A dilettante (from the Italian dilettare, “to delight”) was a non-professional exponent of an art. Its use in Italian dates from the late 17th century and in English from the early 18th. Together with the related terms “connoisseur” (French connaisseur) and “amateur” (French amateur), it has since the 18th century covered a complex field of non-professional performance and reception of art, against the background of a professionalization process driven by institutions in the ar…