"soft mixture," late Old English *masc (in masc-wyrt "mash-wort, infused malt"), from Proto-Germanic *maisk- (cf. Swedish mäsk "grains for pigs," German Maisch "crushed grapes, infused malt," Old English meox "dung, filth"), from PIE *meik- "to mix" (see mix (v.)). Originally a word in brewing; general sense of "anything reduced to a soft pulpy consistency" is recorded from 1590s, as is the figurative sense "confused mixture, muddle." Short for mashed potatoes it is attested from 1904.
MASH abbr.
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
[apparentlyfrRomany,''allure,entice,''andsousedinmid1800s vaudeville by a Gypsy troupe]
(= Meshech 1 Chr. 1:17), one of the four sons of Aram, and the name of a tribe descended from him (Gen. 10:23) inhabiting some part probably of Mesopotamia. Some have supposed that they were the inhabitants of Mount Masius, the present Karja Baghlar, which forms part of the chain of Taurus.