I. ˈmas noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mæsse, modification of Vulgar Latin * messa, literally, dismissal at the end of a religious service, from Late Latin missa, from Latin, feminine of missus, past participle of mittere to send
Date: before 12th century
1. capitalized : the liturgy of the Eucharist especially in accordance with the traditional Latin rite
2. often capitalized : a celebration of the Eucharist
Sunday mass es held at three different hours
3. : a musical setting for the ordinary of the Mass
II. noun
Etymology: Middle English masse, from Anglo-French, from Latin massa, from Greek maza; akin to Greek massein to knead — more at mingle
Date: 15th century
1.
a. : a quantity or aggregate of matter usually of considerable size
b.
(1) : expanse , bulk
(2) : massive quality or effect
impressed me with such mass and such vividness — F. M. Ford
(3) : the principal part or main body
the great mass of the continent is buried under an ice cap — Walter Sullivan
(4) : aggregate , whole
men in the mass
c. : the property of a body that is a measure of its inertia and that is commonly taken as a measure of the amount of material it contains and causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
2. : a large quantity, amount, or number
a great mass of material
3.
a. : a large body of persons in a compact group : a body of persons regarded as an aggregate
b. : the great body of the people as contrasted with the elite — often used in plural
the underprivileged and disadvantaged mass es — C. A. Buss
Synonyms: see bulk
III. verb
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
: to form or collect into a mass
intransitive verb
: to assemble in a mass
three thousand students had mass ed in the plaza — A. E. Neville
IV. adjective
Date: 1733
1.
a. : of or relating to the mass of the people
mass market
mass education
also : being one of or at one with the mass : average , commonplace
mass man
b. : participated in by or affecting a large number of individuals
mass destruction
mass demonstrations
c. : having a large-scale character
mass plantings of tulips
2. : viewed as a whole : total
the mass effect of a design