Meaning of muse in English
Table of contents
Verb
museEtymology
Middle English: from Old French muser‘meditate, waste time’, perhaps from medieval Latin musum‘muzzle’Definitions
1. reflect deeply on a subjectExamples
- « I mulled over the events of the afternoon »
- « philosophers have speculated on the question of God for thousands of years »
- « The scientist must stop to observe and start to excogitate »
Derived terms
Noun
MuseEtymology
late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin musa, from Greek mousaDefinitions
1. in ancient Greek mythology any of 9 daughters of Zeus and MnemosyneExamples
- « protector of an art or science »
- 2. the source of an artist's inspiration
Examples
- « Euterpe was his muse »
Derived terms
Famous quotes
- « I'm not in control of my muse. My muse does all the work. » Ray Bradbury
- « The muse holds no appointments. You can never call on it. I don't understand people who get up at 9 o'clock in the morning, put on the coffee and sit down to write. » Glen Hansard
- « But I can only write what the muse allows me to write. I cannot choose, I can only do what I am given, and I feel pleased when I feel close to concrete poetry - still. » Ian Hamilton Finlay
- « To a historian libraries are food, shelter, and even muse. » Barbara Tuchman