late 15c., "to keep up, maintain, to keep (someone) in a certain frame of mind," from Middle French entretenir, from Old French entretenir "hold together, stick together, support" (12c.), from entre- "among" (from Latin inter; see inter-) + tenir "to hold" (from Latin tenere; see tenet).
Sense of "have a guest" is late 15c.; that of "gratify, amuse" is 1620s. Meaning "to allow (something) to consideration, take into the mind" (of opinions, notions, etc.) is 1610s. Related: Entertained; entertaining.
中文解释
1. enter- (inter-) + -tain.2. => keep or hold someone's mind among many different and interesting things.=> keep or hold something like amusing or treat between / among people.=> keep or hold something attractive or interesting among / in one's mind.3. 所谓花花世界、五彩缤纷、其乐无穷，由此引申义：娱乐，助兴。4. 类推：The original Old French version of enterprise was emprise.5. => The original Old French version of entertain was *emtenir(*emtain).6. 因此这里的enter-前缀应该说还含有“in”的含义，这还可以从单词enter及该前缀的源头可以看出来。7. enter- "in" => hold or keep one's mind in something, hold (in), keep (in), maintain (in).8. 进入一种拿在手里玩的状态.
实用例句
1. I wouldn't entertain the idea of such an unsociable job.
我不会考虑从事这种不跟人打交道的工作。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I feel how foolish I am to entertain doubts.
我竟然心存怀疑，真是太愚蠢了。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Michael left his sickbed to entertain his house guests.
迈克尔走下病床去招待客人。
来自柯林斯例句
4. She had to entertain some boring local bigwigs.
她不得不款待当地一些无聊的大人物。
来自《权威词典》
5. The television programme is designed to educate and not merely to entertain.