1. To be at the charges of; to take or keep in one's service; to maintain; to support; to harbor; to keep.
You, sir, I entertain for one of my hundred.
Shak. 2. To give hospitable reception and maintenance to; to receive at one's board, or into one's house; to
receive as a guest.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained unawares.
Heb. xiii. 2. 3. To engage the attention of agreeably; to amuse with that which makes the time pass pleasantly; to
divert; as, to entertain friends with conversation, etc.
The weary time she can not entertain.
Shak. 4. To give reception to; to receive, in general; to receive and take into consideration; to admit, treat, or
make use of; as, to entertain a proposal.
I am not here going to entertain so large a theme as the philosophy of Locke.
De Quincey.
A rumor gained ground, — and, however absurd, was entertained by some very sensible people.
Hawthorne. 5. To meet or encounter, as an enemy. [Obs.] Shak.
6. To keep, hold, or maintain in the mind with favor; to keep in the mind; to harbor; to cherish; as, to entertain
sentiments.
7. To lead on; to bring along; to introduce. [Obs.]
To baptize all nations, and entertain them into the services institutions of the holy Jesus.
Jer. Taylor. Syn. — To amuse; divert; maintain. See Amuse.
Entertain
(En`ter*tain") v. i. To receive, or provide entertainment for, guests; as, he entertains generously.
Entertain
(En`ter*tain"), n. [Cf. F. entretien, fr. entretenir.] Entertainment. [Obs.] Spenser.
Entertainer
(En`ter*tain"er) n. One who entertains.
Entertaining
(En`ter*tain"ing), a. Affording entertainment; pleasing; amusing; diverting. — En`ter*tain"ing*ly,
adv. — En`ter*tain"ing*ness, n.
Entertainment
(En`ter*tain"ment) n. [Cf. OF. entretenement.]
1. The act of receiving as host, or of amusing, admitting, or cherishing; hospitable reception; also, reception
or treatment, in general.
The entertainment of Christ by faith.
Baxter.
The sincere entertainment and practice of the precepts of the gospel.
Bp. Sprat. 2. That which entertains, or with which one is entertained; as: (a) Hospitality; hospitable provision for
the wants of a guest; especially, provision for the table; a hospitable repast; a feast; a formal or elegant
meal. (b) That which engages the attention agreeably, amuses or diverts, whether in private, as by
conversation, etc., or in public, by performances of some kind; amusement.
Theatrical entertainments conducted with greater elegance and refinement.
Prescott.
