A message is information sent from one person to another. A massage is the rubbing and kneading of muscles. One letter apart and often typed for each other — leave a message, book a massage. The words have completely separate origins.
The core difference
- message — a communication: leave a message, a text message, get the message. Also a verb: message me later.
- massage — the working of muscles by hand: a back massage, massage oil. Also a verb: massage the figures means to adjust them dishonestly.
The tell
Message belongs with messenger and send; massage belongs with masseur and muscle. If someone is sending it, it is a message. If someone is receiving it lying down, it is a massage. The vowels match their families: the e of messenger, the a of masseur.
In use
- message — She left a message on his desk. Did you get my message?
- massage — A neck massage eased the tension. Warm the oil before the massage.
Common slips
- send me a massage → send me a message
- a relaxing message → a relaxing massage
Messenger, message; masseur, massage.
The people and the practice
The person who gives a massage is a masseur (man) or masseuse (woman), both straight from French, or more neutrally a massage therapist. The person who carries a message is a messenger, and the thing the message is about is its messaging — a word marketing borrowed for the overall story a brand tells. The two families never meet.
Where the words come from
Message is from Latin missus, "sent", the same root as mission and missile. Massage is nineteenth-century French, from masser "to knead", with a disputed older source — either Arabic massa "to touch" or Greek massein "to knead". The words met only by accident of spelling.
