Musk

musk, n. a strong perfume, obtained from the male musk-deer, or the odour thereof: a hornle deer, in Tibet and Nepaul, yielding musk.— v.t. to perfume with musk.— ns. Musk ( bot. ), a name given to a number of plants which smell more or le strongly of musk; Musk′-bag , -ball , a bag, ball, containing musk as a perfuming sachet; Musk′-cat , a civet-cat: a scented effeminate dandy; Musk′-cāv′y , a West Indian echimyine rat-like rodent; Musk′-deer , a hornle deer, native of Central Asia, which produces the perfume called musk; Musk′-duck , the Muscovy-duck, so called from its musky odour; Musk′-gland , a skin-pit in mammals producing a secretion with a musky odour, esp. in the male musk-deer and male beaver.— adv. Musk′ily .— ns. Musk′ine ; Musk′-mall′ow , an ornamental species of mallow, with faint odour of musk; Musk′-melon , the juicy edible fruit of a trailing herb ( Cucumis melo ), or the plant; Musk′-ox , a ruminant of arctic America, with long smooth hair, its horns meeting in a shield over the forehead, exhaling a strong musky smell; Musk′-pear , a fragrant variety of pear; Musk′-plum , a fragrant kind of plum; Musk′-rat , a North American aquatic, arvicoline, rat-like rodent, yielding a valuable fur, and secreting in its gland a substance with a musky smell—also Mus′quash ; Musk′-rose , a fragrant species of rose.— adj. Musk′y , having the odour of musk. [Fr. musc —L. muscus , Gr. moschos —Pers. musk —Sans. mushka , a testicle.]