little leaven raises the whole lump”.[5][3] Hence taillé dans la masse (1788), tomber comme une masse (1824) and the scornful masse de chair “a fat or dull man” (1690).[2][5]

From about 1278 it was a mass of distinct elements taken as a whole, and in 1547 the bulk of a building.[2][5] It named a set quantity of goods (1385), the assets in a liquidation (1615) and a common fund, in the army (1789) and in artists' studios (1842).[2][10] Of people the sense spread only at the end of the 18th century: la masse du peuple “the majority” (1789, Marat), les masses “the common people” (1810), se lever en masse (1793).[5][2] Des masses “lots” is familiar (1854); in physics it is the quantity of matter of a body, and in electricity the earth.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Grant masse de “a great crowd of”, in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1170 – A lump of matter.[5]
  • 1275–1280 – A mass of elements taken as a whole, in Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1351 – En masse.[5]
  • 1547 – The bulk of a building.[2]
  • 1690 – Masse de chair, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1789 – La masse du peuple, in Marat.[2][5]
  • 1810 – Les masses.[5]
  • 1824 – Tomber comme une masse, in Balzac.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mass, a large shapeless quantity of matter: masse de pâte, tomber comme une masse, to collapse heavily.[8][4]
  2. A whole made of many elements; the bulk (of a building, a mountain).[2][4]
  3. A large quantity or number: une masse de documents, en masse, in large numbers, (familiar) des masses, lots.[2][5][4]
  4. La masse, les masses: the majority, the common people: culture de masse.[5][4]
  5. (law, finance) A fund, the total assets: masse salariale, wage bill.[2][4]
  6. (physics) Mass, the quantity of matter of a body.[4]
  7. (electricity) Earth, ground.[4]

Word family

masse2 mace, sledgehammer

Pronunciation

Forms

masse f (plural masses)[4]

Etymology

The word for a mace is inherited from Vulgar Latin, first as Old French mace: Bloch and Wartburg give Vulgar Latin *matitia, formed from mateola (“a tool for driving in”), and the REW and FEW *mattea (“club”).[11][9][1][12] Diez noted that the Italian form can only come from a Latin *matea, the supposed base of the diminutive;[3][1] Guiraud instead proposed a Romance derivative of Latin mactō (“to slaughter”), “to fell”.[3][1] The derivative massue “club” has the same origin.[3]

Cognate with Italian mazza, Old Occitan massa, Spanish maza and Portuguese maça.[3][11][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Couronnement de Louis (about 1135) has mace de fer for a weapon with a metal head, often spiked.[2][1]

Semantic evolution

Joinville (1306) speaks of the serjant a mace, an usher carrying a staff with a gold or silver head in ceremonies, as the mace-bearers of universities still do.[2] Masse d'armes is recorded in 1498, and in 1508 it is a heavy mallet of wood or iron, the sense of the modern sledgehammer.[2][1] Its derivatives include massier “mace-bearer” (about 1350), and in billiards masser (1867) is to strike the ball almost vertically.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1135 – Mace de fer, a weapon, in the Couronnement de Louis.[2]
  • c. 1228 – The form masse.[1]
  • 1306 – Serjant a mace, in Joinville.[2]
  • c. 1350 – Machier “mace-bearer”.[11]
  • 1498 – Masse d'armes.[2]
  • 1508 – A sledgehammer.[2][1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sledgehammer, a heavy hammer of wood or iron.[2][1]
  2. Masse d'armes: a mace, a medieval club with a metal head.[2][4]
  3. A ceremonial mace carried before a dignitary.[2]

Word family

  • massier
  • massette
  • massue

Usage notes

The Grand Robert gives a third, technical masse (1339), from Latin mataxa (“skein”).[1][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 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 c d e f g h i Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 441b
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  12. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 507b
  13. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 465a