entertainment

English

Alternative forms

entretainment (chiefly archaic)
intertainment (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English entretenement (“support, maintenance”), from Old French entretenement; see entertain.

Morphologically entertain +‎ -ment

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.tə(r)ˈteɪn.mənt/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -eɪnmənt

Noun

entertainment (countable and uncountable, plural entertainments)

An activity designed to give pleasure, enjoyment, diversion, amusement, or relaxation to an audience, no matter whether the audience participates passively as in watching opera or a movie, or actively as in games.
- 1957, William O. Douglas, Roth v. United States:
  The delinquents are generally the adventurous type, who have little use for reading and other non-active entertainment.
A show put on for the enjoyment or amusement of others.
(obsolete) Maintenance or support.
- 1854?, Charles Dickens, The Seven Poor Travellers:
  "This," said the matronly presence, ushering me into a low room on the right, "is where the Travellers sit by the fire, and cook what bits of suppers they buy with their fourpences."
  "O! Then they have no Entertainment?" said I. For the inscription over the outer door was still running in my head, and I was mentally repeating, in a kind of tune, "Lodging, entertainment, and fourpence each."
(obsolete) Admission into service; service.
- 1601-1608, William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well:
  He must think us some band of strangers i' the adversary's entertainment.
(obsolete) Payment of soldiers or servants; wages.
- 1612, John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued
  The entertainment of the general upon his first arrival was but six shillings and eight pence.
(obsolete) Reception; (provision of) food to guests or travellers.
- c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iv]:
  I prithee, shepherd, if that love or gold
  Can in this desert place buy entertainment,
  Bring us where we may rest ourselves and feed.
- 1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar, London, p. 61,
  Tho’ they cut [the beef] into long Pieces, (like Ropes) with the Hide; and dress’d, and eat it half-roasted according to their Custom, and gave it me in the same Manner; yet I thought this contemptible Food, and what a Beggar in England would not have touch’d, the most delicious Entertainment I ever met with.

Derived terms

agri-entertainment
edutainment
entertainment center
entertainment centre
military-entertainment complex
sports entertainment

Translations

activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation

Afrikaans: vermaak
Albanian: argëtim (sq) m
Arabic: تَرْفِيه‎ m (tarfīh), تَسْلِيَة‎ f (tasliya)
Armenian: ժամանց (hy) (žamancʿ)
Azerbaijani: əyləncə (az)
Belarusian: заба́ва f (zabáva), разры́ўка f (razrýŭka), заба́ўка f (zabáŭka), паце́ха f (pacjéxa), уце́ха f (ucjéxa)
Bulgarian: забавле́ние (bg) n (zabavlénie), развлече́ние (bg) n (razvlečénie)
Catalan: entreteniment (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 娛樂／娱乐 (zh) (yúlè)
Cornish: didhanedh m
Czech: zábava (cs) f
Danish: underholdning c, morskab c
Dutch: vermaak (nl) n, amusement (nl) n, verstrooiing (nl) f
Esperanto: amuzaĵo
Estonian: meelelahutus
Finnish: viihde (fi)
French: divertissement (fr) m
Galician: entretemento (gl) m
German: Unterhaltung (de) f
Greek: διασκέδαση (el) f (diaskédasi), ψυχαγωγία (el) f (psychagogía)
Hebrew: בִּדּוּר‎ (he)
Hindi: मनोरंजन (hi) m (manorañjan)
Icelandic: skemmtun (is)
Indonesian: hiburan (id)
Irish: siamsa m
Italian: divertimento (it) m, intrattenimento (it)
Japanese: 娯楽 (ja) (ごらく, goraku), エンタメ (ja) (entame), エンターテインメント (ja) (entāteinmento), エンターテイメント (ja) (entāteimento)
Korean: 오락 (ko) (orak), 엔터테인먼트 (enteoteinmeonteu)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: رابواردن‎ (rabwardin)
Latin: oblectāmen n, oblectāmentum n
Latvian: izklaide f
Lithuanian: pramoga f
Macedonian: за́бава f (zábava), разо́нода f (razónoda)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: underholdning m or f
Ottoman Turkish: جنبش‎ (cümbüş)
Persian: سرگرمی‎ (fa) (sargarmi)
Polish: rozrywka (pl) f, zabawa (pl) f
Portuguese: entretenimento (pt) m
Romanian: divertisment (ro) n, distracție (ro) f, petrecere (ro) f
Russian: развлече́ние (ru) n (razvlečénije), заба́ва (ru) f (zabáva), поте́ха (ru) f (potéxa), уте́ха (ru) f (utéxa)
Scots: enterteenment
Scottish Gaelic: dibhearsan m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: за̑бава f
Roman: zȃbava (sh) f
Slovak: zábava f
Slovene: zabȃva (sl) f
Spanish: entretenimiento (es) m
Swahili: burudani (sw)
Swedish: underhållning (sv) c
Tagalog: pag-aaliw, aliwan
Telugu: వినోదం (te) (vinōdaṁ)
Turkish: eğlence (tr)
Ukrainian: розва́га f (rozváha), заба́ва f (zabáva), за́бавка f (zábavka), розри́вка f (rozrývka), уті́ха f (utíxa), розра́да f (rozráda)
Vietnamese: sự giải trí (vi)
Welsh: adloniant (cy) m

show for enjoyment

Albanian: argëtim (sq) m
Bulgarian: заба́ва (bg) f (zabáva), представле́ние (bg) n (predstavlénie)
Danish: underholdning c
Finnish: näytös (fi)
Greek: θέαμα (el) n (théama)
Hebrew: מופע‎ (he) (mofa)
Italian: intrattenimento (it)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئاھەنگ‎ (ku) (aheng)
Macedonian: претстава f (pretstava)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: underholdning m or f
Nynorsk: underhalding, underhaldning
Polish: widowisko (pl) n
Portuguese: entretenimento (pt) m
Romanian: spectacol (ro) n
Russian: развлече́ние (ru) n (razvlečénije), представле́ние (ru) n (predstavlénije), интерте́ймент m (intertɛ́jment) (colloquial)
Scots: enterteenment
Spanish: espectáculo (es) m
Swahili: burudani (sw)
Swedish: underhållning (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Albanian: ^{(please verify)} argëtim (sq), ^{(please verify)} dëfrim (sq)
Arabic: ^{(please verify)} لهو‎ (ar)
Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} intertenimento (1,2)
Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} giải trí (vi)

Anagrams

entretainment