Etymograph

English

musion

Musion comes from Latin mus ‘mouse’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *múHs.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*múHs1‘mouse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mūs1‘mouse’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmus2‘mouse’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1572musion2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English musion
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1572, John Bossewell, Workes of Armorie: “This beaste is called a Musion, for that he…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*múHsWiktionary, Latin mus‘mouse’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mūsWiktionary, Latin mus‘mouse’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmusWiktionary, English musion‘mouse’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1572musionWiktionary, English musion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1572, John Bossewell, Workes of Armorie: “This beaste is called a Musion, for that he…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *múHs ‘mouse’

mice, mouse, myelin, myocardium, 15 more

through Latin mus ‘mouse’

muscle, murine, mussel, musculature, 9 more

Today it means

noun A wild or domestic cat.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “musion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin mus. 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 / musion

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