mass
nounEtymology
From Middle English messe, from Old English mæsse and Old French messe, both from Late Latin missa, from Latin mittō (“to send, dismiss”), compare French messe. In the ancient churches, the public services at which the catechumens were permitted to be present were called missa catechumenorum, ending with the reading of the Gospel. Then they were dismissed with the words: "Ite, missa est", the congregation is dismissed. After that the sacrifice proper began. At its close the same words were said to those who remained. So the word gave the name of Mass to the sacrifice in the Catholic Church. Compare Christmas, Lammas, missal. Doublet of missa.
Definitions
Matter, material.
- And if it were not for theſe Principles the Bodies of the Earth, Planets, Comets, Sun, and all things in them would grow cold and freeze, and become inactive Maſſes ; […].
- […] and because a deep mass of continual sea is slower stirred to rage.
A large quantity
A large quantity; a sum.
- […]he hath discovered to me the way to five or six of the richest mines which the Spaniard hath, and whence all the mass of gold that comes into Spain in effect is drawn.
- For though he had spent a huge mass of treasure in transporting his army, […].
To form or collect into a mass
To form or collect into a mass; to form into a collective body; to assemble.
- They would unavoidably mix up the whole of these declarations, and mass them together, although the Judge might direct the Jury not to do so.
- Every bend on the hill had acted like a funnel to mass them together in this peculiar way.
- Where there is too great a repetition of forms, light and shade will break them up or mass them together.
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Involving a mass of things
Involving a mass of things; concerning a large quantity or number.
- There is evidence of mass extinctions in the distant past.
- The national liberation movement had not yet developed to a sufficiently mass scale.
Involving a mass of people
Involving a mass of people; of, for, or by the masses.
- Mass unemployment resulted from the financial collapse.
- Every agency is sold on use of mass media today — or at least, it thinks it is — and what can be "masser" than television?
The Eucharist, now especially in Roman Catholicism.
Celebration of the Eucharist.
The main kind of church service, in some denominations.
- She went to mass every Sunday for many years, and when she retired, she took to going on some weekdays, too.
The sacrament of the Eucharist.
A musical setting of parts of the mass.
To celebrate mass.
- massing priests
The principal liturgical service of the Church, encompassing both a scripture service…
The principal liturgical service of the Church, encompassing both a scripture service (Liturgy of the Word) and a eucharistic service (Liturgy of the Eucharist), which includes the consecration and oblation (offering) of the host and wine.
A similar ceremony offered by a number of Christian churches.
A musical composition set to portions, or all, of the Mass.
Abbreviation of Massachusetts.
- the Mass Pike
Alternative form of Mas.
The neighborhood
Derived
active gravitational mass, airmass, air mass, atomic mass, biomass, blue mass, bodymass, center of mass, centre of mass, conservation of mass, coronal mass ejection, critical mass, dry mass, Earth mass, gravitational mass, inertial mass, Jupiter mass, landmass, land mass, law of conservation of mass, low mass star, mass balance, mass center, mass copper, mass defect, mass density, mass distribution, mass driver, mass effect, mass-energy, mass energy, mass finishing, mass flow, mass fraction, mass gainer, massless, mass line, mass man, mass monster, mass noun · +106 more
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at mass. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at mass. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
10 hops · closes at mass
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA