muse

¹

[myooz]

verb (used without object)

mused, musing 

1. to think or meditate in silence, as on some subject.

   Synonyms: deliberate, contemplate, ponder, dream, think, ruminate, cogitate

2. Archaic.,  to gaze meditatively or wonderingly.

verb (used with object)

mused, musing 

1. to meditate on.

   Synonyms: deliberate, contemplate, ponder

2. to comment thoughtfully or ruminate upon.

Muse

²

[myooz]

noun

1. Classical Mythology.

   1. any of a number of sister goddesses, originally given as Aoede (song), Melete (meditation), and Mneme (memory), but latterly and more commonly as the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne who presided over various arts: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (lyric poetry), Euterpe (music), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (religious music), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy); identified by the Romans with the Camenae.

   2. any goddess presiding over a particular art.

2. (sometimes lowercase),  the goddess or the power regarded as inspiring a poet, artist, thinker, or the like.

3. (lowercase),  the genius or powers characteristic of a poet.

MUSE

³

abbreviation

1. Mainstream U.S. English: a dialect of American English that is considered to be standard or unmarked by dialectal variation in pronunciation, syntactic structures, or vocabulary, and that is heard in newscasts and taught in schools.

muse

¹

/ mjuːz /

verb

1. to reflect (about) or ponder (on), usually in silence

2. (intr) to gaze thoughtfully

noun

1. archaic,  a state of abstraction

Muse

²

/ mjuːz /

noun

1. Greek myth any of nine sister goddesses, each of whom was regarded as the protectress of a different art or science. Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the nine are Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania

muse

³

/ mjuːz /

noun

1. a goddess that inspires a creative artist, esp a poet

Other Word Forms

• muser noun
• museful adjective
• musefully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of muse¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English musen “to mutter, gaze meditatively on, be astonished,” from Middle French muser, perhaps ultimately derivative of Medieval Latin mūsum “snout”; muzzle

Origin of muse²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Muse, from Middle French, from Latin Mūsa, from Greek Moûsa

Origin of muse³

First recorded in 1995–2000; by abbreviation

Word History and Origins

Origin of muse¹

C14: from Old French muser, perhaps from mus snout, from Medieval Latin mūsus

Origin of muse²

C14: from Old French, from Latin Mūsa, from Greek Mousa a Muse

Example Sentences

Given that context, Hawke’s musing about one of Redford’s obituaries makes sense.

From Salon

"If we had made the book just for him, it would have been worth it," muses Mackesy.

From BBC

Her poems ranged from swampy oppressive memories of Florida to the nature of poetry to musings on hypocritical activists.

From Los Angeles Times

But claps were generous for Swift’s closer, which saw the artist sincerely thanking her fans for being her muse.

From Los Angeles Times

Byrne, who has a habit of clutching her long fingers to her face while she speaks, muses for a bit but ultimately comes back to her own favorite performances.

From Los Angeles Times