muscle | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

triceps (n.)

the great extensor muscle, 1704, from Latin triceps "three-headed," from tri- "three" (see tri-) + -ceps, from caput "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head"). So called because the muscle has three origins.

delt (n.)

"deltoid muscle," short for deltoid (q.v.). Related: Delts.

myasthenia (n.)

"muscular weakness," 1856, medical Latin; see myo- "muscle" + asthenia "weakness." Related: Myasthenic.

fleshy (adj.)

late 14c., "consisting of muscle and flesh," also "plump," from flesh (n.) + -y (2). Related: Fleshiness.

quadratus (n.)

"a square-shaped muscle," 1727, from Latin quadratus "square, squared," past participle of quadrare "to square, make square; put in order," related to quadrus "a square," quattuor "four" (from PIE root *kwetwer- "four"). Especially the Quadratus femoris, the muscle situated at the back of the hip-joint.

beef up (v.)

"add strength," 1941, from college slang, from beef (n.) in slang sense of "muscle-power" (1851).

gluteus (n.)

buttocks muscle, 1680s, from Modern Latin glutaeus, from Greek gloutos "the rump," in plural, "the buttocks."

soleus (n.)

muscle of the calf of the leg, 1670s, Modern Latin, from Latin solea "sole" (see sole (n.1)). So called for its flatness.

beefy (adj.)

"brawny, fleshy and solid," 1743, from beef (n.) in colloquial extended sense "human muscle" + -y (2). Related: Beefiness.

myalgia (n.)

"muscular pain and tenderness," 1827, coined in Modern Latin (on analogy of neuralgia) from myo- "muscle" + -algia "pain." Related: Myalgic.

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