entertainment

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌen.təˈteɪn.mənt/, US /ˌen.t̬ɚˈteɪn.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English entertain + -ment,^[2][3][4] entertain being borrowed from Middle French entretenir (“to hold together, support”),^[5][2] from entre- “among”, from Latin inter-, and tenir “to hold”, from Latin tenēre (“to hold”).^[5][2] It is related to maintain and tenant.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Manner of social behaviour”: 1531 in the OED and the Historical Thesaurus, now obsolete.^[6][7] Etymonline gives the 1530s, also for “provision for the support of a retainer”.^[2] Merriam-Webster has the 15th century.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Its early senses followed those of entertain, “to maintain, keep up”:^[3][5] pay or provision for people in service, especially soldiers, from 1535 to 1787,^[6][7] and maintenance or support.^[6][3] Hospitable provision for guests is from 1539,^[7] and the reception of a guest from 1576.^[7] The occupation of a person's time is from 1551.^[6][7] The agreeable occupation of someone's attention, amusement, is from 1612,^[6][7] the 1610s in Etymonline.^[2] “That which entertains” is from the 1650s,^[2] and a performance or show for an audience from 1640 in the Historical Thesaurus,^[7] 1727 in Etymonline.^[2] Johnson in 1755 gave first “conversation” and “treatment at the table”.^[9] In Northern Ireland it still meant food and lodging, as on a notice “Entertainment for man and beast”.^[10]

Timeline

• 1531 – manner of behaviour.^[6][7]
• 1535 – pay for people in service.^[6][7]
• 1539 – hospitality.^[7]
• 1551 – occupation of time.^[6][7]
• 1612 – amusement.^[6][7]
• 1640 – a performance.^[7]
• 1650s – that which entertains.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of entertaining.
2. Something that amuses or diverts, especially a performance or show.
3. The art or industry of entertaining: a career in entertainment.
4. The pleasure of being entertained; amusement.
5. (archaic) Maintenance, support, or employment.

Word family

• edutainment
• infotainment

Related words

• entertain
• entertainer
• maintain
• tenant

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)