Word of the Day: Muse

muse / ˈmyüz   noun  

1. in Greek mythology, any of the nine goddesses that preside over the arts and sciences, usually capitalized

The Muse visits during the process of creation, not before. Roger Ebert, 1942-2013  

2. any person or thing that serves as an artist’s inspiration

Once you start being a muse, you cannot stop being a muse. Carine Roitfeld, 1954-  

3. the creative powers of a poet

O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention. William Shakespeare, 1564-1616     verb  

1. to meditate or become lost in thought

Musing takes place in a kind of meadowlands of the imagination, a part of the imagination that has not yet been plowed, developed, or put to any immediately practical use[…] Rebecca Solnit, 1961-  

2. to ponder thoughtfully

I mused for a few moments on the question of which was worse, to lead a life so boring that you are easily enchanted, or a life so full of stimulus that you are easily bored. Bill Bryson, 1951-