amass
/əˈmas
/- The police have amassed a huge amount of evidence which they will now go through.
- He found the most beautiful ring, and amassed a huge amount of knowledge on the subject.
- Yet, it has still managed to amass a huge amount of cash and a reputation as an aggressive and relentless competitor.
Synonyms
- Many gasps were heard from a small crowd that had amassed above him, as he brought the sword to his side and faced his enemy.
- The 23-year-old Swiss rider stormed clear with one kilometre to go as the sprinters were amassing for a bunch finish.
- A group, which even has its own website, is amassing in a region called Sulawesi.
Derivatives
amasser
- ‘They are great amassers of power, which they have leveraged for wealth,’ said one former high-ranking golf administrator.
- I myself am an amasser of many odd and pretty things, so I could appreciate Steven's menagerie quite well.
- And who was this Evans, this wealthy connoisseur, benefactor and amasser of valuables?
Origin
Late 15th century: from French amasser or medieval Latin amassare, based on Latin massa 'lump' (see mass).
mass from Old English:
There is no relation at all between late Middle English mass ‘a large body with no definite shape’ and Old English Mass ‘the celebration of the Christian Eucharist’. The first goes back to Greek maza ‘barley cake’. The other derives ultimately from Latin mittere ‘to dismiss, send’, and so is connected with message, missive (Late Middle English), and amass (Late Middle English), as well as with words such as permit. The use for the religious service may come from its last words in Latin, Ite, missa est ‘Go, it is the dismissal’. Ordinary people have been called the masses since at least 1837, and they have been supplied with goods by mass production since 1893.