Where does “amuse” come from?

Amuse comes from Middle English amusen, from Old French amuser, composed of Old French a- (from Latin ad-) and Latin ad, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ád and h₂éd.

amuse (English): To entertain or occupy in a pleasant manner; to...

Definitions

  1. To entertain or occupy in a pleasant manner; to...

Ancestry of “amuse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishamusento mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on
2Old Frenchamuserto stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought
3Old Frencha-indicating movement towards something;...
4Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
5Proto-Italic*ad-ad

Words derived from “amuse”

Every word from Proto-Italic *ad- →Every word from Latin ad- →Every word from Old French a- →