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muscatus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word muscatus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 325–403 the Latin Oribasius More words from the 4th century
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek μόσχος
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek μόσχος (móskhos)
Latin mūscus
English musk
Latin muscātus
Catalan moscat
From the same root
Latin mūscōsus ← mūscus

Forms

muscātus (feminine muscāta, neuter muscātum); first/second-declension adjective[1] The Latin Oribasius also has the spelling mosc-.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin muscus (“musk”) + -ātus.[2][1] The Late Latin noun muscus “musk” is from Ancient Greek μόσχος (móskhos).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's earliest examples are in medical texts: the Latin Oribasius, which Köbler dates to c. 325–c. 403 AD, names a musk-scented incense compound,[2][1] and a Latin Dioscorides names two plants acus muscata maior and minor.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means “scented with musk”.[2][1] The neuter plural muscata was used as a noun for scented things, beside incense, in the Lives of the Fathers.[2] In plant names it marked species of crane's-bill or stork's-bill.[4]

In Medieval Latin nux muscata is the nutmeg;[5] in Bohemia muscatus alone named the nutmeg or mace, and the feminine the nutmeg tree.[4] A Latin text from Hungary uses muscatae vites for vines of the muscat kind.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 325–403 AD – The Latin Oribasius names a musk-scented incense.[2][1]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Scented with musk, musky.[2][1]
  2. (plural, as a noun) Musk-scented things, perfumes.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) In nux muscata: nutmeg.[5]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Of vines: muscat.[6]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) Nutmeg or mace;[4] (feminine) the nutmeg tree.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  5. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  6. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Muscatus.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/muscatus. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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