Musk

How to spell musk

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce musk

What does musk mean?

1. nounA strong, lasting, earthy scent originally taken from the gland of the musk deer and now usually made synthetically for perfumes.

Musk in a sentence

• The aftershave left a faint trace of musk on his collar.

• The candle was scented with sandalwood and musk.

Where does musk come from?

Language of origin: Sanskrit

Musk reaches English through a long chain of borrowing that begins in ancient India. The ultimate source is the Sanskrit word muska, meaning 'testicle' or 'scrotum' (a diminutive of mus, 'mouse'), a name inspired by the shape of the gland on the male musk deer from which the perfumed secretion was taken. The word travelled westward into Persian as mushk, then into Late Greek as moskhos and into Late Latin as muscus, before entering English around the fourteenth century by way of Old French musc. Along the way the meaning narrowed from the anatomical image to the prized, heavy, animal scent itself, which became one of the most valued ingredients in perfumery. The same root lies behind 'nutmeg' (via 'muscat') and the muscat grape, both named for their musky aroma, and the short, blunt spelling with no silent letters reflects how directly the Latin muscus was clipped into English.

How the word is built

• musk (single root: scent substance from the gland of the musk deer)