Other forms: amateurs
An amateur is someone who plays for love, not for money. An amateur player, amateur dramatics, strictly amateur.
The distinction ran through sport for a century and was as much about class as money, since only the wealthy could afford to compete unpaid. As an adjective it now often means unskilled, which is a slide from the original meaning. Note that the Latin amator means a lover.
1nounamateurSomeone who does something for love rather than money.
“He's only an amateur, but his photos are as good as any professional's.”
amateur is a non-professional.
French amateur comes from Latin amator, a lover, from amare, to love. Amiable and amorous come from the same love.
Latin
amātor — lover
French
amateur
English, today
amateur
Built from
Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin amātor (“lover”), from amāre (“to love”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA