a·muse / əˈmyoōz/ • v. [tr.] 1. cause (someone) to find something funny; entertain: he made faces to amuse her.2. provide interesting and enjoyable occupation for (someone): the hotel has planned many activities to amuse its guests.DERIVATIVES: a·mus·ed·ly / -zidlē/ adv. (in sense 1).

amuse †beguile, delude XV; †distract, bewilder XVII; divert with entertaining matter. — (O)F. amuser †deceive; entertain, f. à AD- + muser MUSE1.
So amusement XVII. — F.

Amuse

AMUSE. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the usual sense of this word was "to divert the attention of" or "to mislead" (Oxford Universal Dictionary on Historical Principles, 1955). When a tactician of the period sent out a force to amuse the enemy his intentions were no more humorous than those of today's commander who plans a diversion.