μάγμα

Forms

μάγμᾰ (mágma) n (genitive μάγμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek μάσσω (mássō), “to knead”, from its stem μαγ- (mag-), seen in the passive aorist ἐμάγην (emágēn), with the suffix -μα (-ma) that forms nouns of result: “something kneaded”.^[1][2][3]

For the verb, Beekes cites possible comparanda in Germanic and Balto-Slavic from Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ǵ-, such as German machen, “to make”, if that first meant “to knead, form”, and Old Church Slavonic мазати (mazati), “to smear”.^[2] Wiktionary reconstructs the present as *mh₂ǵyéti.^[1] Beekes also sets out a second root, *menk-, seen in Lithuanian mìnkyti, “to knead a soft mass”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest uses are in Roman-period medicine and pharmacy: Andromachus, quoted by Galen, uses it for a thick salve that went into his theriac and for a plaster, and Pliny the Elder mentions it among unguents.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Pape gives the general sense, any kneaded mass, with the medical use of a thick ointment as opposed to a liquid one.^[6] Beekes lists it among the derivatives of μάσσω (mássō) with the senses “kneaded mass, thick salve, smear”, beside the compounds ἐκμαγεῖον (ekmageîon) and ἀπόμαγμα (apómagma).^[2] A papyrus of the 2nd or 3rd century AD uses it in a list of ingredients, and Galen's pharmacological works account for nearly all its occurrences.^[4][7]

It passed into Latin magma, the dregs of an ointment, and English magma meant dregs or a crude mixture from the mid-15th century.^[8] The geological sense, molten rock beneath the earth's crust, dates from the 19th century and returned to Greek from New Latin: Modern Greek μάγμα (mágma) is a learned word in that sense.^[8][9][10]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Andromachus uses it for a salve in his theriac and for a plaster.^[4][11]
• 1st century AD – Pliny the Elder mentions it as a thick unguent.^[4][11]
• 2nd century AD – Galen's works on drugs quote it repeatedly.^[7][11]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – A papyrus from Tebtunis lists it.^[4]
• Mid-15th century – English takes magma in the sense “dregs”.^[8]
• 1859 – The geological sense, molten rock, is recorded in English by this date.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kneaded mass, a paste.^[6][2][5]
2. (medicine) A thick unguent or salve; a plaster.^[4][2]

Word family

• ἐκμαγεῖον (ekmageîon)
• ἀπόμαγμα (apómagma)

Related words

• μάσσω (mássō)
• μαγίς (magís)
• Latin magma
• English magma

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
4. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
6. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge