Etymograph

English

amuse

Amuse comes from Old French amuser ‘to stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought’, and goes back to muser.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400muser‘to stare stupidly at, gape, wander, waste time, loiter, think carefully about, attend to’
  2. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400amuser‘to stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*amusen‘to mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on’reconstructed
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1655amuse

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400muser‘to stare stupidly at, gape, wander, waste time, loiter, think carefully about, attend to’
  2. Old French, derivedc. 842–1400amuser‘to stupefy, waste time, be lost in thought’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*amusen‘to mutter, be astonished, gaze meditatively on’reconstructed
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1655amuse

Earliest quotation: 1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […]: “Being amused with grief, fear, and fright, he could…”

The story

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’). 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’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mew-

muddy, 3 more

Today it means

verb To entertain or occupy (someone or something) in a pleasant manner; to stir (someone) with pleasing emotions.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Old French muser / amuse

Shirt and support for this word