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amuse [amuse 词源字典]: amuse: [15] Amuse is probably a French creation, formed with the prefix a- from the verb muser (from which English gets muse ‘ponder’ [14]). The current meaning ‘divert, entertain’ did not begin to emerge until the 17th century, and even so the commonest application of the verb in the 17th and 18th centuries was ‘deceive, cheat’. This seems to have developed from an earlier ‘bewilder, puzzle’, pointing back to an original sense ‘make someone stare open-mouthed’.

This links with the probable source of muser, namely muse ‘animal’s mouth’, from medieval Latin mūsum (which gave English muzzle [15]). There is no connection with the inspirational muse, responsible for music and museums.
=> muse, muzzle[amuse etymology, amuse origin, 英语词源]
hippopotamus: hippopotamus: [16] Etymologically, a hippopotamus is a ‘river horse’. The word comes, via Latin, from late Greek hippopótamos, a lexicalization of an earlier phrase híppos ho potámios, literally ‘horse of the river’. Other English descendants of híppos (a relative of Latin equus ‘horse’) include hippodrome [16], from a Greek compound that meant originally ‘horse-race’ (-drome occurs also in aerodrome and dromedary), and the name Philip, literally ‘lover of horses’. The abbreviation hippo, incidentally, dates from the mid-19th century.
=> equine, hippodrome
humus: humus: see humble
litmus: litmus: see moss
muscat: muscat: see musk
muscle: muscle: [16] Ultimately, muscle and mussel [OE] are the same word, and both owe their origin to a supposed resemblance to a mouse. They go back to Latin mūsculus, literally ‘little mouse’, a diminutive form of mūs ‘mouse’, which was applied to the shellfish because of a similarity in shape and colour, and to ‘muscle’ because the shape and movement of certain muscles beneath the skin, such as the biceps, reminded people of a mouse.

Latin mūsculus ‘mussel’ was borrowed into Old English as muscle or muxle; the -ssspelling began to emerge in the 15th century, inspired by Middle Low German mussel (which came from *muscula, a Vulgar Latin feminization of Latin mūsculus and source of French moule ‘mussel’) and reinforced in the 16th century by the introduction via Old French of muscle for ‘muscle’.

The notion of resemblance to a mouse also lies behind English musk.
=> mouse, mussel
museum: museum: [17] Etymologically, a museum is a place devoted to the ‘muses’. It comes via Latin mūsēum ‘library, study’ from Greek mouseion ‘place of the muses’, a noun based on the adjective mouseios ‘of the muses’. This in turn was derived from mousa ‘muse’, source of English muse [14]. Other English words from the same source are mosaic and music. But muse ‘ponder’ is not related; it comes, like its first cousin amuse, from Old French muse ‘animal’s mouth’.
=> mosaic, muse, music
music: music: [13] Etymologically, music comes from the ‘muses’, Greek goddesses who inspired poets, painters, musicians, etc. The word traces its history back via Old French musique and Latin mūsica to Greek mousiké, a noun use of mousikós ‘of the muses’, an adjective derived from mousa ‘muse’. The specialization of the word’s meaning began in Greek – first to ‘poetry sung to music’, and subsequently to ‘music’ alone.
=> muse, museum
musk: musk: [14] Like the substance musk itself, the name musk came to Europe from the East. Its ultimate ancestor appears to have been Sanskrit muska ‘scrotum, testicle’. This meant literally ‘little mouse’ (it was a diminutive form of Sanskrit mūs ‘mouse’), and its metaphorical reapplication was due to a supposed similarity in shape between mice and testicles (a parallel inspiration gave rise to English muscle and mussel).

The gland from which the male musk deer secretes musk was held to resemble a scrotum, and so Persian took the Sanskrit word for ‘scrotum’ over, as mushk, and used it for ‘musk’. It reached English via late Latin muscus. The -meg of English nutmeg comes ultimately from Latin muscus, and other English relatives include muscat [16], the name of a grape that supposedly smells of musk, and its derivative muscatel [14].
=> mouse, muscatel, muscle, mussel, nutmeg
musket: musket: see mosquito
muslin: muslin: [17] Etymologically, muslin is ‘cloth from Mosul’, a city in Iraq where fine cotton fabric was once made. The Arabic form mūslin was adopted into Italian as mussolino, and made its way into English via French mousseline.
mussel: mussel: see muscle
must: must: English has three words must. By far the commonest is of course the verb, ‘have to’ [OE], which originated in Old English as the past tense of the now obsolete mūt ‘may, must’. It has relatives in German muss and Dutch moet, but its ultimate origins are not known for certain (there may be some distant link with Germanic ‘measure’-words, such as English mete, suggesting a semantic progression from an original ‘time measured out for doing something’, through ‘have time to do something’, ‘be able to do something’, and ‘be allowed to do something’ to ‘have to do something’). Must ‘unfermented grape juice for making into wine’ [OE] comes from Latin mustum ‘new wine’, a noun use of the adjective mustus ‘new’. Mustard is a derivative.

And the esoteric must ‘sexual frenzy in elephants, camels, etc’ [19] comes via Urdu from Persian mast ‘drunk’.
=> mustard
mustachio: mustachio: see moustache
mustang: mustang: [19] Etymologically, a mustang is a ‘mixed’ animal. The word comes from Mexican Spanish mestengo, which originally in Spanish meant ‘stray’. This was derived from mesta ‘annual roundup of cattle, participated in by all the herdsmen, in which stray cattle were disposed of’, which in turn goes back to medieval Latin mixta. And mixta (literally ‘mixed’) was used for the wild or stray animals that got ‘mixed’ in with the graziers’ herds (it was a noun use of the feminine past participle of miscēre ‘mix’, source of English miscellaneous and mix).

The word passed early on from ‘stray cattle’ to ‘stray horses’.
=> miscellaneous, mix
mustard: mustard: [13] Mustard was originally made by mixing the crushed seeds of various plants of the cabbage family with the freshly pressed juice of grapes – the ‘must’. Hence its name, which comes from Old French moustarde, a word derived from a descendant of Latin mustum ‘new wine’ (source of English must ‘grape juice’).
=> must
muster: muster: see monster
musty: musty: see moist
amuse (v.): late 15c., "to divert the attention, beguile, delude," from Middle French amuser "divert, cause to muse," from a "at, to" (but here probably a causal prefix) + muser "ponder, stare fixedly" (see muse (v.)). Sense of "divert from serious business, tickle the fancy of" is recorded from 1630s, but through 18c. the primary meaning was "deceive, cheat" by first occupying the attention. Bemuse retains more of the original meaning. Related: Amused; amusing.
amusement (n.): c. 1600, "diversion of attention," especially in military actions, from French amusement, noun of action from amuser (see amuse).
And because all bold and irreverent Speeches touching matters of high nature, and all malicious and false Reports tending to Sedition, or to the Amusement of Our People, are punishable ... (etc.) [Charles II, Proclamation of Oct. 26, 1688]
Meaning "a pastime, play, game, anything which pleasantly diverts the attention" (from duty, work, etc.) is from 1670s, originally depreciative; meaning "pleasurable diversion" attested from 1690s. Amusement hall is from 1862; amusement park first recorded 1897.
amusing (adj.): c. 1600, "cheating;" present participle adjective from amuse (v.). Sense of "interesting" is from 1712; that of "pleasantly entertaining, tickling to the fancy" is from 1826. Noted late 1920s as a vogue word. Amusive has been tried in all senses since 18c. and might be useful, but it never caught on. Related: Amusingly.
animus (n.): 1820, "temper" (usually in a hostile sense), from Latin animus "rational soul, mind, life, mental powers; courage, desire," related to anima "living being, soul, mind, disposition, passion, courage, anger, spirit, feeling," from PIE root *ane- "to blow, to breathe" (cognates: Greek anemos "wind," Sanskrit aniti "breathes," Old Irish anal, Welsh anadl "breath," Old Irish animm "soul," Gothic uzanan "to exhale," Old Norse anda "to breathe," Old English eðian "to breathe," Old Church Slavonic vonja "smell, breath," Armenian anjn "soul"). It has no plural. As a term in Jungian psychology for the masculine component of a feminine personality, it dates from 1923.
bemuse (v.): "to make utterly confused," from be- + muse (compare amuse); attested from 1735 but probably older, as Pope (1705) punned on it as "devoted utterly to the Muses."
bemused (adj.): 1735, past participle adjective from bemuse (v.). Related: Bemusedly.
bemusement (n.): 1881, from bemuse + -ment.
chiasmus (n.): in grammar, inversion of word order, 1871, Latinized from Greek khiasmos "a placing crosswise, diagonal arrangement" (see chi).
Adam, first of men,
To first of women, Eve.
["Paradise Lost"]
Comus (n.): Greek god of joy and revelry, from Latin, from Greek komos "revel, merrymaking" (see comedy).
Erasmus: masc. proper name, Latin, literally "beloved;" related to Greek erasmios "lovely, pleasant," from eran "to love" (see Eros). Related: Erasmian.
folk-music (n.): "music of the people," 1852 (Andrew Hamilton, "Sixteen Months in the Danish Isles"), from folk in the "of the people" sense (also see folklore) + music. Modeled on German Volksmusik. In reference to a branch of modern popular music imitative of the simple and artless style of music originating among the common people (originally associated with Greenwich Village in New York City) it dates from 1958.
Of airs properly national, it should be remembered, the composers are not known. They are found existing among the people, who are ignorant of their origin. They are, to borrow a German phrase, folk-music. [Richard Grant White, "National Hymns," New York, 1861]

The term National Music implies that music, which, appertaining to a nation or tribe, whose individual emotions and passions it expresses, exhibits certain peculiarities more or less characteristic, which distinguish it from the music of any other nation or tribe.*
* The Germans call it Volksmusik, a designation which is very appropriate, and which I should have rendered folk-music, had this word been admissible. [Carl Engel, "An Introduction to the Study of National Music," London, 1866]
hippopotamus (n.): 1560s, from Late Latin hippopotamus, from Greek hippopotamus "riverhorse" (earlier ho hippos ho potamios "the horse of the river"), from hippos "horse" (see equine) + potamos "river, rushing water" (see potamo-). Replaced Middle English ypotame (c. 1300), which is from the same source but via Old French. Glossed in Old English as sæhengest.
Ypotamos comen flyngynge. ... Grete bestes and griselich ["Kyng Alisaunder," c. 1300]
hummus (n.): 1955, from Turkish humus "mashed chick peas."
humus (n.): 1796, from Latin humus "earth, soil," probably from humi "on the ground," from PIE *dhghem- "earth" (source also of Latin humilis "low;" see chthonic). Related: Humous (adj.).
hypothalamus (n.): 1896, coined 1893 in German from Greek hypo- "under" (see sub-) + thalamus "part of the brain where a nerve emerges."
ignoramus (n.): 1570s, from an Anglo-French legal term (early 15c.), from Latin ignoramus "we do not know," first person present indicative of ignorare "not to know" (see ignorant). The legal term was one a grand jury could write on a bill when it considered the prosecution's evidence insufficient. Sense of "ignorant person" came from the title role of George Ruggle's 1615 play satirizing the ignorance of common lawyers.
intramuscular (adj.): 1874, from intra- + muscular.
isthmus (n.): 1550s, from Latin isthmus, from Greek isthmos "narrow passage, narrow neck of land," especially that of Corinth, of unknown origin, perhaps from eimi "to go" + suffix -thmo (compare ithma "a step, movement").
litmus (n.): "blue dye-stuff obtained from certain lichens," early 14c., from Middle Dutch lijkmoes (Dutch lakmoes), from lac (see lac) + moes "pulp." Another theory is that it represents Old Norse litmose, literally "lichen for dying," from Old Norse lita "to dye, to stain," from litr "color, dye" (see lit (n.1)) + mos "moss." Yet another idea connects the first element to Middle Dutch leken "to drip, leak" (see leak (v.)).

Whichever was the original word, it probably was influenced by the others. The dye is obtained from certain lichens. It is naturally blue but turns red in acid and is restored to blue by alkalis. Figurative use of litmus test is first attested 1957, from scientific use of litmus-treated paper as a chemical indicator. Litmus paper with this meaning is from 1803.
mandamus (n.): 1530s, "writ from a superior court to an inferior one, specifying that something be done," (late 14c. in Anglo-French), from Latin, literally "we order," first person plural present indicative of mandare "to order" (see mandate (n.)).
marasmus (n.): "wasting away of the body," 1650s, Modern Latin, from Greek marasmos "a wasting away, withering, decay," from marainein "to quench, weaken, wither," from PIE root *mer- "to rub away, harm" (see morbid). Maras (n.) evidently in the same sense is attested from mid-15c. Related: Marasmic.
minimus (n.): 1580s, from Latin minimus (plural minimi); see minim.
Momus (n.): "humorously disagreeable person," 1560s, from Latin, from Greek Momos, nme of the god of ridicule and sarcasm (Greek momos, literally "blame, ridicule, disgrace," of unknown origin); also used in English as personification of fault-finding and captious criticism.
muscat (n.): type of wine, 1570s, from French, from Italian moscato, literally "musky-flavored," from Vulgar Latin *muscatus, from Latin muscus (see musk).
Muscat: capital of Oman, from Arabic Masqat, said to mean "hidden" (it is isolated from the interior by hills).
muscatel (n.): 1530s, variant of muskadell (c. 1400), from Old French muscadel, from Old Provençal *muscadel, diminutive of muscat "(grape) with the fragrance of musk" (see muscat).
muscle (n.): late 14c., from Middle French muscle "muscle, sinew" (14c.) and directly from Latin musculus "a muscle," literally "little mouse," diminutive of mus "mouse" (see mouse (n.)).

So called because the shape and movement of some muscles (notably biceps) were thought to resemble mice. The analogy was made in Greek, too, where mys is both "mouse" and "muscle," and its comb. form gives the medical prefix myo-. Compare also Old Church Slavonic mysi "mouse," mysica "arm;" German Maus "mouse; muscle," Arabic 'adalah "muscle," 'adal "field mouse." In Middle English, lacerte, from the Latin word for "lizard," also was used as a word for a muscle.
Musclez & lacertez bene one selfe þing, Bot þe muscle is said to þe fourme of mouse & lacert to þe fourme of a lizard. [Guy de Chauliac, "Grande Chirurgie," c. 1425]
Hence muscular and mousy are relatives, and a Middle English word for "muscular" was lacertous, "lizardy." Figurative sense of "force, violence, threat of violence" is 1930, American English. Muscle car "hot rod" is from 1969.
muscle (v.): 1913, "to accomplish by strength," from muscle (n.). Related: Muscled; muscling. To muscle in is 1929 in underworld slang.
muscle-bound (adj.): 1879, from muscle (n.) + bound, past participle of bind (v.).
muscle-man (n.): 1929, originally "an underworld enforcer;" sense of "strong man" first attested 1952; from muscle (n.) + man (n.).
muscled (adj.): "having muscles (of a particular type)," 1640s, from muscle (n.).
Muscovy: from French Moscovie, from Modern Latin Moscovia, old name of Russia, from Russian Moskova "(Principality of) Moscow." In Muscovy duck (1650s) and certain other uses it is a corruption of musk. Related: Muscovite.