museum

[myoo-zee-uhm]

noun

1. a building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed.

museum

/ mjuːˈzɪəm /

noun

1. a place or building where objects of historical, artistic, or scientific interest are exhibited, preserved, or studied

Other Word Forms

• intermuseum adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of museum¹

1605–15; < Latin mūsēum place sacred to the Muses, building devoted to learning or the arts (referring especially to the scholarly institute founded in Alexandria about 280 b.c.) < Greek Mouseîon, equivalent to Moûs ( a ) Muse + -eion suffix of place

Word History and Origins

Origin of museum¹

C17: via Latin from Greek Mouseion home of the Muses, from Mousa _Muse

Example Sentences

The heist has shocked France because of how thieves were able to exploit security weaknesses at the museum.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There was no evidence at this stage to suggest the theft was an inside job, she added, confirming no accomplices worked at the museum.

Read more on BBC

French police have arrested five more people, including a prime suspect, over this month's daring Louvre museum robbery, the Paris prosecutor said on Thursday.

Read more on Barron's

That report, which surveyed 3,100 staff respondents and 91 museums nationwide, found that “inequities in pay, promotions, and workplace culture remain entrenched across the field.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Items stolen from the Oakland museum included Native American baskets, jewelry, laptops, historic photographs and intricately carved ivory tusks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• building 
• foundation 
• gallery 
• hall 
• institution 
• library 
• salon