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muse

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 9:32 am
by William Hupy
I am not clear with this. Does this word, both verb and noun come from the PIE root "men" or from the nine daughters of Zeus, or, I guess, both? Nonetheless, is it accepted that it is the origin of music and museum?

Re: muse

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 11:41 pm
by Philip Hudson
According to Shipley, the PIE root from which muse is derived is “men”. He takes over three pages to discuss it. Of course for Shipley that isn’t unusual. He frequently chases rabbits as he discusses word origins. It is an accident that “men” is the plural form of the English word man. Muse is not related to the English word man at all. Almost all the words in this PIE family have something to do with the mind and memory. Mensa, a kind of “pat yourself on the back” club for the mentally gifted, comes from this PIE word. Can you imagine the self-aggrandizement of calling oneself a Mensa? It is almost as absurd as people calling themselves Alpha Agorans.

Re: muse

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 11:58 pm
by Perry Lassiter
Or even Grand Panjandrams!