Entertaiment is an agreeable occupation for the mind; diversion or amusement: A ball is an entertainment.
The word entertainment is derived from the Latin intertenere, meaning “to hold inside,” which is an apt description of the way in which we consume entertainment. It is a form of consumption that requires audience passivity.
A popular form of entertainment is storytelling, which has been used for centuries to entertain an audience. The story of Scheherazade, for example, has been told as a play, an orchestral piece by composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov and Ravel; it has been made into films; and it is the basis for many innovative video games. Entertaiment can also be used to attract attention to an event or business and can take the form of a celebrity appearance or an elaborate stage show.