amuse

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Synonyms 1.3.2 Derived terms 1.3.3 Translations 1.4 References 1.5 Anagrams 2 French 2.1 Pronunciation 2.2 Verb

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Middle English amusen from Middle French amuser "to amuse, divert" (Modern French amuser "to make stay, detain, amuse") from Old French amuser "to stupefy" from a- + muser "to stare stupidly at, be bewildered", possibly from Old French mus "snout" from Mediaeval Latin musum of Germanic origin; or from Frankish *masjan, musōn "to stun, confuse, confound" from Proto-Germanic *mas- (“‘to confuse, stun, delay’”). Akin to Old English āmasian "to confuse, stupefy, bewilder" (English amaze), Old Norse masa "to struggle, be confused" (Norwegian mas "exhausting labour", Norwegian masast "to be dazed, begin to dream", Swedish masa "to dawdle, idle", Swedish mos "sluggish, sleepy"). More at amaze.

[edit] Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /əˈmjuːz/
• WEAE IPA: /ʌˈmjus/
• Rhymes: -uːz

[edit] Verb

to amuse (third-person singular simple present amuses, present participle amusing, simple past and past participle amused)

1. (transitive) To entertain or occupy in a pleasant manner; to stir with pleasing or mirthful emotions; to divert.

   A group of children amusing themselves with pushing stones from the top [of the cliff], and watching as they plunged into the lake. -Gilpin.

2. To cause laughter, to be funny.
3. (transitive), (archaic) To keep in expectation; to beguile; to delude.

   He amused his followers with idle promises. -Johnson.

4. (obsolete, slang, cant) To fling dust or snuff in the eyes of the person intended to be robbed; also to invent some plausible tale, to delude shop-keepers and others, thereby to put them off their guard. (1811 Dictionary of Vulgar Tongue)

[edit] Synonyms

To entertain; gratify; please; divert; beguile.

[edit] Derived terms

• amusement

[edit] Translations

[edit] References

• amuse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

[edit] Anagrams

• Anagrams of aemsu
• musea

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[edit] French

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /a.myz/
• Homophones: amuses, amusent

[edit] Verb

amuse

1. First-person singular present indicative of amuser.
2. Third-person singular present indicative of amuser.
3. First-person singular present subjunctive of amuser.
4. Third-person singular present subjunctive of amuser.
5. Second-person singular imperative of amuser.