Muscles

Muscles

Noun (plural of muscle) · /ˈmʌs.əlz/

Definition

Bundles of fibrous tissue capable of contracting to produce movement in the body; the organs of movement in vertebrates consisting of contractile tissue; (Informal) physical strength or power; (also) individuals or groups used to enforce authority through physical intimidation.

Origin

From Old French muscle, from Latin musculus (a muscle, also a mussel — the bivalve shellfish), diminutive of mus (mouse). The naming metaphor being that a flexed muscle moving under the skin looks like a mouse running under a blanket. The same Latin musculus giving both the anatomical muscle and the shellfish mussel in English — both from the same root. Muscles, as a plural form, being the standard reference to the body's muscular system in everyday speech.