Etymograph

English

Marseilles

Marseilles comes from Old French Marseilles, and goes back to Ancient Greek Μασσαλία.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΜασσαλίαMassalía
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEMassilia
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400Marseilles
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2012same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEΜασσαλίαMassalía
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEMassilia
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400Marseilles
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2012same form

Earliest quotation: 2012, David Denby, Everybody Comes to Rick’s: “Casablanca: “We see documentary footage (the trudging homeless) and an…”

The story

From Old French Marseilles (nominative of Marseille), from Latin Massilia, Marsilia, from Ancient Greek Μασσαλία (Massalía), probably from a pre-Latin language of Italy, perhaps Ancient Ligurian mas (‘spring’).

Every English word from Ancient Greek Μασσαλία

Today it means

name A city in LaSalle County, in northern Illinois, United States.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek Μασσαλία / Marseilles

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