Where does “entertainment” come from?
Entertainment comes from Middle English entretenement, from Old French entretenement, meaning the act of maintaining or keeping up.
entertainment (English): An activity designed to give pleasure, enjoyment,...
Definitions
- An activity designed to give pleasure, enjoyment,...
Ancestry of “entertainment”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | entertain | To amuse ; to engage the attention of agreeably;... |
| 2 | Old French | entretenir | to support one another |
| 3 | Old French | tenir | to possess; to have; to hold |
| 4 | Latin | teneō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | tenēō | to hold |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |
Words derived from “entertainment”