Mess. From the Latin term "mensa" meaning tables. "Mesa" is Spanish for table and "mes" in old Gothic means a dish. The English word originally meant four, and at large meal gatherings diners were seated in fours. Shakespeare wrote of Henry's four sons as his "mess of sons." The word "mess" that suggests confusion comes from the German "mischen," meaning to mix. Messmates, are those who eat together. Smythe's, Sailors' Word Book, yields the ditty, "Messmate before shipmate, shipmate before stranger, stranger before a dog."
Mess deck. Eating area for the ship's crew.
