"skill in musical composition or expression," 1828, from musician + -ship.
Entries linking to musicianship
musician n.
late 14c., musicien, "one skilled in music," from Old French musicien (14c.), or a native formation from music + -ian. Sense of "professional musical performer" is attested from mid-15c.
-ship
word-forming element meaning "quality, condition; act, power, skill; office, position; relation between," Middle English -schipe, from Old English -sciepe, Anglian -scip "state, condition of being," from Proto-Germanic *-skepi- (cognates: Old Norse -skapr, Danish -skab, Old Frisian -skip, Dutch -schap, German -schaft), from *skap- "to create, ordain, appoint," from PIE root *(s)kep-, forming words meaning "to cut, scrape, hack" (see shape (v.)). It often forms abstracts to go with corresponding concretes (friend/friendship, etc.).