Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MUSK, n.¹ [L. muscus; Gr. μοσχος, musk, and moss; It. musco and muschio; Sp. musco; Fr. and Arm. musc; W. mwsg. The latter, Owen derives from mws, which as a noun signifies something that shoots out, effluvia, and as an adjective, of a strong scent. The Arabic word coinciding with these is found under مَسَكَ masaka, to hold or contain, and the name is interpreted to signify both the follicle containing the matter, and the substance contained.]

A strong scented substance obtained from a cyst or bag near the navel of the Thibet musk, (Moschus moschiferus,) an animal that inhabits the Asiatic Alps, especially the Altaic chain. This animal is a little more than three feet in length; the head resembles that of the roe, the fur is coarse, like that of the cervine race, but thick, erect, smooth and soft. It has no horns, but the male has two long tusks, one on each side, projecting from the mouth. The female is smaller than the male, and has neither tusks nor follicle. The cyst of the male is about the size of a hen's egg, oval, flat on one side and rounded on the other, having a small orifice. This contains a clotted, oily, friable matter of a dark brown color, which is the true musk, one of the strongest odors or perfumes in nature. We give the name to the substance and to the animal. Encyc.