"M" Word Origins

measurement

Origin

From measure plus the noun suffix -ment.

meat

Old English

From Old English mete, which originally meant "food" in general, not just animal flesh — the narrower sense developed over time.

meatball

Origin

From meat + ball.

meathead

Origin · 1970

A compound of meat and head; popularized in the 1970s by the sitcom All in the Family, where Archie Bunker used it as a nickname for his son-in-law.

meatloaf

Origin

A straightforward compound of meat and loaf.

meatspace

Origin

From meat + space, by analogy with cyberspace. Compare in the flesh and meatbag.

meaty

Origin

From meat plus the adjective suffix -y.

mebane

Origin

Perhaps a variant of McBain.

Mecca

Origin

From Mecca, the holiest city in Islam in Saudi Arabia, which Muslims are required to visit on pilgrimage; the word later broadened to describe any must-visit destination for enthusiasts of any kind.

Mech

Origin

Ultimately from mechanical, mechanic, perhaps via mecha.

mecha

Japanese

From Japanese meka, itself shortened from the English word "mechanical".

mechanic

Latin

From Middle English mekanyk, from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus, from Greek mēkhanikós ("relating to machines").

mechanical

Latin

From Middle English mechanical, from Old French mecanique, from Latin mechanicus, from Greek mēkhanikós.

mechanically

Origin

From mechanical plus the adverb suffix -ly.

mechanics

Latin

From Latin mechanicus, from Greek mēkhanikós ("relating to machines").

mechanism

New Latin

A learned borrowing from New Latin mechanismus, ultimately from Greek mēkhanḗ ("machine").

mechanoid

Origin

From mechano- + -oid.

meconium

Origin

From Latin mēcōnium (“opium; excrement of a newborn child”), from Ancient Greek μηκώνιον (mēkṓnion, “poppy-juice, opium”), from μήκων (mḗkōn, “poppy”).

medal

Late Latin

From Italian medaglia, originally meaning "half a denarius" (a Roman coin), from Late Latin mediālis ("middle").

medalist

Origin

From medal plus the agent suffix -ist.

medallion

French

Borrowed from French médaillon, itself from Italian medaglia ("medal").

meddle

Late Latin

From Anglo-Norman medler, from Late Latin misculāre, from Latin misceō ("to mix") — the sense narrowed from "to mix in" to "to interfere".

meddler

Origin

From Middle English medlere, medelere, equivalent to meddle + -er.

meddlesome

Origin

From meddle plus the adjective suffix -some.

mede

Origin

From Latin Medus, from Ancient Greek Μῆδος (Mêdos).

Medea

Greek

From Greek Mēdeia, related to the verb "to plan" or "to devise."

medevac

Origin

A blend formed by shortening and joining "medical evacuation."

Medford

Origin

A variant of Mitford.

media

Latin

From Latin media, the plural of medium ("middle" or "a means"), borrowed into English as a collective term for channels of mass communication.

medial

Latin

From Latin mediālis, built from medius ("middle") plus the adjective-forming suffix -ālis.

median

Latin

From Latin mediānus, "of the middle," from medius ("middle").

mediate

Late Latin

From Late Latin mediātus, past participle of mediāre ("to be in the middle"), from medius ("middle").

mediation

Latin

From Latin mediātiō, from mediārī ("to intervene"), from medius ("middle").

mediator

Latin

From Latin mediātor, "one who mediates," from mediāre ("to be in the middle").

medic

Latin

From Latin medicus, "physician," from mederi ("to heal").

Medicaid

Origin · 1965

A blend of "medical" and "aid," coined when the US program was created in 1965.

medical

Medieval Latin

From French médical, from Medieval Latin medicālis, from Latin medicus ("physician").

medicament

Origin

From Middle English medicament, either from Middle French médicament or its etymon, Latin medicāmentum.

medicaster

Origin

From French médicastre or Italian medicastro, from Late Latin medicaster, from Latin medicus (“a doctor, a physician; a surgeon”) + -aster (suffix forming nouns expressing incomplete resemblance, which are thus usually pejorative).

medicate

Latin

From Latin medicāre ("to heal, cure"), related to medicus ("physician").

medication

Latin

From Latin medicātiō, from medicārī ("to heal, cure"), from medicus ("physician").

medicational

Origin

From medication + -al.

Medici

Italian

From Italian Medici, the family surname.

medician

Origin

Perhaps a blend of medic and physician.

medicinal

Latin

From Latin medicīnālis, related to medicīna ("medicine").

medicine

Latin

From Old French medecine, from Latin medicīna ("the healing art"), from medicus ("physician"). The sense referring to Indigenous ritual practice was later borrowed to translate similar concepts from Ojibwe and related languages.

medick

Origin

From Middle English medike, from Latin mēdica, from Ancient Greek μηδίκη (mēdíkē), short for Μηδικὴ πόα (Mēdikḕ póa, “Median grass”); so called because medick was imported from Media to Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars.

medieval

Latin

From French médiéval, built from Latin medium ("middle") and aevum ("age").