Mushkil
/ˈmʊʃ.kɪl/noun
A difficulty, problem, or troublesome situation, especially in South Asian English and related languages.
Did you know?Mushkil ultimately comes from an Arabic root connected with confusing, ambiguous, or difficult matters—not from a mystical spell, but from the language of uncertainty itself.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Arabic
Arabic
مُشْكِل (mushkil)
“Difficult, problematic, or ambiguous”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
أَشْكَلَ (ashkala)
“He made something difficult, obscure, or ambiguous”
Medieval Persian
Persian
مشکل (moškil)
“Difficult; a difficulty or problem”
Medieval South Asia
Urdu/Hindustani
मुश्किल / مشکل (muśkil)
“Difficulty, trouble, or hardship”
Modern English
English
mushkil
“A problem or difficult situation, chiefly as a South Asian loanword”