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dilettanteish

 - 3 dictionary results

dil⋅et⋅tante

  [dil-i-tahnt, dil-i-tahnt, -tahn-tey, -tan-tee] noun, plural -tantes, -tan⋅ti  [-tahn-tee] , adjective
Use dilettanteish in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, esp. in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
2. a lover of an art or science, esp. of a fine art.
–adjective
3. of or pertaining to dilettantes.
Origin:
1725–35; < It, n. use of prp. of dilettare < L dēlectāre to delight

Related forms:
dil⋅et⋅tan⋅tish, dil⋅et⋅tan⋅te⋅ish, adjective

Synonyms:
1. amateur.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cultural Dictionary

dilettante [(dil-uh-tahnt, dil-uh-tahnt)]

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dilettante 
1733, borrowing of It. dilettante "lover of music or painting," from dilettare "to delight," from L. delectare (see delight). Originally without negative connotation, "devoted amateur," the pejorative sense emerged late 18c. by contrast with professional.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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