semi-professionaln.adj.
A. n.
One who receives payment for an occupation or activity but does not rely on it for subsistence.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > [noun] > follower of occupation as profession > to earn money but not as livelihood
semi-professional1897
semi-pro1910
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > amateur or professional
varmint1812
shamateur1896
semi-professional1897
semi-pro1910
pro-am1951
1897 Sporting News (St. Louis, Missouri) 27 Mar. 1 Doheny was only a semi-professional before he joined the New Yorks.
1971 Daily Tel. 4 Oct. 11/2 From the beginning..semi-professionals and professionals swooped down on the city's many basements..where they offered new drama.
B. adj.
1.
a. Designating a person or group receiving payment for an occupation or activity but not relying on it for subsistence.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > [adjective] > trained in theoretic part of occupation > following occupation as livelihood > to earn money but not as livelihood
semi-professional1900
semi-pro1927
1900 G. Bell Let. 21 Mar. (1927) I. v. 70 He is a photographer, semi-professional.
1951 A. Koestler Age of Longing i. 8 Gaston..had become a semiprofessional dancer and near-gigolo.
1972 Daily Tel. 22 May 1/8 The Storm are a semi-professional group formed about nine months ago.
b. Applied to an organization, activity, etc., involving semi-professionals.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [adjective] > other types of company
capitalless1837
merged1839
multinational1854
co-op1872
acquiring1880
syndicated1889
trustified1890
bottom-heavy1895
prospectusless1898
wholly-owned1906
semi-pro1908
not-for-profit1913
blue chip1924
mature1928
geared1930
liquid1930
footloose1939
monoline1958
boutique1968
greenfield1969
me-too1976
semi-professional1976
demerged1980
unbundled1980
multidomestic1982
unorganized1986
1976 Eastern Evening News (Norwich) 9 Dec. 19/5 They would have to take drastic measures to keep the club within the semi-professional Magnet League any longer.
1978 Homes & Gardens Oct. 166 As each new instrument is made..it is tested in one of the semi-professional concerts given by the group.
2. Of or pertaining to an occupation considered intermediate in standing between a learned or skilled profession and a trade or handicraft.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > [adjective] > relating to skilled occupation > semi-
semi-professional1950
1950 T. H. Marshall Citizenship & Social Class 150 They [sc. techniques] lend themselves in the same way to the establishment of semi-professional associations.
1965 Word Study Oct. 3/1 I wonder, however, if most of us have not observed an equally wanton use of the word type among various professional and semiprofessional groups in our country.
3. Of equipment: of a kind or quality close to that appropriate for professional use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [adjective] > professional
professional1851
pro1916
semi-professional1953
semi-pro1980
1953 E. T. Canby Home Mus. Syst. xiii. 229 The semi-professional machines come with two or three speeds.
1975 Gramophone Sept. 531/2 3M announced a new line..called the CTR series, featuring..a semi~professional 8-track recorder-player.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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n.adj.1897