Etymology

musth

M3U1S1T1H4

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Hindi मस्त ← Urdu مَسْت ← Middle Hindi مَسْت
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*meh₂d-“to be wet; to become wet”
  2. Classical Persian · borrowed fromمَسْت“(adjective) drunk, intoxicated; (literary) in rut; of an elephant: in musth; (noun) drunkard”
  3. Middle Hindi · borrowed fromمَسْت
  4. Urdu · borrowed fromمَسْت“drunk, intoxicated; lustful”
  5. Hindi · borrowed fromमस्त
  6. English todaymusth

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”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*meh₂d- all →

mailmeetmootmushmell

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.