# message

Pronunciation: say "MES-ij" /ˈmɛsɪd͡ʒ/

## Noun

1. A communication, or the thing communicated; any concept or piece of information conveyed from one person or group to another.
   - Simple: Information that one person sends to another, like a note, a text, or spoken words.
   - _The ambassador delivered a message from her government to the foreign minister._
   - _Voicemail stores messages for you when you can't answer the phone._
2. An underlying theme or conclusion to be drawn from something, such as a story, speech, or work of art.
   - Simple: The main idea or lesson that a story, movie, or speech tries to show.
   - _The film's message is that wealth can't buy contentment._
   - _Her paintings carry a pointed message about environmental destruction._
4. An errand; a short trip made to deliver something or to fetch something for someone. *(Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: A short trip to take something to someone or to get something.
   - _She nipped out on a message for the old lady next door._
   - _Mam sent me on a message to the shop for milk and bread._
5. Groceries or items bought while shopping; used chiefly in the plural. *(dialectal, Ireland, Northern England, Scotland)*
   - Simple: The food and small things a person buys when out shopping.
   - _Gran is away getting the messages before dinner._
   - _He carried the messages home in two heavy bags._

## Verb

3. To send a message, especially electronically by text or chat app, to someone, or to send something as a message.
   - Simple: To send someone a message, usually by text or a chat app.
   - _We messaged for hours last night about the move._
   - _Once the network goes down, the tablets can't message at all._

## Verb

6. To bear or carry (news, words, or an announcement) as a message to someone. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To carry news or words to someone as a message.

## Origin

Latin mittere ("send"), which goes back ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ("to exchange"), gave Early Medieval Latin missāticum. That became Old French message and then Middle English message. The word partly took the place of Old English ærende, which survives as "errand."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/message (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).