Etymograph

English

match

Match comes from Middle English macche ‘a bride or mate’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *makô.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*makô1‘an equal’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*makkjō1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150mæċċa1‘companion’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500macche1‘a bride or mate’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602match1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English match
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “It were no match, your nail against his horn.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*makôWiktionary, English match‘an equal’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*makkjōWiktionary, English matchreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150mæċċaWiktionary, English match‘companion’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500maccheWiktionary, English match‘a bride or mate’
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602matchWiktionary, English match. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “It were no match, your nail against his horn.”

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *makô

Another origin of match

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500macche
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500macchen‘to marry’
  3. Englishtodaymatch

Another origin of match

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύξαmúxa‘lamp wick’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmyxa‘nozzle, curved part of a lamp’uncertain
  3. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CEmicca
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mesche
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500macche‘wick (of a candle)’
  6. Englishtodaymatch

From Middle English macche, mecche (‘wick (of a candle)’), from Old French mesche, meische, from Vulgar Latin micca (compare Catalan metxa, Spanish mecha, Italian miccia), which in turn is probably from Latin myxa (‘nozzle, curved part of a lamp’), from Ancient Greek μύξα (múxa, “lamp wick”).

Today it means

noun Any contest or trial of strength or skill, or to determine superiority.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “match”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *makô / match

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