One of my interests is word origins, slang, jargon, idiom, and other esoteric corners of our language. Shortly after reading Ann Gordon’s article on Commanding the Muse, I was talking with my wife and mentioned something that I found amusing. That set my mind going. Was “amuse” related to “Muse?” Off to the Internet I went!
I found some answers on an etymology site, https://www.etymonline.com/. Here’s what it had to say about “amuse”:
amuse (v.)
late 15c., “to divert the attention, beguile, delude,” from Old French amuser “fool, tease, hoax, entrap; make fun of,” literally “cause to muse” (as a distraction), from a “at, to” (from Latin ad, but here probably a causal prefix) + muser “ponder, stare fixedly” (see muse (v.)).
Original English senses obsolete; meaning “divert from serious business, tickle the fancy of” is recorded from 1630s, but through 18c. the primary meaning was “deceive, cheat” by first occupying the attention. “The word was not in reg. use bef. 1600, and was not used by Shakespere” [OED]. Bemuse retains more of the original meaning. Greek amousos meant “without Muses,” hence “uneducated.”
The key line here is, “Greek amousos meant ‘without Muses,’ hence ‘uneducated.'” So there’s a direct connection. Here’s what the site says about “muse”, both as a verb and a noun:
muse (v.)
“to reflect, ponder, meditate; to be absorbed in thought,” mid-14c., from Old French muser (12c.) “to ponder, dream, wonder; loiter, waste time,” which is of uncertain origin; the explanation in Diez and Skeat is literally “to stand with one’s nose in the air” (or, possibly, “to sniff about” like a dog who has lost the scent), from muse “muzzle,” from Gallo-Roman *musa “snout,” itself a word of unknown origin. The modern word probably has been influenced in sense by muse (n.). Related: Mused; musing.
Muse (n.)
late 14c., “one of the nine Muses of classical mythology,” daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, protectors of the arts; from Old French Muse and directly from Latin Musa, from Greek Mousa, “the Muse,” also “music, song,” ultimately from PIE root *men- (1) “to think.” Meaning “inspiring goddess of a particular poet” (with a lower-case m-) is from late 14c.
The traditional names and specialties of the nine Muses are: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry, lyric art), Euterpe (music, especially flute), Melpomene (tragedy), Polymnia (hymns), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), Urania (astronomy).
Now we’re talking Greek! What I found interesting here is that there is no classical Muse of fiction. The concept of fiction didn’t really exist in ancient Greece. They had plays, but they were historical in nature and would therefore be considered epic poetry.
And finally we have “bemused”:
bemuse (v.)
“to make utterly confused, put into muse or reverie, muddle, stupefy,” from be- + muse (compare amuse); attested from 1735 but probably older, as Pope (1705) punned on it as “devoted utterly to the Muses.”
That’s pretty straightforward. Here’s the article on “amuse”, you can follow the links to the other words.
https://www.etymonline.com/word/amuse
So what does all this have to do with writing? If you’re writing historical or fantasy, you could drop words in with their original meanings, like this: “We need to get into the throne room. Alaric, you amuse the guards while we sneak past them.” Yes, you could have used “distract” instead of “amuse”. But saying “amuse” is more fun, and could add some historical color to your writing.
Browsing word origins could also give you some ideas for your writing. Are you writing historical fiction or fantasy set in ancient Greece? Could you use one of the Muses as a character or plot device? Which one would you choose, and how would it help shape your story?
And it doesn’t have to be limited to those genres either. Imagine a story about a writer who’s trying to decide what genre to write in, and Melpomene (tragedy) and Thalia (comedy) are fighting for their attention.
Who Is Our Muse?
Since the ancient Greeks didn’t have fiction, we are left without a classical Muse to inspire us. Some of them could inspire specific genres, like Erato for Romance.
Who would you pick for a classical Muse to represent all of fiction? Please comment below!
Hi Kurt,
That’s a nice article about the word “Muse.” It took you all over the place, even to bemused. 🙂
Good info. Thanks,
Ann
Loved the post. Most interesting. And isn’t Calliope still used as another name for a Merry-go-round? Refers back to the music, I think. Thanks for posting.
Carol, a Calliope is that noisy pipe instrument commonly associated with circuses. I couldn’t find another term for merry-go-round. A word without synonyms? Inconceivable!
From Wikipedia: “A calliope is a musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or more recently compressed air, through large whistles—originally locomotive whistles. A calliope is typically very loud. Even some small calliopes are audible for miles.