massacre

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*mey-“small”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*maitaną“to cut”
3. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*maitan
4. Middle Low German · derived from*matskelen“to massacre”
5. Latin · derived frommacellum“butcher shop”
6. Medieval Latin · derived frommazacrium“massacre, slaughter, killing”, also “the head of a newly killed stag”
7. Old French · derived frommacecrer
8. Old French · derived frommacacre, marcacre, macecre, macecle“slaughterhouse, butchery”
9. Middle French · borrowed frommassacre
10. English todaymassacre

1580, from Middle French massacre, from Old French macacre, marcacre, macecre, macecle (“slaughterhouse, butchery”), usually thought to be deverbal from Old French macecrer, macecler (“to slaughter”), though the noun seems to be attested somewhat earlier. It is also found in Medieval Latin mazacrium (“massacre, slaughter, killing”, also “the head of a newly killed stag”). Further origin disputed: * From Latin macellum (“butcher shop”). * From Vulgar Latin *matteuculāre, from *matteuca (cf. massue), from Late Latin mattea, mattia, from Latin mateola. * From Middle Low German *matskelen (“to massacre”) (compare German metzeln (“massacre”)), frequentative of matsken, matzgen (“to cut, hew”), from Proto-West Germanic *maitan, from Proto-Germanic *maitaną (“to cut”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small”). Akin to Old High German meizan (“to cut”) among others. * Note also Arabic مَجْزَرَة (majzara), originally “spot where animals are slaughtered”, now also “massacre”, and in Maghrebi Arabic “slaughterhouse”. Derived from جَزَرَ (jazara, “to cut, slaughter”).

Words from the same roots