↑ Agnes, Michael, ed. in chief, Webster's New World College Dictionary, fourth edition, MacMillan, 1999.
Etymology
From Old Portuguesemaçãa, from Vulgar Latin (māla(“apples”)) mattiana(“of Mattium”), though some theorize that mattiana was an Iberian pronunciation of the Gallo-Roman word matianium, a golden apple named after Gaius Matius, a horticulturist and friend of Caesar.[1]
Cognate with Galician mazá, Aragonese and Asturian mazana, Mirandese maçana and Spanish manzana (Old Spanish maçana).
