Meaning of muse in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Verb
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions
  3. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /mjuz/

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  1. Verb

    muse

    Etymology

    Middle English: from Old French muser‘meditate, waste time’, perhaps from medieval Latin musum‘muzzle’

    Definitions

    1. reflect deeply on a subject

    Examples

    • « 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

  2. Noun

    Muse

    Etymology

    late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin musa, from Greek mousa

    Definitions

    1. in ancient Greek mythology any of 9 daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne

    Examples

    • « protector of an art or science »
  3. 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

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