philomuse

English

Etymology

philo- +‎ Muse

Noun

philomuse (plural philomuses)

1. (obsolete) A lover of the Muses or poetry.
   • 1654, Matthew Stevenson, “Contents”, in Occasion's Offspring, or, Poems upon Severall Occasions‎^[1], London: John Place:

     To a Philomuse from whom I received a Paper upon the same Subject and by the same Post.

   • 1747, Josiah Relph, A Miscellany of Poems: Consisting of Original Poems, Translations Pastorals in the Cumberland Dialect...‎^[2], Glasgow: Thomlinsen, translation of Balthasaris Castilionis Mantuani by Paulo Canente, page 103:

     Poor Philomuse! you're disinherited.

2. (obsolete, rare) A member of the Philomuse Society, a literary society.
3. (rare) Any society devoted to literature and the arts.
   • 1830, James Emerson Tennent, “Progress of education and commerce, and other causes which led to the Greek revolution. A.D. 1800—1820.”, in The History of Modern Greece: From Its Conquest by the Romans B.C. 146 to the present time‎^[3], volume 2, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, page 573:

     This remarkable institution which had suffered materially with the death of Rhiga, was revived in Greece about the same period with the establishment of the Philomuse or literary society at Athens.