a name originally applied to a part of the famous palace of Alexandria, on account of its being set apart for the worship of the Muses and the study of the sciences. Here were lodged and entertained the men of learning, who had each a handsome revenue. Its foundation is attributed to Ptolemy Philadelphus, B.C. 280, who here placed his library. The word museum is now applied to any place set apart as a repository for things which have an immediate relation to the arts. The most famous institutions in England bearing this name are those of Oxford, founded in 1679, and the British Museum, founded in 1753. (See London, and Libraries.) Galleries of paintings are likewise included under the term museum in Italy and France. Such are the Vatican, the Louvre, &c.