different between layman vs amateur

English

Etymology

From Middle English lay +? man.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?le?m?n/
• Rhymes: -e?m?n

Noun

layman (plural laymen)

1. Layperson, someone who is not an ordained cleric or member of the clergy.
2. (by extension) Someone who is not a professional in a given field.

3. A common person.
4. A person who is untrained or lacks knowledge of a subject.
   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 221d.

     should he be held to be just a layman, or does he have some art?

5. A generally ignorant person.
6. Lay-sister or lay-brother, person received into a convent of monks, following the vows, but not being member of the order.

Antonyms

• cleric
• priest
• monk
• friar
• expert
• specialist
• professional

Derived terms

• in layman's terms

Related terms

• laity

Translations

Anagrams

• yalman

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin am?t?r (“lover”), from am?re (“to love”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?æ.m?.t?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?æ.m?.t?/, /?æ.m?.t??/, /?æ.m?.t???/

Noun

amateur (plural amateurs)

1. (now rare) A lover of something.
   • 2006, John Hailman, Thomas Jefferson on Wine, University of Mississippi 2006, p. x:

     he conducted extensive correspondence on wines with European suppliers, employing a wine vocabulary familiar to any modern amateur of wines.

2. A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or attachment without engaging in it professionally.

3. Someone who is unqualified or insufficiently skillful.

Synonyms

• (person attached to a pursuit without pursuing it professionally): hobbyist
• (someone unqualified): dabbler, dilettante, punk

Derived terms

• radio amateur

Related terms

• amateuse

Translations

Adjective

amateur (comparative more amateur, superlative most amateur)

1. Non-professional.
2. Created, done, or populated by amateurs or non-professionals.

   amateur sports

3. Showing a lack of professionalism, experience or talent.

   Duct tape is a sure sign of amateur workmanship.

Translations

Derived terms

• amateurly
• amateur hour
• amateur night

Further reading

• “bungler” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.
• “ignoramus” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /?.m??te/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /?.m??ter/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /a.ma?te?/

Adjective

amateur (masculine and feminine plural amateurs)

1. amateur

Noun

amateur m or f (plural amateurs)

1. amateur

   Synonym: aficionat

Further reading

• “amateur” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “amateur” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “amateur” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.ma??tø?r/
• Hyphenation: ama?teur

Noun

amateur m (plural amateurs, diminutive amateurtje n)

1. amateur

Derived terms

• amateurisme
• amateuristisch

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: amatir

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin am?tor (“lover”), from am? (“to love”). Compare Old French ameor, which was inherited from the same source but disappeared by the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.ma.tœ?/

Noun

amateur m (plural amateurs, feminine amatrice)

1. amateur
2. a lover of something

Adjective

amateur (feminine singular amateur or amateure or amatrice, masculine plural amateurs, feminine plural amateurs or amateures or amatrices)

1. amateur

Descendants

Further reading

• “amateur” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• marteau

Italian

Etymology

From French amateur. Doublet of amatore.

Noun

amateur m or f (plural amateur)

1. amateur (non-professional)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur. Doublet of amador.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ama?te?/, [a.ma?t?e?]

Adjective

amateur (plural amateures)

1. amateurish, amateur

   Synonyms: aficionado, chapucero, diletante, novato

Noun

amateur m or f (plural amateures)

1. amateur (person attached to a pursuit without pursuing it professionally)

Related terms

• amateurismo

Further reading

• “amateur” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.