musty

adj

1. Affected by dampness or mould; damp, mildewed, mouldy.

   “[W]hẽ his wordes be wel ſifted, men ſhall find little fine flowre in thẽ, but all very muſtie branne, not worthy ſo muche as to fede either horſe or hogges.”

   “O vve muſt not regard vvhat he ſaies man, a Trout, a ſhallovv foole, he ha's no more braine than a Butterflie, a meer ſtuft ſuit, he looks like a muſtie Bottle, nevv vvickerd, his head's the Corke, light, light.”

   “[W]aſt thou faine poore father, / To houill thee vvith ſvvine and rogues forlorne, / In ſhort and muſtie ſtravv, alack, alack, / Tis vvonder that thy life and vvits at once / Had not concluded all, […]”

   “[H]ave your vvorms vvell ſcovvred and not kept in ſovvre or muſtie moſs; […]”

   “[C]ome prithee let's be gone out of this ungrateful Air of his old Houſe; a pox on't, I can ſmell the muſty Bed-mats, and Kitchen-dreſſers, above half a Mile before I come to't.”

2. Having an odour or taste of mould; also (generally), having a stale or unfresh odour or taste.

   “musty food    musty furniture    a musty odour”

   “You had muſty vittaile, and he hath holpe to eate it, he is a very valiaunt trencher man, he hath an excellent ſtomacke.”

   “Being entertain'd for a perfumer, as I was ſmoaking a muſty roome, comes me the prince and Claudio, hand in hand in ſad conference: […]”

   “Well, I haue almost mard their market, for Gentlemen especially, those that loue to smell sweete, for they are the worst Milliners in a kingdome, and their sutes beare the mustiest perfume of anything breathing, vnlesse it were an Usurers Night-cappe againe: […]”

   “'Sbuds! this Veniſon is muſty.”

3. Characteristic of or relating to mould or mouldiness.

   “Not knowing what "swipes" might be, I thought I would run the risk and try it; but it proved a miserable beverage, with a musty, sour flavor, as if it had been a decoction of spoiled pickles.”

4. (figuratively)Of attitudes, ideas, writing, or other abstract things: no longer fresh or interesting; outdated, stale.

   “An antiquarie is an honest man, for he had rather scrape a piece of copper out of the durt, than a crowne out of Plodion's standish. I know manie wise gentlemen of this mustie vocation, […]”

   “[W]hile the graſſe grovves, the Prouerbe is ſomething muſty.”

   “Have done, I beg you, vvith your muſty Reflections: You but interrupt the Examination.”

5. (figuratively)Of a person: boring and unadventurous; also, old-fashioned, stuck in the past.

   “[T]hey ſettle upon their ovvn dregs, and grovv muddy and muſty vvith long eaſe, and their proſperity befooleth them to their ovvn deſtruction.”

   “[B]eing married to a bookish man, who has no knowledge of the world, she is forced to take their affairs into her own hands, and to spirit him up now and then, that he may not grow musty, and unfit for conversation.”

   “My friend the doctor was a thorough antiquary: a little rusty, musty old fellow, always groping among ruins.”

6. (figuratively)Bad-tempered, grumpy, irritable.

   “The ill-vvounded Don Quixote vvas exceeding muſty and melancholy, vvith his face bound vp, and ſcarred not by the hand of God, but by the nayles of a Cat (misfortunes annexed to Knight Errantry) ſixe dayes paſt ere hee came abroad: […]”

   “He is monſtrous vexed, and muſty, at my Cheſſe-play; […]”

   “VVhat a devil makes thee in ſo muſty a humour? Thou art as dull and dumpiſh as a fellovv that had been drunk over night vvith Ale, and had done nothing but drunk Coffee, talked Politicks, and read Gazettes all this morning.”

   “Here comes the muſty trader, running over vvith remonſtrances. I muſt banter the cit.”

7. (rare)Of a male animal such as a camel or an elephant: in musth.

noun

1. (obsolete, uncountable)A type of snuff with a musty flavour (adjective sense 2).

verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete)To turn musty (adjective sense 1 or 2); to must.

   “Wi[lding]. But harke thee, harke thee VVill, did'ſt vvinne it? / Ha[zard]. No, but I may looſe it ere I goe to bed. / Doſt think't ſhall muſtie, vvhat's a hundred pound?”