From Italian dilettante, "a lover of music or painting." So in English later a lover of the fine arts; originally, one who cultivates them for the love of them rather than professionally, and so = amateur as opposed to professional; but in later use generally applied more or less depreciatively to one who interests himself in an art or science merely as a pastime and without serious aim or study.
When it comes to economics, I think it's fair to say that I'm a dilettante in the Italian sense.
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