Entertaiment is a wide-ranging term that refers to any performance put on for the amusement or enjoyment of an audience. A dancer, singer, comedian, actor, or puppeteer is an entertainer, as are the members of your family who always try to make everyone laugh. The term entertainer derives from the verb entertain, which has long meant to keep up or maintain, but which came to also mean amuse. In other words, entertainment is a form of art that has an almost unlimited potential for creative remix. Learn more about the origins of entertaiment in this T E News article.
This entry is part of our fall 2011 special issue on Entertainment.