muso

Forms

muso m (plural musi, diminutive musino)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin mūsus (“muzzle”), recorded in a letter of Pope Adrian I in 784, a word of unknown origin.^[2][3][1] Meyer-Lübke saw it as an original creation, first at home in northern France.^[4] DELI notes that its spread would suit a Celtic origin, but the Celtic languages offer no likely source.^[2] Nocentini puts it in the family of Latin mūtus (“mute”), from an imitative root ⟨*mu-⟩, comparing mussō (“to murmur”) and Ancient Greek μύσταξ (mústax, “upper lip”);^[3] Wiktionary thinks it expressive of pouted lips, perhaps influenced by mūgiō (“to low, bellow”).^[1] Devoto–Oli, Devoto and Zingarelli call it pre-Latin or pre-Indo-European, of Mediterranean origin.^[5][6][7]

The word is Occitan mus and Old Spanish muso; French museau is formed from it with a diminutive suffix.^[3][4][8] It is Venetian muza and Friulian muze, and Sicilian mussu, also Calabrian, means “mouth”.^[4][9] Basque musu (“face, lip; kiss”) was borrowed from it.^[4][9] Through Middle French musel it is related to English muzzle.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in Dante's Commedia (1300–1313), for the snout of an animal and, mockingly, for a human face.^[2][10] He writes of frogs at the edge of a ditch pur col muso fuori (“with only their snouts out”), and of sheep timidette atterrando l'occhio e 'l muso (“shyly lowering eye and muzzle”).^[2][10][11]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian also used the word for the expression of an animal's face and for the front part of something.^[10] Buti explained it as properly the mouth of a dog.^[11] DEI notes a dialect sense “mouth” in the 17th century and the sense “sulk”, now in fare il muso and tenere il muso “to sulk”, muso lungo “a long face”.^[9][7][12] Derivatives followed: museruola “muzzle (for a dog)” in 1554 in Bandello, with the figurative mettere la museruola “to gag” before 1566, and musone “sulky person” in 1618.^[2]

From the shape of an animal's head the word passed to the long front part of objects (1916, D'Annunzio): the nose of an aircraft, the front of a car or a train.^[2][13][7] Phrases include a muso duro “bluntly, firmly”, dire qualcosa sul muso “to say something to someone's face” and storcere il muso “to turn up one's nose”.^[7][12][5]

Timeline

• 784 – Late Latin musus in a letter of Pope Adrian I.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses muso for an animal's snout and a human face.^[2]
• 1554 – Museruola “muzzle” in Bandello.^[2]
• 1618 – Musone “sulky person” in Buonarroti the Younger.^[2]
• Before 1861 – Musoneria “sulkiness” in Nievo.^[2]
• 1916 – D'Annunzio uses muso for the long front of an object.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The muzzle or snout of an animal, the front part of the head including the mouth.^[13][5][14]
2. (colloquial, derogatory or humorous) A person's face; mug: pulisciti il muso “wipe your face”.^[13][5][7]
3. A sulky expression; a pout: fare il muso, tenere il muso “to sulk”.^[13][5][7]
4. The long front part of an object: the nose of an aircraft, the front of a car or train.^[13][14][7]
5. (Venice) A forked rest on a gondola.^[13][11]

Word family

• museruola
• musone
• musoneria
• musata
• musetto
• musino
• immusonirsi
• ammusare
• smusare

Related words

• smusata
• French museau
• English muzzle

Usage notes

An old adjective muso “sulky, gloomy” (14th century) is derived from the noun;^[10][11][15] DEI treats it as a separate word, linked with musare.^[10][11][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 291
7. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
9. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2536
10. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 127
12. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2537