Entertaiment is something that affords pleasure, distraction or amusement. A clown at a birthday party, a Broadway show, a stadium rock concert, or even your friends fighting over the last potato chip are all forms of entertainment. It comes from the Old French word entretenir, which means “to hold together.” Then it became associated with hospitality—when you entertain guests, you are keeping them happy. Eventually, it came to mean anything that provides agreeable occupation for the mind or amusement for the senses: a pleasant diversion, such as solving the daily crossword puzzle; an agreeable amusement, such as a comedy.
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While business may be down in the film and record industry, independent filmmakers, recording artists and producers have found a new source of income—online entertainment.