What is Entertaiment?

Whether it’s the clown at your child’s birthday party, Broadway’s next hit, a stadium rock concert or your friends fighting over the last potato chip, entertainment is what takes you to that euphoric state of bliss where you forget all your problems and wish it would never end. But what is entertainment to one person may be considered work or even an act of cruelty by another, and that’s largely why the definition of Entertaiment has changed so much over time.

From Late Latin intertenere “to hold inside” (from the prefix inter- “among, between” + tenere “to hold”), ultimately from the PIE root ten “stretch”. Also influenced by French entretenir (see entertain). The suffix -ment is a common suffix for nouns derived from verb stems in English and Old French; see amazement, betterment, merriment.

The Entertaiment Foundation supports world-class scientists in the field of cancer research and early stage translational projects, enabling them to move their groundbreaking ideas into major advances against the disease. Find out more about our work here.