What is "mess"

Mess \Mess\ (m[e^]s), n. Mass; church service. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.

Mess \Mess\ (m[e^]s), n. [OE. mes, OF. mets, LL. missum, p. p. of mittere to put, place (e. g., on the table), L. mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Mass religious service.]

1. A quantity of food set on a table at one time; provision of food for a person or party for one meal; as, a mess of pottage; also, the food given to a beast at one time.

   At their savory dinner set Of herbs and other country messes.
   --Milton.

2. A number of persons who eat together, and for whom food is prepared in common; especially, persons in the military or naval service who eat at the same table; as, the wardroom mess.
   --Shak.

3. A set of four; -- from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner. [Obs.]
   --Latimer.

4. The milk given by a cow at one milking. [U.S.]

5. [Perh. corrupt. fr. OE. mesh for mash: cf. muss.] A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; hence, a situation resulting from blundering or from misunderstanding; as, he made a mess of it. [Colloq.]

Mess \Mess\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Messed; p. pr. & vb. n. Messing.] To take meals with a mess; to belong to a mess; to eat (with others); as, I mess with the wardroom officers.
--Marryat.

Mess \Mess\, v. t.

1. To supply with a mess.

2. To make a mess[5] of; to disorder or muddle; to muss; to jumble; to disturb; to mess up.

   It was n't right either to be messing another man's sleep.
   --Scribner's Mag.

c.1300, "food for one meal, pottage," from Old French mes "portion of food, course at dinner," from Late Latin missus "course at dinner," literally "a placing, a putting (on a table, etc.)," from past participle of mittere "to put, place," in classical Latin "to send, let go" (see mission).\n

\nMeaning "communal eating place" (especially a military one) is first attested 1530s, from earlier sense of "company of persons eating together" (early 15c.), originally a group of four. Sense of "mixed food," especially for animals, (1738) led to contemptuous use for "jumble, mixed mass" (1828) and figurative sense of "state of confusion" (1834), as well as "condition of untidiness" (1851). General use for "a quantity" of anything is attested by 1830. Meaning "excrement" (of animals) is from 1903.

late 14c., "serve up in portions," from mess (n.). Meaning "take one's meals" is from 1701; that of "make a mess" is from 1853. Related: Messed; messing. To mess with "interfere, get involved" is from 1903; mess up "make a mistake, get in trouble" is from 1933 (earlier "make a mess of," 1909), both originally American English colloquial.\n

Etymology 1 n. 1 (context obsolete English) Mass; church service. 2 A quantity of food set on a table at one time; provision of food for a person or party for one meal; also, the food given to an animal at one time. 3 A number of persons who eat together, and for whom food is prepared in common; especially, persons in the military or naval service who eat at the same table. 4 A set of four (qualifier: from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner). 5 (context US English) The milk given by a cow at one milking. vb. 1 (label en intransitive) To take meals with a mess. 2 (label en intransitive) To belong to a mess. 3 (label en intransitive) To eat (with others). 4 (label en transitive) To supply with a mess. Etymology 2

n. 1 A disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; hence, a situation resulting from blundering or from misunderstanding; a disorder. 2 (label en colloquial) A large quantity or number. 3 (label en euphemistic) excrement. vb. 1 (label en transitive) To make a mess of. 2 (label en transitive) To throw into confusion. 3 (label en intransitive) To interfere.

1. n. a state of confusion and disorderliness; "the house was a mess"; "she smoothed the mussiness of the bed" [syn: messiness, muss, mussiness]

2. informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" [syn: fix, hole, jam, muddle, pickle, kettle of fish]

3. soft semiliquid food; "a mess of porridge"

4. a meal eaten by service personnel

5. a (large) military dining room where service personnel eat or relax [syn: mess hall]

6. (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent; "a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "it must have cost plenty" [syn: batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mickle, mint, muckle, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad, whole lot, whole slew]

1. v. eat in a mess hall

2. make a mess of or create disorder in; "He messed up his room" [syn: mess up]

The Mess is a river flowing through Luxembourg, joining the Alzette at Lameschmillen, near Bergem. It flows through the towns of Reckange-sur-Mess and Pontpierre.

Category:Rivers of Luxembourg

Mess is an album released by the British group Fila Brazillia on Pork Recordings in 1996.

Mess was an Austrian band which represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 performing Sonntag (Sunday).

The duo consisted of Fritz (real name: Michael Scheickl) and Elisabeth 'Lizzi' Engstler. Their song was composed by Scheickl as Michael Mell and written by Rudolph Leve. The conductor in the live broadcast was Richard Österreicher. The song finished 9th out of 18 with 57 points. Michael was married to Elisabeth but they have since divorced. Elizabeth now works as a presenter with ORF.

A mess or mess hall (also called a messdeck aboard ships) is an area where military personnel socialize, eat, and (in some cases) live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" (cf. modern 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 in the 13th century, was often used for cooked or liquid dishes in particular, as in the "mess of pottage" (porridge or soup). By the 15th century, a group of people who ate together were also called a mess, and it is this sense that persists in the "mess halls" of the modern military.

A mess is a place where military personnel socialise, eat and, in some cases, live. It may also refer to:

Music:

• Mess (band), an Austrian musical group
• The Mess, a French girl band (2013-2014)
• "The Mess", a song by Paul McCartney and Wings as a B-side to " My Love"
• Mess (album), by Fila Brazillia
• Mess (Liars album), by Liars
• "Mess", a song by Ben Folds Five from the 1999 album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
• "Mess", a song by Real Friends from the 2016 album The Home Inside My Head

Places:

• Mess (river), Luxembourg
• Mess Lake, British Columbia, Canada
• Mess Creek, British Columbia - see Mess Creek Escarpment

MESS:

• Mount Elizabeth Secondary School, Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada
• Multi Emulator Super System, an emulator for computer systems

Other uses:

• Mess Búachalla, the mother of the High King Conaire Mór in Irish mythology
• "Mess", nickname of Mark Messier (born 1961), Canadian retired National Hockey League player

Mess is the seventh studio album by music trio Liars, released on Mute Records on 24/25 March 2014. In a press release, singer Angus Andrew said the recording process had been "almost the exact opposite" of creating their last album WIXIW and that "instead of being doubtful, work on the new album has been immediate, fun, instinctual and confident". The record was largely recorded at the band's own No Gold Studios in Los Angeles.

The first single from the album, Mess On A Mission, was released on 17 March, backed with remixes from Silent Servant, SFV Acid, Black Bananas ( Jennifer Herrema) and Nest Of Teens. Regarding the single, a Mute press release quotes the band: "Mess On A Mission acknowledges some of the modern day issues of uncertainty, of being overwhelmed with possibilities, too many choices and it vocalises them. It's cathartic and a more positive spin on something our music has always dealt with: anxiety."