English
muscle
Muscle comes from Latin mūsculus ‘a muscle’, from mūs ‘mouse’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *múHs.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*múHs1‘mouse’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mūs1‘mouse’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūs2‘mouse’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūsculus2‘a muscle’literally ‘little mouse’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600muscle3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muscle2
- Englishearliest quotation 1701muscle2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin mus
- 2 Wiktionary, English muscle
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle English muscle
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1701, Nehemiah Grew, Of the Use of Organized Bodies: “For as the Trunk of the Body, is kept…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*múHsWiktionary, Latin mus‘mouse’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mūsWiktionary, Latin mus‘mouse’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūsWiktionary, English muscle‘mouse’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmūsculusWiktionary, English muscle‘a muscle’literally ‘little mouse’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600muscleWiktionary, Middle English muscle
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500muscleWiktionary, English muscle
- Englishearliest quotation 1701muscleWiktionary, English muscle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1701, Nehemiah Grew, Of the Use of Organized Bodies: “For as the Trunk of the Body, is kept…”
The story
From Middle English muscle, muscule, muskylle, and in part from Middle French muscle, from Latin mūsculus (“a muscle”, literally “little mouse”) because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from mūs (‘mouse’).
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with muscle, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *múHs ‘mouse’
- mice ← mys ← mȳs ← *mūsiz ← *mūs
- mouse ← mous ← mūs ← *mūs ← *mūs
- myelin ← μυελός ← μυών ← μῦς ← *mū́s
- myocardium ← μῦς ← *mū́s
through Latin mūs ‘mouse’
- murine ← mūrīnus
through Latin mūsculus ‘a muscle’
through Middle English muscle
31 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A contractile form of tissue which animals use to effect movement.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “muscle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin mus, Middle English muscle. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *múHs / muscle