Homonyms, Etymologically Speaking: M

Many words have two meanings, sometimes more, which are often very different. Such words have identical spelling and pronunciation, they are known as homonyms. Here I continue an A to Z list of such words and look at how that word came to have two different meanings.

M is for match, the comparison or the little stick for producing fire, came to English from each of the two main Western European language groups - Germanic and Latin respectively. Taking the Germanic first, we find Old English maecca 'companion, mate, wife, husband'; Proto-Germanic gamakon 'fitting well'; and Proto-Indo-European mag 'to knead, fashion'.

The fire lighter came to English from Old French meiche 'wick of a candle'; Latin myxa and Greek myxa both meaning 'lamp wick', but the latter also used to refer to 'mucus' (yes, as in snot); and all based on the Proto-Indo-European meug 'slimy, slippery'.