Etymologically
Log in

entertain

Etymology and origin of the English word entertain

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1452, Paston Letters
Borrowed from
Middle French entretenir via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (teneō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English entertain
English entertainment

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌɛntəˈteɪn/ (UK); /ˌɛntɚˈteɪn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English entertinen, borrowed from Middle French entretenir (“to hold together, maintain”),[2][3][4] from entre- (“among, mutually”) and tenir (“to hold”),[3][5][6] from Latin inter (“among”) and teneō (“to hold”),[2][7] from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To keep up or maintain something, a state or practice: about 1452, in the Paston Letters;[4] Barnhart dates entertienen, to maintain, to about 1475, in Caxton.[3]

Semantic evolution

Its early senses were maintaining: keeping something in working order (1477), keeping someone in a certain state of mind (1490), supporting with money (1559) and keeping in one's service (1549).[4][8] Receiving someone as a guest is from 1490, also in Caxton.[4][3] Holding the attention of, amusing, is from 1626,[3][5] and admitting an idea into the mind, considering it, from the 16th century.[5][8] Hoad dates entertainment as a meal or amusement to the 17th century, and as a public performance to the 18th.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1452 – to maintain, keep up.[4]
  • 1490 – to receive as a guest.[4][3]
  • 1531 – entertainment.[3]
  • 1626 – to amuse.[3]
  • 1693 – to host guests (intransitive).[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To provide amusement or enjoyment for someone.
  2. To receive someone as a guest; to show hospitality.
  3. To consider or hold in the mind: to entertain an idea.
  4. (archaic) To keep up or maintain.

Word family

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Derived terms

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Entertain.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/entertain. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·