amateur
pronunciation
How to pronounce amateur in British English:
UK [ˈæmətə(r)]
How to pronounce amateur in American English:
US [ˈæmətər]
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- Noun:
- someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime
- does not play for pay
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- Adjective:
- engaged in as a pastime
- lacking professional skill or expertise
Word Origin
- amateur
- amateur: [18] Etymologically, an amateur is simply a ‘lover’. That is what its ultimate Latin ancestor amator meant, and indeed in English it still denoted ‘someone who loves or is fond of something’ until well into the 19th century (‘am no amateur of these melons’, Mrs Atkinson, Tartar Steppes 1863). However, its immediate source, French amateur, had already evolved the subsidiary sense ‘one who does something solely for the enjoyment, not for payment’, and that is now its only English meaning.
- amateur (n.)
- 1784, "one who has a taste for (something)," from French amateur "lover of," from Latin amatorem (nominative amator) "lover," agent noun from amatus, past participle of amare "to love" (see Amy). Meaning "dabbler" (as opposed to professional) is from 1786. As an adjective, by 1838.
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. Only the baby video seems to be an amateur one .
- 2. An amateur biologist invites them to gather creepy-crawlies from a nearby pond .
- 3. On his website he offers tips for amateur cosmic archaeologists who wish to hunt for dyson spheres .
- 4. Amateur marathon runners have died this way .
- 5. Online video used to be amateur and short-form .