mass

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1 1.1.1 Pronunciation 1.1.2 Noun 1.1.2.1 Translations 1.1.3 Verb 1.1.3.1 Translations 1.2 Etymology 2 1.2.1 Pronunciation 1.2.2 Noun 1.2.2.1 See also 1.2.2.2 Derived terms 1.2.2.3 Translations 1.2.3 Verb 1.2.3.1 Translations 1.2.4 External links

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old English mæsse, from Late Latin missa, noun use of feminine past participle of classical Latin mittere (“‘release, dismiss’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /mæs/, SAMPA: /m{s/
• (UK) IPA: /mæs/ or /mɑːs/, SAMPA: /m{s/ or /mA:s/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -æs

[edit] Noun

mass (plural masses)

1. (religion) The Eucharist, now especially in Roman Catholicism.
2. (religion) Celebration of the Eucharist.
3. (religion, usually as the Mass) The sacrament of the Eucharist.
4. A musical setting of parts of the mass.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

to mass (third-person singular simple present masses, present participle massing, simple past and past participle massed)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To celebrate mass.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 2

From Anglo-Norman masse, from Latin massa (“‘lump, dough’”), from Ancient Greek μᾶζα (maza), “‘barley-cake’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /mæs/, SAMPA: /m{s/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -æs

[edit] Noun

mass (countable and uncountable; plural masses)

1. A quantity of matter cohering together so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively make one body or quantity, usually of considerable size; as, a mass of ore, metal, sand, or water.
   • (A date for this quote is being sought): Sir Isaac Newton — 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

   (A date for this quote is being sought): Savile — A deep mass of continual sea is slower stirred to rage

2. A large quantity; a sum.

   (A date for this quote is being sought): Sir Walter Raleigh| — All the mass of gold that comes into Spain.

   (A date for this quote is being sought): Sir John Davies — He had spent a huge mass of treasure.

3. Bulk; magnitude; body; size.

   (A date for this quote is being sought): Shakespeare, Hamlet, IV,iv — This army of such mass and charge

4. The principal part; the main body.

   (A date for this quote is being sought): Benjamin Jowett (Thucydides) — Night closed upon the pursuit, and aided the mass of the fugitives in their escape

5. (physics) The quantity of matter which a body contains, irrespective of its bulk or volume. It is one of four fundamental properties of matter. It is measured in kilograms in the SI system of measurement.
6. (pharmacy) A medicinal substance made into a cohesive, homogeneous lump, of consistency suitable for making pills; as, blue mass.
7. (medicine) A palpable or visible abnormal globular structure; a tumor.
8. (bodybuilding) Excess body weight, especially in the form of muscle hypertrophy.
   • 1988, Steve Holman, "Christian Conquers Columbus", Ironman 47 (6): 28-34.

     After all, muscle maniacs go "ga ga" over mass no matter how it's presented.

[edit] See also

• Customary units: slug, pound, ounce, long ton (1.12 short tons), short ton (commonly used)
• Metric units: gram (g), kilogram (kg), metric ton

[edit] Derived terms

• blue mass See under blue
• critical mass
• mass center (Geometry): the center of gravity of a triangle
• mass copper, native copper in a large mass
• Planck mass
• the masses, the great body of the people, as contrasted with the higher classes; the populace.

[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

to mass (third-person singular simple present masses, present participle massing, simple past and past participle massed)

1. (transitive) To form or collect into a mass; to form into a collective body; to bring together into masses; to assemble.

   (A date for this quote is being sought): Coleridge — But mass them together and they are terrible indeed.

[edit] Translations

[edit] External links

• mass in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• mass in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911