Etymology

mucus

mu·cus
M3U1C3U1S1

Today it means: A slippery secretion from the lining of the mucous membranes. Full definition →

Latin mūcu ← Proto-Italic *moukos ← Proto-Indo-European *(s)mewk-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)mewk-
  2. Proto-Italic*moukos
  3. Latinmūcu
  4. English todaymucus

Learned borrowing from Latin mūcus. Partly displaced Old English slīm, whence modern slime.

Words from the same roots

Latinmūcus all →

mucousmucidmucivore

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.