# An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/M (full text)

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M.
machen, vb., ‘to make, produce, cause, perform,’ from the equiv. MidHG. machen, OHG. mahhôn; corresponding to the equiv. OSax. makôn, Du. maken, AS. macian, E. to make; a common Teut. vb. for ‘to make,’ but existing also as a borrowed term in the Northern dials. The OHG. vb. further signifies ‘to combine, join.’ As allied to Goth. *makôn, comp. the adjs. — OIc. *makr, only in the compar. makara, ‘more suitable or convenient,’ AS. gemœc, ‘suitable, fit,’ OHG. gimah, ‘combined with, belonging to, corresponding, convenient,’ MidHG. gemach, ModHG. gemach; OHG. gimah, neut. of the adj., ‘combination, convenience, agreeableness,’ MidHG. gemach, m. and n., ‘comfort, agreeableness, place where one rests, dwelling, room,’ ModHG. Gemach); further, AS. gemœčča, ‘husband, wife,’ E. make, ‘companion, spouse,’ E. match, OHG. gimahho, ‘companion,’ gimahha, ‘wife,’ OHG. gimahhidi, MidHG. gemęchede, n., ‘spouse.’ Hence results a Teut. root mak, ‘to join or belong to in a suitable manner’ (equiv. in meaning to the root gad in Gatte). A non-Teut. root mag, with this sense, has not yet been found.
Macht, f., ‘might, force,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. maht, f., ‘might, power, ability’; comp. OSax. maht, Du. magt, AS. meaht, miht, E. might, OIc. máttr, m., Goth. mahts, f., ‘might, power, capacity.’ The common Teut. *mahti-, f., which may be deduced from these words, is an old verbal abstract of Goth. magan. See mögen and Gemächt.
Mädchen, n., ‘maiden, girl, servant,’ ModHG. only, a derivative of Magd, with the dimin. suffix -chen (in UpG. Maidle, Mädel, &c, with dimin. l.
Made, f., ‘maggot,’ from MidHG. made, m., ‘worm, maggot,’ OHG. mado; corresponding to Du. made, AS. maþa, Goth. maþa, ‘maggot, worm.’ Hence the equiv. OIc. maþkr, m. (with a suffix), from which is derived MidE. maþek, E. mawk, ‘maggot’; Goth. *maþaks (E. maggot is probably not allied). The orig. sense of the OTeut. *maþan-, ‘maggot,’ is perhaps ‘gnawer’; it has been connected with the root mê, ‘to mow’; Motte (MidHG. and ModHG. variant matte) may also be akin.
Magd, f., ‘maid, servant,’ from MidHG. maget (plur. męgde), meit, ‘maiden, virgin,’ also ‘bond girl, servant,’ OHG. magad (plur. magidi, męgidi), f., ‘maiden’; corresponding to Goth. magaþs (wanting in OIc.), AS. mœgþ, OSax. magath, f.; the common OTeut. word (unknown only in Scand.) for ‘maiden,’ in OSax. and MidHG. also with the ModHG. sense ‘maid, servant.’ From these are derived the diminutives (see Küchlein and Schwein), Goth. *magadein, n., OHG. magatîn, MidHG. magetîn, n., ‘girl,’ AS. maœgden, E. maid, maiden (AS. mœgþ, f., ‘maiden,’ became obsolete at the beginning of the MidE. period), Goth. magaþs, ‘maiden,’ and its cognates in the other languages are old femin. derivatives from an archaic term, magus, ‘boy, youth’; comp. Goth. magus, ‘boy, servant,’ OIc. mǫgr, ‘son,’ AS. mago, ‘son, youth, man, servant.’ To this is allied another femin. derivative, Goth. mawi, OIc. mœ́r (for *magwî, with the loss of a g, see Niere); comp. further AS. meówle, ‘girl.’ Teut. magus, ‘son, boy, servant,’ is equiv. to OIr. macc, ‘boy, youth, son’ (comp. the Ir. proper names MacCarthy, &c.).
Mage, m., formed from the equiv. MidHG. mâc (g), m., OHG. mâg, m., ‘kinsman’; corresponding to OSax. mâg, AS. mœ̂g, m., ‘kinsman.’ The allied terms in the East Teut. languages denote special degrees of relationship; comp. Goth. mégs, ‘daughter's husband,’ OIc. mágr, ‘brother-in-law, son-in-law, father-in-law.’ Probably mâg signified orig. ‘one who is related by marriage.’ HG. distinguishes between Schwert- and Spillmagen, just as MidHG. does between swërtmâge, ‘relatives on the male side,’ and spinnelmâge, ‘relatives on the female side’; similarly in AS. spërmagas and spinelmâgas.
Magen, m., from the equiv. MidHG. and MidLG. mage, OHG. mago, m., ‘stomach’; ​comp. Du. maag, AS. maga, MidE. mawe, E. maw, OIc. mage, Dan. mave, ‘stomach’; Goth. *maga (gen. *magins) is wanting. From Teut. is derived Ital. (dial.) magone, ‘crop (of birds),’ or rather magun, also magon, ‘vexation,’ to which Rhæto-Rom. magún, ‘stomach,’ is allied.’ For the early history of the word we have no definite clue; to derive Magen from mögen, root mag, ‘to be able, have strength’ (as if the stomach were the ‘nourishing, strength giving part’), is not to be commended. The names of parts of the body need not, however, be traced back to a verbal root; comp. Herz, Niere, and Leber.
mager, adj., ‘lean, lank, meagre,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mager, OHG. magar, adj.; corresponding to MidLG. and Du. mager, AS. mœger, OIc. magr, adj., ‘lean’; a common Teut. word, wanting only in Goth. Considering the wide and early diffusion of the term, its similarity to Lat. macer (Ital. magro, Fr. maigre) is remarkable. While MidE. mę̂gre, E. meagre, are certainly of Rom. origin (comp. Fr. maigre), Teut. mager, like Lat. macer, ‘lean,’ and Gr. μακεδνός, ‘tall,’ μᾶκρός, ‘long,’ may be derived from an Aryan root mā̆k, ‘long, thin’; Lith. máżus, ‘little,’ may, like OHG. magar, point to a common root, magh. Yet the supposition that the Teut. cognates are derived from Low Lat. and Ital. magro is more probable; note kurz, from Lat. curtus.
Mahd, f., ‘mowing, swath,’ from MidHG. mât (gen. mâdes), n. (also f.), ‘mowing, what has been mown, hay, meadow,’ OHG. mâd, n.; hence OHG. mâdâri, MidHG. mâdœre, mœder, ModHG. Mähder, ‘mower’; AS. mœ̂þ, n., ‘mowing, what has been mown, hay,’ E. math in aftermath and lattermath. HG. Mahd, and E. math, Goth. *mêþ (gen. *mêþis), are properly verbal abstracts of the root mê, ‘to mow,’ just as the cognate Gr. ἄμητος, ‘harvest,’ is derived from ἁμάω, ‘I mow’; comp. also ἀμητός, ‘crop, the field when reaped.’ See Grummet, Matte, and Omet. —
mähen, vb., ‘to mow,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mœjen, OHG. mâen; corresponding to Du. maaijen, AS. mâwan (pret. meów), E. to mow. A common West Teut. root mê, ‘to mow,’ has already been deduced from the previous word; it appears in Gr. with a vowel prefixed in ἄ-μη-τος, ‘harvest,’ and ἀ-μάω, ‘to mow’; the t in the Lat. root mêt, ‘to mow, harvest,’ which orig. belonged to the pres. stem only, may have been regarded as a part of the root; to this is allied OIr. meithel, ‘a party of reapers.’
Mahl (1.), n., obsolete except in compounds; Mahlschatz, m., ‘dowry,’ from MidHG. mahelschaz, m., ‘dowry,’ and espec. ‘engagement ring’; Mahlstatt, ‘place of public assembly or of execution,’ MidHG. mahelstat, f., ‘court of justice, place of execution,’ OHG. mahalstat, f., ‘court of justice.’ See Gemahl.
Mahl (2.), n., ‘meal, repast,’ from MidHG. mâl, n., ‘banquet, meal-time’; OHG. *mâl, n., not recorded in this sense; allied to MidE. mœ̂l, E. meal (wanting in AS.). Probably identical in orig. with the cognates discussed under mal (2), so that ‘mealtime,’ as ‘time’ par excellence, may have led to the meanings ‘banquet, repast.’ OIc. mál, n., also signifies, among other things, ‘meal-time.’
mahlen, vb., ‘to grind,’ from the equiv. MidHG. maln, OHG. malan; in the latter form the common Teut. word for ‘to grind’ (but wanting in E. even in AS.); comp. OSax. malan, Du. malen, OIc. mala, Goth. malan, ‘to grind.’ The root mal (mol, ml), ‘to grind,’ is common to the West Aryan languages, and this fact indicates the very early existence of grinding; comp. Lat. molo, Gr. μύλλω (to which μύλη, μύλος, μυλῖται are allied), OSlov. melją mlĕti), Lith. máḷù (málti), OIr. melim, ‘I grind.’ This community of terms in the West Aryan languages does not necessarily point to a primit. period when the tribes speaking the languages mentioned formed one body. It is more probable that the use of mills was learnt by one tribe from another. The influence of a foreign civilisation (comp. Hanf) is also quite conceivable. Comp. malmen, Malter, Maulwurf, Mehl, Mühle, and Müller.
mählich, adv., see allmählich.
Mähne, f., ‘mane,’ earlier ModHG. also Mane (the mutation, which also occurs in Suab. and Bav., seems to be due to the plur.), from the equiv. MidHG. mane, man, f. and m., OHG. mana, f.; comp. Du. maan, AS. manu, E. mane, OIc. mǫn, f., ‘mane’ (to this is allied the derivative OIc. makke, Swed. and Dan. manke, ‘upper part of the neck of a horse’). The common Teut. manô, f., ‘mane’ (Goth. *mana, f., is by chance not recorded), shows a later development of meaning, for the earlier sense of the word was certainly ​‘neck’ merely; in OTeut. occurs a derivative signifying ‘necklace’; comp. OIc. men, AS. męne, OSax. męni, OHG. męnni, n., ‘necklace.’ To these are allied, in the non-Teut. languages, Lat. monile, ‘necklace, collar,’ Dor. μάννος, μάνος, μόννος, ‘necklace,’ Kelt. μανιάκης, equiv. to OIr. muince, ‘necklace,’ Sans. mani, m., ‘string of pearls.’ An OInd. *manâ, f., ‘neck,’ is wanting, though manyâ, f., ‘nape,’ occurs. Further, OIr. muin, muinél, ‘nape,’ mong, ‘hair, mane,’ with which Swed. and Dan. manke, mentioned above, is closely connected.
mahnen, vb., ‘to warn, admonish,’ from MidHG. manen, OHG. manôn, manên, ‘to remind, warn, challenge’; corresponding to OSax. manôn, AS. manian, ‘to. warn’; a derivative of the Aryan root mon, men, widely diffused in OTeut., to which are allied the Goth. pret. pres. munan, ‘to be of opinion,’ Lat. memini, reminiscor, men-s (men-te-m), Gr. μένος, μιμνήσκω, and the Sans. root man, ‘to think’ (see Mann, meinen, and Minne). To OHG. manên (with the variant monên), Lat. monêre, ‘to warn,’ with ŏ equiv. to Teut. a (as in Lat. molere, Goth. and OHG. malan), which is likewise formed from the root men, is most closely allied in sound and meaning.
Mahr, m., from the equiv. MidHG. mar, mare, m. and f., ‘incubus, nightmare,’ OHG. mara, f.; comp. AS. mara, m., E. mare in nightmare, OIc. mara, f., ‘incubus.’ The derivation from Goth. marzjan, ‘to vex,’ OHG. marren, męrren, ‘to hinder, disturb,’ is scarcely possible. Some etymologists connect the word with Slav.-Russ. kikimora, ‘ghost,’ Pol. mora, Bohem. můro, ‘nightmare.’ From Mahr, Fr. cauchemar, ‘nightmare,’ has also been derived (caucher, from Ital. calcare, ‘to tread, press’).
Mähre, f., from the equiv. MidHG. męrhe, OHG. męriha, marha, f., ‘mare’; fem. of the OHG. marah, marh, ‘horse,’ discussed under Marschall; comp. AS. mýre, E. mare, Du. merrie, OIc. merr, pointing to a Goth. *marhi (gen. *marhjôs). In G. the fem. form has been preserved longer than the masc., on which it is based (comp. Frau, Magd, and Schwieger).
Mai, m., from the equiv. MidHG. meie, OHG. meio, m., ‘May.’ Borrowed from Lat. Mâjus (comp. Ital. maggio, Fr. mai), ‘May,’ at the same period as August, März, and Jänner (old form for Januar).
Maid, f., ‘maid, servant,’ from MidHG. meit. See Magd.
Maie, m., ‘green boughs for adornment,’ from late MidHG. meie, m., ‘birch tree,’ whence Ital. majo, Fr. mai, ‘green boughs, maypole’; identical with Mai.
Mais, n., ‘maize,’ ModHG. only, a recent word in the ModEurop. languages, of American origin (mahis in Hayti); comp. Fr. mais, E. maize, and Span. maiz. Columbus is said to have imported the corn and its name.
Maische, see Meische.
Majoran, m., ‘marjoram,’ in MidHG. meigramme, m., and also meiron, meieron, ‘marjoram.’ From MidLat. majorana; the MidHG. words seem to be based in sound on meie, ‘May.’ Comp. Ital. majorana, Fr. marjolaine, E. marjoram; the last two have also been corrupted?. The ultimate source of the- word is Gr. ἁμάρακον, whence Lat. amaracus and majoracus (based on major).
Makel, m., ‘stain, blot,’ from late MidHG. mâkel, m., which was borrowed from Lat. macula, ‘spot.’
mäkeln, makeln, vb., ‘to transact business as a broker,’ ModHG. only; from the equiv. LG. mäkeln, Du. makelen, which are allied to maken, ‘to make’ (handeln also combines the meanings ‘to make’ and ‘to traffic’). Fr. maquereau (whence E. mackerel), ‘pimp,’ is said to be derived from these cognates on account of OHG. huormahhâri, ‘pimp.’
Makrele, f., ‘mackerel,’ from late MidHG. makrêle, f.; borrowed from the equiv. Du. makreel (comp. E. mackerel), which is of Rom. origin; MidLat. macarellus, maquerellus, OFr. maguerel, ModFr. maquereau.
Mal (1.), n., ‘mark, spot,’ from MidHG. mâl, n., ‘spot,’ OHG. *mâl in the compound anamâli, ‘spot, car’; identical with MidHG. and OHG. mâl, ‘period, point’; see mal (2). Its primit. kinship with Goth. mail, n., ‘spot,’ is uncertain, yet Mal has at all events assumed the meaning of Goth. mail, which is normally represented by OHG. and MidHG. meil, n.; to this corresponds AS. mâl, whence E. mole. Goth. mél, ‘time,’ points to the Aryan root mē̆, ‘to measure’ (Gr. μέτρον, Lat. mêtîri).
-mal (2.), suffix of the multiplicatives and temporal advs. (also a noun); it is based on MidHG. and OHG. mâl, ‘period’ ​(Goth. mél, see the preceding word). Even in OHG. the expressions z' einemo mâle, ‘once,’ ze drin mâlen, ‘thrice,’ manigen mâlen, ‘many a time,’ were formed; hence lit. ‘at one period, at two, at many periods’; so too z' andermo mâle, ‘at another time’; hence MidHG. eines mâles, ‘once,’ lit. ‘at one period.’ For the OHG. and MidHG. dat. plurs. mâlum, mâlen (ze drin mâlen, ‘thrice’), the apocopated form mal first appears in early ModHG.
maledeien, vermaledeien, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. vermaledîen, later also maledîen, ‘to curse’; from Lat. maledicere, whence also Fr. maudire, Ital. maledire.
malen, vb., ‘to paint,’ from MidHG. mâlen, lit. ‘to furnish with a mark or sign,’ then ‘to colour, paint, write,’ OHG. mâlôn, mâlên, ‘to paint, draw’; allied to OHG. mât; ‘point,’ signifying also ‘period’ according to mal (2), mentioned under Mal (1). Akin also to Goth. mêla, neu. plur., ‘writing, documents,’ mêljan, ‘to write, record.’
malmen, zermalmen, vb., ‘to crush to pieces, grind,’ ModHG. only, but apparently, on account of the infrequency of the m-suffix, far older. The non-occurrence of OHG. *mâlmôn and MidHG. *malmen is probably only an accident; in MidHG. zermaln and zermüln, ‘to grind,’ are used. The suffix m is seen in the nouns, Goth. malma, m., ‘sand,’ and OSax., OHG., and MidHG. mëlm,. m., ‘dust’; to these are allied Müll and Gemüll, MidHG. gemülle, OHG. gimulli, ‘dust, mould’ For the root mal see under mahlen.
Malter, m. and n., ‘measure’ (in Pruss. formerly about 18 bush.), from MidHG. malter, malder, n., ‘corn measure’; comp. OHG. maltar, OSax. maldar, n., ‘measure.’ Formed by means of the Teut. suffix -þra-, -dra- (Gr. τρο-, Lat. tro-, comp. Alter), from the root mal; see mahlen, Malter means lit. ‘grinding,’ then ‘the quantity given to be ground at one time.’
Malve, f., ‘mallow,’ ModHG. only, from Lat. (Ital.) malva; if it were borrowed at an early period, lv in Lat. ought to have changed into lb in ModHG. In England the Lat. term was adopted in very early times; hence AS. mealwe, E. mallow (Du. maluwe). Comp. also Fr. mauve.
Malz, n., ‘malt,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. malz, n.; comp. OSax. and OIc. malt, n., AS. mealt, E. malt (Goth. *malt, n.); a common Teut. word for ‘malt,’ which passed into Slav. and Finn. (comp. OSlov. mlato, Finn. mallas), and also into Fr. as malt. Teut. *maltas belongs to a Teut. root melt, in AS. mëltan, ‘to dissolve, liquefy, melt,’ to which is allied an OIc. adj. maltr, ‘rotten,’ similar to OHG. and MidHG. malz, ‘melting away, soft, relaxed.’ Perhaps the subst. Malz (Goth. *malt, n.) is only the neu. of this adj., meaning ‘that which is soft.’ See further schmelzen.
mampfen, vb., ‘to stutter,’ ModHG. only, of obscure origin.
man, pron., ‘one, they, people,’ from MidHG. and OHG. man; corresponding to OSax. and AS. man, Du. men; prop. nom. sing. of the ModHG. subst. Mann, ‘homo’; so too Lat. homo appears as a pron. in Fr. on (as well as homme). In the early periods (MidHG., OHG., and AS.) man was again represented by the 3rd pers. pron. sing. (MidHG. and OHG. ër, AS. hê); hence man is lit. ‘any man’; in Goth. manna is found only with a negation (ni manna, ‘nobody’); see jemand. The sing. may have here a collective meaning, just as Sans. mánus (comp. Mann), and pûrús in the sing. signify ‘person, people, mankind.’
manch, adj., ‘many a,’ from MidHG. manec (g), OHG. manag, adj., ‘much, many a.’ The g has been preserved in ModHG. mannig-falt;. the change of g to ch in this word, which is first found in ModHG., is due to LG. influence. ModHG. manec, OHG. manag, ‘much’; akin to Goth. manags, ‘much,’ so too AS. monig, E. many, OSax. maneg, Du. menig. From the Teut. standpoint, the adj. may be derived from Goth. and OHG. mana-, ‘man, person,’ which orig. always occurred in compounds; comp. Goth. ga-man, n., ‘fellow-man,’ mana-sêþs, ‘mankind,’ OHG. manaheit, ‘valour,’ manalîhho, ‘likeness,’ &c. In that case, since the suffix ga-, equiv. to Gr. κο-, Lat. o, denotes ‘providing with something,’ the prim. meaning of Goth. manags may have been ‘to provide with people.’ Yet OIr. menice, ‘frequent,’ and OSlov. mănogŭ, ‘much,’ point to a prim. word probably unconnected with Goth. and OHG. mana-, ‘person.’
Mandel (1.), ‘fifteen,’ ModHG. only; the other meaning, which appears in earlier ModHG., ‘shock of corn (of 15 sheaves),’ may be the older. The G. word cannot be etymologically explained. (MidLat. ​mandala, ‘15 articles,’ is met with even in the 13th cent.); its relation to Du. mand, E. maund, ‘basket,’ is obscure.
Mandel (2.), f., ‘almond,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mandel, OHG. mandala, f.; from Ital. mandola; corresponding lo MidLat. and Prov. amandola, Fr. amande (hence Du. amandel, E. almond). Gr. ἀμυγδάλη is usually regarded as the ultimate source of these cognates.
Mange, Mangel, f., ‘mangle,’ from MidHG. mange, f., ‘machine for rolling woven stuffs, catapult’; comp. Du. mangel, equiv. to E. mangle. The origin of the word is sometimes ascribed, on account of the dial. forms Mande, Mandel, to the Sans. root manth, ‘to turn,’ which appears in OIc. mǫndull, ‘handle’ (espec. of a hand-mill). Allied terms in Rom. show, however, that g in the word Mangel must be very old; Ital. mangano, ‘sling,’ OFr. mangoneau, ‘sling,’ whence MidE. mangonel. There is no Teut. type of the whole class; its source is said to be Gr. μάγγανον, ‘warlike machine’; perhaps an instrument of this kind furnished the model for the mangle.
mangeln, vb., ‘to want, lack, be lacking,’ from MidHG. mangeln, OHG. mangolôn, ‘to dispense with, miss, be in want of'; Mangel, from MidHG. mangel, m., ‘want, defect.’ To this is allied MidHG. manc, ‘want, defect,’ also OHG. mangôn, męngen, ‘to be deficient’; Du. mangelen, ‘to dispense with.’ A Teut. root mang, mangw, does not occur elsewhere; it may be primit. allied to Lat. mancus, ‘mutilated, powerless, deficient,’ from which early derivatives were formed in E., AS. gemancian, ‘to mutilate’; to this Du. mank, ‘limping, deficient,’ and E. to mangle are also akin.
Mangold, m., ‘beet,’ from MidHG. mangolt, m.; its connection with Gold does not seem to be orig. If it is to be connected, as is usually done, with the proper name Managolt, the prim. meaning is ‘powerful ruler’ (manag and waltan; comp. Πολυκράτης), but scarcely ‘very gracious’ (Viel-hold). See Markolf. By what means the plant acquired this name can no longer be discovered. Others regard Mangold as Halsgold, ‘gold-neck’ (comp. Mähne); but mane-, ‘neck,’ is not found elsewhere in Teut.
Manier, f., ‘manner, fashion, mannerism,’ from MidHG. maniere, f., ‘manner,’ from Fr. manière.
manig, see manch.
Mann, m., ‘man, husband,’ from MidHG. man(nn), OHG. man(nn), m., ‘person, man.’ The general meaning ‘person’ still appears in ModHG. jemand, niemand, as well as in the pron. discussed under man. In AS., man, mǫn (n equiv. to nn), might be used equally of a male or female, although the former sense preponderated; AS. man, ‘person, man, woman,’ E. man, OIc. maðr, Goth. manna, ‘person, man.’ The word followed the declension of the two stems mann- and mannan- (thus in Goth., AS., OHG., and MidHG.); from the latter the modern plur. Mannen has been obtained. Goth. and Teut. mann- for manw- is based on an older manu- (like Kinn on kennu-, genu-; see also dünn). This Aryan mánu-, ‘person,’ appears also in Ind., but it was used also as Manu, ‘the father of mankind.’ To this corresponds the Teut. Mannus in Tacitus, ‘the progenitor of the West Teutons’; comp. further Sans. manus, m., and manuša, ‘person,’ perhaps also OSlov. mążĭ, ‘man.’ The Ind. manu- is usually connected with the root man, ‘to think’ (comp. mahnen); in that case the orig. sense is ‘thinking being.’ This cannot, however, be definitely regarded as the primit. source of the word. It is scarcely probable that the primit. Aryans considered ‘thinking’ to be the essential characteristic of a man. We should rather assume from the earliest Aryan literature, the OInd. Vedas, that the primit. Aryan felt he was closely allied to the brutes, since the Vedic Indian actually calls himself paçu, ‘beast.’ The literal meaning of Aryan manu-, ‘person,’ can hardly be ascertained now. See Mensch.
mannig, see manch.
männiglich, pron. ‘everybody,’ from MidHG. manne-gelîch, menneclîch, ‘every’; lit. manne gelîch, OHG. manno glîh, ‘each of men,’ whence OHG. manniclîch and mannolîch, ‘every, each.’ Similarly täglich is based on OHG. tagogilîh, ‘every day.’ OHG. gilîh, ‘every,’ is identical with gleich.
manschen, vb., for earlier mantschen, ‘to splash, dabble,’ from MidHG. *mangezen, OHG. *mangazzen; allied to mengen.
Mantel, m., ‘cloak, mantle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mantel, mandel, OHG. mantal, mandal, m.; on account of the non-permutation of t to z the word cannot be cognate with MidE. mantel, E. mantle, OIc. mǫttul, m., ‘cloak,’ and hence it is not ​derived from the same root as Gr. μανδύας, ‘upper garment.’ The Teut. cognates are more probably based on Lat. mantellum, from which Ital. mantello and Fr. manteau are derived.
Märchen, n., ‘fairy story, tale,’ dimin. of Märe, f., from MidHG. mœre, n. and f., ‘tale, fiction, report, information,’ whence in MidHG. the dimin. mœrelîn, n., ‘short story, fairy story.’ Comp. OHG. mârî, f., mâri, n., ‘rumour, information’; an abstract from OHG. mâri (MidHG. mœre), Goth. mêrs, ‘known, famed,’ which is recorded by old historians in many OTeut. proper names in the form mêrus, mêris; akin to SIav. mĕrŭ in Vladimĕrŭ, ‘Vladimir, Waldemar,’ Gr. -μωρος in εγχεσίμωρος, ‘famed for wielding the spear,’ OIr. már, mór, ‘great, of repute’; for the compar. of this primitive adject. stem mê-ro-, see under mehr.
Marder, m., ‘marten,’ from the equiv. MidHG. marder (and mader), m., OHG. mardar, m.; allied to OIc. mǫrðr, ‘marten,’ and AS. mearþ (also meard), ‘marten, weasel’ (without the suffix r, like MidHG. mart, ‘marten’). Whether we are to assume Goth. *marþus or *marþuza remains uncertain. Yet the cognates are probably of genuine Teut. origin (from pre-Teut. martu-), to which MidLat. martus (Ital. martes), with the corresponding Rom. class also point — Ital. martora, Fr. martre, f. (whence E. marten).
Mark (1.), f., ‘marches, frontier,’ from MidHG. marc, ‘mark, token,’ OHG. marcha, f., ‘frontier, marches’; comp. OSax. marca, ‘territory,’ AS. mearc, f., ‘frontier, territory’ (E. march is not based on the AS. form, the c of which would not have changed to ch, but on OFr. marche, ‘frontier,’ which is of Teut. origin). To Goth. marka, f., ‘frontier,’ corresponds OIc. mǫrk, ‘wood,’ with a remarkable change of meaning; woods in Teut. times were often the natural boundaries between nations. The orig. meaning of the cognates of ‘frontier’ is supported by their primit. kinship with Lat. margo, ‘border,’ as well as by OIr. brú (from the prim. form *mrog), ‘border,’ Ir. bruig, W. and Corn. bro, ‘district, country, region,’ ModPers. marz, ‘frontier, marches.’ From Teut. are derived Ital. marca, Fr. marche, ‘frontier.’ See Mark (2) and Marke.
Mark (2.), f., ‘mark’ (coin), from MidHG. marc, marke, f., ‘mark, half a pound of silver or gold’; OHG. *marka (whence MidLat. marca, which first appears in documents in the latter half of the 9th cent.), AS. and MidE. marc, OIc. mǫrk, f., ‘mark, half a pound of silver.’ Its origin is obscure; the assumption that Marke, ‘designation, sign’ (with reference to the stamp), is a cognate, is not proved, since Mark orig. denoted a definite weight, and not a particular coin.
Mark (3.), n., from the equiv. MidHG. marc (gen. marges), n., ‘marrow, pith’; the MidHG. g has been preserved in mergeln; OHG. marg, marag, n., OSax. marg, n., Du. merg, n., AS. mearg, n., E. marrow, OIc. mergr, m., ‘marrow’; in this word r is due to Goth. z, according to the law of rhotacism; Goth. *mazga- is wanting. The latter points to pre-Teut. *mazgho-, to which OSlov. mozgŭ, m., Zend mazga, Sans. majjan, ‘marrow,’ all with a normal loss of the aspirate, correspond. The root is Sans. majj, ‘to immerse,’ to which Lat. mergere is allied.
Marke, f., ‘mark, token’; from MidHG. marc (gen. markes), n., ‘sign’; comp. Du. marke, ‘mark, characteristic’; AS. mearc, n., E. mark, OIc. mark, n., ‘sign’; Goth. *mark is wanting. Whether these cognates are connected with those of Mark (1), ‘frontier, marches,’ lit. ‘border,’ is uncertain; the meaning ‘frontier,’ which was proved by the allied languages to be primitive, can scarcely be the starting point for ‘sign’; the contrary is the more probable. It has with greater reason been compared with Lith. márgas, ‘variegated.’ Comp. merken. From Teut. a Rom. class is derived; comp. Fr. marque, remarquer, &c.
Markolf, m., ‘jay,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; it has passed from the fables of animals into general use; liter. Mark-wolf, ‘boundary wolf,’ used in the OHG. period as a proper name (Marcolf). Similarly in Reineke Vos, Marquart is the name of the jay, formed from the OHG. proper name Marcwart, lit. ‘frontier guardian.’
Markt, m., ‘market, market-place,’ from MidHG. markt, market, m., ‘fair, market, market-place,’ OHG. markât, mërkât, mërchât, m.; borrowed in OHG. from the equiv. Lat. mercâtus with a G. accent; from the same source come Du. markt and E. market. ModHG. markten, vb., ‘to buy, bargain,’ from MidHG. marketen, ‘to be at the market, to bargain.’ The e of the Lat. original has been preserved in ​Suab. and Alem. Märkt; the variant with a points to the Fr. a. Comp. in Rom., Ital. mercato, Fr. marché (whence MidE. and E. market).
Marmel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. marmel, OHG. marmul, m., ‘marble’; from the Lat. word by differentiating r-r to r-l.
Marsch, f., ‘marsh, moor,’ ModHG. only, a LG. word. LG. marsch, MidDu. maersche, ‘pasture ground,’ AS. męrsc, m., and the equiv. E. marsh, Dan. marsk, ‘bog.’ Goth. *marisks may be assumed as a derivative of Goth. marei, ‘ocean’ (see Meer); similarly ModHG. Au is a derivative of Goth. ahwa, ‘water.’ Comp. MidLat. mariscus, ‘marsh,’ and some of the Rom. words connected with it, such as OFr. maresc, ModFr. marais, Ital. marese, which may, however, be partly derivatives of Lat. mare.
Marschall, m., ‘marshal,’ derived, partly under the influence of Fr. maréchal, from MidHG. marschale, m., which lit. and orig. signified ‘horse-servant,’ then ‘overseer of the train of servants on journeys and expeditions, as a municipal or court official; marshal.’ OHG. marahscalc is a compound of Schalk, ‘servant,’ and marah, ‘horse’; even the Lex Salica and the Leg. Alem. record the term mariscalus, besides which, in MidLat. marscallus occurs. From Teut. are derived the Rom. cognates — Ital. mariscalco, Fr. maréchal, ‘farrier, marshal,’ as well as the MidLat. version, comes stabuli, Fr. connétable. OHG. marah, n., MidHG. marc, n., ‘steed, horse,’ AS. mearh, Scand. marr, n..; Goth. *marh is wanting. It originated, in exact accordance with the permutation of consonants, from pre-Teut. marka-, in which form it is recorded as OKelt. by Pausanias; comp. with this OIr. marc and W. march, ‘horse.’ There is, however, no linguistic necessity for deriving Teut. marha- from Kelt. The word marh, the fem. of which, Mähre, has been preserved, was supplanted at a later period by Roß and then Pferd. To this word Marstall is akin.
Marstall, m., ‘royal or public stable,’ from MidHG. marstal (gen. -stalles), m., ‘stable for horses.’ For the orig. marhetal, like MidHG. marschalc, for marh-schalc, see Stall; and with regard to marh-, comp. the preceding word.
Marter, f., ‘torture, rack,’ from MidHG. marter, martere, f., orig. ‘martyrdom,’ espec. ‘the Passion,’ then ‘torture, torment, persecution, rack,’ OHG. martira, martara, f. (also with l, OHG. martela, MidHG. martel); formed from Gr. and Lat. martyrium. The derivative Märtyrer is from MidHG. męrterer, marterer, OHG. martirâri, ‘martyr,’ for which the forms martir, martyr, equiv. to Lat.-Gr. martyr, ‘martyr for the truth of Christianity,’ rarely occur. The Eccles. Lat. meaning ‘torture,’ which is foreign to Gr., is found also in the Rom. cognates of martyrium. Comp. Ital. martirio, Fr. martyre.
März, m., from the equiv. MidHG. męrze, m., OHG. męrzo, marzeo, m., ‘March,’ from Lat. (mensem) Martium. The corresponding Westphal. märte, MidLG. męrte, as well as Du. maart, make it probable that März was borrowed previous to the OHG. permutation of consonants about the era of the Merovings, and in fact contemporaneously with August, Jänner, and Mai. E. March, Mid. marche, was borrowed at a some what later period from OIr. march (ModFr. mars).
Masche, f., ‘mesh, stitch,’ from MidHG. mā̆sche, OHG. and OLG. mā̆sca, f., ‘mesh, snare’; comp. AS. mœ̂sce, E. mesh, OIc. mǫskve, m.; Goth. *mêsqa, *masqa, are by chance not recorded. According to the permutation of consonants, the latter is based on pre-Teut. mêzga- (mosga-); comp. Lith. mázgas, ‘threads interlaced, knot,’ which is connected with a vb. mezgù (mègsti), ‘to tie knots, knit (nets).’ Thus Masche may be traced to a Teut. root mêsg (pre-Teut. and Aryan mē̆zg), ‘to plait.’
Maser, f., ‘vein (in wood), speck, spot,’ from MidHG. maser, m., OHG. masar, n., ‘vein, knotty excrescence on the maple and other trees’ (MidHG. also ‘goblet of speckled wood’); comp. AS. maser, ‘knot in wood,’ E. measles; OIc. mǫsurr, m., ‘maple’ (mǫsur-bolle, ‘maple bowl’). Allied to OHG. masa, f., ‘wound, scar.’ The Teut. class is the source of Rom. derivatives. Comp. Fr. madré, ‘speckled,’ MidLat. scyphi maserini, ‘drinking vessels.’
Maske, f., ‘mask, disguise, masquerader,’ from Fr. masque; the equiv. Suab. and Bav. maskere is more closely connected with Ital. maschera as well as Span. mascara, ‘division’; comp. also Du. and E. masker. Perhaps the origin of the entire class is to be sought for in Rom.
Masse, f., ‘mass, bulk, heap,’ from MidHG. masse, f., ‘misshapen stuff, mass,’ espec. ‘lumps of metal.’ Borrowed in the ​late OHG. period (by Notker), as massa, f., from Lat. massa.
Mast (1.), m. (probably quite unknown to Suab. and Bav.), ‘mast,’ from MidHG. and OHG. mast, m., ‘pole, flagstaff, spear-shaft,’ espec. ‘ship's mast, tree fit for a mast’; comp. LG. and Du. mast, AS. mœst, m. E. mast, OIc. mastr, ‘mast.’ Goth. *masta-, m., ‘mast, pole,’ is wanting. According to the permutation of consonants, the latter is based on pre-Teut. mazdo- (comp. Ast, Gerste, and Nest); did Lat. mâlus for *mâdus originate in this? (also Ir. matan, ‘club,’ maite, ‘stick’?). Similarly Fisch (piscis) and Meer (mare) are primit. allied.
Mast (2), ‘mast (for fattening),’ from MidHG. and MidLG. mast, m., f., and n., ‘food, acorns, fattening,’ OHG. mast; comp. AS. mœst, f., E. mast. Goth. *masta is derived, according to the permutation of consonants, from a primit. form mazdo-, to which Sans. mêdas, n., ‘fat,’ mêdáy, ‘to fatten,’ also points. The ModHG. verbal noun mästen comes from MidHG. and OHG. męsten; Du. mesten, AS. mœstan, ‘to fatten’; to this is allied the ModHG. adj. partic. mast, OHG. mast, AS. gemœst, ‘fat, fattened.’ In MidHG. gemast, gemęstet.
Maß, n., ‘measure, standard, proportion,’ from MidHG. mâȥ, n., ‘measure, manner’; usually in MidHG. mâȥe, f., ‘measure, definite extent of time, space, weight, strength; moderation, temperance,’ OHG. mâȥa, f.; comp. Du. maat, OIc. máte, m., ‘method.’ With the Teut. root mē̆t (in messen), from pre-Teut. mē̆d, Lat. mŏdus, ‘manner,’ is also connected.
Maße, f., ‘measure,’ allied to MidHG. mâȥe; see under Maß, n.
maßen, conj., ‘whereas,’ from the dat. plur. mâȥen (of MidHG. mâȥe), ‘in the method’; orig. used only as an adv., but in ModHG. as a conj. also; allied to Maß.
Maßholder, m., ‘maple,’ from MidHG. maȥalter, maȥolter, m., OHG. maȥȥaltra, maȥȥoltra, f., ‘maple’; the ModHG. form is due to its connection with Holunder (older variant Holder). The OHG. maȥȥoltra is like affoltra, ‘apple tree,’ from apfol, a derivative of a primary Goth. *matls. AS. mapuldr, E. maple tree, with the recorded base mapol, E. maple, has, instead of the HG. dental, an abnormal labial, presupposing Goth. *mapls; so too OIc. mǫpurr, m., ‘maple.’ On account of OHG. maȥȥaltra (ȥȥ for Goth. t), Maßholder cannot be connected with Maser (s equiv. to Goth. s); nor does it belong to OHG. maȥ, n., ‘food,’ Ahorn as ‘food tree’ being improbable, although maple-juice is used as a medicinal draught. Goth. *matla-, or rather *mapla-, is of obscure origin. Comp. also Ahorn, where an earlier term is given. The ModHG. form Maßeller is, like Maßholder, a corruption of the MidHG. word. With regard to the OHG. suffix -tra, comp. Apfel, Wacholder, and Holunder.
mäßig, adj., ‘moderate,’ from MidHG. mœȥec, OHG. mâzîg, adj., ‘moderate, temperate; of moderate size’; a derivative of Maß, Maße. Comp. Du. matig, ‘moderate.’
Maßlieb, n., ‘daisy, Easter daisy,’ ModHG. only, formed from MidDu. matelief, ModDu. madelief, f., ‘daisy’; of obscure origin; perhaps allied to Matte?.
Matratze, f., ‘mattress,’ from MidHG. matraȥ, materaz, m. and n., ‘couch stuffed with wool, divan’; comp. Du. matras, E. mattress. The HG. form with tz is formed from MidLat. matratium, which, with its corresponding Rom. cognate, Fr. matelas, is usually derived from an Arab source; Arab. matrah, ‘pillow,’ lit. ‘place where something is thrown.’
Matrose, m., ‘sailor,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Du. matroos; Dan. and Swed. matros. They are based on Fr. matelot (OFr. matenot), ‘sailor,’ which again is derived through a Norman medium from Scand. mötunautr, ‘messmate’ (the crew was divided into companies, who took their meals together).
matt, adj., ‘checkmated; faint, languid, insipid,’ from MidHG. mat (gen. mattes), adj., ‘checkmated’ (also figuratively), which was adopted from Rom. in the latter half of the 12th cent.; comp. Fr. mat. Ital. matto, MidLat. mattus, whence also Du. mat, E. mate. This characteristic term, which was introduced with chess, is formed from Arab. and Pers. schâh mât, ‘the king is dead.’ See Schach.
Matte (1.), f. (an Alem. word unknown to Suab. and Bav.), from the equiv. MidHG. mate, matte, f., ‘mead, meadow’; OHG. *matta, f., is wanting (but OHG. mato-scrëch, ‘grasshopper,’ is preserved). Goth. *maþwa, *mêdwa, is not recorded; comp. E. meadow, mead, from AS. mœ̂d (gen. mœ̂dwe), ‘meadow,’ MidLG. mâde, OLG. mâtha, mada, OFris. mêth. They seem to be based on a Teut. root mâþ, med, which is connected with Lat. mêto, ‘to ​mow, reap,’ and which has a shorter form, mê, in ModHG. mähen.
Matte (2.), f., ‘mat,’ from MidHG. matte (late MidHG. also matze), OHG. matta, f., ‘covering woven of straw, rushes, &c., mat’; Du. mat, AS. meatte, f., E. mat. The correspondence of the HG. and LG.-Eng. dental indicates that the word was borrowed, and as a fact it was introduced during the OHG. period. It is based on Lat. matta, ‘mat made of rushes.’
Matz, m., ‘Mat; simpleton; pet name for tame birds’; ModHG. only; probably a pet name for Mathias, ‘Matthias,’ and Matthäus, ‘Matthew’; the intermediate form is Mattes.
Matzen, m., ‘passover bread,’ early ModHG.; from Jewish mazzo, Hebr. mazzôth, ‘unleavened bread,’ whence also late MidHG., or rather early ModHG. Mafanze, ‘passover bread.’
mauen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. mâwen, ‘to mew like a cat’; an imitative word; comp. Mietze.
Mauer, f., from the equiv. MidHG. mûre, mûr, s., ‘wall,’ OHG. mûra, f. (mûri, f.), ‘wall,’ from Lat. mûrus, with an abnormal change of gender, which is probably caused by an OTeut. word for ‘wall’; comp. Goth. waddjus, f. At the same period, before the HG. permutation, OSax. mûr, AS. mûr, m. (OIr. múr), were also borrowed from the Lat., like other words relating to stone buildings; comp. Siegel, Fenster, Pforte, Speicher, &c.
Mauke, f., with a LG. guttural, from the equiv. MidHG. mûche, f., ‘malanders,’ hence the strictly HG. form Mauche (Bav.). Of obscure origin; perhaps allied to Goth. mûks, ‘soft, tender’?.
Maul (1.), n., ‘mouth (of beasts), muzzle’ (in UpG. Maul is also used for Mund, ‘mouth of men’), from MidHG. mûl, mûle, n., mûle, f. (MidG.), ‘mouth,’ OHG. mûla, f., ‘mouth,’ also ‘beak’; Du. muil, OIc. múle, m., ‘mouth, snout’; Goth. *mûlô, n., ‘mouth,’ is wanting, but is authenticated by the derivative faurmâljan, ‘to muzzle.’ This word is an l derivative from the root mû, from which HG. Mund, with a particip. suffix. nþ, is also formed; see Mund.
Maul (2.), n., ‘mule,’ in Maultier, n., Maulesel, m., from MidHG. mûltier, n., mûlesel, m., yet ordinarily simply mûl, m. and n., mûle, m., ‘mule,’ OHG. mûl, m.; borrowed from Lat. mûlus. From the same source Du. muil, m muilezel, AS. mûl, E. mule, as well as OIr. múl, are derived.
Maulbeere, f., from the equiv. MidHG. mûlber, n. and f., ‘mulberry,’ which originated, by differentiating r to l, from OHG. mûr-beri, môr-beri, n. The fluctuation from ô to û in OHG. indicates that the word was borrowed from Lat. môrum, ‘mulberry,’ môrus, ‘mulberry tree,’ whence also Du. moerbes, AS. and MidE. môrberie and mûrberie, MidE. also mulberie, E. mulberry.
Maulwurf, m., from the equiv. MidHG. môltwërf, moltwërfe, m., ‘mole,’ lit. ‘the animal that throws up the soil’ (MidHG. molte, f.). The ModHG. form is a corruption of the MidHG. word, which is recorded even in the MidHG. and OHG. periods in various forms (MidHG. mûwërf, mûlwërf, mûlwëlf, mûrwërf). Other ModHG. corrupt forms are the dial. Moltwurm, Maulwurm, and Maulwolf. OHG. moltwerf, multwurf, m., ‘mole,’ are connected with MidHG. molte, f., molt, m., ‘dust, mould, soil,’ OHG. molta, f., molt, m.; comp. Goth. mulda, f., ‘dust, mould,’ AS. molde, E. mould; prop. a fem. subst. from the partic. formed with da- from the root mal, ‘to crush, pulverise,’ hence mul-da; comp. falt, alt, laut, and zart. In MidE. also moldwerp, ‘mole’ occurs; of this MidE. mole, Du., Westph., and Fris. mol are shortened forms?. These, however, are probably independent forms from the root mal. Another name for mole appears in OHG. scëro, MidHG. schër, Suab. and Alem. Schärmaus.
Maus (1.), ‘mouse,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. mûs, f.; comp. Du. muis, AS. mûs, f., E. mouse, OIc. mús (Goth. *mûs), f., ‘mouse.’ In the consonantal form of the stem, mûs-, it is the common Teut. as well as the common Aryan term for ‘mouse.’ The name occurs in almost all the Aryan languages, a proof that the Aryans in their primit. Asiatic home were already acquainted with the tiny animal, chiefly through its thefts, mûs- being derived from an OAryan root, mū̆s, ‘to steal,’ which exists in the Franc. chrêomosido, ‘plundering dead bodies,’ of the Lex Salica, and signifying ‘thief’ (it is possible, however, that the mū̆s, ‘to steal,’ is deduced from mûs, ‘mouse’). Comp. Sans. mûš, ‘mouse,’ with the root muš, mušây, ‘to take away, rob’; also Gr. μῦς, OSlov. myšĭ, f. Comp. further the following word.
Maus (2.), prop. ‘muscles on the arm and foot,’ now espec. ‘ball of the thumb,’ ​from MidHG. mûs, f., ‘muscles especially of the upper part of the arm’; OHG. mûs, AS. mûs, Du. muis, have the same sense; prop. identical with Maus (1). In other cases too names of animals are applied to parts of the body. Comp. Gr. μῦς, ‘muscle,’ μυών, ‘cluster of muscles,’ Lat. mus-culus, ‘muscle,’ lit. ‘little mouse,’ OSlov. myšĭca, ‘arm,’ Sans. muš-ka, ‘testicle, pudenda muliebria,’ lit. ‘little mouse.’
mauscheln, vb., ‘to act like a cheat,’ lit. ‘mosaizare’; allied to Mausche, equiv. to Hebr. Môschâh, ‘Moses.’
Mause, Mauser; f., ‘moulting, casting the skin, moulting season,’ from MidHG. mûȥe, f. (in compounds mûȥer). ‘mewing, moulting’; OHG. *mûȥȥa, f., ‘moulting,’ is not recorded; allied to OHG. mûȥȥôn, MidHG. mûȥen, ‘to exchange for,’ MidHG. also espec. ‘to moult, cast the skin.’ Borrowed before the OHG. period (contemporaneously with Käfig, Pfau, and Pips) from Lat. mûtâre, hence the permutation of t to ȥ (MidLat. mûta, ‘moulting’); sz has been preserved in Bav. maußen. From the same source are derived AS. bimûtian, ‘to change, exchange,’ MidE. moutin, E. to moult, as well as Fr. muer, ‘to moult,’ mue, ‘moulting.’
mausen, vb., ‘to catch mice, pilfer,’ from MidHG. musen, ‘to creep, deceive’; a derivative of MidHG. mûs, equiv. to Maus.
mausig, adj., ‘pert, saucy,’ ModHG. only (sich, mausig machen, ‘to bray, bluster’), allied to Mauser, ‘moulting,’ lit. ‘one that moults, mews, dresses smartly in order to make himself conspicuous.’
Maut, f., ‘toll, duty,’ a Bav. word, from MidHG. mûte, f., OHG. mûta, f., ‘toll.’ The current derivation from MidLat. mûta is not satisfactory, since the latter word is not recorded until late (first half of the 9th cent.), and that as a G. word, nullum teloneum neque quod lingua theodisca Muta vocatur; ann. 837. Goth. môta, f., ‘toll,’ is the earliest recorded term. Yet OHG. mûta and Goth. môta (also OIc. and OSwed. múta, ‘fee, gratuity, bribe’) are not equiv., since Goth. môta (AS. môt) leads to OHG. *muoȥa, and OHG. mûta to Goth. *mûda. Probably the OBav. word was borrowed about the 8th cent., after the HG. permutation of consonants, from a dial. closely allied to the Goth. (Goth. ô tended towards û); to this is also allied OSlov. myto, ‘toll.’ An earlier loan-word is also recorded in MidHG. muoȥe, ‘toll, tax,’ which points to OHG. *muoȥa, and which has been preserved in Bav. Mueß, ‘miller’s fee.’ Yet the word may have been primit. allied to the Goth. The term Zoll, which is cognate in meaning, is also of obscure origin.
meckern, vb., ‘to bleat,’ ModHG. only; MidHG. has an equiv. word by a different derivation from the same stem, mëchzen, ‘to bleat,’ allied to MidHG. mëcke, m., ‘he-goat,’ as a nickname (Goth. *m(illegible text)gga, ‘he-goat,’ is wanting). Comp. the pre-Teut. root mak in Gr. μηκάομας, ‘to bleat.’
Meer, n., ‘ocean, sea,’ from MidHG. męr, n., OHG. męri, earlier mari, m. and n., ‘ocean’; comp. OSax. męri, f., Du. meer, n., AS. męre, m., E. mere (to which merman, mermaid, are allied), OIc. marr, m., Goth. marei, f. (and *mar, n., preserved in the compound mari-saivs, ‘ocean’). The common Teut. word for ‘ocean,’ prim. Teut. mari, n. (or mori, recorded by Pliny as a Cimbrian form), which is partly common to the West Aryan tribes (so too Lat. lacus, OIr. loch, equiv. to OLG. lagu, ‘ocean’); Lat. mare, n., OSlov. morjc, n., ‘ocean,’ Lith. máres, ‘Kurisches Haff,’ OIr. muir (from mori), ‘ocean’; to these are allied Gr. Αμφίμαρος, ‘son of Poseidon,’ as well as ἀμάρα, f., ‘trench, conduit’ (comp. OFris. mar, ‘trench, pond’)?. These cognates are usually connected with the Aryan root mar, ‘to die’ (comp. Mord, Lat. morior), so that the ocean was named in “contrast to the living vegetation” of the mainland, just as in Ind. also marus, ‘desert,’ is referred to the root mar, ‘to die’; this, however, is no more probable than the derivation of Mann from the root men, ‘to think.’ Comp. Marsch and Moor.
Meerrettig, m., ‘horse-radish,’ allied to Meer, like Herzog to Heer, vierte (ĭ) to vier (ī), &c.; corresponding to MidHG. męrręttich, OHG. męri-ratich, m., ‘radish that has come from over the sea, transpontine radish.’ The E. term horse-radish, Meerrettig, is curious, and suggests the idea that Meer- in this case is equiv. to Mähre. Du. mierikwortel, Westph. mirrek, Hess. Merchhorn, seem to be of the same origin.
Mehl, n., ‘meal, flour, dust,’ from MidHG. mël (gen. mëlawes), n., OHG. mëlo (gen. mëlawes), n.; corresponding to OSax. mël, Du. meel, AS. mëlu (gen. mëlwes), n., E. meal, OIc. mjǫl (gen. plur. mjǫlva), ‘meal’; the common Teut. word for ‘meal’; Goth. *milwa (gen. *milwis) is ​by chance not recorded. It is a specifically Teut. derivative of the root mal, ‘to grind,’ of which the form mel is authenticated by Slav. and Ir.; see mahlen. While the vb. mahlen is common to West Aryan, the form of the word Mehl, from the root mel, is peculiar to Teut.; it may also be remarked that the subst. is found in E., though not the corresponding vb. There is also a derivative from the same root in Kelt.; comp. W. blawd, Bret. bleud (from mlât).
Mehltau, m., ‘mildew, blight,’ corrupted from the equiv. MidHG. miltou, n., OHG. mili-tou, n.; comp. AS. meledeáw (miledeáw), E. mildew. The opinions as to the origin of the first component are various. The most probable derivation is that from Goth. miliþ, n., ‘honey’ (comp. OIc. milska, f., ‘sweet drink’), to which in West Teut. a subst. mili (Gr. μέλι, stem μέλιτ-, Lat. mel) is possibly akin; hence Mehltau, ‘honeydew’?. It is less probable that the word was borrowed from or was primit. allied to the equiv. Gr. μίλτος, so that Tau may have been an explanatory addition (comp. Lindwurm and Windhund). It is also possible that OHG. mili-, AS. mele-, mile-, is connected with Mehl, and a special formation from the root mel, ‘to grind.’ In that case the ModHG. change of Miltau into Mehltau is warranted by etymology; Mehltau is defined as ‘a greyish-white, meal-like coating on plants in summer.’
mehr, adj. and adv., ‘more,’ from MidHG. mêr; compar. of viel; also, doubly compared, mêrer, mē̆rre, ‘greater or larger’ (of space, number, and value); further indeclin. mêre, mêr, mê, ‘plus’; OHG. mêr, undeclin. neu. and compar. adv., ‘more, plus, magis, amplius,’ adj. mêro, ‘major, greater’ (also with the addition of the compar. suffix mêrôro, mêriro, ‘major’). OHG. mêro originated in maizo, Goth. maiza, the -iza- of which is the OTeut. compar. suffix (comp. besser, Goth. batiza; höher, Goth. hauhiza); comp. AS. mâ, adv. and neu. subst., ‘more,’ adj. mâra, E. more. The corresponding superl. is meist. Goth. maiza, for *majiza, belongs, with the Goth. superl. maists (see meist), to the Teut. adj. mê-rs, ‘projecting,’ discussed under Märchen.
mehrer, adj., ‘greater, several,’ from MidHG. mêrer, compar. adj. See mehr.
meiden, vb., ‘to avoid, shun, refrain,’ from MidHG. mîden, ‘to dispense with, suffer want, eschew, forsake, refrain from’; OHG. mîdan, ‘to hide oneself from, keep secret, eschew, refrain from’; comp. OSax. mîthan, AS. mîðan, ‘to hide, conceal, refrain from.’ The orig. sense of the cognates seems to be ‘to hide, remain far from,’ but definitely related terms are wanting; Lat. amitto, Lith. pa-metù, ‘to thrown away,’ are not connected. For other words similar in sound see under miß and missen.
Meier, n., ‘head-servant on an estate, land-steward, farmer,’ from MidHG. meier, meiger, m., OHG. meior, meier, m.; it corresponds to the early MidLat. major domus, which lit. denoted ‘the steward of the household servants’; hence OHG. and MidHG. meier, ‘steward of an estate, manager or lessee of an estate.’ From Lat. major, Fr. maire is also derived.
Meile, f. (rare in Suab. and Bav.), ‘mile’ (about five E. miles), from the equiv. MidHG. mîle, OHG. mîla, mîlla (for mîlja), f.; corresponding to Du. mijl, AS. mîl, E. mile, Scand. míla, f., ‘mile’; from Lat. mîlia (passuum), ‘thousand paces,’ whence also Ital. miglia, Fr. mille. It prop. denotes ‘a measure of a thousand paces (sing. mille passuum).’ The more frequent plur. mîlia was adopted in Rom. and G., chiefly as a fem. sing., without the addition of passuum (Ital. formed the sing. miglio, ‘mile,’ from the plur. miglia). The word was borrowed in the first cent. contemporaneously with Straße (Ital. lega, Fr. lieue, ‘league,’ a later word of Kelt. origin, was never adopted in G.).
Meiler, m., ‘charcoal-kiln,’ from late MidHG. meiler, mîler, m., ‘stack of wood for making charcoal’; the î of the MidHG. prim. form is attested by ModHG. and LG. dials. The word cannot be derived from Slav. (Czech milíř, Pol. mieleřz, ‘charcoal kiln,’ are themselves of G. origin). Since it may have denoted orig. a definite number of objects (comp. Carinth. meiler, ‘a definite number of bars in a stack of pig-iron’), we might connect it with Lat. mîliarium, ‘thousand’ (see the similar case of Decher).
mein, poss. pron., ‘my,’ from MidHG. and OHG. mîn; in the same form it is the common Teut. poss. pron. from the stem me- of the pers. pron. (mir, mich, thus even in MidHG. and OHG.). This stem me- (in Goth. mi-s, ‘to me,’ mi-k, ‘me,’ acc.) is ​according to Lat. meus, mihi, Gr. μέ, Sans. ma, common to the Aryan division. Further details belong to grammar.
Meineid, m., ‘false oath, perjury,’ from the equiv. MidHG. meincit, OHG. meincid, m.; corresponding to OSax. mênêth, Du. meineed, AS. mânâþ, OIc. meineiðr, m., ‘perjury.’ It is the common Teut. word for ‘false oath’; only Goth. *main-aiþs is wanting. The first component is an adj. (or rather an adj. used as a subst.), MidHG. and OHG. mein, ‘false, deceitful,’ as masc. and neut. ‘falsity, injustice, outrage.’ In MidHG. ein meiner was also used for ein meineit; comp. OSax. mên, AS. mân, m., ‘falsity, crime, outrage,’ OIc. mein, n. ‘damage, injury, misfortune’ (allied to meinn, adj., ‘hurtful’). ModHG. gemein Goth. gamains) does not seem to be directly akin, although MidHG. mein, ‘outrage,’ may have been the source of the bad sense attached to the modern word. They are, however, finally connected with Slav. words for Tausch, ‘exchange’ (comp. Tausch and. täuschen), Lith. maínas, ‘exchange,’ OSlov. měna, ‘change, alteration’ (Lett. nút, ‘to exchange’). In that case Lat. commûnis and Goth. gamains (see gemein) would mean lit. ‘being on a footing cf barter.’ It is probably not related to Lat. mentîri.
meinen, vb., ‘to think, opine, mean,’ from MidHG. meinen, ‘to direct one's thoughts to, have in view, aim at, be affected towards a person, love,’ OHG. meinen, meinan, ‘to mean, think, say, declare’; comp. OSax. mênian, Du. meenen, AS. mœ̂nan, E. to mean (to this AS. mœ̂nan, E. to moan, are supposed to be allied); Goth. *mainjan is wanting. The most closely allied term is OSlov. měnja, měniti, ‘to mean.’ The latter, as well as West Teut. meinen (assuming mainjan from mênjan)'is usually rightly connected with the man, ‘to think’ (comp. mahnen, Mann, and Minne). The meaning ‘to love’ appears only in MidHG., but with the revival of MidHG. literature it has been introduced into ModHG. poetry. —
Meinung, f., ‘opinion, meaning,’ from MidHG. meinung, OHG. meinunga, f., ‘thought, disposition, view.’
Meisch, m., Meische, f., ‘mash,’ from MidHG. meisch, m., ‘grape mash,’ also ‘mead, drink mixed with honey’; allied to E. mash, which by chance not recorded in AS. and MidE. It is very likely related by gradation to mischen, if the latter, as is probable, is a genuine Teut. word; comp. MidE. mâschien and the equiv. E. to mash. With this agrees the further assumption that MidHG. meisch, ‘mead,’ is primit. allied to OSlov. mězga, ‘tree-juice’ (for OSlov. zg, equiv. to Teut. sk, see mischen and Masche).
Meise, f., ‘titmouse,’ from the equiv. MidHG. meise, OHG. meisa, f.; comp. Du. mees, AS. mâse (E. only in titmouse, a corruption of tit-moase; AS. â is equiv. to E. oa); OIc. meisingr, m., with a suffix ‘titmouse.’ A term peculiar to Teut., which passed also into Fr. (Fr. mésange, ‘titmouse,’ formed from Scand. meisingr?); origin obscure. Only a few names of birds can be traced beyond the Teut. group (comp. Aar, Drossel, Specht, and Kranich).
meist, adj. and adv., ‘most, mostly,’ from MidHG. meist, adj., ‘greatest, most,’ adv., ‘mostly, at best, very specially’ (a superl. of the compar. mehr, MidHG. mêr); comp. OHG. meist, Goth. maists, from the OHG. posit. mihhil, Goth. mikils, ‘great.’ Goth. ma-ists has the old superl. suffix ist like Goth. bat-ists, OHG. beȥȥ-ist; from the stem ma- the Goth. compar. ma-iza is also formed. The forms of comparison seemed to be based on the Goth. adject. stem mêrs, OHG. mâ-ri, ‘projecting.’ Comp. also OSax. mêst, Du. meest, AS. mœ̂st (mâst), E. most.
Meister, m., ‘master, chief, leader,’ from MidHG. meister, m., ‘learned poet, meister-sänger (poets who were members of guilds), mayor, burgomaster,’ OHG. meistar; OSax. mêstar, Du. meester, AS. mœgster. Borrowed from Lat. magister, which in MidLat. was applied to numerous offices. Comp. further Ital. maestro, Fr. maître, E. master, mister.
Meißel, m., ‘chisel,’ from MidHG. meiȥel, OHG. meiȥil, m., ‘chisel, tool for dressing and chipping’; allied to OHG. meiȥan, MidHG. meiȥen, ‘to hew, cut,’ Goth. maitan, ‘to hew, hew off’; thus too OIc. meitell, m., ‘chisel,’ allied to meita, ‘to cut.’ All these belong to a Teut. root mat, ‘to hew,’ which has been connected with the Teut. root mat, ‘to hew,’ in Metze (Steinmetze). Comp. also E. mattock.
Melde (Bav. molten), f., ‘orache’ (a plant), from the equiv. MidHG. and MidLG. mëlde, and with a different gradation mulde, molte, f., OHG. mola, mulda (muolhta is incorrectly written for molta), f.; of ​obscure origin. The derivation from the root mal, ‘to grind,’ to which Mehl is allied, does not give a suitable sense. Gr. βλίτον (for *μλίτον), ‘orache,’ should rather be compared with the G. word.
melden, vb., ‘to mention, notify, announce,’ from MidHG. mëlden, ‘to inform against, betray, announce, show, name’; comp. OHG. mëldôn, OSax. mëldôn, AS. mëldian, ‘to inform against, betray’; a West Teut. vb. simply, meaning ‘to betray,’ to which other senses have been given in MidHG. Goth. *milþôn points to a Teut. root *melþ, ‘to betray’; an equiv. pre-Teut. *melt has not yet been authenticated.
melk, adj., ‘giving milk, milch,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mële, mëlch, OHG. mëlch (equiv. to AS. mëlc), adj.; comp. OIc. mjolkr, milkr, MidE. milche, E. milch, adj. (AS. *mylče is wanting); a verbal adj. from melken.
melken, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. mëlken, mëlchen, OHG. mëlchan, ‘to milk’; comp. Du. melken, AS. mëlcan (wanting in E., in which to milk is used); Ic. mjalta, and also mjalter, ‘milking,’ mjaltr, ‘milch,’ but also from mjolk, ‘milk,’ mjolka, ‘to milk,’ and mjolkr, ‘milch’; Goth. *milkan is by chance not recorded. The Teut. root melk is derived from the Aryan melg, which occurs with the same meaning in the West Aryan languages; comp. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ἀμέλγει, OSlov. mlěsti (pres. mlŭzą), Lith. mìlsti (pres. mélžu). In the East Aryan languages the corresponding root appears with an older signification, ‘to wipe or rub off’ (comp. Sans. mârj, mṛj, Zend marez). Melken is one of the characteristic words which point to a closer connection between the West Aryans compared with the East Aryans; comp. Hanf and mahlen. See also Milch, Molke, and melk.
Memme, f., ‘poltroon,’ ModHG. only. A derivative of late MidHG. mamme, memme, f., ‘woman's breast’; lit. ‘effeminate being, effeminate man.’
Menge, f., ‘crowd, multitude, mass,’ from MidHG. męnege, OHG. męnigî, managî, f., ‘multiplicity, great number, crowd’; an abstract from OHG. manag, ‘much’; Goth. managei, f., AS. męnigo, ‘multiplicity.’ Originally it was not connected with the following word, but in modern times it may be dimly thought to be akin to it.
mengen, vb., ‘to mingle, mix, blend,’ from MidHG. męngen, ‘to mix, mingle,’ f., introduced from MidG. and LG.; in OHG., męngan occurs once as a Franc. word (in Isidore); OSax. męngian, Du. mengen, AS. męngan, MidE. mengen, ‘to mix’ (whence E. to mingle); Goth. *maggjan is wanting. Allied to OSax. gimang, AS. gemong, ‘mingling, commixtio, company, troop’; AS. on gemǫng, E. among, so too OSax. an gimange. From these may be deduced a West Teut. root mang, ‘to mix,’ which, however, is unknown to Suab. and Bav. It has been connected with hardly sufficient reason, with the root mik, ‘to mix’ (see mischen), which appears in most of the Aryan languages; it is more probably allied to Lith. mìnkau, mìnkyti, ‘to knead,’ mìnklas, ‘dough’ (OSlov. mękŭkŭ, ‘soft,’ mąka, ‘meal’). In that case mengen would be traced to a pre-Teut. root meng, ‘to knead.’
Mennig, n., ‘vermilion,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mênig, minig, late OHG. minig, n,; based on Lat. minium, ‘vermilion.’
Mensch, m. and n., from the equiv. MidHG. męnsch, męnsche, m. and n., ‘man, person, fellow,’ OHG. męnnisco, mannisco, m.; comp. OSax. męnnisco, Du. mensch, ‘person.’ Simply a West Teut. form, prop. an adj. used as a subst., hence ‘humanus’ for ‘homo.’ The adj. on which it is based is derived with the suffix iska (HG. isch) from mann-, ‘homo’; Goth. mannisks, OIc. mennskr, AS., OSax., and OHG. męnnisc, ‘humanus, human’ (comp. further AS. męnnesc, ‘humanity’); comp. manušýa as an adj. ‘human,’ and as masc. subst. ‘man,’ with Sans. mánu, mánus-, ‘man’ (see further under Mann). — Mensch in the neut. gender appears even in MidHG., and was used till the 17th cent. without any contemptuous meaning; the neut. was generally applied to female servants, but that signification became obsolete in the last cent., and a moral sense was attached to the word.
Mergel, m., ‘marl,’ from the equiv. MidHG. męrgel, OHG. męrgil, m.; from MidLat. margila, with the primary form marga, which is recorded by Pliny as a Kelt. word; comp. Bret. marg, W. marl. From the same source the equiv. Rom. words are derived — Fr. marne (from OFr. marle), Ital. and Span. marga.
mergeln, vb., ‘to emaciate, enervate,’ ModHG. only; derived with the ​compounds ab- and aus-mergeln from Mark (3), MidHG. marc, marges.
merken, vb., ‘to mark, note, observe,’ from MidHG. and OHG. męrken, ‘to give heed to, perceive, understand, note’; a derivative of Marke (Goth. *markjan); hence OFr. merchier, ‘to designate.’
meschugge, adj., ‘crazy,’ from the equiv. Hebr. meschuggâ.
Messe, f., ‘mass, fair,’ from MidHG. mësse, misse, f., ‘mass, church festival, fair’ OHG. mëssa, missa, f. So too the word on which it is based, MidLat. missa, signifies not only ‘incruentum christianorum sacrificium,’ but also ‘feast of a saint’ (“quod in eo Missa sollemnis peragitur”). The latter sense led to MidLat. missa, MidHG. mësse, ‘fair,’ because this “was wont to be held on account of the great concourse of people” on saints' days (comp. Fr. foire, ‘fair,’ lit. ‘holiday,’ under Feier). MidLat. missa, “as is well known, originated in missa est, scil. concio, the words spoken by the deacon when dismissing the congregation which did not partake of the sacrament”; from this the corresponding Rom. cognates, Ital. messa and Fr. messe, are derived. The vowel in AS. mœsse, f. (Northumbr. messe), E. mass, is abnormal; the latter also signifies feast in Christmas and Lammas (see Laib). Comp. Feier, Mette, Nonne, Opfer, and Vesper.
messen, vb., ‘to measure, survey,’ from MidHG. mëȥȥen, OHG. mëȥȥan, ‘to measure, mete out, distribute, consider, test’; comp. OSax. mëtan, Du. meten, ‘to measure,’ AS. mëtan, ‘to measure, value, deem,’ Goth. mitan, ‘to measure’; also allied to Goth. mitôn, ‘to ponder, reflect on’; OHG. mëȥȥôn, ‘to moderate.’ The Teut. stem mē̆t, ‘to measure, estimate, ponder’ (comp. Maß), is based on pre-Teut. mē̆d, and cannot, because of the non-permutation, be connected with Lat. metiri; comp. Lat. modus, Gr. μέδομαι μήδομαι, ‘to consider, estimate,’ μέδων, ‘adviser,’ μέδιμνος, ‘medimnus’ (about 12 galls.), Lat. modius, Goth. mitaþs, ‘corn measure.’ See Metze (2).
Messer, n., from the equiv. MidHG. męȥȥer, ‘knife.’ The word has undergone strange transformations; it is an abbreviation of męȥȥeres, OHG. męȥȥiras, męȥȥirahs, n., the etymology of which had grown obscure; the variants maȥ-sahs, męȥȥi-sahs, show, however, that męȥȥirahs is a compound meaning ‘food-sword.’ With regard to Goth. mats, n., OHG. maȥ, n., AS. męte, m., E. meat, comp. Mus and Mettwurst. OHG. sahs, AS. seax, n., ‘sword, knife,’ whence the name Saxons, is usually connected with Lat. saxum, because knives were orig. made of stone. The OHG. compound męȥȥi-rahs shows the change of medial s (z) to r. Goth. *matisahs is also indicated by OSax. męzas for *mętsahs, Du. and LG. mes, AS. męte-seax, ‘food-knife, dagger.’
Messing, n., from the equiv. MidHG. męssinc (gen. -ges), m., ‘brass, latten’; a derivative of Masse, OHG. massa (from Lat. massa?), ‘sow-metal’; AS. mœstling (with a suffix), ‘brass’ (whence E. maslin?), is also derived from the same source; see too OIc. messing, f., ‘brass.’ Contrary to this prevalent opinion, we have to observe that the derivative is more widely diffused than the primit. word, and it is inconceivable that the word was derived independently in the various languages; hence these cognates cannot be associated with Lat. massa unless a derived word can be adduced as the base of the Teut. words.
messingisch, adj., ‘hybrid, composed of HG. and LG. elements in the same word’; the term was first recorded in the last cent., but it originated probably in the 16th or 17th cent., when HG. and LG. were struggling for the mastery.
Mesner, m., from the equiv. MidHG. męsnœre, męssenœre, m., ‘sexton, sacristan’ (the latter connected with Messe), from late OHG. męsinâri (not messinâri), m., based on MidLat. *masinarius for mansionarius, ‘custos et conservatoraedis sacrae, aedituus, ostarius’; MidLat. mansionarius was also an official in the court of the Frankish kings (MidLat. mansio, ‘house,’ equiv. to Fr. maison). Comp. Küster and Sigrist.
Met, m., ‘mead,’ from MidHG. mët, mëte, OHG. mëtu, mitu, m., ‘mead’; comp. AS. meodo, E. mead, OIc. mjǫðr; Goth. *midus, m., ‘mead,’ is by chance not recorded. A common Teut. and also common Aryan word; Aryan *medhu, Sans. mádhu, n., ‘sweetness, honey, sweet drink, Gr. μέθυ, ‘wine’ (to which μεθύω, ‘to be drunk, and μέθη, ‘drunkenness’), OSlov. medŭ, ‘honey, wine,’ Lith. midùs, ‘mead,’ medùs, ‘honey,’ Ir. mid. To these is allied OInd. mádhu, ‘sweet, lovely,’ hence the various meanings of medhu, ‘mead, honey, wine,’ lit. ‘that which is sweet,’ perhaps (according to Gr. μεθύω,) ‘intoxicating liquid.’ Comp. süß.
​ Mette, f., ‘matins,’ from MidHG. mętten, męttene, męttî, męttîn, f., ‘early mass,’ late OHG. męttîua, mattîna, f.; from MidLat. mattîna for matutîna hora (hence also OIr. maten). From Lat. matutînum are derived Fr. matin (matines), and Ital. mattino. Comp. Messe, None, and Vesper.
Mettwurst, f., ‘pork sausage,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. LG. metwurst, lit. ‘food sausage,’ allied to LG. met, ‘minced meat,’ OSax. męti, Goth. mats, ‘food.’ See Messer.
Metze (1.), m., from the equiv. MidHG. steinmętze, OHG. steinmęzzo, m., ‘stone cutter’; also once in OHG. steinmeizzo, which is clearly connected with OHG. meiȥȥan, ‘to hew,’ mentioned under Meißel. But whether OHG. steinmęzzo originated in steinmeizzo, or whether Metze, Goth. *matja (comp. Fr. maçon, ‘mason, bricklayer’) is connected with the root mat, ‘to hew’ (AS. and E. mattock), remains obscure.
Metze (2.), f., ‘corn measure, peck,’ from MidHG. mëzze, OHG. mëzzo, m., ‘small dry measure.’ Teut. ë results from the Bav. and Alem. pronunciation. This word, like Goth. mitaþs, ‘measure’ (about 18 bush.), is connected with the Teut. root met, ‘to measure’; AS. mitta, ‘corn measure,’ is also equiv. to OHG. mëzzo. The masc. is still the gender in UpG., the fem. seems to be of MidG. and LG. origin. To the pre-Teut. root mod (med) belongs Lat. modius, ‘peck,’ which (see Pfund and Münze) before the OHG. period passed into West Teut.; comp. OSax. muddi, OHG. mutti, MidHG. mütte, ‘bushel.’
Metze (3.) f., ‘prostitute,’ from MidHG. metze, f., which is “literally a pet name for Mathilda, then ‘a girl of the lower class,’ often with the accessory notion of a loose life.” For other abbreviated forms with the suffix tz or z used as pet names, comp. Fritz and Kunz.
Metzger, m., from the equiv. MidHG. mętzjœre, mętzjer, m., ‘butcher.’ Adopted in the MidHG. period from MidLat.; at least no better explanation can be found than the derivation from MidLat. macellarius, from which, through the medium of mazil-, OHG. *męzijâri, with a G. accent and mutation, would be evolved. Allied to MidLat. macellum, ‘shambles,’ macellarius, ‘qui carnem in macello vendit’; yet the change of ll into j is not clear, therefore a MidLat. *macearius (OHG. *mezzigâri) has been assumed. From MidLat. macellarius were derived MidHG. mętzler, OHG. męzzilâri, ‘pork-butcher.’
meuchel-, derived, as the first part of a compound, from MidHG. miuchel-, ‘secret.’ Earlier ModHG. Meuchler, from the equiv. MidHG. miuchelœre, miucheler, late OHG. mûhhilâri, m., ‘plotter, assassin.’ Allied to MidHG. miuchelingen, ‘insidiously, like an assassin’; OHG. mühhilswërt, ‘assassin's sword, sword for assassination'; OHG. mûhhari, mûhho, mûhheo, ‘brigand, footpad’; also mûhhen, mûhhôn, ‘to attack from an ambush'; MidHG. vermûchen, ‘to get out of the way secretly, conceal,’ and MidHG. mocken, ‘to lie hidden’; further E. dial. to mitch (AS. *mŷčan), ‘to he hidden,’ MidE. micher, ‘thief.’ The entire class points to a Teut. root mûk, ‘to lurk in ambush with weapons’; a pre-Teut. root mûg appears in Kelt.; comp. OIr. formúicthe, formúichthai, ‘absconditus,’ formúichdetu, ‘occultatio.’ Since these words well accord in meaning with the HG. cognates, Goth. *muks, OIc. mjúkr, E. meek (to which Du. meuk, ‘mellow, ripe’ is allied), cannot be associated with them, since their meaning does not correspond to that of the class under discussion. See mucken and munkeln.
Meute (1.), f., first occurs in early ModHG. from the equiv. Fr. meute, f., ‘pack of hounds.’
Meute (2.), Meuterei, f., first occurs in early ModHG. from the equiv. Fr. meute, ‘mutiny, riot.’
mich, see mein.
Mieder, n., ‘bodice, corset’ (with MidHG. and UpG. i instead of ü, MidHG. üe); from MidHG. müeder, muoder, n., lit. ‘body, bodily form, skin, article of dress enveloping the upper part of the body, stays, bodice, vest,’ OHG. muodar, ‘alvus, belly of a snake’; comp. OLG. mûder, OFris. môther, ‘breast bandage’ (worn by women); Goth., AS., and OIc. *môþr are wanting. The various meanings are specially ascribed to the relation of Leib, ‘body,’ to Leibchen, ‘stays.’ The word has also been connected further with Gr. μήτρα, ‘‘womb,’ as well as with Lat. mâtrix; this leads to its kinship with the cognates of Mutter.
Miene, f., ‘mien, look, bearing,’ ModHG. only, from Fr. mine.
Mies, see Mos.
Miete, f., ‘pay, hire, rent,’ from MidHG. miete, OHG. mieta, miata, earlier méta, f., ‘payment, wages'; the orig. form is ​preserved by Goth. mizdô, ‘reward,’ the z of which, however, by the lengthening of the ĭ to ê has been lost in Teut.; OHG. mêta, OSax. méda, AS. méd (once with the normal change of s into r, meord), E. meed. Goth. mizdô, from pre-Teut. mizdhdâ, is primit. allied to Gr. μσθός, ‘wages, hire,’ OSlov. mǐzda, f., ‘wages,’ Zend mîžda, n., ‘wages,’ OInd. mîdhá (for miždhá), ‘contest, match, booty’ (orig. sense probably ‘prize,’ by inference from the Sans. adj. mîdhvás, ‘distributing lavishly’). Hence the primit. Aryan form of the cognates is mizdho-, mizdhâ-, orig. meaning ‘wages, prize.’
Mieze, f., ‘pussy,’ ModHG. only; it is either the modern Bav. pet name for Maria, ‘Mary,’ just as Hinz, the pet name for the tom-cat, is connected with Heinrich, ‘Henry,’ or it is a recent onomatopoetic form like the phonetically cognate Ital micio, and the corresponding Rom. class. The ModHG. mianuen, mauen, are also onomatopoetic forme.
Milbe, f., from the equiv. MidHG. milwe, OHG. milwa, miliwa, f., ‘mite, moth’; Goth. *milwjô, or rather *milwi, f., are wanting. To this Goth. malô, f., ‘moth,’ and OIc. mǫlr, ‘moth,’ are allied. These terms are derived from the root mel, mal, ‘to grind’; Milbe, Goth. malô, ‘the grinding (i.e., producing dust or meal) insect’; to the same root OSlov. molĭ, ‘moth,’ also belongs.
Milch, f., from the equiv. MidHG. milch, OHG. miluh, f., ‘milk’; the common Teut. term for ‘milk’; comp. Goth. miluks. f., OIc. mjólkr, f., AS. meoluc, milc, f., E. milk, Du. melk, OSax. miluk. The direct connection of the Teut. cognates. with the root melk in melken is indubitable. It is remarkable, however, that a common Aryan, or at least a West Aryan term for ‘milk’ is wanting, although the root melg, Teut. melk, ‘to milk,’ occurs in all the West Aryan languages. Gr. γάλα (stem γάλακτ-), Lat. lac (stem lact-), cannot be connected with the root melg, and OSlov. mlěko (from *melko) with its Slav. cognates must have been borrowed from the OTeut. word, since in a primit. allied word we should have expected a g instead of the k.
mild, adj., ‘mild, meek, gentle,’ from MidHG. milte, ‘friendly, kind, liberal, gracious,’ OHG. mil(illegible text)i; comp. OSax. mildi, AS. milde, E. mild, Goth. mildeis (hardly *milds), adj., ‘loving, mild’; a common Teut. adj. of disputed origin. A word corresponding exactly in sound does not occur in the cognate languages. Lat. mollis, if it represents *molvis, *moldvis (like suâvis for *suâdvis; comp. süß); might with Teut. *mildu-, ‘mild,’ belong to the root mol, ‘to grind,’ with which also OIr. mláith (prim. form mlâti-), ‘soft, gentle,’ or OIr. meldach, ‘pleasant,’ is connected.
Milz, f., ‘milt, spleen,’ from the equiv. MidHG. milze, OHG. milzi, n.; from the HG. form are derived the Rom. cognates, Ital. milza, Span. melsa, ‘spleen.’ Corresponding forms are found in OIc. milte, n., AS. milte, n. and f.; E. milt and Du. milt signify both ‘spleen’ and ‘soft roe.’ The cognates are probably connected with the Teut. root melt (see Malz), ‘to soften, melt,’ “with respect to the properties ascribed to the spleen of manufacturing, decomposing, and liquefying the various humours of the body.” The term Milz is found in Teut. only; so too Hand, Finger, Daumen, Zehe, Leber, &c. The names of other parts of the body, such as Herz, Niere, Fuß, Arm, Rippe, have, however, a history that can be traced farther back.
minder, compar. of gering and wenig, ‘less, inferior, lower’; from MidHG. minre, minner, OHG. minniro, compar. of luzzil, ‘little, small.’ To this is allied the OHG. and MidHG. adv. min (like baȥ allied to bęȥȥiro). A common Teut. compar. formed like Goth. minniza,. adv., mins, AS. min; the corresponding superl. is Goth. minnists, OHG. minnist, MidHG. minnest, ModHG. mindest, with the d of the compar. which has been evolved in ModHG. between the n and r; the positive is wanting, as in the ease of ehr, besser, seit, &c. Since en in these cognates, as in Mann, has originated in nw for nu, the word is based on the Lat.-Gr. verbal stem minu-, whence also Lat. minor, minimus; comp. Lat. minuere, Gr. μυύω; OSlov. mĭnij, ‘minor,’ Gr. μίνυ-νθα, ‘a little while.’ The oldest form of the root is Aryan mî (mī̆), with the pres. stems mĭnâ- and mĭnu-, ‘to lessen, shorten,’ of which the OInd. would be *mẽymas (equiv. to Gr. μείων); comp. also Gr. μειόω, ‘to diminish.’
Minne, f., reintroduced in the latter half of the 18th cent. on the revival of OG. studies, from the equiv. MidHG. minne, f., ‘love,’ which became obsolete in the transition from MidHG. to ModHG.; OHG. minna, f., OSax. minna, minnia, f. ‘love,’ lit. and orig. ‘recollection, memory’; ​comp. OIc. minne, n., ‘remembrance, recollection, toast.’ E. mind, from AS. mynd, is also connected with the same root man, men; comp. Goth. muns, ‘meaning.’ These belong to the common Aryan and also Teut. root men, man, ‘to think’; comp. Gr. μένος, ‘temper, disposition,’ μιμνήσκω, ‘I remember,’ Lat. memini, reminiscor, mens, moneo, Sans. root man, ‘to opine, believe, think of, purpose’; comp. mahnen and Mann.
Minze, f., from the equiv. MidHG. minze, OHG. minza, f., ‘mint’; comp. AS. minte, f., E. mint; borrowed previous to the HG. permutation of consonants from the equiv. Lat. mentha, menta (Gr. μίνθα), at the same period as the other terms relating to horticulture and the art of cookery; see Pfeffer. The variants, OHG. munza, MidHG. münze, ModHG. Münze, have a remarkable form, and cannot be explained by the Lat. word; comp. Pfeffermünz.
mis, miß, ‘mis-, dis-, amiss, wrong,’ in compounds; from MidHG. misse-, OHG. missa-, missi-, which express the perversity or failure of an action; comp. Goth. missadêþs (OHG. missitât, MidHG. and ModHG. missetât), ‘sin,’ missataujands, ‘sinner,’ Goth. missa-, for *miþtó- (lit. ‘lost’), is an old to- partic. from the root miþ (see meiden); comp. OIr. mí, ‘amiss.’ Hence the derivative missen.
mischen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. and MidLG. mischen, OHG. misken, ‘to mix’; comp. AS. miscian, E. to mix. In the other OTeut. languages a corresponding vb. is wanting. The agreement with Lat. misceo (miscere), ‘to mix,’ is evident. The only question is whether the word was primit. allied or was borrowed; that is difficult to determine, since, judging by sound and sense, both are possible. The assumption that the word was borrowed is supported by the loan-words relating to the Ital. culture of the vine, which are quoted under Most. On the other hand, the Rom. languages have instead of miscere a derivative misculare (Fr. méler, equiv. to OHG. misculôn, Suab. mište); yet comp. Ital. mescere. On the supposition that the word was primitively allied, which is supported by Meisch, we should have to compare, in addition to the Lat. term, Gr. μίσγω (σγ equiv. to Teut. sk?), μίγνυμι, the Sans. root miç in miçrá-s, ‘mixed,’ OSlov. měsiti, ‘to mix,’ Lith. mìsti, ‘to mingle’ (maísz-tas, ‘riot’). Hence Lat. misceo, and, if mischen is primit. allied to it, OTeut. miskja represent a pre-historic mik-skejo (with sk as a suffix of the pres. stem, like forschen for pre-historic *forhskôn; comp. waschen and wünschen). Comp. Meisch.
Mispel, f., from the equiv. MidHG. mispel, with the variants mespel, nespel, f. OHG. mespila, f., ‘medlar,’ with the variant nespila. From MidLat. mespila, whence also, with the change of the initial m into n., the corresponding Rom. cognates (Ital. nespola, Fr. nèfle). The ultimate source is Gr. μέσπιλον, ‘medlar.’
missen, vb., ‘to be without, do without,’ from MidHG. and OHG. missen, ‘to miss’; comp. AS. missan, E. to miss, and the equiv. OIc. missa; Goth. *missjan is wanting. It is clearly connected with West Teut. mîþan, ‘to avoid,’ which is related to an old partic. missa- (for *miþta- with -tó-), meaning ‘avoided, frustrated’; comp. meiden and miß.
Mist, m., ‘excrement, dung,’ from MidHG. and OHG. mist, m., ‘mud, manure, dunghill’; it represents *mihst, like OHG. forskôn, ‘to demand,’ for *forhskôn; see mischen. Goth. maíhstus, m., ‘excrement,’ AS. meoz (for *meoxt?), ‘excrement,’ MidE. mix, obsolete in E.; the derivative AS., MidE., and E. mixen, ‘dunghill,’ has been preserved, and appears in OHG. as mistunnea, mistina, f., and also in Franc. as misten, ‘dunghill.’ Since stu in Goth. maihstus is a suffix, HG. Mist is connected with Lith. měz-ti, ‘to dung,’ mėżlaì, ‘excrement,’ or with the Aryan root mī̆gh, ‘to make water,’ which has been retained in LG. as mîgen; comp. AS. mîgan, OIc. míga, ‘to make water.’ This latter verbal stem is found in the non-Teut. languages; comp. the Sans. root mih, Lat. mingere, Gr. ὀμιχεῖν, with the same sense; Lat. mêjo and Lith. mężu, ‘mingo,’ also belong to the same Aryan root mī̆gh. Since ὀμίχλη, ὁμίχλη, OSlov. mĭgla, Lith. miglà, ‘mist,’ are also allied to Gr. ὀμιχεῖν, ‘to make water,’ the following have also been connected with Mist, AS. and E. mist, LG. and Du. mist, ‘mist,’ Ic. mistr, ‘misty air’; Sans. méghá, ‘cloud,’ míh, ‘rain, mist,’ belong also to the root mih, which in OInd. means both ‘to make water’ and ‘raining, gushing forth.’
Mistel, f., from the equiv. MidHG. mistel, OHG. mistil, m., ‘mistletoe’: comp. AS. mistel, E. mistle, OIc. mistelteinn, ‘mistletoe.’ An OTeut. word not derived ​from the equiv. Lat. viscus, and scarcely allied to E. mist (see Mist). Origin obscure.
mit, prep. and adv., from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. mit, prep., ‘with,’ and the MidHG. adv. mite, OHG. miti; corresponding to Goth. miþ, mid, adv. and prep., ‘with,’ AS. mid, obsolete in E. (except in midwife). Teut. mid, earlier midi, represents, according to the permutation of consonants, pre-Teut. miti or meti, and hence is allied to Gr. μετὰ, Zend maṭ, ‘with,’ It might also be connected with the cognates discussed under mitz, meaning ‘reciprocal.’
Mittag, m., ‘midday, noon, south,’ from mitt and Tag. Comp. MidHG. mettetac, OHG. mittitag.
mitte, adj., obsolete as an independent word, but preserved in derivatives; MidHG. mitte, OHG. mitti, adj., ‘medius’; comp. AS. midd, preserved in E. only in midriff, AS. mid-hrif (hrif, ‘body,’ Lat. corpus), E. midnight, mid-Lent, midland, midwinter, &c., and in the derivatives midst, middle, &c.; Goth. midjis, ‘medius.’ It is a common Teut. and Aryan adj., pre-historic médhyo-s; comp. Sans. mádhyas, Gr. μέσος for *μέϑjος, Lat. medius, OSlov. mežda, f. (from medja), ‘middle.’ — Mittag, ‘mid-day,’ Mittfasten, ‘mid-Lent,’ Mittwoch, ‘Wednesday’; Mitternacht, ‘midnight,’ is prop. a dat. sing., originating in MidHG. ze mitter naht, OHG. zi mitteru naht, its frequent locative use (in this case to denote time when) becoming predominant as it did in names of places (e.g. Baden, prop. dat. plur., originated in MidHG. ze Baden, ‘at the baths,’ Sachsen, dat. plur., MidHG. ze Sahsen, ‘in Saxony,’ lit. ‘among the Saxons’). In MidHG., however, mitnaht was also used for OHG. mittinaht. —
Mitte, f., ‘middle,’ from MidHG. mitte, OHG. mittî, f., an abstract form of the adj. Comp. the following article.
mittel, adj., ‘middle, interior,’ from MidHG. mittel, OHG. mittil, adj., ‘medius, situated in the middle’; AS. middel, E. middle, adj., a derivative of OTeut. miðja-, ‘middle,’ discussed under mitte; the orig. form of this derivative was Goth. *midala-, authenticated by OHG. mëtal, adj., ‘middle.’ —
Mittel, n., ‘middle, means, resource,’ from MidHG. mittel, n., ‘middle, centre, something intermediate, means,’ an adj. used as a subst.; comp. AS. middel, E. middle. Preposit. derivatives mittels, mittelst. Comp. mitte.
Moder, m., ‘mud, mould, decay,’ from late MidHG. (MidG.) moder, m., ‘body that has been decomposed, decay, bog, moor’; comp. Du. modder, ‘slime,’ E. mother, ‘slimy substance’ (espec. in vinegar), Du. moer, ‘yeast, lees.’ The entire class has become current only in the modern languages; comp. the corresponding MidG. mot, ‘moor, morass, marsh,’ MidE. mudde, E. mud. The early history of the cognates is obscure; Gr. μυδών, ‘fungous flesh,’ on account of its permutation does not belong to the cognates.
mögen, vb., ‘to like, choose; may,’ from MidHG. mugen, mügen, OHG. mugan, earlier magan, pret. pres., ‘to be able, have power,’ Goth. magan; a common Teut. pret. pres. with the OHG. and MidHG. meaning, ‘to be able, have power,’ as it appears in the ModHG. abstract form Macht, and in the compound vermögen; AS. mœg (plur. magon, pret. mihte), whence E. may (pret. might). The Teut. stem, mag (mug), from pre-Teut. magh, is most closely allied to OSlov. mogą, mošti, ‘to be able, have power.’
Mohn, m., from the equiv. late MidHG. mân, earlier mâhen, m., ‘poppy’; OHG. *mâhan is wanting, for which OHG. mâgo, MidHG. mâge, m., ‘poppy,’ with a change of h to g (see fragen and Zähre), is used (comp. Goth. þahan with OHG. dagên, Lat. tacere); to this UpG. mâgsame (Alsat. mâss), ‘poppy,’ is allied. It corresponds to OSwed. valmughi, Swed. vallmo, ‘poppy.’ The word points to pre-Teut. mêkon-, besides which the form mâkon- is presupposed by Gr. μήκων (Dor. μᾶκων), OSlov. makŭ, ‘poppy.’ These correspondences, however, do not necessarily imply that the cognates are of genuine Aryan origin (comp. Hanf). For OHG. mâgo a form popig (E. poppy) was used in AS., based on Lat. papaver.
Mohr, m., ‘Moor,’ from MidHG. and OHG. môr, m.; derived from MidLat. Maurus, whence also Fr. More, Ital. and Span. Moro.
Möhre, f. (not current in Suab. and Bav.), from the equiv. MidHG. mörhe, also more, morhe, f., OHG. moraha, morha, ‘carrot’; a non-mutated form occurs in ModHG. Mohrrübe; Goth. *maúrhô may be also assumned from AS. moru (for *morhu), f., and more, f., E. (dial.) more, ‘turnip.’ For a derivative of these cognates see under Morchel. From OTeut. morhô-n-, ‘carrot,’ Slov. mrkva and Russ. morkovĭ (prim. Slav. *mrŭky) seem to be derived.
​ Molch, m., ‘salamander’; the suffix ch first appears in early ModHG. (comp. Habicht); from MidHG. mol, n., molle, m., ‘lizard, salamander,’ OHG. mol, with the variants molm and molt. Du. mol and MidE. molle signify ‘mole.’ It is not certain whether the word in both senses is orig. the same. OHG. mol, ‘lizard,’ has also been connected with the root mat, ‘to grind, pulverise.’
Molke, f., ‘whey,’ from MidHG. molken, molchen (also with u-ü instead of o), n., ‘whey,’ also ‘milk and that which is prepared from milk’; OHG. *molchan is wanting. AS. molcen, n., testifies, however, to the antiquity of MidHG. molken, which is a derivative of melken, Teut. root melk; comp. melken and Milch.
Monat, m. (with ModHG. ô from MidHG. â before a nasal, as in Mohn, Mond, Brombeere, ohne, &c.), from the equiv. MidHG. mânôt (d), OHG. mânôd, m., ‘month’; comp. Goth. mênôþs, AS. mônað, E. month. The common Teut. term mênôþ-, ‘month’ (pre-Teut. mênôt-), seems identical with Mond, OTeut. mênin-. The computation of time according to the periods of the moon is perhaps OAryan, since the terms for month in the Aryan languages agree approximately. See under Mond.
Mönch, m., ‘monk, friar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. münch, münech, OHG. munih (hh), m. From the prim. form muniko-, monico-, the equiv. Fr. moine is also derived. In the original Lat. word monachus (μοναχός), ‘monk,’ the ch was probably pronounced as c; comp. Ital. monaco, OIr. manach, AS. munuc, E. monk; so that OHG. ch is the HG. permutation of k. In that case Mönch was borrowed at an earlier period than Abt and Pabst (see Münster). OSlov. mŭnichŭ is a G. loanword.
Mond, m., ‘moon,’ from MidHG. mâne, m., ‘moon, month’ (MidHG. rarely fem.), OHG. mâno, m., ‘moon’; even in MidHG. occurs a form with a final dental, mânt, mânde, which is due to confusion with mânet (yet comp. Elentier and niemand), Goth. mêna, AS. môna, m., E. moon, Du. maan. In the form mêno, m., a common Teut. term for ‘moon’ (a later fem. form appears in MidHG. mœnîn, OHG. mânîn); it is based, like most of the terms for ‘moon’ and ‘month’ in the cognate Aryan languages, on Aryan mên, mênôt, or mênes. Comp. Sans. mâs, m. (for mâis, mêns), ‘moon, month,’ mâsa, m., ‘month,’ Gr. μήν (for *μήνς), ‘month,’ Lat. mensis, ‘month,’ OSlov. měsęcĭ, m., ‘moon, month,’ Lith. měnů, ‘moon,’ měnesis, ‘month,’ OIr. mí. The exact relation of Teut. mênôþ-, mênan-, to Lat.-Gr. mêns- (*mênes-) is disputed. The derivation of the stems mên, mêns, from the Aryan root mē̆, ‘to measure’ (Sans. mâ, ‘to measure, mete out,’ mâtram, Gr. μέτρον, ‘measure,’ see Mahl, messen), may accord with the facts of the case (the moon was regarded as the measurer of time), yet from the historical and linguistic standpoint it cannot be considered a certainty. Comp. Monat and Montag.
Montag, m., ‘Monday’; with the môn of Mond without the later d; MidHG. mântac (Suab. and Bav. mœntac, with mutation), OHG. mânatag (*mânintag?), m., ‘Monday’; comp. Du. maandag, AS. mônandœg, E. Monday (*môn equiv. to ‘moon’), OIc. mánadagr. The common Teut. term for Lat. dies Lunae (Fr. lundi, Ital. lunedi).
Moor, m. and n., ‘moor,’ ModHG. only, from LG. môr; comp. Du. moer, OSax. môr, n., AS. môr, n., ‘moor, swamp,’ E. moor; corresponding to OHG. and MidHG. muor, n., ‘swamp,’ seldom ‘sea’; scarcely akin to OIc. mó-r (gen. mó-s), m., ‘moor, dry heath’ OHG. muor, as well as AS. môr (Goth. *môra- is wanting), is rather relate by gradation to Meer, OHG. męri, AS. męre, Goth. marei,. or, if r is derived by rhotacism from s, the cognates are connected with OHG. and MidHG. mos, ‘swamp’; this, however, after the remarks made under Moos, is hardly probable.
Moos, n., ‘moss,’ from MidHG. and OHG. mos, n., ‘moss, moor, swamp’ (whence Fr. mousse, ‘moss’); corresponding to Du. mos, ‘moss,’ E. moss, OIc. mose, m., ‘moss, swamp,’ to which OIc. mýrr (E. mire), ‘slime,’ is allied. To these are related by gradation AS. meós, OHG. mios, MidHG. mies, m. and n., ‘moss,’ whence also ModHG. Mies. The senses ‘moss, swamp,’ may be associated by the connecting link ‘mossy ground,’ hence the assumption of two orig. different words is not required, *mosa-, ‘moss’ (by gradation *miusa, ‘moss,’ OHG. mios, AS. meós, ‘moss’), and mosa-, ‘swamp’ (by gradation *môsa, ‘moor,’ OHG. muor, comp. Meos). Goth. *musa, by gradation *miusa-, ‘moss,’ is connected with OSlov. mŭchŭ ‘moss,’ Lith. mūsaí, ‘mould’ (on liquids), and Lat. muscus, ‘moss,’ which has a ​derivative c for sc; and also with Gr. μυῖα, ‘horse-fly,’ for μύσια, and μύαξ (for μύσαξ), ‘sea-mussel.’ The meaning ‘swamp’ is still current in Suab. and Bav.; comp. Dachauer Moos.
Mops, m., ModHG. only, from the equiv. LG. mops, Du. mops and mop, ‘pug-dog.’ Akin to a Teut. root mup, ‘to distort the face, make grimaces’; comp. late MidHG. muff, mupf, m., ‘wry mouth,’ Du. mopper, ‘to wear a peevish look,’ E. to mop, ‘to gibber,’ MidE. moppe, ‘fool.’ ModHG. Mops, in the sense of ‘stupid fellow, may be explained as indicated by the MidE. word without reference to the name of the Lat. author Mopsus.
Morast, m., ‘morass,’ ModHG. only from LG. moras; comp. Du. moras, moeras, E. morass, MidE. mareis. The cognates, as is indicated by the non-Teut. accent, are borrowed from Rom.; comp. Ital. marese, Fr. marais, MidLat. maragium, ‘morass, swamp.’ The o of the Teut. words is due to their being connected with Moor. Unknown to Suab. and Bav.
Morchel, f., from the equiv. MidHG. morchel, morhel, late OHG. morhila, f., ‘moril’ (Du. morille,. ‘moril’); the apparent derivation from OG. morha-, ‘carrot’ (see Möhre), is explained under Wurzel. The Suab. and Bav. variants maurache, môraåχ, môroχ, present a difticulty.
Mord, m., ‘murder,’ from MidHG. mort (-des), m. and n., OHG. mord, n.; comp. OSax. morth, Du. moord, AS. and OIc. morð, ‘murder,’ with the common meaning ‘intentional, secret death-blow.’ Goth. *maurþ, n., is wanting; it is based on pre-Teut. mṛto-m, n., and orig. meant ‘death’ simply, as the root mor, ‘to die,’ widely diffused through all the Aryan languages, indicates. Comp. the Sans. root mṛ, ‘to die,’ mṛtá-m, n., ‘death,’ amṛta-m, ‘immortality,’ mṛtas, ‘dead,’ márta-s, ‘mortal,’ amṛta-s, ‘immortal,’ mṛtyús, ‘death’; Lat. mori, ‘to die,’ mortuus, ‘dead,’ mors (Sans. mṛti-s), ‘death’; OSlov. mrĕti, ‘to die,’ morŭ-sŭ-mrŭtĭ, ‘death,’ mrŭtvŭ (Lat. mortuus), ‘dead’; Lith. mìrti, ‘to die,’ mirtìs, ‘death,’ In Gr. as well as in OTeut. the strong root mṛ is wanting, but its derivatives βροτός, ‘mortal’ (for *μρο-τό-ς), ἀμβροτός, ‘immortal,’ have been preserved; OIr. marb, ‘dead.’ In Teut. the root has assumed the sense of ‘intentional, secret killing,’ the older meaning ‘to die, death,’ supplanted by sterben and Tod, having become obsolete; MidHG. mort, ‘dead,’ was borrowed from Fr. mort. Comp. further Goth. maúrþr, n. (in Sans. *mṛtra-m), AS. morþor, n., equiv. to E. murder; also OHG. murdiren, Goth. maurþrjan, ‘to murder’; hence Fr. meurtre, MidLat. mordrum, ‘murderous deed.’
Morgen (1.), m., ‘morning,’ from the equiv. MidHG. morgen, OHG. morgen, m.; comp. OSax. morgan, Du. morgen, AS. morgen, mergen, m., E. morning (with the suffix -ing as in evening), OIc. morgunn and myrgenn, Goth. maurgins, m.; the common Teut. term for the first half of the day, commencing with the dawn. It does not obtain, however, in the non-Teut. languages, being, like Tag and Abend (Goth. undaurns, ‘midday’), specifically Teut. The pre-Teut. mṛkeno- or mṛgheno- is still obscure; some etymologists connect it with Goth. maúrgjan, ‘to shorten,’ but this gives no definite sense for Morgen. With greater probability may OSlov. mrŭknąti, ‘to grow dark,’ mrakŭ, ‘darkness,’ be allied to the Teut. cognates, so that Morgen might be regarded as ‘dawn’; comp. the development of meaning in Dämmerung. —
morgen, in the sense of ‘to-morrow,’ is from MidHG. morgen, OHG. morgane, prop. a dat. sing., ‘in the morning, especially of the following day, (on) the next day’; similarly Fr. demain, lendemain, from Lat. mane. This use of morgen is unknown to Goth. (comp. gestern); Scand. has á morgun, E. to-morrow; MidE. tô morwe, dat., from morge(n), Du. morgen, ‘to-morrow.’ Abend is similarly used of the preceding day (see also Sonnabend). —
Morgen, ‘east,’ is similar to the meaning of Lat. mane in the Rom. languages. Comp. the origin of Osten.
Morgen (2.). m., from the equiv. MidHG. morgen, OHG. morgan, m., ‘acre’ (or nearly so); usually identified with Morgen (1), ‘morning's work for a team, the space ploughed by a team in a morning’; similarly MidLat. dies, ‘tantum terræ quantum quis per diem uno aratro arare potest.’ So too MidLat. diurnalis, ‘a square measure.’
morsch, adj., ‘decaying, rotten,’ a MidG. and LG. word with the variant mors; a recent derivative of the root murs. See Mörser.
Mörser, m., ‘mortar (bowl),’ from the equiv. MidHG. morsœre, OHG. morsâri, m.;. allied to Suab., Alem., and Hess. ​Mörschel, ‘mortar,’ and morsch. The combination rs instead of rsch (see under herrschen, Hirsch, birschen, &c.) occurs also in Hirse, compared with the dial. Hirsche. The HG. form, OHG. mors-âri, is based on a verbal root murs; comp. MidHG. zermürsen (MidG. zermorschen), ‘to crash to pieces,’ Swiss morsen, mürsen, ‘to grind, pound small,’ Du. morzelen, ‘to pulverise, mangle.’ On the other hand, the equiv. Lat. mortarium (Fr. mortier) is indicated by Du. mortier, AS. mortêre, MidE. mortêr, E. mortar.
Mörtel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. mortel, morter, m., ‘mortar (cement),’ from MidLat. mortarium. Comp. Fr. mortier, ‘mortar’ (bowl and cement), whence also E. mortar.
Most, m., ‘must, new wine,’ from MidHG. and OHG. most, m., ‘fermenting new wine, wine must;’ borrowed, like other words relating to vine-growing (see Wein, Winzer, Lauer, Presse, Torkel, and Kelch); the Lat. origin is mustum, ‘must,’ whence also AS., MidE., and E. must, the equiv. Du. most, and in the Rom. group, Ital. mosto, Fr. mout. Comp. further OSlov. mŭstŭ.
Mostert, Mostrich, m. (the second word is a corruption of the first), ‘mustard,’ MidHG. mostert, musthart, m., ‘mustard mixed with must’; corresponding to the Rom. terms, Ital. mostarda, Fr. moutarde, whence MidE. and E. mustard, Du. mosterd. A derivative of Lat. mustum, ‘must,’ mustard being mixed with must. Comp. Senf.
Motte, f., from the equiv. late MidHG. matte, f., ‘moth’ (tt originated in Goth. and OTeut. þþ, as in Fittich, Latte, and spotten). Goth. *muþþô is wanting; comp. AS. moþþe, f., MidE. moþþe, E. moth, Du. mot (t for tt from þþ), ‘moth’; also the curious variants, MidHG. matte, f. (Goth. *maþþa), AS. mohþe, f., MidE. moughþe, ‘moth’ (OIc. motte, m.. ‘moth,’ with the same permutation of þþ to tt as in Du.). Perhaps the cognates discussed under Made are akin.
Möwe, f., ModHG. only, from the equiv. LG. mewe, Du. meeuw, f., ‘mew, seagull.’ The word existed in OHG. as méh; Goth. *maihws is wanting; comp. OIc. má-r, m., ‘seagull.’ A variant *maiwi is indicated by AS. mœ̂w, E. mew (for the interchange of hw and w see Niere), as well as by the Du. form meeuw. A pre-Teut. *maiko-, *maiki, has not yet been found with a meaning similar to that of the Teut. cognates.
Mucke, f., ‘whim, freak,’ a LG. form for the rare MidHG. muoche, ‘vexatious thought’; yet the word may be regarded as the normal UpG. form for Mücke, so that its derivation should be similar to that of Grille.
Mücke, f., ‘gnat, midge,’ from MidHG. mücke, mucke, f., ‘gnat, fly’ (hence still ModHG. dial. ‘fly’), OHG. mucca, f. Goth. *mugjô is by chance not recorded; it is indicated by AS. myčǧe, f., E. midge, OSax. muggia, Du. mug. OIc. mý, n., ‘gnat,’ suggests the idea that the West Teut. guttural is a suffix, as in Brücke (see also Jugend). The common Teut. form of the noun is muwî, to which also Gr. μυῖα corresponds.
mucken, vb., ‘to grumble,’ first occurs in early ModHG., probably akin to late MidHG. mûgen, ‘to roar,’ which may be allied to μυκάομαι, ‘to roar’ (see Mücke). Perhaps it is also connected with Muckser; it is based on MidHG. muckzen, muchzen, OHG. muccazzen, ‘to whisper, grumble’; apparently, however, it is better connected with the Teut. root mū̆k, ‘to pretend to know secrets,’ discussed under meuchel-. To this also belongs the simply ModHG. Mucker, ‘sulky person, grumbler,’ prop. ‘religions hypocrite,’ in which sense the word first appeared in Jena in the early part of the 18th cent. to denote the adherents of the pietist theologian Buddeus.
Mucker, see mucken.
mucksen, see mucken.
müde, adj., from the equiv. MidHG. müede, OHG. muodi, adj., ‘tired, weary’; comp. OSax. môði, Du. moede, AS. mêðe, ‘tired’ (Goth. *mô-þeis, ‘tired,’ is wanting); comp. also OIc. móðr, ‘tired.’ The dental is a partic. derivative of the root *mô- (comp. mühen), of which müde is a verbal adj. meaning ‘having wearied oneself.’
Muff (1.), m., ‘muff,’ ModHG. only; from LG. muff, Du. mof, ‘muff,’ E. muff; a modern Teut. word connected with Fr. moufle, ‘mitten,’ MidLat. (even in the 9th cent.) muffula. The origin of the cognates has not yet been determined; they are generally connected with MidHG. mouwe, ‘sleeve.’
Muff (2.), ‘mould,’ MidHG. only, allied to Du. muf, ‘musty, moist, mouldy’; late MidHG. müffeln, ‘to smell bad or ​rotten.’ With these are connected the widely-diffused Rom. cognates, which are said to have originated in the G. words: Fr. moufette, ‘firedamp (in mines),’ Ital. muffo, ‘mouldy.’
muhen, vb., ‘to low,’ from late MidHG. mühen, müwen, mügen, ‘to roar’; perhaps allied to Gr. μυκάομαι but more probably a recent onomatopoetic form.
mühen, vb., ‘to trouble, vex,’ from MidHG. müen, müejen, OHG. muoen, wk. vb., ‘to burden, torment, vex’; Du. moeijen, ‘to molest, take pains.’ The verbal adj. müde (Goth. *môþeis) points, like the vb., to an OTeut. and Aryan root mô, of which there are derivatives in the cognate languages, Gr. μῶ-λος, ‘toil, labour, espec. in war,’ μῶ-λυς, ‘exhausted by toil, languid, weak,’ Lat. mô-les, f., ‘exertion, toil, distress,’ &c., môlior, ‘to exert oneself.’ —
Mühe, f., from the equiv. MidHG. müeje, OHG. muoî, f., ‘toil,’ is a verbal abstract of the vb. mühen.
Mühle, f., from the equiv. MidHG. mül (müle), OHG. mulî, mulîn, f., ‘mill’; comp. AS. myln, E. mill, OIc. mylna (derived from E.), f., ‘mill.’ Hardly a Teut. derivative of the root mal, discussed under mahlen; it is rather borrowed from common Rom. môlina, ‘mill’ (for classical Lat. mola); comp. Ital. mulino, Fr. moulin, ‘mill’ (Du. molen, OIr. mulen, and Slav. mŭlinŭ. The formation of an OTeut. *mulînô with a suffix -înô has no parallels in Teut. The genuine Teut. word for ‘mill’ is preserved in Goth. qaírnus, AS. cweorn, OHG. quirn.
Muhme, f. (in UpG. almost obsolete), ‘aunt, female relative, nurse,’ from MidHG. muome, OHG. muoma, f., ‘mother's sister,’ also ‘sister-in-law, female relative.’ That the earlier meaning, ‘mother's sister’ (comp. Base), is the orig. one is shown by the connection of the word with Mutter. OHG. muoma points to Goth. *môna, as is indicated by LG. and MidE. mône, ‘aunt’ (for the change of n to m, see Pilgrim). The word is a pet form of or child's term for AS. môdrie, LG. mödder (equiv. to W. modryb, ‘aunt’), which have the same form as Gr. μητρυΐα (comp. Vetter with Vater); likewise Du. moei from MidDu. moeie, ‘aunt.’ An old synonym occurs in AS. faþu, ‘aunt on the fathers side, father's sister,’ allied to Vater. OIc. móna, ‘mother,’ and the equiv. LG. mœme, Lith. momà, OSlov. mama, seem to be pet terms for ‘mother’; so too Du. moei, ‘aunt’ (OHG. muoia, Gr. μαῖα).
Mühsal, n., from the equiv. MidHG. (rare) müesal, n., ‘trouble, affliction’; formed by means of the oft-recurring suffix -sal, from the MidHG. vb., *müejen, ModHG. mühen.
Mulde, f., ‘trough, tray, pail,’ from MidHG. mulde, f., ‘semicircular hollow vessel, espec. used for cleaning corn, flour-bin, kneading-trough,’ with the equiv. variants MidHG. muolte, muolter, multer, OHG. muoltera. The uo before an l and a consonant points to the fact that the cognates were borrowed; they are usually referred to Lat. mulctra, ‘milk-pail.’
Müller, m., ‘miller,’ from MidHG. mülner, mülnœre, n. (ln is preserved in the surname Müllner, in other cases it is represented by ll), OHG. mûlinâri, m., ‘miller.’ A derivative of Mühle (OHG. mulîna), or borrowed directly from MidLat. molinarius (Ital. mulinaro, Fr. meunier), ‘miller.’ See Mühle.
Mulm, m., ‘loose, dry mould, dust,’ first recorded in ModHG., but probably of an earlier origin; allied to the root mal, ‘to grind,’ lit. ‘to pulverise,’ with which Goth. mulda, ‘dust, earth,’ and E. mould are connected; see under Maulwurf. Comp. also Grand.
Mumme (1.), f., ‘mum (kind of beer),’ ModHG. only, whence Du. nom, E. mum. The word is usually derived from Christian Mumme of Brunswick, who first brewed this beer in the year 1492.
Mumme (2.), f., ‘mask, masked person, disguise,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; comp. Du. mom, ‘mask, mummery,’ E. to mumm, to which is allied OFr. momer, ‘to masquerade,’ ModFr. momerie, ‘mummery’; they are probably connected with an old verbal stem, mum, ‘to buzz, growl.’ Comp. Du. mommelen, ‘to mumble, grumble,’ MidE. mummen, ‘to roar,’ E. to mumble, ModHG. mummeln.
mumuneln, vb., ‘to mumble.’ preceding word.
Mund (1.), m., ‘mouth,’ from MidHG. munt, OHG. mund, m., ‘mouth, outlet,’ OSax. mûð, m., Du. mond, ‘mouth,’ AS. mûð, m., E. mouth, OIc. munnr, muðr, Goth. munþs, m., ‘mouth.’ The common Teut. word munþa-z, m., may be based on pre-Teut. mńto-s and connected with Lat. mentum, ‘chin’ (of men and beasts). In the non-Teut. languages also evidence of the ​kinship of Mund and Maul may be found, since the latter is an old *mû-lo-, while the former may represent *mu-nþo (with a partic. suffix, see Zahn). Comp. Sans. mú-kha, ‘mouth.’
Mund (2.), f., ‘protection,’ from MidHG. and OHG. munt, f., ‘protection, hand’; comp. AS. mund, ‘hand, protection,’ OIc. mund, f., ‘hand’; the Du. term still exists in mond-baar with the variant momber, ‘guardian,’ OSax. mundboro, AS. mundbora, OHG. muntboro, MidHG. muntbor, m., ‘protector, tutor’; comp. also Vormund and Mündel. Mund is certainly not connected with Lat. mûnire (with regard to û from Aryan ai, comp. moenia), but is probably derived from a root cognate with that of Lat. manus, ‘hand.’
Mündel, m. and f., ‘ward, minor,’ ModHG. only; in MidHG. mundelinc, ‘ward’ and ‘guardian.’ A derivative of Mund (2).
mündig, adj. from the equiv. MidHG. mündec. adj., ‘of age,’ from Mund (2).
munkeln, vb., ‘to whisper secretly,’ ModHG. only; from the Teut. root munk, mū̆k. See meuchel-.
Münster, n. and m., ‘minster, cathedral,’ from. MidHG. münster, OHG. munustiri, munistri, n., prop. ‘monastery, convent’ (OHG.), then (MidHG.) ‘monastery or convent church, collegiate church, cathedral’; comp. AS. mynster, E. minster. Formed from Lat. and Gr. monastêrium, ‘monastery,’ whence also ModFr. moutier, ‘monastery, convent’ (comp. also OIr. munter, manister, as well as OSlov. monastyrĭ, ‘monastery’). MidLat. monasteria were orig. cellae in quibus unicus degit monachus, then generally ‘monastery,’ finally ‘cathedral,’ quod plerisque in ecclesiis cathedralibus monachi, non ut hodie canonici, olim sacra munera obirent (this signification is found even towards the end of the 11th cent.). Mönch was borrowed at the same period as Münster; comp. Abt and Probst.
munter, adj., ‘cheerful, lively, brisk,’ from MidHG. munter, munder, OHG. muntar, adj., ‘fresh, lively, zealous, wakeful’; probably allied to Goth. mundrel, f., ‘aim,’ and mundôn, vb., ‘to fix one's eyes upon,’ so that ‘striving’ is the orig. meaning of the adj. It is also primit. allied to OSlov. mądrŭ, ‘wise,’ Lith. mundrùs, mandrùs, ‘cheerful.’ Moreover, OHG. muntar may also be connected with OHG. męnden, OSax. męndian, ‘to rejoice’ (Teut. root manþ).
Münze (1.), f., from the equiv. MidHG. münȥe, OHG. muniȥȥa, f., ‘coin.’ The word was adopted in West Teut. previous to the HG. permutation, probably even before the time of Tacitus, from Lat. monêta, ‘coin, money’; comp. AS. mynet, E. mint, Du. munt. Lat. monêta, on its adoption, was probably pronounced, with a Teut. accent, mónêta; ê passed into î and ŏ into ŭ, later ü; múnita is the initial stage of OHG. múnĭȥȥa. That Lat. words were introduced with Lat. money (Tacit. Germ. 5) is antecedently probable. Comp. Pfund.
Münze (2.), f., equiv. to Minze.
mürbe, adj., ‘tender,’ from MidHG. mürwe, mür, OHG. muruwi, murwi, adj., ‘tender, mellow’; also, with the same sense, OHG. marawi, maro, MidHG. mar (inflect. marwer), AS. mearu. The root mar appears further in Gr. μαραίνω, ‘to cause to wither,’ Sans. mlâ, ‘to fade’; also in OIr. meirb, ‘soft.’
murmeln, vb., ‘to murmur,’ from MidHG. murmeln, OHG. murmulôn, with the parallel form murmurôn, ‘to murmur, grumble’; either from Lat. murmurare, or rather a native onomatopoetic form. See murren.
Murmeltier, n., ‘marmot,’ corrupted in late MidHG. from MidHG. mürmendîn, n., OHG. murmuntî, n., ‘marmot’ (OHG. variant muremunto, m.). The ultimate source of the word is Lat. murem montis (mus montis, mus montanus), whence also the corresponding Ital. marmotta, Fr. marmotte. The OHG. form murmuntî is extended by a diminut. suffix.
murren, vb., ‘to grumble, mutter,’ first occurs in early ModHG. Allied to the equiv. Du. morren, AS. murcnian.
Mus, n., ‘pap, porridge, connection of fruit,’ from MidHG. and OHG. muos, n., ‘cooked food, espec. pap-like food; food, meal’; OSax. and AS. môs, n., ‘food.’ The assumed Goth. *môsa-, ‘food,’ may be connected with mati-, ‘food,’ while *môsa- may represent *môtta- with a dental suffix; in that case the root would be Teut. mat, pre-Teut. mā̆d, ‘to cook, prepare food’ (for Goth. mats, ‘food,’ see Messer and mästen). To this is allied Gemüse, ‘vegetables,’ from MidHG. gemüese (OHG. *gimuosi), n., which as a derivative presumes the more general sense of OHG. muos. See Musteil.
​ Muschel, f., from the equiv. MidHG. muschel, OHG. muscula, f., ‘mussel, shellfish.’ Borrowed from the equiv. Lat. musculus, m.
Muskel, m., ‘muscle’ (of the body), ModHG. only, borrowed from the equiv. Lat. musculus.
müssen, anom. vb., ‘to be obliged; must,’ from MidHG. müeȥen, OHG. muoȥan, pret. pres., ‘to like, be able; be allowed, be obliged’ (see Muße); comp. OSax. motân, Du. moeten, ‘to be obliged; ought,’ AS. *motan, ‘to be allowed, be able, like, be obliged,’ in E. only the pret. must (AS. môste, ‘was obliged’) has been preserved with the meaning of the pres.; Goth. gamôtan, ‘to take place, have room.’ The origin of these cognates is doubtful; they can scarcely be connected with messen.
Musteil, m. and n., allied to Mus (Gemüse), “half the stock of provisions left on the death of a husband, and what remains thirty days later when an inventory is made; one half belongs to the widow and the other to the heirs” (Lessing); the share of the widow is called Musteil. Even in MidHG. (in the MidG. of the Saxon Code) musteile for *muosteile occurs.
Muster, n., ‘sample, model, paragon,’ first occurs in early ModHG., from the equiv. Ital. mostra; comp. Fr. montre (E. muster, Du. monster), ‘sample.’ Allied to Lat. monstrare.
Muße, f., ‘leisure, ease,’ from MidHG. muoȥe, OHG. muoȥa, f., ‘leisure, ease, inactivity,’ OHG. also ‘possibility, suitable occasion’; allied to the OTeut. pret. pres. môtan (see müssen). —
müßig, adj., ‘at leisure,’ from MidHG. müeȥec, OHG. muoȥîg, ‘at leisure, unemployed.’
Mut, m.. ‘courage, mood,’ from MidHG. and OHG. muot, m., ‘sense, mind, spirits, courage,’ OSax. môd, ‘spirits, inner self, heart, courage,’ Du. moed, m., ‘courage,’ AS. môd, n., ‘mind, spirits, heart, courage, zeal,’ E. mood, Goth. môds, m., ‘auger.’ ‘Strong emotion, violent excitement,’ is the primary idea of the common Teut. stem môda-, the origin of which cannot be traced with certainty in the non-Teut. languages. The usual derivation from the root mā̆, Gr. μαίομαι, ‘to desire,’ is possible. Comp. the Slav. root mě in sŭměją (sŭměti), ‘to venture.’ — ModHG. gemut in wohlgemut, from MidHG. wol gemuot, ‘courageous,’ and the simple gemuot, ‘minded, disposed.’ — ModHG. Gemüt, ‘spirits, disposition,’ from MidHG. gemüete, OHG. gimuoti, n., prop. a collective of Mut, ‘totality of thoughts and feelings,’ MidHG. also ‘mood, longing,’ OHG. ‘joy.’
Mutter, f., ‘mother,’ from MidHG. muoter, OHG. muotar, f.; comp. OSax. môdar, Du. moeder, AS. môddôr, môdor; E. mother (with th when followed by er, as in father, weather); OIc. môðer. The common Teut. word for ‘mother,’ wanting only in Goth., in which aiþei (comp. Eidam) was the current term, just as atta was used for ‘father’ instead of fadar. Teut. môdar, ‘mother,’ from pre-Teut. mâtêr, is, like many other terms denoting degrees of relationship, common also to the Aryan languages; comp. Ind. mâtṛ, Gr. μήτηρ, μάτηρ, Lat. mâter, OSlov. mati, OIr. máthir (Lith. môtė, ‘married woman’). It is allied to Muhme and its cognates, as well as to Gr. μαῖα, ‘good mother’ (as a kindly address). Whether these words are based on an Aryan root mâ, meaning ‘to mete out’ (Mutter, ‘apportioner, distributor’?), or in its OInd. sense, ‘to form’ (of the embryo in the womb), is uncertain. —
Mutterkrebs, ‘female crayfish,’ prop. ‘a crayfish at the period when it casts its shell,’ had orig. nothing to do with Mutter; it contains rather OHG. muter, HG. Mauser (Lat. mûtare). Comp. mausern.
Mütze, f., from the equiv. late MidHG. mütze, mutze, f., ‘cap, bonnet,’ which is a shortened form of the equiv. armuȥ, almuȥ. It is derived from MidLat. almutia, armutia, almutium, prop. ‘amictus quo Canonici caput humerosque tegebant,’ worn also at a later period by laymen; the development of meaning is similar to that of ModHG. Kappe. MidLat. almutia, the origin of which is entirely obscure (al is thought to be the Arab. article), appears in Rom. Comp. Fr. aumusse or aumuce, ‘amess’ (fur cap worn by officials in Roman Catholic churches).
mutzen, vb., ‘to dress up, adorn’; in the sense of ‘to be out of humour,’ from mucktzen, like Blitz from Blikz, schmatzen from schmackezen; but ModHG. aufmutzen, ‘to throw in one's teeth, blame,’ from MidHG. ûfmützen, ‘to dress up, adorn,’ MidHG. mutzen, mützen, ‘to dress, adorn.’ Aufmutzen thus means ‘to puff.’