Origin Story
There is love at the heart of amateur. The Latin amare means "to love," and amator means "one who loves." The word entered 18th-century English by way of French amateur, and at first it carried an admiring sense: someone who pursues an art or activity out of pure love for it. Unlike the professional, who works for pay, the amateur does it simply because they adore it. So amateur was originally closer to a compliment. Over time, however, it also picked up a slightly dismissive shade — "not a professional, and therefore unpolished."
From the same amare ("to love") come amiable ("friendly"), amorous ("in love"), and the Spanish amigo ("friend"). Recall its original sense and amateur becomes a warm compliment: someone who truly loves what they do.
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Online Etymology Dictionaryamateur (n.): 1784, "one who has a taste for some art, study, or pursuit, but does not practice it," from French amateur "one who loves, lover," from Latin amatorem (nominative amator) "lover," from amatus, past participle of amare "to love"
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Merriam-Webster Dictionaryamateur: from French, from Latin amator lover, from amare to love
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Oxford English Dictionaryamateur: from French amateur, from Italian amatore, from Latin amator "lover," from amare "to love"
Word Evolution
Words from the Same Root
Memory Hook
Remember amateur as "one who does it out of love (ama-)" — out of affection, not for money.
""An amateur was, at heart, someone who did the work for love and not for money.""
