English
meseta
Meseta comes from Spanish meseta ‘plateau’, from mesa ‘raised land’, and ultimately from Classical Latin mēnsa ‘a table’.
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēnsa‘a table’
- Late Latinmodernmēsa
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500mesa
- Spanishc. 1500–presentsame form‘raised land’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentmeseta‘plateau’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēnsa‘a table’
- Late Latinmodernmēsa
- Old Spanishc. 950–1500mesa
- Spanishc. 1500–presentsame form‘raised land’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentmeseta‘plateau’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002same form
Earliest quotation: 2002, Ralph Penny, The Latin of Spain: “This factor is particularly relevant to the history of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- ‘to measure’
month, moon, moral, meal, sunny, moody, meter, metric, metre, menstrual, meta, madder, asymmetry, metrology, firman, moodiness, mete, metis, metra, menses, 61 more
through Proto-Italic *mētis
through Latin metior ‘to measure or estimate’
measure, dimensional, dimension, commensurate, 18 more
through Latin mēnsus
through Classical Latin mēnsa ‘a table’
through Spanish mesa ‘raised land’
Today it means
noun A plateau, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Classical Latin mēnsa / meseta