Message

How to spell message

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce message

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does message mean?

1. nounA piece of information or a communication sent from one person to another.
2. verbTo send a written communication to someone, especially electronically.

Message in a sentence

• noun

  She left a message on his answering machine about the meeting.

• verb

  Please message me when your train arrives at the station.

• noun

  The courier delivered the sealed message to the front desk.

• verb

  You can message the support team directly through the app.

Where does message come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word travelled into English from Old French message during the 1200s, and it ultimately rests on the Latin verb mittere, meaning 'to send' or 'to let go'. The intermediate form was the Medieval Latin missaticum, which described something sent, built on missus, the past participle of mittere. So at heart a message is literally 'a thing that has been sent', whether by hand, horse, or modern phone. The same mittere root quietly powers a whole family of English words, including 'mission', 'missile', 'transmit', and even 'dismiss', all of which involve sending or letting go. The doubled s, which is the usual spelling stumble, traces straight back to that missus stem, so remembering the link to 'mission' fixes the two s letters in place.

How the word is built

• mess- (from Latin missus, sent, from mittere: to send)
• -age (noun suffix indicating an act or result)