Etymologically
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entertainment

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 21:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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)