amateur

am·a·teur  (m-tûr, -tr, -chr, -chr, -tyr)

n.

1. A person who engages in an art, science, study, or athletic activity as a pastime rather than as a profession.

2. Sports An athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition.

3. One lacking the skill of a professional, as in an art.

adj.

1. Of or performed by an amateur.

2. Made up of amateurs: an amateur cast.

3. Not professional; unskillful.

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[French, from Latin amtor, lover, from amre, to love.]

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ama·teur·ism n.

Synonyms: amateur, dabbler, dilettante
These nouns mean one engaging in a pursuit but lacking professional skill: a musician who is a gifted amateur, not a professional; a dabbler in the stock market; a sculptor but a mere dilettante.

Antonym: professional

Word History: When Mrs. T.W. Atkinson remarked in her 1863 Recollections of the Tartar Steppes and their Inhabitants, "I am no amateur of these melons," she used amateur in a sense unfamiliar to us. That sense, "a lover, an admirer," is, however, clearly descended from the senses of the word's ultimate Latin source, amtor, "lover, devoted friend, devotee, enthusiastic pursuer of an objective," and from its Latin-derived French source, amateur, with a similar range of meanings. First recorded in English in 1784 with the sense in which Mrs. Atkinson used it, amateur is found in 1786 with a meaning more familiar to us, "a person who engages in an art, for example, as a pastime rather than as a profession," a sense that had already developed in French. Given the limitations of doing something as an amateur, it is not surprising that the word is soon after recorded in the disparaging sense we still use to refer to someone who lacks professional skill or ease in performance.

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amateur

Noun

1. a person who engages in a sport or other activity as a pastime rather than as a profession

2. a person unskilled in a subject or activity

Adjective

1. doing something out of interest, not for money

2. amateurish [Latin amator lover]

amateurism n

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	amateur - someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" birder, bird watcher - a person who identifies and studies birds in their natural habitats dabbler, dilettante, sciolist - an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge hobbyist - a person who pursues an activity in their spare time for pleasure
	2.	amateur - an athlete who does not play for pay athlete, jock - a person trained to compete in sports outdoor man, sporting man - someone who enjoys outdoor activities pro, professional - an athlete who plays for pay
Adj.	1.	amateur - engaged in as a pastime; "an amateur painter"; "gained valuable experience in amateur theatricals"; "recreational golfers"; "reading matter that is both recreational and mentally stimulating"; "unpaid extras in the documentary" recreational, unpaid nonprofessional - not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain; "the nonprofessional wives of his male colleagues"; "nonprofessional actors"
	2.	amateur - lacking professional skill or expertise; "a very amateurish job"; "inexpert but conscientious efforts"; "an unskilled painting" amateurish, inexpert, unskilled unprofessional - not characteristic of or befitting a profession or one engaged in a profession; "described in unprofessional language so that high school students could understand it"; "was censured for unprofessional conduct"; "unprofessional repairs"

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amateur

noun nonprofessional, outsider, layman, dilettante, layperson, non-specialist, dabbler

Translations

amateur [ˈæmətəʳ] n → aficionado/a, amateur m/f;

amateur dramatics → dramas mpl presentados por aficionados; representación f de aficionados

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amateur [ˈæmətəʳ] n → amateur m

adj (Sport) → amateur inv;

amateur dramatics → le théâtre amateur

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amateur [ˈæmətəʳ] n → Amateur m

adj (Sport) → Amateur-;

amateur dramatics → Laientheater nt

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amateur [ˈæmətəʳ] n → dilettante m/f

adj (SPORT) → dilettante;

amateur dramatics n → filodrammatica

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amateur

n amateur [ˈӕmətə, (American ) -tʃər]

1 a person who takes part in a sport etc without being paid for it The tennis tournament was open only to amateurs. amateur الهَاوِي любител amatér, neprofesionál amatør der/die Amateur(in) ερασιτέχνης aficionado, amateur amatöör آماتور؛ غیرحرفه ای amatööri amateur/-trice חוֹבֵב शौकीन, अव्यवसायी amater amatőr amatir áhugamaður dilettante, non professionista アマチュア 아마추어 mėgėjas amatieris amatur amateur amatør amator amador amator любитель amatér, -ka ljubitelj, amater amater amatör มือสมัครเล่น amatör 業餘活動者 любитель بلا معاوضہ کھیلنے والا کھلاڑی vận động viên nghiệp dư 业余活动者

2 someone who does something for the love of it and not for money For an amateur, he was quite a good photographer. amateur هَاوِ любител amatér amatør der/die Amateur(in) ερασιτέχνης aficionado asjaarmastaja دوستدار harrastelija amateur חוֹבֵב amater műkedvelő demi kesenangan áhugamaður dilettante, appassionato 愛好家 취미삼아 하는 사람 mėgėjas amatieris amatur amateur amatør amator amador amator любитель amatér, -ka amater amater amatör มือสมัครเล่น amatör 業餘愛好者 любитель شوقیہ فن کار nghiệp dư 业余爱好者

adj

an amateur golfer; amateur photography. amateurlik هِوَايَة любител amatérský amatør- Amateur-... ερασιτεχνικός aficionado, amateur amatöör- تازه کار؛ ناشیانه amatööri- amateur חוֹבֵבַן शौकीन amaterski műkedvelő amatir áhuga- dilettante, dilettantistico アマチュアの 아마추어의 mėgėjas amatieru- amatur amateur- amatør- amatorski, niezawodowy amador amator любительский amatérsky amaterski amaterski amatör- สมัครเล่น amatör 業餘的 любительський شوقیہ nghiệp dư 业余的

adj amaˈteurish [-ˈtəː-]

not very skilful an amateurish drawing. amateuragtig غَير مُتْقَن، قَلِيل المَهَارَة، كَهِوايَة любителски amatérský, diletantský amatøragtig; dilettantisk dilettantisch αδέξιος chapucero, poco profesional asjaarmastajalik ناشیانه harrastelijamainen d'amateur חוֹבֵבָנִי अप्रवीण amaterski szakszerűtlen amatiran viðvaningslegur da dilettante しろうとの 미숙한, 조잡한 mėgėjiškas, diletantiškas diletantisks; nemākulīgs amatur amateuristisch amatørmessig nieprofesjonalny, dyletancki mal-acabado de amator дилетантский diletantský nestrokoven diletantski amatörmässig สมัครเล่น amatörce 不夠熟練的 аматорський, непрофесійний کچے پن سے không chuyên 不够熟练的