Dictionary

dry mass en · NOUN

Etymology

From dry + mass. In the liturgical sense, a calque of Ecclesiastical Latin missa sicca.

Meanings

1. The mass of a rocket including its contents but without propellant.
2. (historical) A demonstrative celebration of most of the liturgy of the Mass, omitting the consecration of the elements.
   • Alongside the mass as a means of providing access to the consecrated elements, there is the oddity of the holding of masses without any consecration. These ‘dry masses’ are one of the more shadowy elements of medieval devotion, ill-documented and little considered. 1995, Robert N. Swanson, Religion and Devotion in Europe, c.1215–c.1515, page 139:

Forms

Coordinates

wet mass