English
amateur
Amateur comes from French amateur ‘lover of something’, and goes back to Latin amāre ‘to love’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamāre‘to love’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEamātor‘lover’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentamateur‘lover of something’
- Englishearliest quotation 1934same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEamāre‘to love’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEamātor‘lover’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentamateur‘lover of something’
- Englishearliest quotation 1934same form
Earliest quotation: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “You see, I'm not an official in any sense…”
Linked words
through Latin amāre ‘to love’
Today it means
noun A lover of something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin amāre / amateur