Mac

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mac"

English

• IPA^(key): /mæk/
• Homophones: mack, Mack

Etymology 1

See macc for details.

Noun

Mac (plural Macs)

1. (US, informal) Used to address a man whose name is unknown.

   Have you got a light, Mac?

Synonyms

• (person): John

Translations

Translations

• Portuguese:(Portugal, slang) Zé (pt)

Prefix

Mac

2. (Irish and Scottish patronymic surnames) son of.

Alternative forms

• Mack, Mc

Proper noun

Mac (plural Macs)

1. A diminutive of the male given name Max.
2. (US, Canada) A diminutive for a person with a surname that starts with "Mac" or "Mc".

   Synonym: Macca (UK and Australia)

Usage notes

The surname prefix is often stressed, even when spelled as Mc-, and the pronunciation of names must be learned individually.

Etymology 2

Informal diminutive of Macintosh, later adopted by Apple as a trademark.

Noun

Mac (plural Macs)

1. A Macintosh computer (made by Apple Inc.).
   • 1987, InfoWorld, volume 9, number 37, page 46:

     Although our Macs served us well, in those early, dark years Macintosh users were effectively excommunicated by the computer establishment.

   • 1991, “Breaking Communications Barriers”, in Compute!, v 13, n 9, pp 28–31:

     Built by Matthew Weed, a blind political science and history major, and Victor Grigorieff, a computer science and psychology major, the system is based on a Macintosh IIfx, although it can run on earlier models, since each Mac program has a similar interface.

   • 1993, “The New Microprocessors Powerchips” in Popular Science, v 243, n 1, p 58:

     Apple, IBM, and Motorola have teamed up to produce this 32-bit chip that will be used in future Apple Macintoshes and IBM PCs. PowerPC systems will run Mac or Unix programs, and possibly Windows software in the future.

   • 1993, “The Newest Appliance” in U.S. News & World Report, v 115, n 21, p 90:

     If you invest the time to learn one Windows or Mac program, you'll automatically have mastered the basic skills to use hundreds of others.

   • 2007, “Uninspiring Vista”, in Technology Review, v 110, n 1, pp 72–4:

     As this shift accelerates, finding software that works with a particular operating system will be less of a concern. People will be able to base decisions about which OS to use strictly on merit, and on personal preference. For me, if the choice is between struggling to configure every feature and being able to boot up and get to work, at long last I choose the Mac.

   • 2008, Glenn Derene, “Mac VS. PC”, in Popular Mechanics, volume 185, number 5, page 86:

     Oddly, the big difference didn't come in our user ratings, where we expected the famously friendly Mac interface to shine.
     Apple's popular commercials have painted the picture in stark terms: There are two types of people, Mac people and PC people.

Coordinate terms

• PC, personal computer, home computer, desktop computer, personal workstation, graphic workstation, graphics workstation

Derived terms

• Macified, Mac-ified
• Mac-like, Maclike
• Macolyte
• Macquarium

Etymology 3

A shortening.

Proper noun

Mac

1. (informal) McMaster University

Anagrams

• ACM, AMC, C.M.A., CAM, CMA, Cam, MCA, cam

Irish

Etymology

See mac.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mˠak/

Noun

Mac m (genitive singular Mhic)

1. Alternative letter-case form of mac (“son”) used in surnames.

Usage notes

• Forms with the definite article are not found.
• The form Mac usually triggers no mutation, but some surnames show lenition of a following consonant.
• The form Mhic triggers lenition of a following consonant, although c and g are often unlenited here.

Declension

Declension of Mac

First declension

Bare forms (no plural of this noun) Case Singular Nominative Mac Vocative a Mhic Genitive Mic Dative Mac

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Nominative an Mac Genitive an Mhic Dative leis an Mac don Mhac

Coordinate terms

• Nic

Descendants

• English: Mac, Mac-, Mc, Mc-

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
Mac	Mhac	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “Mac”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Malay

Alternative forms

• مچ‎

Etymology

From English March, from Middle English March(e), from Anglo-Norman Marche, from Old French marz, from Latin mārtius, from earlier Mavors.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mat͡ʃ]
• Rhymes: -at͡ʃ

Proper noun

Mac (Jawi spelling مچ)

1. (Malaysia, Brunei) March (third month of the Gregorian calendar)

Alternative forms

• Maret (Indonesia)

See also

• (Gregorian calendar months) bulan takwim Gregory; Januari, Februari, Mac/Maret, April, Mei, Jun, Julai, Ogos, September, Oktober, November, Disember ^{(Category: ms:Gregorian calendar months)}