musty

- 4 dictionary results

mus⋅ty

1 [muhs-tee]

–adjective, -ti⋅er, -ti⋅est.

1.	having an odor or flavor suggestive of mold, as old buildings, long-closed rooms, or stale food.

2.	obsolete; outdated; antiquated: musty laws.

3.	dull; apathetic.

Origin:
1520–30; perh. var. of moisty (ME; see moist, -y ¹ ) with loss of i before s as in master

Related forms:

mus⋅ti⋅ly, adverb

mus⋅ti⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. dank, moldy, stale.

2 [muhs-tee]

–noun, plural -ties.

(formerly) a kind of snuff having a musty flavor.

Origin:
1700–10; n. use of musty ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source

must·y (mŭs'tē)

adj. must·i·er, must·i·est

Stale or moldy in odor or taste.
1. Hackneyed or trite; dull.
2. Out of date; antiquated.
3. Out of use or practice; rusty.

[Alteration of obsolete moisty, from moist.]
must'i·ly adv., must'i·ness n.

Word Origin & History

musty

1530, perhaps a variant of moisty "moist, damp" (see moist).

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