Origin and history of massive

late 14c., "irregular shaped lump; body of unshaped, coherent matter," from Old French masse "lump, heap, pile; crowd, large amount; ingot, bar" (11c.), and directly from Latin massa "kneaded dough, lump, that which adheres together like dough," probably from Greek maza "barley cake, lump, mass, ball," which is related to massein "to knead" (from PIE root *mag- "to knead, fashion, fit").

The sense in English was extended 1580s to "a large quantity, amount, or number." The meaning "bulk" in general is from c. 1600. As "the 'bulk' or greater part of anything" from 1620s. The strict sense in physics, "quantity of a portion of matter expressed in pounds or grams" is from 1704.

As an adjective, "of, involving, or composed of masses of people; done on a large scale," from 1733, first attested in American English mass meeting "public assembly persons in mass or of all classes to consider or listen to the discussion of some matter of common interest." Mass murder is attested from 1880; mass movement from 1897. Mass hysteria is attested from 1914 (the notion is older); mass culture is from 1916 in sociology (earlier in biology); mass grave is from 1918. Mass transit is by 1959, originally of Washington D.C.'s transit system.

"large block of mountains, more or less distinctly defined; a central mountain mass, the dominant part of a range of mountains," 1885, from French massif "bulky, solid" (see massive), also used as a noun in French, as in Massif Central, name of the plateau in the middle of southern France.