Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Mosaic” come from?

Mosaic comes from Middle French mosaïque, from Italian mosaico, from Latin musaicum and musivum, ultimately derived from Ancient Greek Μοῦσα, the Muses, whose connection to this decorative art form reflects its association with artistic inspiration.

Mosaic (English): Pertaining to Moses, or the writings and...

Definitions

  1. Pertaining to Moses, or the writings and...

Ancestry of “Mosaic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchmosaïquemosaic; related to Moses
2Italianmosaicomosaic, puzzle, jigsaw, jigsaw puzzle; mixture;...
3Latinmusaicum—
4Latinmusivummosaic
5Latinmūsēum—
6Ancient Greekμουσεῖονa home of music poetry; a museum, a...
7Ancient GreekμοῦσαAlternative letter-case form of Μοῦσᾰ; music,...

Words derived from “Mosaic”

  • antemosaic
  • premosaic
Every word from Ancient Greek μοῦσα →