||Dil`et*tan"te (?), n.; pl.
Dilettanti (#). [It., prop. p. pr. of
dillettare to take delight in, fr. L. delectare to
delight. See Delight, v. t.] An admirer
or lover of the fine arts; popularly, an amateur; especially, one who
follows an art or a branch of knowledge, desultorily, or for
amusement only.
The true poet is not an eccentric creature, not a mere
artist living only for art, not a dreamer or a dilettante,
sipping the nectar of existence, while he keeps aloof from its deeper
interests.
J. C. Shairp.