Entertaiment is a broad category of activities, often strongly associated with fun and amusement. It can be a private entertainment selected from a wide variety of pre-recorded products, an occasion adapted for two, or even a performance intended for thousands, as in ceremonies, festivals, religious festivities, or satire.

It is not surprising that a whole industry has developed from the production of films and music, to books and other reading materials, and to live performances. However, it is interesting to note that the word itself has a rather limited origin. It is a contraction of the Latin intertenere, derived from the Indo-European root ten.