dilettante

****************************************************************
Spring into action with Merriam-Webster's Learner's Word
of the Day--perfect for ESL students. It's free!
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/learner_signup.html
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for May 16 is:

dilettante   \DIL-uh-tahnt\   noun 
     1 : an admirer or lover of the arts 
    *2 : a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of 
knowledge : dabbler 

Example sentence: 
     "He continued a dilettante, never quite abandoning his art, but working at 
it fitfully, and talking more about it than working at it." (William Dean 
Howells, _The Rise of Silas Lapham_) 

Did you know? 
     If someone calls you a dilettante, they're probably not too impressed with 
your devotion to your art. But "dilettante" didn't always have the disparaging 
tone that it has today. "Dilettante" is an Italian word, derived from 
"dilettare," meaning "to delight." In the 18th century, a dilettante was simply 
a person who delighted in the arts. Later, the term came to refer to someone 
who cultivates an art as a pastime without pursuing it professionally -- that 
is, an amateur. From this meaning developed the somewhat negative meaning that 
the word carries today, indicating a person who dabbles in an art or subject 
but is not truly devoted to it. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





You Are Subscribed As: GCLW-MW-WOD7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:

http://www.startsampling.com/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2006 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102

*mf mwt 051606 GCLW-MW-WOD7@xxxxxxxxx mf*

---
You are currently subscribed to mw-text as: GCLW-MW-WOD7@xxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
leave-mw-text-979910Y@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx