μουσικός
mousikós
G3451 substantive adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
Pertaining to music or the Muses, describing one skilled in music or the musical arts. In contexts, used adjectivally to mean 'musical' (related to the art or performance of music), and substantivally to refer to a musician, someone who practices or performs music, especially as an art esteemed within Greek cultural traditions.
Semantic Range
musical, cultured in the arts, skilled in music, musician, minstrel, pertaining to music or the arts
Root / Etymology
From μοῦσα (Mousa, Muse) + -ικός (-ikos), an adjective-forming suffix meaning 'pertaining to'. Hence, 'pertaining to the Muses'—i.e., related to music, poetry, or the arts traditionally associated with the Muses in Greek tradition.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, μουσικός referred broadly to anything connected with the Muses, encompassing music, poetry, the arts, education, and refined cultural pursuits. By the Hellenistic and Koine periods, the meaning narrowed primarily to 'musical' or 'musician,' someone devoted to the practice or performance of music. This stands in contrast to other Greek adjectives for sound (like μελωδικός, 'melodious'), which relate specifically to melody or tune, not the broader art. In the Greco-Roman world, musicians possessed social status both as professionals and as ideal educators in the aristocratic tradition. The term appears rarely in the New Testament and related texts, since Israelite and Judean attitudes toward music were shaped by different cultural traditions, and music as a scholarly art held greater prominence in Hellenistic societies than in native Judean ones. The translation 'musician' is accurate in later texts, but the term's classical sense also included broader artistic skill under the patronage of the Muses, which English translations may not fully convey.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from (a Muse); "musical", i.e. (as noun) a minstrel:--musician.
Root Family
μουσικός (mousikos) — pertaining to the Muses, musical, artistic, skilled in music
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3451-01 |
μουσικῶν | mousikon | ADJ.S GEN M PL |
of musicians | of musicians | of musicians | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3451-01 |
Revelation 18:22 | μουσικῶν | mousikon | ADJ.S GEN M PL |
of musicians | of musicians | of musicians |