- mass (1)
- "lump, quantity, size," c.1400, from O.Fr. masse "lump" (11c.), from L. massa "kneaded dough, lump, that which adheres together like dough," from Gk. maza "barley cake, lump, mass, ball," related to massein "to knead," from PIE base *mag-/*meg- "to knead" (cf. Lith. minkyti "to knead," see macerate). Sense extended 1580s to "a large quantity, amount, or number." Strict sense in physics is from 1704. Mass meeting is first attested 1733 in Amer.Eng. mass culture is from 1939; mass hysteria is from 1934; mass media is from 1923; mass movement is from 1897; mass production is from 1920. Verb meaning "to gather in a mass" is attested from 1560s. Related: Massed.
- mass (2)
- "Eucharistic service," O.E. męsse, from V.L. *messa "eucharistic service," lit. "dismissal," from L.L. missa "dismissal," fem. pp. of mittere "to let go, send," from concluding words of the service, Ite, missa est, "Go, (the prayer) has been sent," or "Go, it is the dismissal."