"M" Word Origins

mastodon

French · 1806

Coined in 1806 by French naturalist Georges Cuvier from Greek masto- ("breast") plus odon ("tooth"), describing the nipple-shaped bumps on the animal's molars.

mastodonic

Origin

From mastodon + -ic.

mastoid

Origin

Borrowed from New Latin mastoīdēs, from Ancient Greek μᾰστοειδής (măstoeidḗs, “like a breast”), from μᾰστός (măstós, “a woman's breast”) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-like, -oid”).

mastos

Origin

From Ancient Greek μαστός (mastós).

mastrope

Origin

From Middle English *mast-roop, *mastrap, from Old English mæstrāp (“mastrope”), equivalent to mast + rope.

masturbate

Latin

A back-formation from masturbation, itself traced to Latin masturbari, whose deeper origin is uncertain.

masturbation

New Latin

Borrowed from French masturbation, from New Latin masturbatio.

masturbator

Origin

From masturbate + -or.

mat

Late Latin

From Old English meatte, ultimately from Late Latin matta ("mat woven from rushes").

mata

Latin

Borrowed from Sanskrit mata ("mother"), a relative of the English word mother and Latin mater.

matador

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish matador, literally "killer," from matar ("to kill").

matamata

Origin

Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese matamatá, from Nheengatu and Old Tupi matamatá.

match

Old English

The "equal/pair" sense traces to Old English mæcca ("companion, mate"); the "fire-stick" sense is a separate, later development referring to a wick or fuse used to carry flame.

matchbook

Origin · 1890

From match plus book, dating to the 1890s when the folded-cardboard format was developed.

matchbox

Origin

From match plus box.

matchcover

Origin

From match + cover, since the 1890s; more at matchbook.

matcher

Origin

From match + -er. Cognate with Old Frisian mekere (“matchmaker”).

matchless

Origin

From match + -less, modelled after or partly continuing Middle English makeless (“having no peer or equal, matchless”), equivalent to make + -less. Compare Swedish makalös (“incomparable, matchless”), Danish mageløs (“matchless”).

matchmake

Origin

From match + make, as a back-formation from matchmaking.

matchmaker

Origin

From match plus maker.

matchmaking

Origin

From match plus making.

matchstick

Origin

From match plus stick.

matchup

Origin

Deverbal from match up.

mate

Old English

From Middle English mate, borrowed from Middle Low German mate ("messmate"), ultimately tied to Old English words for sharing food together — a doublet of the word behind "meat."

matelot

Origin

From Middle French matelot (“sailor”). Compare Dutch matroos and German Matrose. Doublet of matross.

Mateo

Spanish

From Spanish Mateo, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū). Doublet of Matthew.

mater

Latin

From Latin māter, "mother" — the same root that gives us "maternal," "material," and "matrix."

materfamilias

Origin

From Latin māter familiās (“mother of the household”).

material

Latin

From Latin māteria, "wood, substance, matter," itself from māter, "mother" — the idea of raw matter as the "mother" from which things are made.

materialise

Origin

From material + -ise; compare with French matérialiser.

materialism

French

From French matérialisme, built from material + the suffix -ism.

materiality

Origin

From material (adjective and noun) + -ity, perhaps modelled on Latin māteriālitās.

materialization

Origin

From material + -ization and materialize + -ation.

materialize

Origin

Formed from material plus the verb-forming suffix -ize.

materially

Origin

From Middle English materialy; equivalent to material + -ly.

materiel

Origin

Borrowed from French matériel. Doublet of material.

maternal

Latin

From Latin māternus, "of a mother," from māter, "mother."

maternity

Latin

From French maternité, from Latin māternitās.

mateship

Origin

From mate + -ship. Cognate with Dutch maatschap (“partnership”).

matey

Origin

From mate + -y.

math

Origin

A shortening of "mathematics."

mathematical

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin mathēmaticālis, ultimately from Greek mathēma, "learning, knowledge."

mathematician

Middle French

From Middle French mathematicien, ultimately from Greek mathēmatikós, "fond of learning."

mathematics

Greek

From Greek mathēmatikós, "on the matter of that which is learned," from máthēma, "knowledge, learning."

Mather

Origin

* From the Old English mæþere

Mathers

Origin

Patronymic from Mather.

Matheson

Origin

From Matthew + -son.

Mathis

French

From French Mathis.