Both Uses of
dilettante
in
The Souls of Black Folk
- Behind all its curiousness, so attractive alike to sage and dilettante, lie its dim dangers, throwing across us shadows at once grotesque and awful.†
Chpt 6 *dilettante = someone with an interest in an area, but without deep understanding
- Surely we have wit enough to found a Negro college so manned and equipped as to steer successfully between the dilettante and the fool.†
Chpt 6
Definitions:
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(1)
(dilettante) someone with an interest in a subject area, but without the knowledge or experience of a professionalDilettante is sometimes used derogatorily -- especially of someone wealthy who has no need to earn money in their field of interest.
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In the past, dilettante was also used to reference a person interested in the arts.