Etymology

Either from the root א־ס־ר ‎('-s-r) (compare אָסַר ‎('asár, “to bind, tie up, imprison”)) with the pattern מַקְטֹלֶת, giving the meaning “bond”; or from the root מ־ס־ר ‎(m-s-r) (compare מָסַר ‎(masár, “to pass down”)) with the pattern קָטֹלֶת, giving the meaning “tradition” (compare Aramaic מסרתא ‎(“tradition”)). In post-Biblical Hebrew, interpreted as the latter.