entertain

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To amuse or interest people, especially with a performance or activity.

   The clown entertained the children at the party.

2. 2
   verb

   To invite people to your home and look after them as guests.

   They enjoy entertaining friends at the weekend.

3. 3
   verb

   To think about or consider an idea or possibility.

   I entertained the notion of moving to South America.

Simplified etymology

Entertain comes from Latin inter, “among,” and tenere, “to hold.” It first meant “maintain” or “continue,” then developed in the late 15th century to mean keeping someone in a particular condition or treating them in a particular way; the sense “show hospitality” arose during the same period.

From Middle English entertenen, from Middle French entretenir, from Old French entretenir, from entre (“among”) + tenir (“to hold”), from Latin inter + teneō (“hold, keep”). For the noun, compare French entretien. Sense of answering a phone call in Malaysian English is influenced by Malay layan “to serve, to attend to or engage with something”.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary