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Etymology and origin of the Italian word messa

DELI, Nocentini and GRADIT separate the messa of the liturgy, from Late Latin missa, from the messa “putting, setting”, formed in Italian from the past participle of mettere.[1][2][3]

messa1 Mass

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
10th century, Glossario di Monza
Inherited from
Latin missa
Ultimate origin
Latin mittō
Etymology tree of messa1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin missa
Italian messa
Dutch mis

Pronunciation

Forms

messa f (plural messe)[4] Old Italian forms include mesa, missa and mexe.[5]

Etymology

The Mass is inherited from Late Latin missa, recorded in 385 in a letter of Saint Ambrose: “missam facere coepi” (“I began to celebrate Mass”).[1][2][3] The same word is French messe and Occitan mesa, while Spanish misa, Catalan missa and Portuguese missa came down through learned channels.[2][6]

The Latin word is linked with the formula of dismissal at the end of the rite, “ite, missa est”.[1][3] DELI, GRADIT and Devoto–Oli read the word there as the feminine past participle of Latin mittō (“to send”): “go, (the offering) has been sent”, either to the absent faithful or to God.[1][3][7][8] Nocentini notes that this explanation, proposed by Antonino Pagliaro, faces a difficulty: the formula is not recorded before the 7th century, when the practice of sending the Eucharist to the absent had long ceased, while the noun meant “dismissal” already in the 4th century.[2] He therefore prefers an abstract noun from the verb, “dismissal”, transferred from the end of the rite to the whole rite.[2] Wiktionary also takes it as a Late Latin equivalent of missiō (“dismissal”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the 10th-century Glossary of Monza.[5] In literary texts DELI dates the word to Bono Giamboni, before 1292, for the sacrifice of Christ's body and blood renewed by the priest at the altar.[1]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian distinguished the Mass by its form, as in cantare messa, celebrating it with chant, and messa bassa or piana, a low Mass read by one priest, and by its time, as in prima messa, the first Mass of the morning.[5] Boccaccio has people “have Masses said” for a soul.[9] The musical setting of the sung parts is recorded before 1565 in Benedetto Varchi.[1]

Messa nera, the black Mass, translates French messe noire (1874).[1] The messale, the book with the texts of the Mass for the whole year, is in Giovanni Villani before 1348, from Medieval Latin missale.[1][2]

Timeline

  • 385 – Saint Ambrose writes missam facere coepi.[1]
  • 10th century – The word appears in the Glossary of Monza.[5]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses messa.[1]
  • Before 1348 – Messale appears in Giovanni Villani.[1]
  • Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi uses it for a musical Mass.[1]
  • 1874 – French messe noire is recorded, the model of messa nera.[1]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Christianity) The Mass, the central rite of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, in which the sacrifice of Christ is renewed and commemorated: Andiamo alla messa delle undici.[3][7][10]
  2. (music) A setting of the sung parts of the Mass: una messa di Palestrina.[3][10][11]

Word family

  • messale
  • messalino

messa2 putting, setting

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 1363
Inherited from
Latin mitto
Ultimate origin
Latin mittō
Etymology tree of messa2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mitto
French mettre
Italian messa
Italian mettere
Derived words · messa2
English manumission ← mitto
Latin admitto ← mitto
Latin circummitto ← mitto
Latin committo ← mitto
Latin manumitto ← mitto
Latin missilis ← mitto
Latin missio ← mitto
Latin missus ← mitto
Latin omitto ← mitto
Latin praemitto ← mitto
Latin praetermitto ← mitto
Latin remitto ← mitto
Italian smettere ← mettere

Pronunciation

Forms

messa f (plural messe)[4]

Etymology

This noun is the feminine of messo, the past participle of mettere, used as a noun.[2][3][7][10] The verb is inherited from Latin mittō (“to send”).[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to before 1363.[3] Matteo Villani uses it for bringing in a mercenary company: per la messa che fatta avea della compagna in Forlì (“for having brought the company into Forlì”).[9]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the word had several concrete senses: a merchant's share of capital in a company, a stake at play, and a course served at table.[12][9] In the 16th century it also meant a shoot of a plant, and in the 19th century, in singing, messa di voce was the swelling and fading of a held note.[12][3]

Today it lives mostly in technical phrases built with a or in: messa a punto, messa a fuoco, messa in moto, messa in onda, messa in piega.[3][7][10] Messa in scena has also been written as one noun, messinscena.[4][13]

Timeline

  • Before 1363 – The noun is recorded.[3]
  • 14th century – It is used for a merchant's share and a stake at play.[12]
  • 16th century – It is used for a plant shoot.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of putting or setting, in phrases with a or in: la messa in vendita dei biglietti, la messa a fuoco dell'obiettivo.[3][7][10]
  2. (uncommon) A shoot or sprout of a plant.[3][10]
  3. (uncommon) A stake in a game of chance.[3][10]
  4. (music) messa di voce, a gradual swelling and fading of a sustained note.[3]
  5. A sum contributed to the capital of a company.[3][9]

Word family

  • messinscena

Usage notes

Old Italian also had a rare messa for the harvest, a form of messe that Guittone d'Arezzo uses.[12][9] The liturgical word is often written with a capital, la Messa.[7][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  5. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  9. ^ a b c d e Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  11. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2436
  13. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Messa.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/messa. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·