- amateur
- amateur [am′ə chər, am′əchoor΄; am′ə tʉr΄, am′ə tər]n.[Fr < L amator, lover < pp. of amare, to love]1. a person who engages in some art, science, sport, etc. for the pleasure of it rather than for money; a nonprofessional; specif., an athlete who is variously forbidden by rule to profit from athletic activity2. a person who does something without professional skill3. a person who is somewhat unskillfuladj.1. of or done by an amateur or amateurs2. being an amateur or made up of amateurs3. amateurishSYN.- AMATEUR refers to one who does something for the pleasure of it rather than for pay and often implies a relative lack of skill; a DILETTANTE is an amateur in the arts, but the word is also applied disparagingly to a superficial dabbler in the arts; NOVICE and NEOPHYTE refer to one who is a beginner, hence inexperienced, in some activity, NEOPHYTE carrying additional connotations of youthful enthusiasm; TYRO refers to an inexperienced but self-assertive beginner and generally connotes incompetence-ANT. PROFESSIONAL, EXPERT
English World dictionary. V. Neufeldt. 2014.