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START / NODE 125Present-Day Englishbefore the 12th century–today
mussel
A bivalve mollusk whose English history runs through Middle English muscle and Old English muscelle into the same Latin mouse family as muscle.
“Mussel and muscle were once both spelled muscle in English, and both ultimately belong to Latin's mouse-derived musculus family.”OPEN COMPLETE WORD DOSSIER ↗
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01
PARENT ROUTES1 REVIEWED RELATIONSHIP
Present-Day Englishmussel
a marine or freshwater bivalve mollusk
↑GO DEEPER
Middle English · Middle Englishmusclea mussel
- SOUND CHANGE
- Modern mussel replaces Middle English muscle; American Heritage says the current spelling was perhaps influenced by Dutch mossel.
- SEMANTIC CHANGE
- The mollusk meaning remained stable while spelling separated it from anatomical muscle.
- 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.
- CHRONOLOGY
- The changed spelling is post-Middle English.
3 CITATIONSMussel — Word HistoryEtymology and First Known Use Mussel — Word HistoryWord History Muscle and Mussel — Homophones with More Than One SyllableMuscle and mussel history AUDIT CANONICAL EDGE 107 ↗
Middle English muscle to modern mussel.
ORIGINAL ↗Reports possible Dutch mossel influence.
ORIGINAL ↗Documents the former spelling overlap.
ORIGINAL ↗THE ASTERISK IS A PROMISE
RECONSTRUCTION IS
NOT INSCRIPTION.
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