Where does “musty” come from?
Musty comes from English must, from Proto-Germanic mōtaną, from Proto-Indo-European med-, meaning to change or alter in condition.
musty (English): Having a stale odor
Definitions
- Having a stale odor
Ancestry of “musty”, step by step
musty traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English musth
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | musth | A time during which male elephants exhibit... |
| 2 | Hindi | मस्त | drunk, intoxicated; passionate, aroused;... |
| 3 | Classical Persian | مست | — |
| 4 | Middle Persian | 𐭬𐭮𐭲 | drunk, bemused |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | matˢtás | drunk, intoxicated |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | meh₂d- | to be wet, to become wet; to meet, approach,... |