DILETTANTE

dilettante, an italian word for one who delights in the fine arts, especially in music and painting, so a lover of the fine arts in general. the ital. _dilettare_ is from lat. _delectare_, to delight. properly the word refers to an "amateur" as opposed to a "professional" cultivation of the arts, but like "amateur" it is often used in a depreciatory sense for one who is only a dabbler, or who only has a superficial knowledge or interest in art. the dilettanti society founded in 1733-1734 still exists in england. a history of the society, by lionel cust, was published in 1898.