"Massa" meaning in English

See Massa in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

Forms: Massas [plural]
Etymology: Both borrowed from Italian Massa, from Latin Māssa, from massa (“mass, bulk”). Compare Massey. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|it|Massa}} Italian Massa, {{der|en|la|Māssa}} Latin Māssa Head templates: {{en-proper-noun|~}} Massa (countable and uncountable, plural Massas)
  1. (uncountable) A town in Tuscany, Italy. Tags: uncountable Categories (place): Places in Italy, Towns in Italy Translations (Massa, Tuscany, Italy): Massa [feminine] (Italian), Māssa [feminine] (Latin), मास्सा (māssā) (Marathi)
    Sense id: en-Massa-en-name-UlaNtDMw Disambiguation of 'Massa, Tuscany, Italy': 97 3
  2. (countable) A surname. Tags: countable Translations (surname): Massa (Italian), मास्सा (māssā) (Marathi), Massa (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-Massa-en-name-EMUC1F3L Categories (other): English surnames, Entries with translation boxes, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Marathi translations, Terms with Portuguese translations Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 0 100 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 0 100 Disambiguation of Terms with Marathi translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of 'surname': 1 99
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Proper name

Forms: Masa [alternative]
Head templates: {{en-prop}} Massa
  1. A Chadic language spoken by the Massa people.
    Sense id: en-Massa-en-name-vy1f2Ka5 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 6 entries, English pluralia tantum Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 0 3 55 5 37 Disambiguation of Pages with 6 entries: 2 8 19 3 14 12 5 8 17 12 Disambiguation of English pluralia tantum: 78 22
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun

Forms: Masa [alternative]
Head templates: {{en-noun|p}} Massa pl (plural only)
  1. A Chadic ethnic group in Cameroon and Chad. Tags: plural, plural-only
    Sense id: en-Massa-en-noun-KGDFKgHJ
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun

Forms: Massas [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} Massa (plural Massas)
  1. (chiefly African-American Vernacular or Caribbean) Alternative letter-case form of massa, master, particularly as a form of address. Tags: alt-of Alternative form of: massa, master, particularly as a form of address Related terms: Masa
    Sense id: en-Massa-en-noun-MNRGmq8p Categories (other): African-American Vernacular English, Caribbean English, Pages with 6 entries Disambiguation of Pages with 6 entries: 2 8 19 3 14 12 5 8 17 12
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 3

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "Massa"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian Massa",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Māssa"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Māssa",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Both borrowed from Italian Massa, from Latin Māssa, from massa (“mass, bulk”). Compare Massey.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Massas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "Massa (countable and uncountable, plural Massas)",
      "name": "en-proper-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in Italy",
          "orig": "en:Places in Italy",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Towns in Italy",
          "orig": "en:Towns in Italy",
          "parents": [
            "Towns",
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A town in Tuscany, Italy."
      ],
      "id": "en-Massa-en-name-UlaNtDMw",
      "links": [
        [
          "town",
          "town"
        ],
        [
          "Tuscany",
          "Tuscany#English"
        ],
        [
          "Italy",
          "Italy#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A town in Tuscany, Italy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "Massa, Tuscany, Italy",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Massa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "lang_code": "la",
          "sense": "Massa, Tuscany, Italy",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Māssa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "97 3",
          "code": "mr",
          "lang": "Marathi",
          "lang_code": "mr",
          "roman": "māssā",
          "sense": "Massa, Tuscany, Italy",
          "word": "मास्सा"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English surnames",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 100",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "0 100",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Latin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Marathi translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "id": "en-Massa-en-name-EMUC1F3L",
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "1 99",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "surname",
          "word": "Massa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 99",
          "code": "mr",
          "lang": "Marathi",
          "lang_code": "mr",
          "roman": "māssā",
          "sense": "surname",
          "word": "मास्सा"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "1 99",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "surname",
          "word": "Massa"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

{
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Masa",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "p"
      },
      "expansion": "Massa pl (plural only)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A Chadic ethnic group in Cameroon and Chad."
      ],
      "id": "en-Massa-en-noun-KGDFKgHJ",
      "links": [
        [
          "Chadic",
          "Chadic"
        ],
        [
          "ethnic group",
          "ethnic group"
        ],
        [
          "Cameroon",
          "Cameroon"
        ],
        [
          "Chad",
          "Chad"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

{
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Masa",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
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    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Massa",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "0 3 55 5 37",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 8 19 3 14 12 5 8 17 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 6 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English pluralia tantum",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A Chadic language spoken by the Massa people."
      ],
      "id": "en-Massa-en-name-vy1f2Ka5",
      "links": [
        [
          "Chadic",
          "Chadic"
        ],
        [
          "language",
          "language"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

{
  "etymology_number": "3",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Massas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Massa (plural Massas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "massa"
        },
        {
          "word": "master"
        },
        {
          "word": "particularly as a form of address"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "African-American Vernacular English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Caribbean English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "2 8 19 3 14 12 5 8 17 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 6 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1885 March 18, \"W.\", \"A War Article\", Puck, Vol. XVII, No. 419, p. 45",
          "text": "Officer.—\"What is the numerical strength of the enemy in our front?\"\nIntelligent Contraband.—\"Eh, Massa?\"\nO.—\"How many men has the Confederate General Blank?\"\nI. C.—\"'Bout forty-leben thousan', Massa.\"\nO.—\"Don't you mean about four thousand?\"\nI. C.—\"Yes, Massa; dar's 'bout four hundred ob 'em.\""
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              59,
              64
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1889, Marah Ellis Ryan, Merze..., page 110:",
          "text": "\"I wanted to speak to you about Miss Merze, Rhoda.\"\n \"Yes, Massa Fred.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of massa, master, particularly as a form of address."
      ],
      "id": "en-Massa-en-noun-MNRGmq8p",
      "links": [
        [
          "massa",
          "massa#English"
        ],
        [
          "master",
          "master#English"
        ],
        [
          "particularly",
          "particularly#English"
        ],
        [
          "form of address",
          "form of address#English"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "chiefly African-American Vernacular or Caribbean",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly African-American Vernacular or Caribbean) Alternative letter-case form of massa, master, particularly as a form of address."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "Masa"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Italian",
    "English terms derived from Italian",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms with historical senses",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 6 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Marathi translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "Massa"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian Massa",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Māssa"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Māssa",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Both borrowed from Italian Massa, from Latin Māssa, from massa (“mass, bulk”). Compare Massey.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Massas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "Massa (countable and uncountable, plural Massas)",
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    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "en:Places in Italy",
        "en:Towns in Italy"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A town in Tuscany, Italy."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "town",
          "town"
        ],
        [
          "Tuscany",
          "Tuscany#English"
        ],
        [
          "Italy",
          "Italy#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(uncountable) A town in Tuscany, Italy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English surnames"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(countable) A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "surname",
      "word": "Massa"
    },
    {
      "code": "mr",
      "lang": "Marathi",
      "lang_code": "mr",
      "roman": "māssā",
      "sense": "surname",
      "word": "मास्सा"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "surname",
      "word": "Massa"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "Massa, Tuscany, Italy",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Massa"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "lang_code": "la",
      "sense": "Massa, Tuscany, Italy",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Māssa"
    },
    {
      "code": "mr",
      "lang": "Marathi",
      "lang_code": "mr",
      "roman": "māssā",
      "sense": "Massa, Tuscany, Italy",
      "word": "मास्सा"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English pluralia tantum",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms with historical senses",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 6 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Masa",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "p"
      },
      "expansion": "Massa pl (plural only)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A Chadic ethnic group in Cameroon and Chad."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Chadic",
          "Chadic"
        ],
        [
          "ethnic group",
          "ethnic group"
        ],
        [
          "Cameroon",
          "Cameroon"
        ],
        [
          "Chad",
          "Chad"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English pluralia tantum",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms with historical senses",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 6 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Masa",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Massa",
      "name": "en-prop"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A Chadic language spoken by the Massa people."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Chadic",
          "Chadic"
        ],
        [
          "language",
          "language"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms with historical senses",
    "Pages with 6 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "3",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Massas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Massa (plural Massas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Masa"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "massa"
        },
        {
          "word": "master"
        },
        {
          "word": "particularly as a form of address"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "African-American Vernacular English",
        "Caribbean English",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1885 March 18, \"W.\", \"A War Article\", Puck, Vol. XVII, No. 419, p. 45",
          "text": "Officer.—\"What is the numerical strength of the enemy in our front?\"\nIntelligent Contraband.—\"Eh, Massa?\"\nO.—\"How many men has the Confederate General Blank?\"\nI. C.—\"'Bout forty-leben thousan', Massa.\"\nO.—\"Don't you mean about four thousand?\"\nI. C.—\"Yes, Massa; dar's 'bout four hundred ob 'em.\""
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              59,
              64
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1889, Marah Ellis Ryan, Merze..., page 110:",
          "text": "\"I wanted to speak to you about Miss Merze, Rhoda.\"\n \"Yes, Massa Fred.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of massa, master, particularly as a form of address."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "massa",
          "massa#English"
        ],
        [
          "master",
          "master#English"
        ],
        [
          "particularly",
          "particularly#English"
        ],
        [
          "form of address",
          "form of address#English"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "chiefly African-American Vernacular or Caribbean",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly African-American Vernacular or Caribbean) Alternative letter-case form of massa, master, particularly as a form of address."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Massa"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Massa meaning in English (5.5kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_description/20250107",
  "msg": "Form tags without form: desc='plural plural-only', tagsets=[('plural', 'plural-only')]",
  "path": [
    "Massa"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "Massa",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). 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.