Everyday LifeGreek → English
Mastic
/ˈmæstɪk/noun
An aromatic resin from the lentisk tree, used in cooking, drink and varnish.
The Greek roots
μαστίχη
mastíchē
chewing resin
μαστιχᾶν
mastichân
to gnash the teeth
Literally: “the stuff for chewing”
The story of the word
The resin bleeds from Pistacia lentiscus, and only trees in the south of Chios yield it in quantity, a monopoly the island has held since antiquity. Its Greek name comes from a verb for grinding the teeth, because chewing it was the original point. That same verb gave English masticate, and the resin's name travelled into the ordinary word for gum in several languages.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
Same family
masticatemasseter
In a sentence
The ice cream had that faint pine taste that only mastic gives.