Dictionary entry

Muse (3)

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Muse, v. i. [imp. & p. p.Mused (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Musing.] [F. muser to loiter or trifle, orig., to stand with open mouth, fr. LL. musus, morsus, muzzle, snout, fr. L. morsus a biting, bite, fr. mordere to bite. See Morsel, and cf. Amuse, Muzzle, n.] 1. To think closely; to study in silence; to meditate. “Thereon mused he.” Chaucer.

He mused upon some dangerous plot. Sir P. Sidney.

2. To be absent in mind; to be so occupied in study or contemplation as not to observe passing scenes or things present; to be in a brown study. Daniel.

3. To wonder. Spenser.B. Jonson.

Syn. — To consider; meditate; ruminate. See Ponder.