messen

Messen is a German word with several distinct uses. As a noun it most commonly refers to two different kinds of events or services, and as a verb it means to measure.

As a plural noun, Messen can denote either religious services or trade fairs. The singular die Messe refers to a church service, for example a Sunday Mass, while die Messen can mean multiple such services. Die Messen also stands for trade fairs or book fairs in the sense of large public exhibitions where companies present products and services. In context, the same plural form Messen is used for both senses, so the meaning is determined by surrounding words and topic, not by spelling alone. Examples: Die Messe in Frankfurt ist eine der größten Messen Europas. In der Stadt finden jedes Jahr mehrere Messen statt. It can also read as multiple church services in one place, depending on context.

As a verb, messen means to measure. It is an irregular verb. Its present tense forms are ich messe, du misst, er misst, wir messen, ihr messt, sie messen. The preterite (simple past) forms are ich maß, du maßest, er maß, wir maßen, ihr maßt, sie maßen. The past participle is gemessen, used with the auxiliary haben: ich habe gemessen. Related nouns include das Maß (a measure or unit) and Maße (plural, measurements or dimensions).

In usage, Messen as a noun appears in contexts of commerce and religion, while messen as a verb appears in scientific, technical, and everyday language when describing measurement activities. The word thus covers both ceremonial and quantitative notions, depending on capitalization and context.