Musk

Musk, musk, n. a strong perfume, obtained from the male musk-deer, or the odour thereof: a hornless deer, in Tibet and Nepaul, yielding musk.—v.t. to perfume with musk.—ns. Musk (bot.), a name given to a number of plants which smell more or less strongly of musk; Musk′-bag, -ball, a bag, ball, containing musk as a perfuming sachet; Musk′-cat, a civet-cat: a scented effeminate dandy; Musk′-cāv′y, a West Indian echimyine rat-like rodent; Musk′-deer, a hornless deer, native of Central Asia, which produces the perfume called musk; Musk′-duck, the Muscovy-duck, so called from its musky odour; Musk′-gland, a skin-pit in mammals producing a secretion with a musky odour, esp. in the male musk-deer and male beaver.—adv. Musk′ily.—ns. Musk′iness; Musk′-mall′ow, an ornamental species of mallow, with faint odour of musk; Musk′-melon, the juicy edible fruit of a trailing herb (Cucumis melo), or the plant; Musk′-ox, a ruminant of arctic America, with long smooth hair, its horns meeting in a shield over the forehead, exhaling a strong musky smell; Musk′-pear, a fragrant variety of pear; Musk′-plum, a fragrant kind of plum; Musk′-rat, a North American aquatic, arvicoline, rat-like rodent, yielding a valuable fur, and secreting in its gland a substance with a musky smell—also Mus′quash; Musk′-rose, a fragrant species of rose.—adj. Musk′y, having the odour of musk. [Fr. musc—L. muscus, Gr. moschos—Pers. musk—Sans. mushka, a testicle.]