Musty
/ˈmʌs.ti/noun
Having the stale, damp, moldy smell of long-closed or poorly ventilated places.
Did you know?English *musty* likely developed from the same Old French/Latin family as *mold* and related words for decay, so the smell we call musty is literally language preserving the scent of rot.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mel-
“to grind, crush, or become soft; a root that later fed words for powdery or decaying matter”
Latin
Latin
mūcidus
“moldy, damp, musty”
Old French
Old French
mous
“moldy, musty”
Middle English
English
musty
“having a moldy, stale smell”
Modern English
English
musty
“stale, damp, and moldy-smelling”