"M" Word Origins

ma

Origin

A near-universal baby sound across languages, tied to the same ancient root behind "mama" and "mother".

ma'am

French

A contraction of madam, which came into English from Old French ma dame, "my lady".

maa

Origin

An onomatopoeic word imitating the animal sound itself.

maar

Latin

Borrowed from German Maar, ultimately traced back to Latin mare, "sea" — the same root behind "marine" and "mere".

Maarten

Dutch

Borrowed from Dutch Maarten.

mab

Origin

Origin uncertain; the untidy-woman sense may be linked to the female name Mab, as in Queen Mab, the fairy queen of English folklore mentioned in Romeo and Juliet.

Mabel

Latin

Clipping of Amabel, from Latin amābilis ("lovable").

mable

Origin

Variant of Mabel.

Mac

Origin

Clipping of mackintosh.

maca

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish maca, itself from Quechua maqa, the Andean name for the plant.

macabre

French

From French macabre, of uncertain origin — possibly linked to the phrase "danse macabre" ("dance of death"), which may trace back to the biblical Maccabees.

macadam

Origin

Named after Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), who invented the process of macadamization. Used for describing road surfaces originally constructed using the McAdam method, but now sometimes used for any road or street.

macadamia

Origin · 1857

Named after the Scottish-Australian scientist John Macadam by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, who first classified the plant in 1857.

macadamize

Origin

From macadam + -ize, after Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam who pioneered this method of road construction around 1820.

Macarena

Spanish · 1993

Named after the 1993 hit song "Macarena" by the Spanish duo Los del Río, itself named for a woman called Macarena.

macaroni

Italian · 1700

From Italian maccheroni, of uncertain origin; the "fashionable dandy" sense in English comes from the 18th-century British Macaroni Club, whose members were known for flamboyant, Italian-influenced style.

macaronic

Origin

From New Latin, 1517 coinage, macaronicus, from Italian (Neapolitan dialect) maccarone (“coarse dumpling”).

macaroon

French

From French macaron. Doublet of macaron.

Macau

Portuguese

Borrowed from Portuguese Macau, from Hokkien. See Portuguese Macau for more info.

Macaulay

Origin

From Scotland, an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic Gaelic Mac Amhalghaidh ("son of Amhalghaidh"). From Ireland, an anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Amhlaoibh ("son of Amhlaoibh") or Mac Amhlaidh ("son of Amhlaidh"). These Gaelic names are derived from the Old Norse personal name Áleifr and Óláfr.

Macbeth

Irish

From the Middle Irish name Mac Bethad, meaning "son of life."

MacDonald

Origin

From Gaelic "Mac Dhòmhnaill," meaning "son of Donald."

macdonnell

Origin

A spelling variant of MacDonald.

MacDougall

Origin

Scottish Gaelic Mac (“son of”) + Dougal.

mace

Vulgar Latin

From Old French mace, ultimately from Vulgar Latin roots meaning a crushing or cutting tool.

macedon

Origin

From Middle English Macedone, from Middle French Macédoine.

Macedonia

Ancient Greek

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek Μακεδονία (Makedonía, “Macedonia”), from μακεδονία (makedonía, “highland”), from μακεδνός (makednós, “high, tall”). Doublet of macedoine.

Macedonian

Middle English

From Middle English Macedonyen, partly from Macedonia and partly from Latin Macedonius, + -an; equivalent to Macedonia + -an.

macer

Origin

From Middle English macer, from Anglo-Norman macer, from mace (“mace”).

Macey

Origin

* As an English surname, variant of Massey. * As a Slavic surname, Americanized from Slovak Macej, Carpathian Rusyn [script needed] (Mačej), Polish Maciej, all variants of Matthew.

Macfarlane

Origin

Named after the Scottish surname MacFarlane, likely from an early maker or wearer associated with the style.

MacGregor

Origin

From Scottish Gaelic MacGriogair (“son of gregory”).

macguffin

Origin

Used by Alfred Hitchcock, as an arbitrary Scottish surname. The actual name comes from Ulster: Mc- (“son of”) + Irish dubh (“black”) + Irish Fionn (literally “fairheaded”). See also Wikipedia's MacGuffin § History and use.

MacGyver

Origin · 1980

From MacGyver, the title character of a 1980s American TV show known for building ingenious gadgets from ordinary objects.

Mach

Origin · 1838

Named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach (1838-1916).

Macha

Origin

Transliteration of Tamil மச்சான் (maccāṉ)

machete

Latin

From Spanish machete, a diminutive of macho ("sledgehammer"), ultimately from Latin — related to the English word "mace."

machi

Origin

Borrowed from Mapudungun maci.

Machiavelli

Italian · 1469

From Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Italian political writer whose book The Prince argued that rulers may need to use ruthless, unscrupulous methods to gain and keep power.

Machiavellian

Italian · 1469

From the name of Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Italian writer whose book "The Prince" argued that rulers may need to use unethical methods to gain and keep power.

Machin

Origin

Named after the artist Arnold Machin, who designed the iconic portrait used on the stamps.

machinate

Origin

First attested in 1537; borrowed from Latin machinātus, perfect active participle of machinor (“to invent, devise; to scheme, plot”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from māchina (“machine, contrivance, device, scheme”), an early borrowing from Ancient Greek. See also machine.

machination

Origin

From Middle English machynacion, machynacyon, from Middle French machination and directly Latin māchinātiōnem, from māchinor (“devise, invent”). By surface analysis, machinate + -ion or machine + -ation.

machine

Latin

From Middle French machine, from Latin māchina ("device, contrivance"), from Greek māchanā, related to "mechanical."

machinery

French

From machine + the suffix -ery, following the pattern of French machinerie.

machinist

Origin

From French machiniste, from machine (“machine, mechanical device”), from Latin māchina, from Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “machine”).

machismo

Origin

First attested 1940, from American Spanish machismo, from Spanish macho (“male”), + suffix -ismo (“-ism”).

macho

Latin

Borrowed from Spanish macho ("male"), from Latin masculus — the same root as "male."