messe

Forms

messe f (plural messi)^[1]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin messis (“harvest, reaping”), recorded in Italian from the 16th century.^[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun is formed from metō (“to reap, mow”) with the suffix -tis, and Devoto–Oli and Gabrielli derive it from the past participle messus.^[1][3][6][7] Isidore of Seville already derived the noun from reaping, that is, from cutting down.^[2][8]

The inherited outcomes of the Latin word are Old French mes, Occitan mes and Old Catalan mes, Spanish mies and Portuguese messe.^[3][9] French moisson has another source, the derivative Latin messiō.^[3][5] DEI notes that in the Medieval Latin of Italy, especially in the 9th and 10th centuries, the word regularly meant “wheat”.^[5]

The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *met-e-; de Vaan connects it with Proto-Indo-European *met- (“to measure”), through a shift from “measure off” to “reap”, while Schrijver posits a root *h₂m-, and the root is disputed.^[10] Devoto calls the verb a north-western Indo-European word.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in Ariosto's Orlando furioso (1516), in the sense “grain still to be reaped”: a hail of blows that breaks leaves, branches, grain and stubble e uscir invan fa la sperata messe (“and makes the hoped-for harvest come to nothing”).^[2][12] DEI and Prati also note an older form messa in the 13th century, in Guittone.^[5][13]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries the senses multiplied: the cereals growing in a field (before 1575, Dell'Uva), the season of harvest (before 1585, Groto) and the work of reaping itself (1623, Marino).^[2] Tasso has the wind that lays low la pieghevol messe (“the pliant crop”).^[8][12]

Through the Gospel saying Messis quidem multa, operarii autem pauci (“the harvest is great, but the labourers are few”), the word took on a figurative sense: the fruit of a person's labours, and above all of preaching and missionary work.^[8][14] From this came the modern figurative uses, a large return from an activity and simply a great quantity (una messe di consensi).^[4][15][16] The phrase mettere la falce nella messe altrui (“to put one's sickle in another's harvest”) means to meddle in matters that belong to someone else.^[12][7][14]

The word is literary today,^[16][15] and is often used in the plural messi for the standing crops of a whole region.^[14][6] Prati notes the French revolutionary month messidor (1793), Italian messidoro, formed from the Latin word and the Greek word for “gift”.^[13]

Timeline

• 1516 – Ariosto uses messe for the grain to be reaped.^[2]
• 1532 – GRADIT and Zingarelli date the word to this year.^[4][16]
• Before 1575 – Dell'Uva uses it for the cereals growing in a field.^[2]
• Before 1585 – Groto uses it for the time of harvest.^[2]
• 1623 – Marino uses it for the act of reaping.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary) The harvest, the reaping of grain; also the time of year when it is done, and the crop it yields.^[4][16][14]
2. (often in the plural) The crops of wheat or other cereals standing in the fields, ripening or ready to be cut.^[4][6][14]
3. (figurative) The fruit or return of an activity: una ricca messe di premi “a rich crop of prizes”.^[4][6][15]
4. (figurative) A great abundance of something.^[4][16]

Related words

• mietere
• mietitura
• messidoro
• Latin messis
• French moisson

Usage notes

Messe “harvest” is pronounced with an open vowel, /ˈmɛsse/; the plural of messa “Mass” and the feminine plural of messo, past participle of mettere, are spelled the same but have a close vowel, /ˈmesse/.^[17][1] The plural of messe is messi.^[1][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2436
6. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
8. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 279
12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 657
14. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
15. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
17. ^ Canepari, Luciano, DiPI: Dizionario di pronuncia italiana, online ed., dipionline.it