An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/messen

by Friedrich Kluge

messen, vb., ‘to measure, survey,’ from MidHG. mëȥȥen, OHG. mëȥȥan, ‘to measure, mete out, distribute, consider, test’; comp. OSax. mëtan, Du. meten, ‘to measure,’ AS. mëtan, ‘to measure, value, deem,’ Goth. mitan, ‘to measure’; also allied to Goth. mitôn, ‘to ponder, reflect on’; OHG. mëȥȥôn, ‘to moderate.’ The Teut. stem mē̆t, ‘to measure, estimate, ponder’ (comp. Maß), is based on pre-Teut. mē̆d, and cannot, because of the non-permutation, be connected with Lat. metiri; comp. Lat. modus, Gr. μέδομαι μήδομαι, ‘to consider, estimate,’ μέδων, ‘adviser,’ μέδιμνος, ‘medimnus’ (about 12 galls.), Lat. modius, Goth. mitaþs, ‘corn measure.’ See Metze (2).