Where does “musky” come from?
Musky derives from Middle English -y, Middle French -ie, Latin -ia, Latin -ivus, Latin -ia, Proto-Indo-European -kos, and Proto-Indo-European -kos, forming an adjective from the noun musk through successive suffixation across Romance and Germanic languages.
musky (English): having the scent of musk; muskellunge
Definitions
- having the scent of musk; muskellunge
Ancestry of “musky”, step by step
musky traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Musk
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Musk | A greasy secretion with a powerful odour, produced in a glandular sac of the male musk deer and used in the manufacture of perfumes |
| 2 | Middle English | muske | musk; A kind of plant juice |
| 3 | Old French | musc | — |
| 4 | Latin | mūscus | moss |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μόσχος | young shoot or twig; leafstalk, petiole; calf,... |
| 6 | Middle Persian | mwšk' | musk |
| 7 | Sanskrit | मुष्क | testicle, scrotum |
| 8 | Sanskrit | मूष् | mouse; "stealer", "thief" |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | múh₂s | mouse |
via English muskellunge
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | muskellunge | A large freshwater gamefish of the pike family,... |
| 2 | French | masque allongé | long mask |
| 3 | Ojibwe | maashkinoozhe | muskellunge |
| 4 | Navajo | -sh- | — |