Thanks to ‘samclem’ for the reply from his online research of the latest edition of the OED etymology archive online. Is there a source-year…quotation?! for the Early Modern German word form M-u-s-i-c?
English composers, poets, playwrites…from their manuscripts, letters…the world-traveller-, resident-, visiting-, guest composers…with Royal Patronage…and the emigrants given dual citizenship…seem to have given up on The English Art Of Word Form, especially for Music, by the 1730s. Musing - or Misusing?! - the Amusing Muse Mousa! Earlier editions of the OED include the English word forms of Music…musik, musike, musyce, musiqe, musyk, musyke, musique, musycque, musyque, musicque, musyck, mwseik, musick, musicke, musiq, music…
The Grove Editions of Dictionaries of Music - and Art! - do not give the origin of the English word form M-u-s-i-c.
The MED - of Middle English Dictionary - Editor - and Archivist! - do not given the English etymology of the word form M-u-s-i-c!
…the Columbia Encyclopedia - online - editors are obviously giving preference to the word form P-l-a-y-w-r-i-t-e as a noun from the etymology, even 'though Ben Jonson was the son of a bricklayer - and standardized so many English word spellings!
Another favorite English word-slide is the obvious mispronounciation of Poetaster - doth mine sarcasm showeth?
Anyone from The Cecil Council online today, if not The High Cecil himself?
John, I find your style unclear. Are you asking the origin and etymology of the word “music?” This h-y-p-h-e-n-a-t-e-d spelling is distracting and confusing to me and, I suspect, to many others. All the other stuff in your posts, unfortunately, serve to cloud the issue and overwhelm the reader, making your actual question hard to deciper.
I’m sorry to be critical, but a brief, intelligible question that gets right to the point is much more likely to get you some helpful responses.
I looked it up in Webster’s 9th - (13c) Ultimately from Greek passed to english through latin and old french. John Ciardi takes it one step further to "Perh. <mao, I create, I invent, I seek out.
Mike Webster’s is a generic term. ANYONE can call their dictionary Webster’s. The best is the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate, now in the 11th edition(just out). They’re rather professional.
Ciardi, while one of my early heros, published a lot of speculative info. I’m not gonna take the time to find out in this case, but don’t believe everything he said. But he was good for his day.