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

  1. An activity designed to give pleasure, enjoyment,...

Ancestry of “entertainment”, step by step

entertainment traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English entertain

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishentertainTo amuse (someone); to engage the attention of agreeably
2Old Frenchentretenirto support one another
3Old Frenchtenirto possess; to have; to hold
4Latinteneōto hold, have; to grasp
5Proto-Italictenēōto hold
6Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

via Middle English entretenement

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishentretenementsupport, maintenance
2Old Frenchentretenement—

Words derived from “entertainment”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →Every word from Proto-Italic tenēō →Every word from Latin teneō →