-mas

suffix

Indicates holidays or sacred days.

OriginMiddle English -masse ← Old English -mæsse →
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Meanings

suffix
  1. Indicates holidays or sacred days.

Origin

  1. Old Englishmæsse“the mass, church festival”
  2. Old English-mæsse
  3. Middle English-masse
  4. English-mas

From Middle English -masse, -messe, from Old English -mæsse, the second element in several ritual and holiday names (e.g. Candelmæsse, Cristes mæsse, hlāfmæsse, etc.), from Old English mæsse (“the mass, church festival”). Compare Dutch mis, German Messe, Danish messe, Swedish mässa, Icelandic messa.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-mas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-mas

MLA

“-mas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-mas. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-mas,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-mas.

Source: -mas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.