muggy

Where does the word "muggy" come from? It comes from Old Norse mugga, passing through Middle English before entering English (1746).

Muggy’s story begins in Old Norse: mugga meant “drizzling mist.” Described a drizzling, misty fog. By c. 1390, the word had taken hold in Middle English as mugen. Verb borrowed from the Norse noun, meaning to drizzle. It reached English by 1746 as muggy. -y suffix added to obsolete noun 'mug' (fog), sense shifted from mist itself to the sticky weather it brings. Today, muggy means unpleasantly warm and humid.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval mugga "drizzling mist", described a drizzling, misty fog.
2. Stage 2 · Middle English · c. 1390 mugen "of fog: to drizzle", verb borrowed from the Norse noun, meaning to drizzle.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1746 muggy "damp, close, warm and humid", -y suffix added to obsolete noun 'mug' (fog), sense shifted from mist itself to the sticky weather it brings.