amusement

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French amusement, formed from the verb amuser (the source of amuse) with the suffix -ment.^[2][3][4][5] In Middle French the noun meant bewilderment or confusion (1349), deception (about 1405) and a distraction meant to gain or waste time (before 1442), and only rarely, before the late 16th century, a pleasant occupation of the mind.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A distraction meant to gain or waste time, a trifling with someone's attention: 1603, in John Florio's translation of Montaigne's Essays;^[2] the same year Philemon Holland used it for a pleasant occupation that took the mind away from serious matters.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the first use to 1586, for the obsolete sense "bewilderment",^[3] and Etymonline gives the 1640s, for a diversion of attention, especially in war.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The early senses were close to those of amuse, which at first meant to distract or deceive: amusement could be a distraction from the real state of things, a deception, or a military feint (1658–1836),^[2][6] as in a proclamation of Charles II of 1688 against false reports "tending to Sedition, or to the Amusement of Our People".^[6] It also meant musing, being absorbed in thought, from 1696 to 1794, and bewilderment from 1663 to 1722.^[2][4] The sense "pastime" (1632 in the OED, the 1670s in Etymonline) was at first disparaging, suggesting idleness or wasted time;^[2][6][4] Johnson (1755) defined the word simply as "that which amuses; entertainment".^[7] The modern sense, the enjoyment caused by something funny, is first recorded in 1750, in Johnson's Rambler.^[2] In the plural the word has meant the rides and games of a fairground or resort since 1848;^[2] amusement hall is recorded by 1862 and amusement park by 1897.^[6]

Timeline

• 1586 – Merriam-Webster's first known use (bewilderment).^[3]
• 1603 – a distraction to waste time; a pleasant occupation of the mind.^[2]
• 1632 – a pastime.^[2]
• 1658 – a diversion of attention, a feint (obsolete by 1836).^[2]
• 1750 – enjoyment caused by something funny.^[2]
• 1848 – amusements, the rides and games of a fairground.^[2]
• 1897 – amusement park.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The feeling of being amused; enjoyment of something funny: She watched the puppy's antics with amusement.
2. Something that entertains or passes the time pleasantly; a pastime or game.
3. A ride or game machine at a fairground, resort or arcade.
4. (obsolete) A distraction of the attention; a deception or diversion.

Word family

• amusement park

Related words

• amuse
• muse
• bemuse

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.