"Machin" meaning in All languages combined

See Machin on Wiktionary

Proper name [English]

IPA: /ˈmeɪt͡ʃɪn/
Etymology: From machun, from Anglo-Norman machun, masson, from Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”). More at mason. Etymology templates: {{der|en|xno|machun}} Anglo-Norman machun, {{der|en|frk|*makjo|t=maker; builder; see make}} Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”) Head templates: {{en-prop}} Machin
  1. A surname originating as an occupation. Derived forms: Machin-like formula, Machin's formula
    Sense id: en-Machin-en-name-Ng4uA~tx Categories (other): English surnames
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Proper name [English]

Etymology: From Maha-China ("Great China"), with same first component as in maharaja. Head templates: {{en-prop}} Machin
  1. (obsolete, India) China. Tags: India, obsolete Coordinate_terms: Chin
    Sense id: en-Machin-en-name-S-GE8bJv Categories (other): Indian English
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˈmeɪt͡ʃɪn/ Forms: Machins [plural]
Etymology: From machun, from Anglo-Norman machun, masson, from Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”). More at mason. Etymology templates: {{der|en|xno|machun}} Anglo-Norman machun, {{der|en|frk|*makjo|t=maker; builder; see make}} Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} Machin (plural Machins)
  1. (philately) Any of a British series of definitive stamps designed by Arnold Machin, first issued in 1967 and featuring a side view portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Related terms: Downey Heads, Wilding
    Sense id: en-Machin-en-noun-r98uKPNs Categories (other): Philately, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 21 12 68 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 31 5 64 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 29 3 68 Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, philately
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Proper name [French]

Forms: Machins [plural], Machine [feminine]
Etymology: From machin (“thingy”). Head templates: {{fr-noun|m|f=+}} Machin m (plural Machins, feminine Machine)
  1. (informal) what's-his-face (a general word used to designate a person whom one does not know how to name more precisely, in particular whose name has been forgotten) Tags: informal, masculine
    Sense id: en-Machin-fr-name-Dn2BhmWc Categories (other): French entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "machun"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman machun",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*makjo",
        "t": "maker; builder; see make"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From machun, from Anglo-Norman machun, masson, from Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”). More at mason.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machin",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English surnames",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "Machin-like formula"
        },
        {
          "word": "Machin's formula"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname originating as an occupation."
      ],
      "id": "en-Machin-en-name-Ng4uA~tx",
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmeɪt͡ʃɪn/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

{
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "machun"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman machun",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*makjo",
        "t": "maker; builder; see make"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From machun, from Anglo-Norman machun, masson, from Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”). More at mason.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Machins",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machin (plural Machins)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Philately",
          "orig": "en:Philately",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 12 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 5 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 3 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any of a British series of definitive stamps designed by Arnold Machin, first issued in 1967 and featuring a side view portrait of Queen Elizabeth II."
      ],
      "id": "en-Machin-en-noun-r98uKPNs",
      "links": [
        [
          "philately",
          "philately"
        ],
        [
          "definitive",
          "definitive"
        ],
        [
          "stamp",
          "stamp"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(philately) Any of a British series of definitive stamps designed by Arnold Machin, first issued in 1967 and featuring a side view portrait of Queen Elizabeth II."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "Downey Heads"
        },
        {
          "word": "Wilding"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "philately"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmeɪt͡ʃɪn/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

{
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "etymology_text": "From Maha-China (\"Great China\"), with same first component as in maharaja.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machin",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Indian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "coordinate_terms": [
        {
          "word": "Chin"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "China."
      ],
      "id": "en-Machin-en-name-S-GE8bJv",
      "links": [
        [
          "China",
          "China"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete, India) China."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From machin (“thingy”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Machins",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "Machine",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "m",
        "f": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Machin m (plural Machins, feminine Machine)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              23,
              29
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              21,
              27
            ]
          ],
          "english": "She was walking with Thingy; I've forgotten his name.",
          "text": "Elle se promenait avec Machin ; j’ai oublié son nom.",
          "translation": "She was walking with Thingy; I've forgotten his name.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              102,
              108
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              94,
              109
            ]
          ],
          "english": "In a café in P*, the capital of F*, a young Moroccan, having politely approached me (\"Are you what's-his-face, the reporter?\") insisted that I should listen to his story.",
          "ref": "2012, Fouad Laroui, “Né nulle part”, in L’Étrange Affaire du pantalon de Dassoukine, page 41:",
          "text": "Dans un café de P*, capitale de la F*, un jeune Marocain, m’ayant civilement abordé (« Vous êtes bien Machin, le gazetier ? »), m’affirme de manière véhémente que je dois entendre son histoire.",
          "translation": "In a café in P*, the capital of F*, a young Moroccan, having politely approached me (\"Are you what's-his-face, the reporter?\") insisted that I should listen to his story.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              33,
              39
            ]
          ],
          "english": "Asterix and the White Iris",
          "ref": "2023, Fabcaro, Didier Conrad, L'iris blanc [Asterix and the White Iris] (Asterix), Vanves: Hachette, →ISBN, page 34:",
          "text": "À propos de sanglier, comment va Machin ?",
          "translation": "Asterix and the White Iris",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "what's-his-face (a general word used to designate a person whom one does not know how to name more precisely, in particular whose name has been forgotten)"
      ],
      "id": "en-Machin-fr-name-Dn2BhmWc",
      "links": [
        [
          "what's-his-face",
          "what's-his-face"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) what's-his-face (a general word used to designate a person whom one does not know how to name more precisely, in particular whose name has been forgotten)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "masculine"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms derived from Anglo-Norman",
    "English terms derived from Frankish",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Machin-like formula"
    },
    {
      "word": "Machin's formula"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "machun"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman machun",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*makjo",
        "t": "maker; builder; see make"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From machun, from Anglo-Norman machun, masson, from Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”). More at mason.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machin",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English surnames",
        "English surnames from occupations"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname originating as an occupation."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmeɪt͡ʃɪn/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms derived from Anglo-Norman",
    "English terms derived from Frankish",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "machun"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman machun",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*makjo",
        "t": "maker; builder; see make"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From machun, from Anglo-Norman machun, masson, from Frankish *makjo (“maker; builder; see make”). More at mason.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Machins",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machin (plural Machins)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Downey Heads"
    },
    {
      "word": "Wilding"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Philately"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any of a British series of definitive stamps designed by Arnold Machin, first issued in 1967 and featuring a side view portrait of Queen Elizabeth II."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "philately",
          "philately"
        ],
        [
          "definitive",
          "definitive"
        ],
        [
          "stamp",
          "stamp"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(philately) Any of a British series of definitive stamps designed by Arnold Machin, first issued in 1967 and featuring a side view portrait of Queen Elizabeth II."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "philately"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈmeɪt͡ʃɪn/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English eponyms",
    "English lemmas",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "etymology_text": "From Maha-China (\"Great China\"), with same first component as in maharaja.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Machin",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with obsolete senses",
        "Indian English"
      ],
      "coordinate_terms": [
        {
          "word": "Chin"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "China."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "China",
          "China"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(obsolete, India) China."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "India",
        "obsolete"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From machin (“thingy”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Machins",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "Machine",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "m",
        "f": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Machin m (plural Machins, feminine Machine)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "French countable nouns",
        "French entries with incorrect language header",
        "French informal terms",
        "French lemmas",
        "French masculine nouns",
        "French nouns",
        "French terms with quotations",
        "French terms with usage examples",
        "Pages with 2 entries",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Requests for translations of French quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              23,
              29
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              21,
              27
            ]
          ],
          "english": "She was walking with Thingy; I've forgotten his name.",
          "text": "Elle se promenait avec Machin ; j’ai oublié son nom.",
          "translation": "She was walking with Thingy; I've forgotten his name.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              102,
              108
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              94,
              109
            ]
          ],
          "english": "In a café in P*, the capital of F*, a young Moroccan, having politely approached me (\"Are you what's-his-face, the reporter?\") insisted that I should listen to his story.",
          "ref": "2012, Fouad Laroui, “Né nulle part”, in L’Étrange Affaire du pantalon de Dassoukine, page 41:",
          "text": "Dans un café de P*, capitale de la F*, un jeune Marocain, m’ayant civilement abordé (« Vous êtes bien Machin, le gazetier ? »), m’affirme de manière véhémente que je dois entendre son histoire.",
          "translation": "In a café in P*, the capital of F*, a young Moroccan, having politely approached me (\"Are you what's-his-face, the reporter?\") insisted that I should listen to his story.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              33,
              39
            ]
          ],
          "english": "Asterix and the White Iris",
          "ref": "2023, Fabcaro, Didier Conrad, L'iris blanc [Asterix and the White Iris] (Asterix), Vanves: Hachette, →ISBN, page 34:",
          "text": "À propos de sanglier, comment va Machin ?",
          "translation": "Asterix and the White Iris",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "what's-his-face (a general word used to designate a person whom one does not know how to name more precisely, in particular whose name has been forgotten)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "what's-his-face",
          "what's-his-face"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) what's-his-face (a general word used to designate a person whom one does not know how to name more precisely, in particular whose name has been forgotten)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "masculine"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Machin"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Machin meaning in All languages combined (6.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-06-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-06-01 using wiktextract (ade7ec3 and 7f4db16). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.