/ mæs; NAmE / noun
1.
(sometimes mass ) [ U , C ] (especially in the Roman Catholic Church) a ceremony held in memory of the last meal that Christ had with his disciples :
to go to Mass
a priest celebrating / saying Mass
—see also eucharist , communion
2.
[ C ] a piece of music that is written for the prayers, etc. of this ceremony :
Bach's Mass in B minor
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English mæsse , from ecclesiastical Latin missa , from Latin miss- dismissed, from mittere , perhaps from the last words of the service, Ite, missa est Go, it is the dismissal.