museum

Where does the word "museum" come from? It comes from Greek mouseion, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Museum’s story begins in Greek: mouseion meant “a shrine to the Muses.” A temple or seat of the Muses, a place for study and the arts. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as museum. Adopted for the famed library and research institute at Alexandria. It reached English by 1600s as museum. Settled as the English word for a building housing collections for public viewing. Today, museum means a building housing objects of historical, artistic, or scientific interest.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient mouseion "a shrine to the Muses", a temple or seat of the Muses, a place for study and the arts.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient museum "a center of learning and the arts", adopted for the famed library and research institute at Alexandria.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s museum "a building housing collections for public viewing", settled as the English word for a building housing collections for public viewing.