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

• museful adjective
• muser noun
• 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

Her campaign devised that claim from a clip of the Republican musing about how a higher sales tax could be used to eliminate the income tax.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In Byrne, Bronstein finds the ideal muse, a sincere and powerful actor capable of transforming this harsh character into a picture of human behavior.

Read more on Salon

And Lucky’s monologue—veering inanely through realms including religion, academics and sports—is delivered by Mr. Thornton not, as it usually is, as a galloping pile of gabble, but with a musing seriousness.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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

Read more on Salon

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

Read more on BBC