An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Maser
Maser, f., ‘vein (in wood), speck, spot,’ from MidHG. maser, m., OHG. masar, n., ‘vein, knotty excrescence on the maple and other trees’ (MidHG. also ‘goblet of speckled wood’); comp. AS. maser, ‘knot in wood,’ E. measles; OIc. mǫsurr, m., ‘maple’ (mǫsur-bolle, ‘maple bowl’). Allied to OHG. masa, f., ‘wound, scar.’ The Teut. class is the source of Rom. derivatives. Comp. Fr. madré, ‘speckled,’ MidLat. scyphi maserini, ‘drinking vessels.’