muse [ME] People who muse look thoughtful and reflective, and the word probably originally referred to facial expression, as it is related to muzzle [LME] (see also amuse). It has no connection with the Muses of classical mythology, the nine goddesses regarded as inspiring learning and the arts. The Greek word for a Muse, mousa, is also the source of music [ME] and museum [E17th]. An institute called the Museum was established at Alexandria in about 280 bc by Ptolemy I of Egypt, and became the most renowned of the museums in the ancient world. The word museum means ‘seat of the Muses, place dedicated to the Muses’. Old astronomers imagined the universe to consist of transparent hollow globes that revolved round the earth carrying the heavenly bodies and making a harmonious sound known as the music of the spheres. Many other things have been regarded as making music, such as birds, running brooks, and packs of hounds—since the 1930s a man and woman making love have been said to make beautiful music together.