Etymograph

English

mast

Mast comes from Proto-Germanic *mastaz ‘mast, sail-pole’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *mazdos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mazdos‘pole, mast’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mastaz‘mast, sail-pole’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mastreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150mæst
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mast
  6. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mazdos‘pole, mast’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mastaz‘mast, sail-pole’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*mastreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150mæst
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500mast
  6. Englishtodaysame form

Linked words

through Old English mæst

most, 1 more

Today it means

noun A tall, slim post or tower, usually tapering upward, used to support, for example, sails or observation platforms on a ship, the main rotor of a helicopter, flags, floodlights, meteorological instruments, or communications equipment, such as an aerial, usually supported by guy-wires (except in the case of a helicopter).

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *mazdos / mast

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