masser French · revision 15917

+ French has two main verbs ''masser'': “to mass, gather together”, formed from ''masse'', and “to massage”, borrowed in the 18th century; a third is a billiards term.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

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+ {{homograph|1|to mass}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=late 13th century, Garin de Monglane|origins=grc μᾶζα}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ma.se/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''masser'''^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ “To mass” is formed from [[masse]] “mass” with the ending [[-er]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) The noun is [[inh|la|massa|t=lump of dough; mass]], from [[grc|μᾶζα|tr=mâza|t=barley cake]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Garin de Monglane'' (late 13th century) has it in the sense “to heap up”;^(TLFi) a 13th-century recipe has verdigris ''tut massé'', all gathered together.^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb was rare before the 19th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) In painting it means to arrange the figures and shadows in masses (Boiste, 1819, Littré's ''ce peintre masse bien'').^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) In the 19th century it became a military term for concentrating troops (Hugo's Ney ''massant'' four divisions), and the reflexive ''se masser'' is said of crowds gathering.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 13th century – “To heap up”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1819 – A painting term, in Boiste.^(TLFi)

+ * 1862 – Massing troops, in Hugo.^(TLFi)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|mass]], gather together: ''masser des troupes à la frontière''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(painting)'' To group (figures, lights and shadows) in masses.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' Of a crowd, to gather: ''la foule s'était massée''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[amasser]]

+ * [[ramasser]]

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+ {{homograph|2|to massage}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1779, Le Gentil|origins=ar مَسَّ}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ma.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''masser'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ “To massage” is probably [[bor|ar|مَسَّ|tr=massa|t=to touch, feel]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|19, 122b) the art of massage being of Eastern origin;^(DHLF 1992) the fact that the word first appears in accounts of travels in the East seems to rule out a borrowing from [[grc|μάσσω|tr=mássō|t=to knead]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Littré took the Arabic source from Pihan.^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary and Etymonline mention another possibility, [[pt|amassar|t=to knead]], picked up in colonial India.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first recorded in 1779, in Le Gentil's ''Voyage dans les mers de l'Inde'', with ''masseur''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1814) describes the Indians who ''se font masser'', having their flesh kneaded.^(TLFi) The noun ''massage'' followed in 1818;^(DHLF 1992) methodical massage spread after 1850 in hydrotherapy establishments, spas and Paris hospitals, and became a technique of physiotherapy (diploma of ''masseur-kinésithérapeute'', 1946).^(DHLF 1992) English took ''massage'' from French in 1874–1876.^(DHLF 1992)^(Etymonline) ''Vibromasseur'' dates from 1912.^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1779 – ''Masser'', ''masseur'' in Le Gentil.^(TLFi)

+ * 1814 – Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's account of Indian massage.^(TLFi)

+ * 1818 – ''Massage''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1874 – English ''massage''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1912 – ''Vibromasseur''.^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|massage]]: ''se faire masser'', ''masser les épaules''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

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+ ==Word family==

+ * [[massage]]

+ * [[masseur]]

+ * [[vibromasseur]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[masse]]

+ * [[en|mass]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ A third ''masser'' (Littré 1867, ''massé'' in an 1830 billiards guide) is to strike the ball almost vertically to make it curve, from [[masse]] “mace, cue butt”; in slang it has meant “to work” (1844).^(TLFi)^(BHVF)^(Grand Robert 2005)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}