I heard this word on TV and it had me wondering about its origin.
muck (n.)
c.1250, "cow dung and vegetable matter spread as manure," from O.N. myki, mykr "cow dung," from P.Gmc. *muk-, *meuk- "soft." Meaning "unclean matter generally" is from c.1300. The verb meaning "to make dirty" is from 1832; in the fig. sense it is from 1886; to muck about "mess around" is from 1856. Muck-sweat first attested 1699.
From
Dictionary.com
muck
–noun
1. moist farmyard dung, decaying vegetable matter, etc.; manure.
2. a highly organic, dark or black soil, less than 50 percent combustible, often used as a manure.
3. mire; mud.
4. filth, dirt, or slime.
5. defamatory or sullying remarks.
6. a state of chaos or confusion: to make a muck of things.
7. Chiefly British Informal. something of no value; trash.
8. (esp. in mining) earth, rock, or other useless matter to be removed in order to get out the mineral or other substances sought.
–verb (used with object)
9. to manure.
10. to make dirty; soil.
11. to remove muck from (sometimes fol. by out).
12. Informal.
a. to ruin; bungle (often fol. by up).
b. to put into a state of complete confusion (often fol. by up).
—Verb phrase
13. muck about or around, Informal. to idle; waste time; loiter.
