Nutmeg
/ˈnʌt.mɛɡ/noun
The aromatic seed of a tropical evergreen tree, used as a spice.
Did you know?The “musk” in nutmeg ultimately traces through Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit terms connected with musk, whose name was associated with the shape of an animal gland resembling a testicle.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*newt- / *nokw-
“Ancient roots associated with a nut or hard fruit; these developed into Latin nux and Germanic nut words.”
Classical Latin
Latin
nux muscāta
““Musk nut”; nux meant “nut,” while muscāta meant “musk-scented.””
13th–14th Century
Old French
nois muguete / noix muscade
““Musk nut,” referring to the fragrant spice imported into Europe.”
Late 14th Century
Middle English
notemuge / notemugge
“A fragrant spice made from the seed of the nutmeg tree.”
15th–16th Century
English
nutmeg
“The modern compound formed from nut plus the altered second element meg or megge.”