*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Mach

* As a Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Lower Sorbian surname, from pet forms produced by truncation of personal names beginning with Ma- such as Matej, Martin, or Maciej, and the addition of the Slavic suffix -ch.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A ratio of the speed (of an object, etc.) to the speed of sound in the fluid or other medium through which the object travels. Usually used to describe supersonic speeds; always precedes the Mach number. · Clipping of Machiavellian.

name

A surname from Czech. · Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist (1838–1916), born in Moravia (now Czech Republic).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As a Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Lower Sorbian surname, from pet forms produced by truncation of personal names beginning with Ma- such as Matej, Martin, or Maciej, and the addition of the Slavic suffix -ch. * As a Jewish surname, from German Mache (“work”). * Less commonly, a respelling of Hungarian Mács, a pet form of names corresponding to Matthew. * In some cases, from Vietnamese (Mạch, itself from the Chinese name 麥 /麦) or Cambodian, from Khmer ម៉ាច (maac).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cs",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Czech"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sk",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Slovak"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "uk",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Ukrainian"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dsb",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Lower Sorbian"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sla",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Slavic"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Mache",
        "t": "work"
      },
      "expansion": "German Mache (“work”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hu",
        "3": "Mács"
      },
      "expansion": "Hungarian Mács"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "vi",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Vietnamese"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "km",
        "3": "ម៉ាច"
      },
      "expansion": "Khmer ម៉ាច (maac)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Matej",
      "Matej#English"
    ],
    [
      "Martin",
      "Martin#English"
    ],
    [
      "Maciej",
      "Maciej#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ch",
      "-ch#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "Mache",
      "Mache#German"
    ],
    [
      "Mács",
      "Mács#Hungarian"
    ],
    [
      "Matthew",
      "Matthew#English"
    ],
    [
      "Mạch",
      "Mạch#Vietnamese"
    ],
    [
      "麥",
      "麥#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "麦",
      "麦#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "ម៉ាច",
      "ម៉ាច#Khmer"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A ratio of the speed (of an object, etc.) to the speed of sound in the fluid or other medium through which the object travels. Usually used to describe supersonic speeds; always precedes the Mach number.",
        "Clipping of Machiavellian."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping",
        "countable",
        "informal"
      ],
      "recordId": "2576e45d23b5dbc31eb65b5f4c471a56c24c270b4029cdf5e3361be987c1a6ca",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 308150
    },
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Czech.",
        "Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist (1838–1916), born in Moravia (now Czech Republic)."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "526937c9db58c5b78fa5c762f293106e34578fcd21b5479f312010632d51ad6e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c0a274506f53c8ec0f1b2f740e0b1b9a9688fc127662245536039aaed25078c6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 308149
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Mach →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TWFjaA