musk en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /mɐsk/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- /mʌsk/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (Australia) audio
- /mʊsk/ (Northern-England)
Etymology
From Middle English muske, borrowed from Old French musc, from Late Latin muscus, from Ancient Greek μόσχος (móskhos), from Middle Persian [script needed] (mwšk' /muʃk/) whence Persian مشک (mošk). Ultimately from Sanskrit मुष्क (muṣka, “testicle”), the shape of the gland of animals secreting the substance being compared to human testicles, a diminutive of मूष् (mūṣ, “mouse”), the shape of human testicles being compared to mice, from Proto-Indo-European *muh₂s (“mouse”). Cognate with mouse.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A greasy secretion with a powerful odour, produced in a glandular sac of the male musk deer and used in the manufacture of perfumes.
Your onely way to make a good pomander, is this. Take an ownce of the pureſt garden mould, clenſed and ſteeped ſeauen daies in change of motherleſſe roſe water, then take the beſt Labdanum, Benioine, both Storaxes, amber greece, and Ciuet, and muſke, incorporate them together, and work them into what form you pleaſe; this, if your breath bee not to valiant, will make you ſmell as ſweete as my Ladies dogge.
1607, [attributed to Thomas Tomkis], Lingva: Or The Combat of the Tongue, and the Five Senses for Superiority. A Pleasant Comœdie., London: Printed by G[eorge] Eld, for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, act IV, scene iii:An old medical record relates that by means of musk the genital power of a man in his eightieth year was resuscitated.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 160:
- (countable, uncountable) A similar secretion produced by the otter and the civet.
- (countable, uncountable) A synthetic organic compound used as a substitute for the above.
- (countable, uncountable) The odour of musk.
-
(countable, slang, uncountable, vulgar) Body odor, especially when aroused or unwashed.
It turned out that Zach was just one of many gay men who is into the concept of “man scent” (also often called “man musk”), achieved by avoiding the deodorant and manufactured fragrances that interfere with the raw, natural odors of sex.
2020 February 28, Phillip Picardi, The Season’s Hottest Scent Is...B.O.?, archived from the original on 01 Mar 2020:I was so excited I could smell my own musk.
- (countable, uncountable) A musk deer (genus Moschus).
- (countable, uncountable) A muskflower (Erythranthe moschata).
- (countable, uncountable) A plant of the genus Erodium (Erodium moschatum); the musky heronsbill.
- (countable, uncountable) A plant of the genus Muscari; grape hyacinth.
-
(Australia, countable, uncountable) A small tree or tall shrub, Olearia argophylla, of south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania, with leaves that produce a musky aroma.
[W]here the gullies are fringed with blackwoods, wattle, myrtles, musks and sassafras[.]
1951, Ambrose Pratt, The Lore of the Lyrebird, Melbourne: Robertson and Mullens, page 58:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| musks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
muskroot · nito musk · musk lorikeet · musky · muskwood · musklike · musk orchis · nitromusk · musk melon · musk cat · musk oil · musk xylene · musk beetle · musk ox · muskball · xylene musk · white musk · muskmelon · musk rose · muskless · musk shrew · cyclic musk · musk cucumber · musk plum · musk orchid · musk cavy · musk okra · musk thistle · musk turtle · musk mallow · muscone · musk stick · musk seed · musk pear · pineapple melon · muskish · nitro musk · musk duck · loggerhead musk turtle
Descendants
Relateds
Translations (66)
cmn 麝香 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · nan-hbl 麝香 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · hi मुश्क (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · cy mwsg (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · fr musc (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · tl almiskle (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sh mošus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · jv dhèdhès (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ro mosc (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · eo mosko (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ml കസ്തൂരി (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · hi कस्तूरी (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ko 사향 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ca mesc (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · uk му́скус (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ja 麝香 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · es almizcle (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · tr misk (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ru му́скус (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · pl piżmo (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · fa مشک (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sh мо̀шус (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ca almesc (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · it muschio (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · pra 𑀓𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀽𑀭𑀺𑀬𑀸 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ur مشک (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · pa ਕਸਤੂਰੀ (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · bn কস্তুরী (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · pt almíscar (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · de Bisam (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sa कस्तूरी (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · te కస్తూరి (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · io mosko (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · jv kasturi (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · de Moschus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sv mysk (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · pi katthūrikā (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · mnw ဂဒဵု (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · he מושק (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · pra 𑀓𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀽𑀭𑀻 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · mk мошус (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · nl muskus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · la muscus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · et muskus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · cs pižmo (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ar مِسْك (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · bo གླ་རྩི་ (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · vi xạ hương (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · mn заарь (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ug ئىپار (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ga musc (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · yue 麝香 (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · kk жұпар (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · da moskus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · fi myski (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · id kesturi (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · mk миск (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · af muskus (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sa see also Thesaurus:कस्तूरी (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sw zabadi (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · hu pézsma (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · bg мускус (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · ms kasturi (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · sa कस्तूरिका (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · da musk (greasy secretion with powerful odour) · hy մուշկ (greasy secretion with powerful odour)