Definition: Muse

From New World Encyclopedia

Etymology 1

From Middle French muse, from Latin Mūsa, from Ancient Greek Μοῦσα or Moûsa.

Noun

muse (plural muses)

  1. (of people) A source of inspiration.
    Yoko Ono was John Lennon's wife, lover, and muse.
  2. (capitalized) One of the nine Ancient Greek deities of the arts.

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Middle English musen, from Old French muser.

Verb

muse (third-person singular simple present muses, present participle musing, simple past and past participle mused)

  1. (intransitive) To become lost in thought, to ponder.
  2. (transitive) To say (something) with due consideration or thought.
  3. (transitive) To think on; to meditate on.
  4. (transitive) To wonder at.

Related terms

  • amuse
  • muser
  • musing

Noun

muse (plural muses)

  1. An act of musing; a period of thoughtfulness.

Etymology 3

From French musse, same origin as muset.

Noun

muse (plural muses)

  1. A gap or hole in a hedge, fence, etc. through which a wild animal is accustomed to pass; a muset.
    Find a hare without a muse.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here: