*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of musth

Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi मस्त (mast) / Urdu مَسْت (mast, “drunk, intoxicated; lustful”); and also from Middle Hindi مَسْت (mst /⁠mast⁠/)), and from its etymon Classical Persian مَسْت (mast, “(adjective) drunk, int

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

Chiefly preceded by in or on: the state each year during which a male animal (usually a camel or an elephant) exhibits increased aggressiveness and sexual activity due to a high level of testosterone. · An instance of this.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi मस्त (mast) / Urdu مَسْت (mast, “drunk, intoxicated; lustful”); and also from Middle Hindi مَسْت (mst /⁠mast⁠/)), and from its etymon Classical Persian مَسْت (mast, “(adjective) drunk, intoxicated; (literary) in rut; of an elephant: in musth; (noun) drunkard”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to be wet; to become wet”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*meh₂d-ine-pro
  • Borrowed-form mentionमस्तhi
  • Borrowed-form mentionمَسْتur · drunk, intoxicated; lustful
  • Derivation mention*meh₂d-ine-pro · to be wet; to become wet
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "taxfmt",
      "args": {
        "1": "Loxodonta africana",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Loxodonta africana"
    },
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*meh₂d-",
        "id": "wet"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "inc-hnd",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Hindustani"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi",
        "3": "मस्त"
      },
      "expansion": "Hindi मस्त (mast)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ur",
        "3": "مَسْت",
        "t": "drunk, intoxicated; lustful"
      },
      "expansion": "Urdu مَسْت (mast, “drunk, intoxicated; lustful”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "xlit",
      "args": {
        "1": "ur",
        "2": "مَسْت"
      },
      "expansion": "mast"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hi-mid",
        "3": "مَسْت",
        "ts": "mast"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Hindi مَسْت (mst /⁠mast⁠/)"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "etymon"
      },
      "expansion": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fa-cls",
        "3": "مَسْت",
        "t": "(adjective) drunk, intoxicated; (literary) in rut; of an elephant: in musth; (noun) drunkard"
      },
      "expansion": "Classical Persian مَسْت (mast, “(adjective) drunk, intoxicated; (literary) in rut; of an elephant: in musth; (noun) drunkard”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*meh₂d-",
        "id": "wet",
        "t": "to be wet; to become wet"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to be wet; to become wet”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "African elephant",
      "African elephant"
    ],
    [
      "Loxodonta africana",
      "Loxodonta africana#Translingual"
    ],
    [
      "secretion",
      "secretion"
    ],
    [
      "temporin",
      "temporin"
    ],
    [
      "oozing",
      "ooze#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "gland",
      "gland"
    ],
    [
      "मस्त",
      "मस्त#Hindi"
    ],
    [
      "مَسْت",
      "مست#Urdu"
    ],
    [
      "مَسْت",
      "مست#Old_Hindi"
    ],
    [
      "مَسْت",
      "مست#Persian"
    ],
    [
      "*meh₂d-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/meh₂d-#Proto-Indo-European:_wet"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Chiefly preceded by in or on: the state each year during which a male animal (usually a camel or an elephant) exhibits increased aggressiveness and sexual activity due to a high level of testosterone.",
        "An instance of this."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "also",
        "attributive",
        "uncountable",
        "countable"
      ],
      "recordId": "ee71c271b23f2bd1fa0e7b70f4424849598a1bcd1f3479a1039fda91fa81b2d0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c4153b397d958129975c8452e55205f4757b3bb42dacb9b84866d46f50e9e5af",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 985793
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for musth →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bXVzdGg