amusement
/əˈmjuːzmənt/uh-MYOOZ-muhnt
/əˈmjuzmənt/uh-MYOOZ-muhnt
Meaningthe state of being entertained
Common meaning: enjoyment
Other meanings: a fun thing to do
- ato, towards, at (Latin ad-, often through French a-)
- musstare, gaze idlySkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 22 · scan
- mentnoun ending: act or result
‘to, towards, at (Latin ad-, often through French a-)’ + ‘stare, gaze idly’ → amusement
Journey through time
- Frenchmuser‘stare, gaze idly’
- Englishamuse‘to entertain’
- Englishformed in English from amuseamusement‘enjoyment’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from amuse + -ment.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), AMUSE, p.22 · scan
Roots
- muser Old French “stare, gaze idly”
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