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minstrel - definition and meaning
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A medieval entertainer who traveled from place to place, especially to sing and recite poetry.
- noun A lyric poet.
- noun A musician.
- noun A performer in a minstrel show.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A musician, especially one who sings or recites to the accompaniment of instruments.
- noun Hence Any poet or musician. [Poetical.]3, Originally, one of a class of singers of negro melodies and delineators of life on the Southern plantations which originated in the United States about 1830: called
negro minstrels , although they are usually white men whose faces and hands are blackened with burnt cork.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun In the Middle Ages, one of an order of men who subsisted by the arts of poetry and music, and sang verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other instrument; in modern times, a poet; a bard; a singer and harper; a musician.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun historical A
medieval traveling entertainer who wouldsing andrecite poetry , often to his ownmusical accompaniment . - noun One of a
troupe of entertainers who woreblack makeup (blackface ) topresent avariety show ofsong ,dance andbanjo music ; nowconsidered racist .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a singer of folk songs
- verb celebrate by singing, in the style of minstrels
- noun a performer in a minstrel show
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Middle English minstral, from Old French menestrel, servant, entertainer, from Late Latin ministeriālis, official in the imperial household, from Latin ministerium, ministry; see ministry.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Middle English menestrel, from Old French menestral ("entertainer, servant, official") from Latin ministerialis ("servant"), from ministerium ("service"), from minister ("servant"). More at minister.
Support
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Examples
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That is called a minstrel show, circa the 21st century.
Kevin Powell: Ashley Judd and Hip-Hop Culture Kevin Powell 2011
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That is called a minstrel show, circa the 21st century.
Kevin Powell: Ashley Judd and Hip-Hop Culture Kevin Powell 2011
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Susan Stroman says "The Scottsboro Boys" makes use of the kind of broad stylized characters typical in minstrel shows.
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That is called a minstrel show, circa the 21st century.
Kevin Powell: Ashley Judd and Hip-Hop Culture Kevin Powell 2011
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That is called a minstrel show, circa the 21st century.
Kevin Powell: Ashley Judd and Hip-Hop Culture Kevin Powell 2011
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True to form, this crowd included vendors selling political memorabilia, including 'don't tread on me,' flags and buttons with President Obama's image in minstrel white-face, or with the president smoking dope.
Jeanine Molloff: In the City of Dred Scott--The Cops War on Videos of Cops Jeanine Molloff 2010
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Susan Stroman says "The Scottsboro Boys" makes use of the kind of broad stylized characters typical in minstrel shows.
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Mixing roles "The Scottsboro Boys" makes use of the kind of broad stylized characters typical in minstrel shows and has many of the actors playing multiple roles - including white stereotypes.
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That is called a minstrel show, circa the 21st century.
Kevin Powell: Ashley Judd and Hip-Hop Culture Kevin Powell 2011
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Historical: blackface was used in minstrel shows and later in blackface sketches in more mainstream vaudeville to humorously denigrate African Americans.
Related Words
synonyms (95)
Words with the same meaning
- Broadway musical
- Meistersinger
- Parnassian
- Singspiel
- arch-poet
- artist
- artiste
- ballad maker
- ballad opera
- ballad singer
- balladeer
- balladist
- balladmonger
- ballet
- ballet divertissement
- bard
- beat poet
- bucoliast
- chorus show
- comedy ballet
- comic opera
- concert artist
- dance drama
- elegist
- entertainer
- epic poet
- executant
- fili
- folk singer
- folk-rock singer
- gleeman
- grand opera
- idyllist
- imagist
- interpreter
- jongleur
- laureate
- librettist
- light opera
- lyric drama
- maestro
- major poet
- maker
- minnesinger
- minor poet
- minstrel show
- minstrelsy
- modernist
- music drama
- music maker
- musical
- musical comedy
- musical stage
- musical theater
- musician
- occasional poet
- odist
- opera
- opera ballet
- opera bouffe
- opera buffa
- operetta
- pastoral poet
- pastoralist
- performer
- player
- poet
- poet laureate
- poetress
- rhapsode
- rhapsodist
- satirist
- scald
- scop
- serenader
- singer
- skald
- soloist
- song-and-dance act
- song-play
- sonneteer
- street singer
- strolling minstrel
- symbolist
- troubador
- troubadour
- trouveur
- trovatore
- tunester
- vers libriste
- vers-librist
- virtuosa
- virtuoso
- wait
- wandering minstrel
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