Where does “music” come from?
Music derives from Middle English musik, from Old French musique, from Latin musica, from Ancient Greek μουσική, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁-.
music (English): A series of sounds organized in time, employing...
Definitions
- A series of sounds organized in time, employing...
Ancestry of “music”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | musik | Alternative form of musike |
| 2 | Old French | musique | music |
| 3 | Italian | mosaico | mosaic, puzzle, jigsaw, jigsaw puzzle; mixture;... |
| 4 | Latin | musaicum | — |
| 5 | Latin | musivum | mosaic |
| 6 | Latin | mūsēum | a place or temple devoted to the Muses |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | μουσεῖον | a home of music poetry; a museum, a... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | μοῦσα | Alternative letter-case form of Μοῦσᾰ; music,... |