amuse
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Late Middle English *amusen (“to mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on”), from Old French amuser (“to stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought”), from a- muser (“to stare stupidly at, gape, wander, waste time, loiter, think carefully about, attend to”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Cognate with Occitan musa (“idle waiting”), Italian musare (“to gape idly about”). Possibly from Old French *mus (“snout”) from Vulgar Latin *mūsa (“snout”) — compare Medieval Latin mūsum (“muzzle, snout”) –, from Proto-Germanic *mū- (“muzzle, snout”), from Proto-Indo-European *mū- (“lips, muzzle”). Compare North Frisian müs, mös (“mouth”), German Maul (“muzzle, snout”).
Alternative etymology connects muser and musa with Frankish *muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtǭ (“leave, permission”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to acquire, possess, control”). This would make it a cognate of Dutch musen (“to leisure”), Old High German *muoza (“careful attention, leisure, idleness”) and muozōn (“to be idle, have leisure or opportunity”), German Muße (“leisure”). More at empty.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /əˈmjuːz/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -uːz
Verb
[edit]amuse (third-person singular simple present amuses, present participle amusing, simple past and past participle amused)
- (transitive) To entertain or occupy (someone or something) in a pleasant manner; to stir (someone) with pleasing emotions.
- I watch these movies because they amuse me.
- It always amuses me to hear the funny stories why people haven't got a ticket, but I never let them get in without paying.
- 1786, William Gilpin, Observations, relative chiefly to picturesque beauty, made in the year 1772, on several parts of England; particularly the mountains, and lakes of Cumberland, and Westmoreland:
- A group of children amusing themselves with pushing stones from the top [of the cliff], and watching as they plunged into the lake.
- To cause laughter or amusement; to be funny.
- His jokes rarely fail to amuse.
- (transitive, archaic) To keep in expectation; to beguile; to delude.
- (transitive, archaic) To occupy or engage the attention of; to lose in deep thought; to absorb; also, to distract; to bewilder.
- 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC:
- Being amused with grief, fear, and fright, he could not find the house.
- 1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “(please specify the book number)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC:
- the enemies were amused on the fires that our men made
- 1690, Thomas Browne, A Letter to a Friend:
- Hairs which have most amused me have not been in the Face or Head, but on the Back, and not in Men but Children, as I long ago observed in that Endemial Distemper of little Children in Languedock, called the Morgellons, […]
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
References
[edit]- “amuse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
[edit]Dutch
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Clipping of amuse-bouche or amuse-gueule.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]amuse m (plural amuses)
French
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]amuse
- inflection of amuser:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms with unknown etymologies
- English terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/uːz
- Rhymes:English/uːz/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with archaic senses
- Dutch clippings
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch masculine nouns
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French terms with homophones
- French non-lemma forms
- French verb forms