An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Messe

by Friedrich Kluge

Messe, feminine, ‘mass, fair,’ from Middle High German mësse, misse, feminine, ‘mass, church festival, fair’ Old High German mëssa, missa, feminine. So too the word on which it is based, Middle Latin missa, signifies not only ‘incruentum christianorum sacrificium,’ but also ‘feast of a saint’ (“quod in eo Missa sollemnis peragitur”). The latter sense led to Middle Latin missa, Middle High German mësse, ‘fair,’ because this “was wont to be held on account of the great concourse of people” on saints' days (compare French foire, ‘fair,’ literally ‘holiday,’ under Feier). Middle Latin missa, “as is well known, originated in missa est, scil. concio, the words spoken by the deacon when dismissing the congregation which did not partake of the sacrament”; from this the corresponding Romance cognates, Italian messa and French messe, are derived. The vowel in Anglo-Saxon mœsse, feminine (Northumbrian messe), English mass, is abnormal; the latter also signifies feast in Christmas and Lammas (see Laib). Compare Feier, Mette, Nonne, Opfer, and Vesper.