Etymology Porn of the Day: Museum

Museum /myo͞oˈzēəm/

(As defined by Webster’s) an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value American Museum of Natural History also : a place where objects are exhibited an art museum

Derived from Greek Mouseion, derived from Mousa and Latin Museum ( and used rarely Musaeum) Mouseion literally means shrine of muses. In ancient Greece it was any place devoted to learning and the arts.

The word derives from the very first museum center of its kind, the Library of Alexandria (founded around 280 BC) and in Greek life anything that involves each of the arts and sciences was held as sacred.

So there you have it, the etymology of the word Museum, and please feel free to visit some of your favorite of the 9 muses in a museum near you!

 (Above image: Clio, Muse of history. Marble, Roman artwork from the 2nd century CE. The head does not belong to the statue. From the Villa of Cassius near Tivoli, 1774)