amusementn.
/əˈmjuːzm(ə)nt/, U.S. /əˈmjuzmənt/ 1. Distraction or diversion intended to gain or waste time; trifling with a person's attention or time. Also: an instance of this. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [noun]
gleea700
playeOE
gameeOE
lakec1175
skentingc1175
wil-gomenc1275
solacec1290
deduit1297
envesurec1300
playingc1300
disport1303
spilea1325
laking1340
solacingc1384
bourdc1390
mazec1390
welfarea1400
recreationc1400
solancec1400
sporta1425
sportancea1450
sportingc1475
deport1477
recreancea1500
shurting15..
ebate?1518
recreating1538
abatementc1550
pleasuring1556
comfortmenta1558
disporting1561
pastiming1574
riec1576
joyance1595
spleen1598
merriment1600
amusement1603
amusing1603
entertainment1612
spleena1616
divertisement1651
diversion1653
disportment1660
sporting of nature1666
fun1726
délassement1804
gammock1841
pleasurement1843
dallying1889
rec1922
good, clean fun1923
cracka1966
looning1966
shoppertainment1993
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [noun] > an evasion, subterfuge
evasionc1425
shift1545
subterfuge1563
tergiversation1570
amusement1603
shuffle1628
subterfugy1637
salvo1665
jank1705
fudge1797
shiffle-shufflea1871
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. iii. iv. 500 He by such a dispensation of amusements [Fr. amusements], diverting their head-long furie,..at length lulled them into so secure a sleepe.
1685 J. Johnston tr. J. B. Bossuet Expos. Doctr. Catholic Church xii. 24 If there be any Sense in these Words, if they be not an useless sound, and a vain amusement.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Amusement..the making of vain Promises to gain Time.
1710 N. Luttrell Diary 7 Mar. in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) VI. 553 This affair is look't upon only as a French amusement.
2. Distraction or diversion from the point at issue or real state of affairs; deception; (Military) diversion of the enemy's attention from one's real aim, strategy, or intent. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [noun] > action or practice of deceiving
swikingc1000
blindfolding?c1225
deceivancec1330
trechettingc1330
jugglingc1380
beguilingc1400
deceivingc1400
fagec1400
delusionc1420
sophisticationc1450
circumvention1534
illudinga1547
cheateryc1555
cheatingc1555
crossing1592
tricking1595
wiling?a1600
circumventing1603
practice1622
cheat1641
deluding1645
underdealing1649
amusement1658
conveyancing1676
bubbling1700
jockeyshipa1763
overreachinga1774
jockeying1779
beguilement1805
gaggery1819
trickstering1821
Jewing1842
wool-pulling1843
rigging1846
hoodwinking1858
old soldierism1866
old soldiering1867
fiddling1884
gold-bricking1901
wangling1911
finagling1926
hyping1968
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > lack of concentration, distraction > [noun] > causing
distractingc1440
avocationa1617
avokement1637
amusement1658
diversion1667
dissipation1733
evocation1770
misdirection1897
1658 tr. J. Ussher Ann. World vi. 357 Panariste, and Mania, and Gethosyne..held the people on in that amusement, till the coming of Ptolemei.
1692 tr. C. de Saint-Évremond Misc. Ess. 367 Too frequent Comparisons turn'd men from the Application to true Objects, by the Amusement of Resemblances.
1759 R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania 305 What he [sc. the governor] says..was mere Sophistry and Amusement.
1818 Gen. Index First 12 Volumes Niles' Weekly Reg. 112/1 Preparations on the heights around Boston, for the amusement of the enemy.
1836 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 301/2 All other species of reducing taxation is a juggle, a kind of legerdemain..for the amusement and deception of the people.
II. Entertainment, and related senses.
3.
a. In early use: pleasurable occupation of the mind as a diversion from more serious matters (in early use frequently depreciative, with the suggestion of idleness or triviality); recreation or relaxation derived from anything light or cheerful; (now esp.) pleasure derived from an enjoyable or interesting occupation or pastime.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > [noun] > pleasant excitement
amusement1603
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 761 The fittest season for such amusement and occupying of the eares is, when the feast beginneth a little to grow turbulent.
1698 F. Atterbury Disc. Death Lady Cutts 11 Pieces of pure Diversion and Amusement.
c1720 A. Pope in J. Swift Wks. (1841) I. 838 Amusement is the happiness of those that cannot think.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xlix. 188 The remainder of the summer shall be dedicated to your amusement.
1880 Frank Leslie's Pop. Monthly May 589/1 He painted simply for his own amusement.
1931 A. W. Upfield Sands of Windee 61 He was nearly always drunk, for there was no other form of amusement.
1987 Field & Stream May 162 [A column]..I read regularly for amusement, edification, and the possibility that I might come across something swipable.
2018 M. Moore Fabulous iii. 131 The newly formed ‘nightclub’ offered unique opportunities for nighttime amusement.
b. In early use: a trivial or time-wasting diversion or pastime. In later use: a means of recreation or relaxation; an enjoyable or interesting pastime, activity, game, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > [noun]
playeOE
gameeOE
disportc1380
sportc1443
museryc1450
pastime?1473
gaud1587
playgame1596
exercise1622
amusement1632
evagation1638
retirement1641
divertisement1642
diversiona1684
ploya1689
lounge1788
divertissement1804
happening1959
letterboxing1977
timepass1982
1632 H. Reynolds Mythomystes 17 They..seeme thence oftentimes extaticke, and as it were quite rauisht and exalted aboue the earth and all earthly amusements.
1673 W. Temple Observ. United Provinces ii. 119 Men are generally pleased with the Pomp and Splendor of a Government..as it is an amusement for idle people.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xlviii. 326 They have plays, and other amusements.
1859 A. Helps Friends in Council New Ser. I. 8 The commonplace despotic amusement of war.
1936 ‘C. Dane’ in N. Amer. Rev. Autumn 147 For three years..these papers have been an enormous amusement to me.
1994 R. Hendrickson Happy Trails 201 They proceeded to invent their own amusements and to run as wild as outhouse rats.
2001 S. Napier-Bell Black Vinyl White Powder (2002) i. 3 Fresh out of public school I was their posh bandboy, something of an amusement to them.
4. Humour excited by something comical or funny; entertainment or enjoyment derived from this. Cf. to the amusement of at Phrases.
ΚΠ
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 40 (1753) I. The Contest..relieves the Vacancies of life with Amusement and Laughter.
1794 J. P. Andrews Hist. Great Brit. connected with Chronol. Europe I. 237 The candidates being..dressed in white, their appearance, when tumbling in mud like porpoises, affords great amusement to the surrounding Northumbrians.
1866 John Bull 1 Sept. 584/1 [The witness] created some amusement by his description of Mr. Mum, the man in the moon.
1919 T. S. Eliot Let. 3 Sept. (1988) I. 328 He roared with amusement, and waved to me as he drove off.
1988 R. Basu Hours before Dawn xxii. 194 He stood behind a crowd to watch a street performer mimicking the peculiarities of the pedestrians for the amusement of the audience.
2001 J. McGowan Echoes Savage Land (2006) vii. 212 He watched with amusement as we tried to get a bite out of the apple that weaved back and forth on a string.
5. In plural. Rides, attractions, game machines, etc., at a fairground, resort, arcade, or the like.In earliest use with reference to stalls or booths at fairs.
ΚΠ
1848 Express 13 June 2/6 The various amusements with which the fair abounded were closed.
1894 Ice & Refrigeration Sept. 155/2 T. L. Rankin, inventor of the ‘Ice Railway’, is..the inventor and pioneer builder of this class of popular amusements.
1916 Atlantic Reporter 97 151/1 A fee of 25 cents is charged for admission to the pier, and none of the amusements can be used by any person who has not paid.
1949 Pop. Mech. Aug. 240/2 Amusements have come a long way since the days of the tiny Roman merry-go-round to the 200-ton, 150-foot-high Wonder Wheel at..Coney Island.
1981 United Press Internat. Newswire (Nexis) 7 Sept. A trade association for operators of commercial electronic games is telling the Supreme Court that popular video amusements such as Space Invaders and Asteroids may enhance a person's ‘physical skills’.
2013 T. Carver Black Road (e-book ed.) xi The seafront amusements were lit in a way that seemed simultaneously overly bright and depressing.
6. That which causes musing; bewilderment, puzzlement, confusion. Also: an instance of this. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > [noun] > confusion, bewilderment
astonishment1594
fluskering1660
amusement1663
fuzz1711
disconcertedness1752
disconcertion1754
disconcertment1759
bedazzlement1806
muzziness1814
bewilderment1819
flurrification1822
bedazement1888
disorientation1902
bemusement1907
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > abstraction, absent-mindedness > [noun]
amusement1663
reverie1690
abstractedness1705
absence1709
preoccupation1788
absentness1790
abstraction1791
absent-mindedness1845
misadvertence1870
not-thereness1902
la-la land1979
1663 L. Womock Aron-bimnucha or Antidote to cure Calamites 69 Absur'd allusions, designed on purpose to raise up amuzements and jealousies in the people.
1680 R. L'Estrange tr. Erasmus 20 Select Colloquies xx. 251 I give no heed to what Men do when they are under the Amusements of Death.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. viii. 311 This..if well heeded, might save us a great deal of useless Amusement and Dispute.
1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) xxii. cxv. 332 A strange Amusement on all hearts did seize.
1722 S. Harrison Acc. Election for Univ. Oxf. 10 'Tis very remarkable, and must be Matter of great Amusement.
7. Musing, thoughtful reflection, absorption in thought. Also: an instance of this; a reverie. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > thought > continued thinking, reflection, contemplation > [noun]
thoughta1387
consideration1388
contemplationc1390
meditationa1393
musinga1393
speculationa1450
studier1472
musea1500
recollection1576
contemplature1580
rumination1585
contemplating1587
amuse1606
meditating1609
theory1611
meditancea1625
amusement1694
cogitabundation1729
cogibundity1734
cogitabundity1744
think1834
recueillement1845
thunk1922
noodling1942
1694 W. Congreve Double-dealer iv. 51 I was fallen into the most agreeable amusement in the whole Province of Contemplation.
1712 W. Fleetwood Judgm. Church of Eng. in Case of Lay-bapt. Pref. sig. A9 I..fell into a strong and deep Amusement, revolving in my Mind, with great Perplexity, the amazing Change of our Affairs.
1794 T. Maurice Indian Antiq. III. v. 245 The majestic Lotos..affords to the enraptured botanist exhaustless matter of amusement and contemplation.
Phrases
to the amusement of (and variants): so as to amuse or entertain. Frequently with preceding quantifier or adverb of degree, as much (also greatly, somewhat, etc.) to the amusement of: so as to amuse or entertain a great deal, somewhat, etc.
ΚΠ
1756 London Mag. Dec. 601/2 The people of New-York prevailed on their allies, the kings of the Five Nations, to come over here to pay their compliments to queen Anne, which they accordingly did, to the great amusement of the people of this metropolis.
1790 World 13 July 2/4 He performed the undertaking.., much to the amusement and general satisfaction of the company present.
1861 Once a Week 19 Jan. 95/1 His command of the English language was remarkably good, the only slip..being once when the word ‘chess’..was transformed, somewhat to our amusement, into ‘cheese’.
1881 Daily Tel. 14 Feb. The Prince and his wife, to the amusement of some and the scandalisation of others, indulged in a violent bout of fisticuffs in open court.
1921 Sat. Evening Post 26 Feb. 38/1 He exchanges recipes with women in the apartment house, greatly to their amusement.
1971 F. Meynell My Lives vii. 103 A little later came, to my amusement, a notice that my application (never made) for a pension had been refused.
2018 Augusta (Georgia, U.S.) Chron. (Nexis) 24 Feb. a9 Much to the amusement of my wife, in recent years I have developed a strong interest in bird watching.
Compounds
C1.
a. As a modifier, with the sense ‘that provides recreation or entertainment; of or relating to amusements (sense 5)’, as in amusement room, amusement hall, amusement industry, etc.See also amusement arcade n., amusement park n.
ΚΠ
1834 Caledonian Mercury 3 May Suppose they shut up the clubs of the rich as well as the amusement rooms of the poor.
1870 D. J. Kirwan Palace & Hovel (1873) xxxivi. 493 The cheap amusement halls of London are of the very lowest kind to be found anywhere.
1936 Discovery Sept. 267/1 All the resources of amusement that a great amusement-centre [sc. Blackpool] can offer.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 11- c/6 (advt.) The new amusement machine, Pachinco, is sweeping the country like the pong games did five years ago.
1994 Which? Aug. 34/1 In order to clarify how the Act applied to fairgrounds the Health and Safety Executive working with the amusement industry, drew up a Code of Safe Practice.
2003 Disability Now July 30/3 If the kids in your party fancy thrills of a more man-made variety, they can go into the amusement area, which includes the rhino rollercoaster.
b. With participles, agent nouns, and verbal nouns, forming compounds in which amusement expresses the object of the underlying verb, as in amusement-lover, amusement-seeker, amusement-loving, amusement-seeking, etc.
ΚΠ
1748 S. Richardson Let. 15 Dec. (1964) 116 The Inattention of Story-Lovers and Amusement-Seekers will not suffer half of those Lessons..to be observed.
1850 T. Carter Contin. Mem. Working Man iv. 105 A fellow-workman, whom I will venture to call The Amusement Hunter.
1898 Daily News 8 Sept. 5/1 It may surprise old amusement lovers to learn that one of the original troupe of Christy Minstrels..is still alive.
1906 Bungalow Dec. 4/2 The Tivoli..caters for the amusement-loving people.
1992 Atlantic Dec. 80/2 What excuse have you, anyhow, for turning out flimsy, shallow, amusement-seeking creatures?
C2.
amusement arcade n. originally U.S. an indoor area containing slot machines, pinball machines, arcade machines, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > [noun] > amusement arcade
amusement arcade1901
nickelodeon1927
1901 N.Y. City Standard Guide 139 An extraordinary collection of beer saloons, concert gardens, tramp lodging houses,..penny amusement arcades, tattooing establishments,..and more beer saloons.
1958 Times 23 Aug. 8/6 A lady who also runs an amusement arcade and whose eyes flicker in time with the lights of her pin-ball machine.
2004 Holiday Which? Winter 28/2 Brash amusement arcades and greasy spoons combine with beer and bumper cars to keep most people happy.
amusement-mad adj. having an extremely strong or irrational desire for amusement.
ΚΠ
1897 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Sentinel 11 June 4/3 People are amusement mad and their madness is not healthy.
1931 G. J. Nathan Test. of Critic iv. iii. 179 The United States of the moment is amusement-mad to the point of insanity.
1990 H. Seymour Baseball (1990) xv. 226 Some workers had gained a day or a half-day off Saturdays, and it seemed that on weekends some people went amusement mad.
amusement park n. originally U.S. a large commercially-operated park or outdoor area for entertainment, having a variety of attractions such as fairground rides, shows, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun]
fairground1741
amusement park1890
Luna Park1911
pleasuredrome1917
theme park1960
1890 N.Y. Times 27 July 10 In the afternoon special efforts are to be made to entertain the children in the Amusement Park.
1923 R. D. Paine Comrades Rolling Ocean ix. 161 It had been picked up empty in one of the amusement parks outside the city.
2017 W. Wang Chem. 123 She drives us to Bay County Fair, my first real amusement park, with terrifying rides like the Sand Storm and the Zipper.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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