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missa

Etymology and origin of the Latin word missa

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Ambrose
Ultimate origin
Latin (mittō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmɪs.sa][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmis.sa][1]

Forms

missa f (genitive missae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle of mittō “to send, let go”, used as a noun “dismissal”.[1][2][3] It is probably named from the closing words of the service, ⟨Ite, missa est⟩ “Go, it is the dismissal”.[2][4] Isidore of Seville explained it from the sending out of the catechumens before the sacrifice.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short and Gaffiot cite Ambrose's letters, and Köbler's first source is Commodian.[3][6][4] Köbler dates Ambrose c. 340–397 AD.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a dismissal, a letting go, as in the Theodosian Code, and the Mass, the Eucharistic service, as in Ambrose and Isidore of Seville.[6][3] In Medieval Latin it meant the dismissal of the faithful at the end of Mass, a closing prayer of an office, and a feast day, and in British sources also a letter sent.[7][8]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it is the Mass.[9] It survives in Italian messa, French messe, Spanish misa and Romanian misă.[1] Through Vulgar Latin *messa it gave Old English mæsse, whence English Mass.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of the Mass.[3][4]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains the word.[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A dismissal.[6]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Mass.[3][9]
  3. (Medieval Latin) The dismissal at the end of Mass; a closing prayer; a feast day.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Missa.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/missa. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·