entertain
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- entertaine (obsolete)
Etymology
[edit]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”.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɛntəˈteɪn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɛntɚˈteɪn/, [ˌɛ̃ɾ̃ɚˈtʰeɪn]
Audio (US): (file) Audio (New Jersey): (file)
- Hyphenation: en‧ter‧tain
- Rhymes: -eɪn
Verb
[edit]entertain (third-person singular simple present entertains, present participle entertaining, simple past and past participle entertained)
- (transitive) to amuse (someone); to engage the attention of agreeably
- to entertain friends with lively conversation
- The motivational speaker not only instructed but also entertained the audience.
- (transitive and intransitive) To have someone over at one's home, or some other venue, for a party or visit.
- They enjoy entertaining a lot.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 13:2:
- Be not forgetful to entertain strangers […]
- 1958 August, T. S. Lascelles, “Diamond Jubilee of the Waterloo & City Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 523:
- About 200 guests were invited and entertained to lunch in the so-called booking hall at Waterloo; the contractors, Spiers & Pond Limited, were much praised for organising the repast, with attendant cloak room facilities, so well in such unfavourable surroundings.
- (transitive) to receive and take into consideration; to have a thought in mind
- The committee would like to entertain the idea of reducing the budget figures.
- to entertain a proposal
- 1851, Thomas De Quincey, Literary Reminiscences:
- I am not here going to entertain so large a theme as the philosophy of Locke.
- 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:
- A rumour gained ground, — and, however absurd, was entertained by some very sensible people.
- (obsolete) to take or keep in one's service; to maintain; to support; to harbour; to keep
- c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act I:
- Intreat 'em fair, and give them friendly speech,
And seem to them as if thy sins were great,
Till thou hast gotten to be entertain'd.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act XXVI, scene iii], page vi:
- You, sir, I entertain for one of my hundred.
- (obsolete) to meet or encounter, as an enemy
- 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
- O noble English, that could entertain with half their forces the full pride of France
- 1860, British Parliament, Naval Discipline Act[1], page 1069:
- Penalty for entertaining a Deserter
- (obsolete) to lead on; to bring along; to introduce
- 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC:
- to baptize all nations, and to entertain them into the services and institutions of the holy Jesus
- (Philippines, Malaysia, India, sometimes in business) to help; to assist; to answer a phone call
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to amuse
|
to have over at one's home
|
to receive and take into consideration
|
- 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
Noun
[edit]entertain (uncountable)
- (obsolete) Entertainment; pleasure.
- c. 1603 (date written), Iohn Marston, The Malcontent, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for William Aspley, […], published 1604, →OCLC, Act V, scene iii:
- And Celſo, prethee let it be thy care to night / To haue ſome pretty ſhew, to ſolemnize / Our high inſtalement, ſome muſike maſkerie: / Weele giue faire entertaine vnto Maria […]
- (obsolete) Reception of a guest; welcome.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- But neede, that answers not to all requests, / Bad them not looke for better entertayne […]
Alternative forms
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “entertain”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “entertain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “entertain”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ten-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪn
- Rhymes:English/eɪn/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with obsolete senses
- Philippine English
- Malaysian English
- Indian English
- en:Business
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns