*SET-U

CANONICAL LANGUAGE GRAPH

TRACE A WORD ↗
NODE / 0125attestedPresent-Day English

mussel

PRONUNCIATION /ˈmʌsəl/

a marine or freshwater bivalve mollusk

DATE
before the 12th century–today
SENSE
mollusk
FAMILY
Indo-European / Germanic
CANONICAL KEY
node:1:mussel:attested:sense:mollusk

Merriam-Webster reports first known use before the 12th century.

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ANCESTRAL EDGES

ROOT OF THIS ROOT

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GO DEEPERalterationprobable
Middle English · Middle English · mollusk

muscle

a mussel

SOUND
Modern mussel replaces Middle English muscle; American Heritage says the current spelling was perhaps influenced by Dutch mossel.
MEANING
The mollusk meaning remained stable while spelling separated it from anatomical muscle.
CHRONOLOGY
The changed spelling is post-Middle English.
SCHOLAR
American Heritage · Merriam-Webster editors
CONFIDENCE
probable — Descent from Middle English muscle is secure; Dutch influence on the modern spelling is possible rather than established.
Mussel — Word HistorysupportsEtymology and First Known Use

Middle English muscle to modern mussel.

ORIGINAL ↗
Mussel — Word HistorysupportsWord History

Reports possible Dutch mossel influence.

ORIGINAL ↗
Muscle and Mussel — Homophones with More Than One SyllablecontextMuscle and mussel history

Documents the former spelling overlap.

ORIGINAL ↗
OPEN CANONICAL EDGE 107 ↗
02

DIRECT DESCENDANT EDGES

THE NEXT HISTORICAL STEP

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No reviewed descendants currently reuse this node. Absence describes the graph, not the entire history of the form.

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TRANSITIVE DESCENDANT CLOSURE

EVERY REVIEWED BRANCH FROM HERE

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This is the complete downstream closure currently supported by the canonical graph. Every displayed step is a real reviewed edge with its own sound claim, meaning claim, scholar, confidence, and citations.

UNIQUE DESCENDANT NODES
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REVIEWED EDGES
0
DEEPEST PATH
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MODERN DOSSIERS REACHED
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No downstream edge has cleared review for this node. This is a graph-coverage statement, not a claim that the historical form produced nothing.

“Every” means every descendant in the reviewed SET-U graph. It does not convert missing scholarship or missing ingestion into a claim of historical completeness. The coverage ledger remains the honest denominator.

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RECORDED EVIDENCE

ATTESTATIONS / FIRST KNOWN USE

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SOURCE-REPORTEDlexicographic first useestablished

English lexicographic first-use record for mussel

Source-reported first-use period; no underlying manuscript witness was directly inspected.

mussel dossier · recorded as mussel
WITNESS RECORD ↗Mussel — Word History ↗
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EDITORIAL REUSE

WORD DOSSIERS USING THIS NODE

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01musselmussel · established