músculo

See also: musculo

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *múHs

Proto-Italic *mūs

Latin mūs

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Proto-Italic *-kelos

Latin -culus

▲

Ancient Greek μῦς (mûs)sl.

Latin mūsculuslbor.

Galician músculo

Learned borrowing from Latin mūsculus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmuskulo/ [ˈmus̺.ku.lʊ]
• Rhymes: -uskulo
• Hyphenation: mús‧cu‧lo

Noun

músculo m (plural músculos)

1. muscle (tissue or organ)

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• musculo (pre-standardization spelling)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *múHs

Proto-Italic *mūs

Latin mūs

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Proto-Italic *-kelos

Latin -culus

▲

Ancient Greek μῦς (mûs)sl.

Latin mūsculumlbor.

Portuguese músculo

Learned borrowing from Latin mūsculum.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmus.ku.lu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmus.ku.lu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈmuʃ.ku.lu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmus.ku.lo/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmuʃ.ku.lu/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -uskulu, (Portugal, Rio de Janeiro) -uʃkulu
• Hyphenation: mús‧cu‧lo

Noun

músculo m (plural músculos)

1. muscle (contractile tissue)

   distender um músculo ― to pull a muscle

Related terms

• muque
• musculado
• muscular
• musculatura
• musculoso

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin mūsculus as a learned term. Compare the inherited doublet muslo (“thigh”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmuskulo/ [ˈmus.ku.lo]
• Rhymes: -uskulo
• Syllabification: mús‧cu‧lo

Noun

músculo m (plural músculos)

1. (uncountable) muscle tissue
2. (countable) muscle (organ)

   lastimarse un músculo ― to pull a muscle

   • 2005 — Lee Labrada, La Promesa de un Cuerpo Esbelto, part I, p8; translated 2006 by Margarita Matarranz

     Había un chico en mi colegio de secundaria que era considerado excéntrico en esa época porque era un fisicoculturista que participaba en competencias. Tenía músculos más grandes que yo y yo tenía curiosidad de saber cómo lo logró.

     There was a guy at my high school who was considered eccentric at the time because he was a competitive bodybuilder. He had bigger muscles than me and I was curious as to how he did it.

Hyponyms

• See also Category:es:Muscles.

Derived terms

• músculo auricular anterior
• músculo auricular posterior
• músculo auricular superior
• músculo dilatador del iris
• músculo esternocleidomastoideo
• músculo estriado
• músculo frontal
• músculo liso
• músculo oblicuo
• músculo occipital
• músculo occipitofrontal
• músculo orbicular de los párpados
• músculo recto

Related terms

• muscular
• musculatura

Further reading

• “músculo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “músculo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “músculo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026