Where does “Muse” come from?

Muse (Middle English) comes from Old French muse, from Old French muser, from Old French musel, from Latin musus.

Muse (Middle English): A Muse; A source of inspiration for poetry; A...

Definitions

  1. A Muse; A source of inspiration for poetry; A...

Ancestry of “Muse”, step by step

Muse traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French muse

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchmusewind instrument
2Old Frenchmuserto ponder; to think about; to stare at in...
3Old Frenchmusel—
4Latinmusus—

via Latin mūsa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmūsa—
2Arabicمَوْزَةbanana
3Arabicمَوْز—

via Ancient Greek μοῦσᾰ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient GreekμοῦσᾰMuse

Words derived from “Muse”

Every word from Latin musus →Every word from Old French musel →Every word from Old French muser →