Mess
rm tangential etymological material
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{{Other uses}} |
{{Other uses}} |
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[[File:HMCSKamsackStokersMessFeb1943.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Stand easy in the stoker's mess of the corvette {{HMCS|Kamsack|K171|6}}, 1943]] |
[[File:HMCSKamsackStokersMessFeb1943.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Stand easy in the stoker's mess of the corvette {{HMCS|Kamsack|K171|6}}, 1943]] |
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The '''mess''' (also called a '''mess deck''' aboard ships and commonly '''mess hall''') is a designated area where [[military personnel]] |
The '''mess''' (also called a '''mess deck''' aboard ships and commonly '''mess hall''') is a designated area where [[military personnel]] eat, socialize, and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the officers' mess, the [[chief petty officer]] mess, and the enlisted mess. In some civilian societies this military usage has been extended to the eating arrangements of other disciplined services such as fire fighting and police forces. |
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The word derives from the [[Old French]] ''mes'', "serving of food" (cf. modern [[French language|French]] ''mets''), which itself derives from Latin ''missus'', "sending". |
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The root of ''mess'' is the [[Old French]] ''mes'', "portion of food" (cf. modern [[French language|French]] ''mets''), drawn from the [[Latin]] verb ''mittere'', meaning "to send" and "to put" (cf. modern French ''mettre''), the original sense being "a course of a meal put on the table"; cfr. also the modern Italian ''portata'' with the same meaning, past participle of ''portare'', ''to bring''. This sense of ''mess'', which appeared in [[English language|English]] in the 13th century, was often used for cooked or liquid dishes in particular, as in the "[[mess of pottage]]" (porridge or soup) or [[Eton mess]]. |
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== Canada == |
== Canada == |
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