Entertaiment is the activity of providing amusement, relaxation or diversion. It can involve various forms of recreation, such as watching movies, attending concerts, recreational activities and social gatherings. It can also be an escape from daily routines and the burden of work, or it may be a form of enjoyment or pleasure. Entertainment is understood objectively, involves communication between text and audience, includes external stimulus, offers pleasure and occurs in a passive form.
The word comes from the Latin inter-tenere, a compound of the prefix inter meaning “inside” and tenir, the past participle of the root tenere, which means to hold, or stretch out. It entered English in late 15c. as entertainment, from French (compare amazement, betterment, merriment). The suffix -ment is common with verb stems in many languages of the world.
