musty
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musty¹
- /ˈmʌsti/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ʌsti
Where it comes from
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English musty; further origin uncertain, possibly from one of the following:
* From Anglo-Norman muste, moste, variants of moiste, muiste (“moist”), from Old French moiste (“clammy, damp, moist, wet”) (modern French moite (“muggy; sticky, sweaty”)), from a blend of Vulgar Latin *mucidus (from Latin mūcidus (“mouldy, musty”), from Old Latin mūceō (“to be mouldy or musty”) + -idus (suffix meaning ‘tending to’, forming adjectives)) + Latin mustum (“unfermented or partially fermented grape juice, must; new wine”) (from mustus (“fresh; young; unfermented”), from Proto-Indo-European *mus-, *mews- (“damp; moss”)).
* From another language derived from the above Latin words (compare the cognates below).
* A variant of Middle English mosty, moisti (“damp, humid, wet, moisty; of fruit: moist and juicy”) [and other forms] (perhaps influenced by must (“fruit (usually grape) juice which has been or will be fermented”)), from moist, moiste (“damp, humid; moist, wet; well-irrigated, well-watered; liquid; of ale: new; (figuratively) not withered, fresh; carnal, lascivious; raw, undisciplined”) (from Old French moiste: see above) + -i (suffix forming adjectives).
Compare Middle French moisi (“mouldy”), an adjective use of the past participle of moisir (“(to cause) to go mouldy, to moulder”) (modern French moisir), from Latin mūcēre, the present active infinitive of Old Latin mūceō (“to be mouldy or musty”): see above.
The English word is analysable as must (“mould; mustiness”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives); however, must is thought to be a back-formation from musty.
The noun and verb are derived from the adjective.
Cognates
* Catalan mústic, musti (“wilted, withered; gloomy, sad”)
* Galician murcho, mucho (“wilted, withered”)
* Old Occitan moste (Occitan moste, mosti, musti (“damp, wet”) (Gascon))
* Portuguese murcho (“wilted, withered; gloomy, sad”)
* Spanish mustio (“wilted, withered; gloomy, sad”)
adjective mustier · mustiest
-
Affected by dampness or mould; damp, mildewed, mouldy.
[W]hẽ his wordes be wel ſifted, men ſhall find little fine flowre in thẽ, but all very muſtie branne, not worthy ſo muche as to fede either horſe or hogges.
Similar: fusty
-
Having an odour or taste of mould; also (generally), having a stale or unfresh odour or taste.
musty food musty furniture a musty odour
Similar: fusty
- Characteristic of or relating to mould or mouldiness. Not knowing what "swipes" might be, I thought I would run the risk and try it; but it proved a miserable beverage, with a musty, sour flavor, as if it had been a decoction of spoiled pickles.
-
Of attitudes, ideas, writing, or other abstract things: no longer fresh or interesting; outdated, stale.
An antiquarie is an honest man, for he had rather scrape a piece of copper out of the durt, than a crowne out of Plodion's standish. I know manie wise gentlemen of this mustie vocation, […]
Similar: outmoded
-
Of a person: boring and unadventurous; also, old-fashioned, stuck in the past.
[T]hey ſettle upon their ovvn dregs, and grovv muddy and muſty vvith long eaſe, and their proſperity befooleth them to their ovvn deſtruction.
Similar: fogeyish
- Bad-tempered, grumpy, irritable. The ill-vvounded Don Quixote vvas exceeding muſty and melancholy, vvith his face bound vp, and ſcarred not by the hand of God, but by the nayles of a Cat (misfortunes annexed to Knight Errantry) ſixe dayes paſt ere hee came abroad: […]
noun
- A type of snuff with a musty flavour (adjective sense 2).
verb musties · mustying · mustied · musty
- To turn musty (adjective sense 1 or 2); to must. Wi[lding]. But harke thee, harke thee VVill, did'ſt vvinne it? / Ha[zard]. No, but I may looſe it ere I goe to bed. / Doſt think't ſhall muſtie, vvhat's a hundred pound?
musty²
- /ˈmʌsti/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ʌsti
Where it comes from
From musth (“time during which male elephants exhibit increased levels of sexual activity and aggressiveness”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives).
adjective more musty · most musty · musthy
- Of a male animal such as a camel or an elephant: in musth.
Translations
Talk about this word "musty." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/musty. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. musty. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/musty "musty." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/musty.Cite this
@misc{musty_2026,
title = {musty},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/musty},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
