dilettante

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˌdɪləˈtɑnt/ UK /ˌdɪlɪˈtænti/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person who dabbles in an art or field of knowledge without serious commitment

He was a dilettante in painting, never finishing a single canvas he began.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who dabbles in an... dabbleramateur triflerdallieraesthete

Opposites

expert professional connoisseur specialist

Word family

Forms dilettantism

Derived forms dilettantismdilettantish

Related forms delight delectabledilettanti

Etymology

From Italian dilettante ('lover of the arts'), present participle of dilettare ('to delight'), from Latin delectare ('to delight, charm'), a frequentative of delicere ('to allure'), from de- plus lacere ('to entice').

dilettante Italian delectare Latin lacere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# dilettante

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌdɪləˈtɑnt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdɪlɪˈtænti/

## Meanings
1. a person who dabbles in an art or field of knowledge without serious commitment

## Examples
- He was a dilettante in painting, never finishing a single canvas he began.

## Synonyms
- dabbler
- amateur
- trifler
- dallier
- aesthete

## Antonyms
- expert
- professional
- connoisseur
- specialist

## Derived Forms
- dilettantism
- dilettantish

## Related Forms
- delight
- delectable
- dilettanti

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dilettante
- Root: delectare
- Root: lacere

## Etymology
From Italian dilettante ('lover of the arts'), present participle of dilettare ('to delight'), from Latin delectare ('to delight, charm'), a frequentative of delicere ('to allure'), from de- plus lacere ('to entice').

## AI Etymology
Dilettante comes from Italian dilettante ('lover of the arts'), present participle of dilettare ('to delight'), from Latin delectare ('to delight, charm'), a frequentative of delicere ('to allure'), from de- plus lacere ('to entice'). The etymological trail includes Italian dilettante, Latin delectare, and Latin lacere. As a noun, dilettante names a person who dabbles in an art or field of knowledge without serious commitment. The same family is visible in derived forms such as dilettantism and dilettantish and related forms such as delight, delectable, and dilettanti.

## Topics
- People & Society

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