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masser

Etymology and origin of the French word masser

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inherited borrowed derived
Latin massa
English mass
French masser

French has two main verbs masser: “to mass, gather together”, formed from masse, and “to massage”, borrowed in the 18th century; a third is a billiards term.[1][2][3]

masser1 to mass

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
late 13th century, Garin de Monglane
Inherited from
Latin massa
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (μᾶζα)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ma.se/[4]

Forms

masser[4]

Etymology

“To mass” is formed from masse “mass” with the ending -er.[1][2][3] The noun is inherited from Latin massa (“lump of dough; mass”), from Ancient Greek μᾶζα (mâza, “barley cake”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Garin de Monglane (late 13th century) has it in the sense “to heap up”;[1] a 13th-century recipe has verdigris tut massé, all gathered together.[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb was rare before the 19th century.[2][3] In painting it means to arrange the figures and shadows in masses (Boiste, 1819, Littré's ce peintre masse bien).[1][6] In the 19th century it became a military term for concentrating troops (Hugo's Ney massant four divisions), and the reflexive se masser is said of crowds gathering.[1][6]

Timeline

  • Late 13th century – “To heap up”.[1]
  • 1819 – A painting term, in Boiste.[1]
  • 1862 – Massing troops, in Hugo.[1]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To mass, gather together: masser des troupes à la frontière.[3][7]
  2. (painting) To group (figures, lights and shadows) in masses.[8][6]
  3. (reflexive) Of a crowd, to gather: la foule s'était massée.[3][9]

Word family

  • amasser
  • ramasser

masser2 to massage

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1779, Le Gentil
Borrowed from
Arabic مَسَّ
Ultimate origin
Arabic (مَسَّ)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ma.se/[4]

Forms

masser[4]

Etymology

“To massage” is probably borrowed from Arabic مَسَّ (massa, “to touch, feel”),[1][10][4][11] the art of massage being of Eastern origin;[10] the fact that the word first appears in accounts of travels in the East seems to rule out a borrowing from Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō, “to knead”).[1][10] Littré took the Arabic source from Pihan.[6] Wiktionary and Etymonline mention another possibility, Portuguese amassar (“to knead”), picked up in colonial India.[4][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1779, in Le Gentil's Voyage dans les mers de l'Inde, with masseur.[1][10]

Semantic evolution

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1814) describes the Indians who se font masser, having their flesh kneaded.[1] The noun massage followed in 1818;[10] methodical massage spread after 1850 in hydrotherapy establishments, spas and Paris hospitals, and became a technique of physiotherapy (diploma of masseur-kinésithérapeute, 1946).[10] English took massage from French in 1874–1876.[10][12] Vibromasseur dates from 1912.[10]

Timeline

  • 1779 – Masser, masseur in Le Gentil.[1]
  • 1814 – Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's account of Indian massage.[1]
  • 1818 – Massage.[10]
  • 1874 – English massage.[12]
  • 1912 – Vibromasseur.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To massage: se faire masser, masser les épaules.[3][7]

Word family

  • massage
  • masseur
  • vibromasseur

Usage notes

A third masser (Littré 1867, massé in an 1830 billiards guide) is to strike the ball almost vertically to make it curve, from masse “mace, cue butt”; in slang it has meant “to work” (1844).[1][13][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
  2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 19, 122b
  12. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  13. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Masser.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/masser. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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