Entertainment is the activity that holds our interest and attention, gives us pleasure or delight, amuses or distracts, amuses or provokes laughter. It can involve a single person enjoying music or a comedy show; it can extend to a whole family or an entire community in a performance or festival; and it may take the form of ritual or ceremonial activity, religious celebration, social or political gathering, or satire. It can also be a part of an education or a way to pass time.
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The word entertain comes from the Latin intertenere, and has roots in the Indo-European word ten, meaning to stretch. It is this stretching that gives entertainment its transformative power.