mash

noun, verb — 18 senses

mash

noun

/mæʃ/

Etymology From Middle English mash, from Old English mǣsċ, māsċ, māx, from Proto-Germanic *maiskaz, *maiskō (“mixture, mash”), from Proto-Indo-European *meyǵ-, *meyḱ- (“to mix”). Akin to German Meisch, Maische (“mash”), (compare meischen, maischen (“to mash, wash”)), Swedish mäsk (“mash”), and to Old English miscian (“to mix”). See mix.

1

A mass of mixed ingredients reduced to a soft pulpy state by beating or pressure; a mass of anything in a soft pulpy state.

2

Beverages, Brewing, Business, Food, Lifestyle, Manufacturing Ground or bruised malt, or meal of rye, wheat, corn, or other grain (or a mixture of malt and meal) steeped and stirred in hot water for making the wort.

3

UK Mashed potatoes.

4

A mixture of meal or bran and water fed to animals.

5

Obsolete A mess; trouble.

  • For your vows and oaths, Or I doubt mainly, I shall be i' the mash " too1609–1612, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Captaine”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
Derived terms
bangers and mash, button mash, instant mash, mash bean, mash-fat, mash tun, mash vatmishmash, monster mash, sour mash

mash

verb

Etymology From Middle English mashen, maschen, meshen, from Old English *māsċan, *mǣsċan, from Proto-Germanic *maiskijaną. Cognate with German maischen. Compare also Middle Low German meskewert, mēschewert (“beerwort”).

7 senses
  1. 1To convert into a mash; to reduce to a soft pulpy state…
  2. 2In brewing, to convert (for example malt, or malt and…
  3. 3To prepare a cup of tea in a teapot; to brew (tea).
  4. 4To press down hard (on).
  5. 5To press.
  6. 6To act violently.
  7. 7To press (a button) rapidly and repeatedly.
1

To convert into a mash; to reduce to a soft pulpy state by beating or pressure

  • We had fun mashing apples in a mill.
  • The potatoes need to be mashed.
2

In brewing, to convert (for example malt, or malt and meal) into the mash which makes wort, by mixing it with hot water.

3

Northern England, UK, Yorkshire To prepare a cup of tea in a teapot; to brew (tea).

  • He took the kettle off the fire and mashed the tea.1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Chapter 10”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:
4

Ambitransitive To press down hard (on).

  • to mash on a bicycle pedal
5

Southern US, Informal To press.

6

Archaic To act violently.

7

Games, Gaming Informal To press (a button) rapidly and repeatedly.

Synonyms
pomate
Derived terms
button mash, mashable, mashed potato, mashed potatoes, mashing, mash it up, mashup, mash up, mashwort, mashy, mosh, smash

mash

noun

Etymology See mesh.

1

Obsolete A mesh.

mash

verb
Etymology

Either by analogy with mash (“to press, to soften”), or more likely from Romani masha (“a fascinator, an enticer”), mashdva (“fascination, enticement”). Originally used in theater, and recorded in US in 1870s. Either originally used as mash, or a backformation from masher, from masha. Leland writes of the etymology: : It was introduced by the well-known gypsy family of actors, C., among whom Romany was habitually spoken. The word “masher” or “mash” means in that tongue to allure, delude, or entice. It was doubtless much aided in its popularity by its quasi-identity with the English word. But there can be no doubt as to the gypsy origin of “mash” as used on the stage. I am indebted for this information to the late well-known impresario [Albert Marshall] Palmer of New York, and I made a note of it years before the term had become at all popular.

1

To flirt, to make eyes, to make romantic advances.

  • “What's the yarn about your mashing a Miss Haverley up there? Not serious, I hope?”1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 143:

mash

noun
Etymology

Either by analogy with mash (“to press, to soften”), or more likely from Romani masha (“a fascinator, an enticer”), mashdva (“fascination, enticement”). Originally used in theater, and recorded in US in 1870s. Either originally used as mash, or a backformation from masher, from masha. Leland writes of the etymology: : It was introduced by the well-known gypsy family of actors, C., among whom Romany was habitually spoken. The word “masher” or “mash” means in that tongue to allure, delude, or entice. It was doubtless much aided in its popularity by its quasi-identity with the English word. But there can be no doubt as to the gypsy origin of “mash” as used on the stage. I am indebted for this information to the late well-known impresario [Albert Marshall] Palmer of New York, and I made a note of it years before the term had become at all popular.

1

Obsolete An infatuation, a crush, a fancy.

2

Obsolete A dandy, a masher.

3

Obsolete The object of one’s affections (regardless of sex).

Derived terms
mash note, masher

mash

noun

[maʃ] · [mæʃ]

Etymology Mostly clipping of machine gun, but also for imitative reasons, compare the gun-names mop and broom; intentionally chosen around 2000 due to its homonymy and obscurity for legal reasons.

  • This mash works but I don't know about yours […] Better hope your mash don't jam, bare ping ping like a BB […] I see a boy run with his mash, I see a boy run with his jooka […] Don't talk about mashes, we've lost about ten I know about cookers2016, “Skeng Man”, Various performers of 67 (lyrics):
  • Rise that heater, tap that mash They don't come outside their flats Decamp, decamp, aim this toolie at your hat They piss us off on Snap, so we rise up and load them straps2020 July 2, “Stop Check”, Td of TPL (lyrics):
3 more examples
  • Close man’s eyes, make them look Chinese Or do it like tits when the mash gets squeezed When we squeeze that mash, tell your boy don’t dash Me I just want cash But if they want war let’s leave it at dat2021 October 19, “Exciting Freestyle”, 🇮🇪 #D15 Trigz (lyrics):
  • If the mash empty, tell boy reload it2023 August 24, “Dri-Fit”, SWiTCH (lyrics)GRM Daily, 0:54:
  • Shoot my gun like Tommy Shеlby If I get close ching him out of his LVs Slimey as fuck, man took that mash Probably takе that grub that he sell me (Take that)2023 September 28, “Block Boy”, #Sinsquad Stewie (lyrics), 0:47:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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