amateur

English Online Dictionary. What means amateur‎? What does amateur mean?

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin amātor (“lover”), from amāre (“to love”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæ.mə.tə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæ.mə.t͡ʃɚ/, /ˈæ.mə.t͡ʃʊɚ/, /ˈæ.mə.tɚ/

Noun

amateur (plural amateurs)

1. (now rare) A lover of something.
2. A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or attachment without engaging in it professionally.

3. Someone who is unqualified or insufficiently skillful.

Synonyms

• (person attached to a pursuit without pursuing it professionally): hobbyist
• (someone unqualified): dabbler, dilettante, punk

Derived terms

Related terms

• amateuse
• amatrice

Translations

See also

• (someone unqualified or insufficiently qualified):
  • layperson
  • nonexpert
  • nonspecialist
  • newbie

Adjective

amateur (comparative more amateur, superlative most amateur)

1. Non-professional.
2. Created, done, or populated by amateurs or non-professionals.

   amateur sports

3. Showing a lack of professionalism, experience or talent.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• amateurly
• amateur hour
• amateur night

Translations

Further reading

• “bungler” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.
• “ignoramus” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ə.məˈter]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) unknown
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.maˈter]

Adjective

amateur m or f (masculine and feminine plural amateurs)

1. amateur

Noun

amateur m or f by sense (plural amateurs)

1. amateur

   Synonym: aficionat

Further reading

• “amateur”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “amateur”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “amateur” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑ.maːˈtøːr/
• Hyphenation: ama‧teur

Noun

amateur m (plural amateurs, diminutive amateurtje n)

1. amateur

Derived terms

• amateurisme
• amateuristisch

Descendants

• → Indonesian: amatir
• → Papiamentu: amatùr

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin amātōrem (“lover”), from amō (“to love”). Compare Old French ameor, which was inherited from the same source but disappeared by the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ma.tœʁ/
• Hyphenation: a‧ma‧teur

Noun

amateur m (plural amateurs, feminine amatrice or amateure)

1. lover of something
2. amateur; hobbyist

   Coordinate term: professionnel

Adjective

amateur (feminine amateur or amateure or amatrice, masculine plural amateurs, feminine plural amateurs or amateures or amatrices)

1. amateur, amateurish

Descendants

Further reading

• “amateur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• marteau

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French amateur. Doublet of amatore.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.maˈtør/

Noun

amateur m or f by sense

1. amateur (non-professional)

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French amateur. Doublet of amador.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /amaˈteɾ/ [a.maˈt̪eɾ]
  • Rhymes: -eɾ
• IPA^(key): /amaˈteuɾ/ [a.maˈt̪eu̯ɾ]
  • Rhymes: -euɾ
  • Syllabification: a‧ma‧teur

Adjective

amateur m or f (masculine and feminine plural amateurs)

1. amateurish, amateur

   Synonyms: aficionado, chapucero, diletante, novato

Noun

amateur m or f by sense (plural amateurs)

1. amateur (person attached to a pursuit without pursuing it professionally)

   Synonym: profano

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Related terms

Further reading

• “amateur”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10