An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Maser

by Friedrich Kluge

Maser, f., ‘vein (in wood), speck, spot,’ from MidHG. maser, m., OHG. masar, n., ‘vein, knotty excrescence on the maple and other trees’ (MidHG. also ‘goblet of speckled wood’); comp. AS. maser, ‘knot in wood,’ E. measles; OIc. mǫsurr, m., ‘maple’ (mǫsur-bolle, ‘maple bowl’). Allied to OHG. masa, f., ‘wound, scar.’ The Teut. class is the source of Rom. derivatives. Comp. Fr. madré, ‘speckled,’ MidLat. scyphi maserini, ‘drinking vessels.’