French Conversation · Level 3
88 words
French word
muscle
Pronunciation
IPA/myskl/
Meaning
- masculine nounmuscle
Example
Il a perdu du muscle après la maladie.
He lost muscle after the illness.
More examples
Il s'entraîne tous les jours pour se faire des muscles.
He trains every day to build muscle.
Core concept
A working bundle of fibers that tightens to move the body, viewed as one muscle or as the body's total muscle.
Common phrases
se faire des muscles
build muscle
montrer ses muscles
show one's muscles
perdre du muscle
lose muscle
Similar words
tendon: A tough band of tissue connecting a muscle to a bone.
chair: Soft tissue beneath the skin.
os: Hard internal tissue that supports the body.
Definition in French
Partie du corps faite de fibres capables de se contracter; le mot sert à parler d'un muscle précis ou de la masse musculaire en général.
Word origin
French muscle comes through Old French from Latin musculus, a diminutive of mus, "mouse," reflecting an ancient comparison between a moving muscle and a small mouse.
Usage tips
- Muscle is masculine, so the forms are un muscle, le muscle, and du muscle.
Related words
- muscléwell-muscledadjective
- musculairemuscularadjective