| 释义 |
amateur|æməˈtɜː(r), ˈæmətjʊə(r), -tə(r)|
[a. Fr. amateur ad. L. amātōr-em, n. of agent f. amā-re to love. Occ. pron. as Fr.; often with (ɜː) for Fr. eu; some who say |jʊə| still keep the stress on last syllable. So with the derivatives.]
1. One who loves or is fond of; one who has a taste for anything.
1784Europ. Mag. 268 The President will be left with his train of feeble Amateurs. a1797Burke (T.) Those who are the greatest amateurs or even professors of revolutions. 1801M. Edgeworth Irish Bulls xiv. (1832) 266 The whole boxing corps and gentlemen amateurs crowded to behold the spectacle. 1817Chalmers Astron. Disc. i. (1852) 40 The amateurs of a superficial philosophy. 1863Mrs. Atkinson Tartar Steppes 89, I am no amateur of these melons.
2. a. One who cultivates anything as a pastime, as distinguished from one who prosecutes it professionally; hence, sometimes used disparagingly, as = dabbler, or superficial student or worker. See also quot. 1861.
1786European Mag. Dec. 421/1 Dr. Percival..writes on philosophical subjects as an amateur rather than as a master. c1803Rees Cycl., Amateur, in the Arts, is a foreign term introduced and now passing current amongst us, to denote a person understanding, and loving or practising the polite arts of painting, sculpture, or architecture, without any regard to pecuniary advantage. 1807Edin. Rev. X. 461 It was not likely that an amateur..should convict these astronomers of gross ignorance. 1827–39De Quincey Murder Wks. 1862 IV. 15 Not amateurs, gentlemen, as we are, but professional men. 1861B. Hemyng in Mayhew London Lab. Extra vol. (1862) 221/2 This class [of prostitutes] have been called the ‘amateurs’, to contradistinguish them from the professionals, who devote themselves to it entirely as a profession. 1882Boy's Own Paper IV. 807 Our amateurs are improving, and the interval between them and the professionals is growing beautifully less.
b. Often prefixed (in apposition) to another designation, as amateur painter, amateur gardener.
1805Wynne Diaries 8 May (1940) III. vii. 166 The Amateur performers were Mrs. W. Jerningham on the Harp, myself on the Piano. 1818E. Blaquière tr. Pananti's Narr. Res. Algiers xiv. 266 There are, also, many amateur performers, but these always practice at home. 1822De Quincey Confess. 7 The number of amateur opium-eaters (as I may term them) was, at this time, immense. a1855C. Brontë Emma in Cornhill Mag. (1860) Apr. 496 Any secret quest was to his taste; perhaps there was something of the amateur detective in him. 1863Burton Bk. Hunter 101 Amateur purchasers do not, in the long run, make a profit. 1866Geo. Eliot F. Holt 38 He's a sort of amateur gentleman. 1953B. Gordon-Cumming Gentle Rain 160 I've appointed myself amateur detective and am trying to discover a few things.
3. a. Hence attrib. almost adj. Done by amateurs. Cf. amateur gardener with amateur gardening.
a1828J. Bernard Retrosp. of Stage (1830) I. iv. 78 A party of ladies and gentlemen, who were going to get up an amateur play at Poole. Ibid. II. iii. 73 This was..the best piece of amateur acting I ever saw. 1848‘L. Mariotti’ Italy II. iii. 84 Not merely a subject for amateur discussion. 1849Sir J. Stephen Eccles. Biogr. (ed. 2) I. 442 The evening closed with amateur theatricals. 1862Helps Organiz. Daily Life 64 The getting-up of an amateur play. 1873C. M. Yonge Pillars of House III. xxv. 42 He dabbled in everything that was not his proper occupation—concerts, amateur theatricals, periodical literature. 1882St. Nicholas II. 717 Amateur Newspapers. 1882Boy's Own Paper IV. 415 Amateur running records. 1892Pall Mall Gaz. 27 Feb. 6/2 The judge: Was this an amateur company?—Yes; they took money out of it.—The judge: Oh, then, I don't call that amateur. 1962‘S. Nash’ Killed by Scandal i. 21 Young men who had wasted their time on amateur theatricals.
b. Used disparagingly. Cf. sense 2.
1814M. Edgeworth Patronage I. vi. 183 Sir Amyas talked a great deal of amateur nonsense. 1903Kipling Five Nations 194 'Ow we're sugared about by the old men ('Eavy-sterned amateur old men!) That 'amper an' 'inder an' scold men. 1950T. S. Eliot Cocktail Party i. i. 37 Peter. I met her here, about a year ago. Edward. At one of Lavinia's amateur Thursdays? Peter. A Thursday. Why do you say amateur? Edward. Lavinia's attempts at starting a salon. |