The story
- Ancient Greek · derived fromμαστιχάω“I gnash the teeth”
- English todaymasticatory
From Latin mastico + -atory, the former borrowed from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “I gnash the teeth”), from μάσταξ (mástax, “that with which one chews”).
Words from the same roots
Ancient Greekμαστιχάω all →
masticate
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.