musio

Latin

Etymology

Unknown. No actual classical uses are known, but the word is included by Isidore of Seville in his Etymologiae, where it is stated that the word is a new creation from mūs (“mouse”) since cats catch mice; however, Isidore's etymologies are usually unreliable. Compare Latin mūstēla.

Noun

mūsiō f (genitive mūsiōnis); third declension (hapax)

1. cat
   • c. 600 CE – 625 CE, Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae 12.2.38:

     Mūsiō appellātus, quod mūribus īnfestus sit. Hunc vulgus cattum ā captūra vocant.

     [A cat] is called mūsiō because it is deadly to mice. People call it cattus from catching.

Usage notes

• Gender and inflection are unattested. Gaffiot gives it as "mūsiō, ōnis, m.", Georges as "musio, ōnis, f.".

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	mūsiō	mūsiōnēs
genitive	mūsiōnis	mūsiōnum
dative	mūsiōnī	mūsiōnibus
accusative	mūsiōnem	mūsiōnēs
ablative	mūsiōne	mūsiōnibus
vocative	mūsiō	mūsiōnēs

Synonyms

• (a cat): fēlēs, cattus, mūriceps, mūrilegus, pilax

Descendants

• Asturian: muxu
• Catalan: moix
• Italian: micio
• Lombard: mosc, moscia, misc
• Romanian: mâță
• Sicilian: muciu

Further reading

• mūsĭo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1006.