muscle

Forms

muscle m (plural muscles)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin musculus (“little mouse, muscle”), a diminutive of mūs (“mouse”).^[2][3][4][5] The Latin word took its anatomical sense (in Celsus) in the same way as Ancient Greek μῦς (mûs), which means both “mouse” and “muscle”, and as lacertus (“lizard, upper arm, muscle”).^[2][3][4] The Grand Robert compares souris “mouse”, the name of a muscle in a leg of mutton.^[6]

The inherited doublet of the Latin word is moule² “mussel”.^[1][6][7] Cognate with Old Occitan muscle, moscle, Spanish músculo and Italian muscolo.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1314 in the Chirurgie of Henri de Mondeville, already as an anatomical term: La corde, les muscles, la main “the tendon, the muscles, the hand”.^[2][8][6]

Semantic evolution

Outside medicine, the word came to stand, mostly in the plural, for physical strength, from Fénelon's Télémaque (1695 or 1699).^[3][2][9] From that came the figurative sense “strength, vigour” (1827, Hugo),^[2][3] as in avoir du muscle (1874).^[3][9] Anatomy distinguished muscles striés and muscles lisses by 1903.^[9]

The French derivatives are fairly late.^[3] Musclé “with strong muscles” goes back to the 15th century;^[3][4] it was used of a vigorous style in 1803, and of an authoritarian policy since 1957.^[3] Muscler, called unused by Trévoux in 1771, was taken up for “to develop the muscles” in 1868, and for “to strengthen” since 1972.^[3] Musculeux (1314) was borrowed from Latin musculosus, and musculaire (1698) was formed on musculus.^[3]

Timeline

• 1314 – Henri de Mondeville uses muscle in his Chirurgie.^[2][8]
• 15th century – The adjective musclé appears.^[4][3]
• 1695 – Fénelon uses the muscles as a sign of physical strength.^[3][9]
• 1827 – Hugo uses it figuratively for vigour.^[2][3]
• 1868 – Littré records muscler “to develop the muscles”.^[3]
• 1874 – Avoir du muscle is recorded.^[3][9]
• 1903 – Muscles striés and muscles lisses are recorded by Larousse.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (anatomy) A muscle: a contractile organ that produces the movements of the body.^[7][2][1]
2. (usually plural) The muscles as a sign of physical strength: il a des muscles.^[2][3]
3. (figurative) Strength, vigour: avoir du muscle.^[3][9]

Word family

• musclé
• muscler

Related words

• musculeux
• musculaire
• moule²
• Latin musculus
• English muscle

Usage notes

Littré notes that in a leg of mutton one muscle is called the souris “mouse”, which he compares with the Latin sense of musculus.^[8][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 262b
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse