"M" Word Origins

Mathison

Origin

From Matthew + -son.

mathom

Origin

Learned borrowing from Old English māþum (“treasure, object of value, jewel, ornament, gift”), from Proto-Germanic *maiþmaz (“present, gift”); introduced by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings with the conceit that it was a translation of his invented language Adûni's kast, a word used by Hobbits as a generic name for items which they were unwilling to throw away, but for which they had no use.

Mathur

Origin

Borrowed from Hindi माथुर (māthur).

mati

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek, "eye."

Matilda

German

From the given name Matilda, from Old High German Mahthilt, "mighty in battle" — its use for a traveller's bundle comes from Australian folk usage, most famously in the song "Waltzing Matilda."

matinee

French

From French matinée, related to matin, "morning."

Matlock

Old English

From Old English mæðel, "assembly, meeting," and āc, "oak" — roughly "the oak tree where meetings are held."

matriarch

Latin

From Latin māter, "mother," combined with -arch, from Greek arkhós, "chief, leader."

matriarchy

Origin

Coined after patriarchy, from Latin māter (“mother”) and Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”). By surface analysis, matri- + -archy.

matrimonial

Middle French

From Middle French matrimonial, from matrimony plus the adjective suffix -al.

matrimony

Latin

From Old French matremoine, from Latin mātrimōnium, built from māter, "mother," and -mōnium, "condition, obligation." Compare "patrimony."

Matrix

Latin · 1999

From Latin mātrix, "breeding animal, womb," from māter, "mother" — the idea of a structure that other things grow or are formed within. The science-fiction sense was popularized by the 1999 film The Matrix.

matron

Latin

From Old French matrone, from Latin mātrōna, "married woman," from māter, "mother."

matrona

Origin

Borrowed from Latin mātrōna (“matron”), from māter (“mother; matron”). Doublet of matron.

matronize

Origin

From matron + -ize.

matsu

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 松 (matsu), "pine."

Matsuda

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 松田 (Matsuda).

Matsudaira

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 松平 (Matsudaira).

Matsui

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 松井 (Matsui).

Matsumoto

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 松本 (まつもと, Matsumoto).

Matsushima

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 松島 (Matsushima).

matte

French

From French mat, meaning "dull" or "lifeless" — the same word used in chess for a checkmated (dead) king.

matter

Latin

From Old French matiere, going back to Latin materia ("wood, substance"), itself related to mater ("mother") — the idea being of raw material as a source, the way a tree trunk is the "mother" of timber.

Matterhorn

Italian

Named after the Matterhorn, the sharply pointed mountain on the Swiss-Italian border — one of the most recognisable and difficult peaks in the Alps.

Matthew

Old French

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias.

Matthews

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Matthias

Latin

From Latin Matthias.

mattock

Origin

From Middle English mattok (“mattock, pickaxe”), from Old English mattuc, meottoc, mettoc (“mattock, fork, trident”), from Proto-West Germanic *mattjuk (“mattock, ploughshare”), from Proto-Indo-European *met- (“to cut, reap”). Related to Old High German medela (“plough”), Middle High German metze, metz (“knife”), Latin mateola (“implement for digging in the soil”), Polish motyka (“hoe, mattock”), Russian моты́га (motýga, “hoe, mattock”), Lithuanian matikkas (“mattock”), Sanskrit मत्य (matyà, “harrow, roller, club”). More at mason.

mattress

Old French

From Old French, ultimately from Arabic matrah, "the place where something is thrown down" — from a Middle Eastern custom of sleeping on cushions laid on the floor.

Matty

Origin

Diminutives + -y.

maturate

Origin

From Latin māturātus, perfect passive participle of māturō (“to ripen”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French maturer.

maturation

Origin

From Middle English maturacioun, from Middle French maturation, from Latin maturatio. By surface analysis, mature + -ation.

maturational

Origin

From maturation + -al.

mature

Latin

From Latin maturus, "ripe" or "timely" — the same root that gives us "premature," something happening before its proper time.

maturity

Latin

From Latin maturitas, built from maturus ("ripe"); by form, simply mature plus the noun-forming suffix -ity.

matzo

Hebrew

From Yiddish matse, from Hebrew matzah — the bread that, according to tradition, the Israelites baked in haste while fleeing Egypt, with no time for the dough to rise.

Mau

Origin · 1800

From mjw, the ancient Egyptian word for "cat," as rendered by 19th-century Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius.

Maud

Old French

The clothing sense is unrelated to the given name Maud, which comes from Old French Mahaut, a doublet of Matilda.

Maudie

Origin

From Maud + -ie.

maudlin

French

From "Magdalene" — Mary Magdalene was traditionally shown in art weeping, and her name (via French Madelaine) came to describe anyone tearfully sentimental.

Maui

Origin

From Hawaiian Maui, probably a contraction of Māui (a Hawaiian trickster god); or borrowed from Māori Māui.

maul

Latin

From Old French mail, "hammer," going back to Latin malleus — the same root behind "malleable."

mauler

Origin

From maul + -er.

maund

Origin

From Middle English maunde, maundie, borrowed from Old French mande, borrowed from Middle Dutch mande, from Old Dutch *manda, from Proto-West Germanic *mandu.

maunder

Origin

From earlier maund (“to beg”).

maundy

Latin

From Old French mandé, from Latin mandatum 'commandment', the first word of the Latin text of Christ's instruction to his disciples read at the Thursday foot-washing ceremony.

Maura

Irish

Either from Irish Máire and Scottish Gaelic Màiri, or from Italian Maura. When borrowed from Irish, a doublet of Moira.

Maureen

Irish

Anglicized from Irish Máirín, diminutive of Máire, an Irish equivalent of Mary. By surface analysis, Maura + -een.