Muse

WORD OF THE DAY

muse / verb / MYOOZ

Definition
1a: to become absorbed in thought
1b: to think about something carefully and thoroughly
2 (archaic): wonder, marvel
3 : to think or say (something) in a thoughtful way

Examples
"On Twitter and Instagram, he's been acting like a moody teenager, posting photos of himself staring at scenic natural landscapes and musing about the nature of time itself."
— Jacob Shamsian, Insider, 25 Mar. 2019

"'Television brings people together, but television can also tear us apart,' [Jimmy] Kimmel mused."
— Patrick Keefe, The New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2019

Did You Know?
The Muses were the nine Greek goddesses who presided over the arts, including music and literature. A shrine to the Muses was called in Latin a Museum (which came to mean "a place for learned occupation").
An artist or poet about to begin work would call on a particular Muse for inspiration, and a poem itself might begin with such a call; thus, Homer's Odyssey begins, "Sing to me of the man, Muse" (that is, of Odysseus).
Today, a muse may be one's special creative spirit, but some artists and writers have also chosen living human beings to serve as their muses.