Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The art or profession of a minstrel.
- n. A troupe of minstrels.
- n. Ballads and lyrics sung by minstrels.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The art or occupation of minstrels; singing and playing in the manner of a minstrel; lyrical song and music.
- n. An assemblage or company of minstrels; a body of singers and players.
- n. A collection of instruments used by minstrels.
- n. A collection or body of lyrical songs and ballad poetry, such as were sung by minstrels: as, Scott's “Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.”
Wiktionary
- n. The musical and other art and craft of a minstrel.
- n. A group of minstrels.
- n. Any similar modern group performing song and verse.
- n. A collection of minstrel ballads.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- n. obsolete Musical instruments.
- n. A collective body of minstrels, or musicians; also, a collective body of minstrels' songs.
WordNet 3.0
- n. ballads sung by minstrels
- n. the art of a minstrel
- n. a troupe of minstrels
Etymologies
- From Middle English minstralcie, from 13th century Anglo-Norman menestralsie, menestralcie, from Middle French or directly from Old French menestrel 'minstrel', itself from Medieval Latin ministralis "servant, jester, singer," from Late Latin ministerialis "imperial household officer, one having an official duty", from the adjective ministerialis "ministerial, servants -", from Latin ministerium 'service' (Wiktionary)
- Middle English minstralsie, from Anglo-Norman menestralsie, from Old French menestrel, entertainer; see minstrel. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Further, Weigel's invocation of "minstrelsy" rankles.”
“Richard, who loved "rich meats," and cared little at this time for their usual accompaniment, "minstrelsy," --”
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 392, October 3, 1829
“Tannhäuser is not an invention, though it is to Wagner alone that we owe his association with the famous contest of minstrelsy which is the middle picture in Wagner's drama.”
A Book of Operas Their Histories, Their Plots, and Their Music
“And it is much the same with his addiction to vinous revelry, and to the moister kind of minstrelsy; an addiction that proceeds in part from his keen gust of fun, and the happiness he finds in making sport for others as well as for himself: he will drink till the world turns round, but not unless others are at hand to enjoy the turning along with him.”
“Blackface minstrelsy was widely popular but not “respectable.””
“By the 1880s, minstrelsy had shed some of its lowbrow reputation and attained a degree of mainstream respectability.”
“A common, seemingly fantastical theme in early minstrelsy was the flamboyant dress of the slave characters.”
“It is certainly no accident that most of the creators of blackface minstrelsy spent time in the city known as “the Queen of the West.””
“Blackface minstrelsy is now often considered to be antiblack parody, and some of it certainly was, but scholars have recently begun to see the songs of Dan Emmett and many other performers in the genre as expressions of desire for the freedoms they saw in the culture of the slaves.”
“The Jewish influx into blackface minstrelsy was so pronounced that the Morning Telegraph was compelled to announce in 1899 that “Hebrews Have Been Chosen to Succeed Coons.””
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘minstrelsy’.
-
marginalia
exuberance, potsherds, earthbound, marcher, märchen, pastiche, transliterated, crocodile, oxbridge, jejune, publican, antithesis and 143 more...
-
vmarinelli's Words
canard, gumption, inexorable, insouciance, inviolable, mordant, euphonious, sawbuck, carpe diem, pay dirt, adipocere, profligate and 496 more...
-
noble mythical words
halcyon, yore, chevalier, geas, dour, clarion, codex, selkie, mythic, rime, hoarfrost, eldritch and 112 more...
-
Dewitful
visions of witfulness and vision - a wise guise
revision, advisor, ideal, witty, witness, veda, druid, penguin, hadal, idea, story, history and 269 more...
-
dramatobiotics's Words
chord, superset, minstrelsy, ply, quirk, bad handle, spin, betch, frenetic, spinnaker, seriph, palimpsest and 40 more...
-
string alongs (and shorts too)
string instruments and instrumentation
zither, guitar, bouzouki, rebec, violin, cithara, fiddle, fidicinal, twang, fret, gadulka, maqui and 54 more...
-
Poetrie: Ballade of Good Doctrine to ...
Four translations of Villon's "Ballade de bonne doctrine a ceux de mauvaise vie" (~1461)
Ballad of Good Doctrine
To Those of Evil Life (H. De Vere stacpoole, 1914) ...screeve, go cheap-jack, fake the broads, fig a nag, thimble-rig, knap a yack, pitch a snide, smash a rag, duff, nose and lag, get the straight, land your pot and 37 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for minstrelsy.
seanahan The art or practice of a minstrel. Oct 30, 2007