موسيقى (Arabic)

Where does "موسيقى" come from?

The Arabic word 'موسيقى' (musiqa) is a direct borrowing from the Ancient Greek 'mousikḗ'. This Greek term referred to the 'art of the Muses,' encompassing not only melody but all forms of artistic and intellectual inspiration. Over time, the word traveled through these language histories to establish itself in Arabic as the standard term for music.

Full etymology tree

• موسيقى (mūsīqā) (Arabic), 'music'
  • borrowed μουσική (mousikḗ) (Ancient Greek), 'feminine nominative/vocative singular of μουσικός (mousikós)'

Ancestors

• μουσική (Ancient Greek)

Descendants and derived words

• موسیقی (Persian)
• мусиҡа (Bashkir)
• مۆسیقا (Central Kurdish)
• موسيقى (Hijazi Arabic)
• موسيقى (Moroccan Arabic)
• мусиқӣ (Tajik)
• musiqa (Uzbek)

Updated May 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris