【英语学习】【WOTD】muse 释义/词源/示例
Podcast
muse v. [MYOOZ]
沉思，冥想
Definition
1: to become absorbed in thought; especially: to think about something carefully and thoroughly
1: 沉浸在思考中；尤其是：仔细地全面地思考事情
2 archaic: wonder, marvel
2：古用法：奇迹，神奇
3: to think or say (something) in a thoughtful way
3：思维缜密的思考或讲述事情
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.
词源词根演化：Muses (Greek, “nine art goddesses”) —> muse (v.)
Muses是希腊的9位女神，主要掌管艺术，包括音乐与文学。Muses们的庙宇在拉丁语中被称为Museum （意思是“有识之人的地方”）。艺术家或者诗人在开始工作前可能会召唤某位女神(Muse)以给予灵感，诗歌本身也可能以这种方式开头，因此荷马的《奥德赛》就以如下起始：“Sing to me of the man, Muse” (这里的man指的是 Odysseus 奥德修斯)。在现代，muse可以指代某人的特殊创造精神，但是某些艺术家或者作家也会选择活着的人类来当做muses。
注：shrine [ʃraɪn]：圣地，神龛，庙
Examples
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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在Twitter与Instagram上，他扮演着一个情绪多变的少年，上传他自己在自然风光中的照片以及冥想时间本身。
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“’Television brings people together, but television can also tear us apart,‘ [Jimmy] Kimmel mused.
— Patrick Keefe, The New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2019“电视把人们聚在一起，但是也会把我们撕裂，” Jimmy Kimmel如是沉思。