mess

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English[edit]

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Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Middle English mes, Old French mets, Late Latin missum,, from mittere (“to put, place”) (e.g. on the table), Latin mittere (“to send”). See mission, and compare Mass (“religious service”).

Noun[edit]

mess (plural messes)

  1. (obsolete) Mass; church service.
  2. A quantity of food set on a table at one time; provision of food for a person or party for one meal; also, the food given to an animal at one time.
    A mess of pottage.
    • Milton
      At their savoury dinner set / Of herbs and other country messes.
  3. A number of persons who eat together, and for whom food is prepared in common; especially, persons in the military or naval service who eat at the same table.
    the wardroom mess
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  4. A set of four (from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner).
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Latimer to this entry?)
  5. (US) The milk given by a cow at one milking.
Translations[edit]
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Verb[edit]

mess (third-person singular simple present messes, present participle messing, simple past and past participle messed)

  1. (intransitive) To take meals with a mess.
  2. (intransitive) To belong to a mess.
  3. (intransitive) To eat (with others).
    I mess with the wardroom officers.
  4. (transitive) To supply with a mess.

External links[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Perhaps a corruption of Middle English mesh (“for mash”), compare muss.

Noun[edit]

mess (uncountable)

  1. A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; hence, a situation resulting from blundering or from misunderstanding; a disorder.
    He made a mess of it.
    My bedroom is such a mess, I need to tidy up.
  2. (colloquial) A large quantity or number.
    My boss dumped a whole mess of projects on my desk today.
    She brought back a mess of fish to fix for supper.
  3. (euphemistic) Excrement.
    There was dog mess all along the street.
    Parked under a tree, my car was soon covered in birds' mess.
Quotations[edit]
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Translations[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
terms derived from "mess"

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References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Manx[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Irish mes.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

mess m (plural messyn)

  1. (botany) fruit

Derived terms[edit]

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