Māsawayh
/ˈmɑː.sə.weɪh/noun
An Arabic form of the name of the ninth-century physician and medical writer Yūḥannā ibn Māsawayh, known in Latin as Mesue.
Did you know?Māsawayh became famous in Latin Europe through the works attributed to “Mesue,” whose medical texts remained influential for centuries after his death.
Etymological Timeline
8th–9th Century
Arabic
Māsawayh
“The personal name used for the physician Yūḥannā ibn Māsawayh; its deeper linguistic derivation is uncertain.”
9th Century
Arabic
Yūḥannā ibn Māsawayh
““John, son of Māsawayh”; the name of a prominent physician associated with Baghdad’s Abbasid scholarly court.”
12th–13th Century
Latin
Mesue
“Latinized form of Māsawayh, used for the physician and for medical works circulating under his name.”
16th Century
Latin
Mesue the Elder
“A designation used to distinguish the historical physician from later works and authors attributed to Mesue.”
Modern English
English
Māsawayh / Mesue
“Historical proper names referring to Yūḥannā ibn Māsawayh and his Latin literary tradition.”
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