Passetyme

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An enjoyable recreation or amusement that someone takes up to occupy their leisure hours
2. A diverting activity or entertainment pursued for pleasure during spare time, as in older English usage
3. Any agreeable diversion that fills idle time and provides enjoyment, a pastime in archaic spelling

Etymology: Passetyme is an older spelling of "pastime," and its parts are plain. "Pass" here is the verb in its old sense of spending or getting through a period, and "time" is the period itself. A passetyme was therefore whatever filled the hours pleasantly, so the sense of the verb was closer to "spend" than to "go by." The verb came into English from Old French "passer," which goes back to Late Latin "passare." Over the centuries the spelling settled into "pastime," while the underlying idea of time being passed in amusement stayed the same.

Synonyms: pastime, recreation, hobby, diversion