μάσσω
Pronunciation
- 5th-century BC Attic: /más.sɔː/[1]
- 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈmas.so/[1]
- 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈmas.so/[1]
Forms
μᾰ́σσω (mássō) [1]
Etymology
The origin is disputed, because Greek does not show whether the stem was originally μαγ- (mag-) or μακ- (mak-): both the aorist passive μαγῆναι (magênai) and nouns with μακ- occur.[2][1]
If the stem was μαγ-, the verb is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ǵ- (“to knead”), as a present *mh₂ǵyéti.[1][3] It is then cognate with Proto-West Germanic *makōn (“to arrange, make”), the source of English make, and with Proto-Slavic *màzati (“to smear, anoint”), if the Germanic verb first meant “to knead, form”.[1][3][2] Chantraine also cites Welsh and Breton verbs for kneading, which Beekes, following Matasović, considers unrelated.[2][3]
If the stem was μακ-, it belongs with the root Proto-Indo-European *menk- (“to press, knead”), found in Lithuanian mìnkyti (“to knead”) and in the Balto-Slavic word for “flour”.[3][4] LIV lists both roots.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Beekes dates the word from the Odyssey, where the compound ἀναμάσσω (anamássō) appears (19.92).[3][5] The simple verb is first found in Archilochus, who uses the perfect passive participle of kneaded bread.[6]
Semantic evolution
In classical Greek it means to knead dough, especially barley cakes, and to press soft material into a mould.[6][5] Herodotus has the middle of people who knead powdered fish into a kind of bread.[6][5] Aristophanes uses it figuratively of “kneading” ideas, and the middle came to mean taking the impression of something.[6][5] An inscription from Priene uses it for wiping.[5]
The word lived on in medieval vernacular Greek, and it survives in Modern Greek dialects.[7]
Timeline
- 7th century BC – Archilochus uses the perfect passive participle of kneaded bread.[6][8]
- 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the middle of kneading powdered fish into bread.[6][5][8]
- 5th century BC – Thucydides and Aristophanes use the participle μεμαγμένος, “kneaded”.[6][5][8]
- 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses it figuratively, of kneading ideas.[6][8]
- 5th–4th century BC – Plato has the aorist in the description of kneading barley cakes.[5][6][8]
Meanings
Verb
- To knead dough or barley cakes; to mould something into shape with the hands.[6][5]
- To press into a mould.[5][3]
- (figurative) To knead or shape ideas.[6]
- To wipe.[5]
- (middle) To take the impression of something; to cling close to it.[5]
Word family
- ἀναμάσσω (anamássō)
- ἀπομάσσω (apomássō)
- ἐκμάσσω (ekmássō)
- προσμάσσω (prosmássō)
- ὑπομάσσω (hupomássō)
- καταμάσσω (katamássō)
Related words
- μάγειρος (mágeiros)
- μάγμα (mágma)
- μᾶζα (mâza)
- μάκτρα (máktra)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
- ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge