dilettante








noun, plural dil·et·tantes, dil·et·tan·ti [dil-i-tahn-tee] /ˈdɪl ɪˈtɑn ti/.

  1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
  2. a lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.

adjective

  1. of or relating to dilettantes.

noun plural -tantes or -tanti (-ˈtɑːntɪ)

  1. a person whose interest in a subject is superficial rather than professional
  2. a person who loves the arts

adjective

  1. of or characteristic of a dilettante
n.

1733, borrowing of Italian dilettante “lover of music or painting,” from dilettare “to delight,” from Latin delectare (see delight (n.)). Originally without negative connotation, “devoted amateur,” the pejorative sense emerged late 18c. by contrast with professional.

Someone who is interested in the fine arts as a spectator, not as a serious practitioner. Dilettante is most often used to mean a dabbler, someone with a broad but shallow attachment to any field.

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