This week’s theme
Eponyms from Greek mythology

This week’s words
orphic
myrmidon
nemesis
amazon
muse


This week’s comments
AWADmail 772

Next week’s theme
Well-traveled words

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(myooz)

MEANING:

noun: A source of inspiration.
verb intr.: To be absorbed in thought.
verb tr.: To think or say something thoughtfully.
noun: A state of deep thought.

ETYMOLOGY:

For the first noun: In Greek mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses, each of whom presided over an art or science. A museum is, literally speaking, a shrine to the Muses. Earliest documented use: 1390. Some other words related to the Muses are terpsichorean and calliopean.
For the rest: From Old French muser (to meditate, to idle). Earliest documented use: 1500.

USAGE:

“She was his muse. His obsession. His everything. He stopped painting the day she left.”
Bella Andre; Now That I’ve Found You; Oak Press; 2016.

See more usage examples of muse in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: