Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The art or profession of a minstrel.
- noun A troupe of minstrels.
- noun Ballads and lyrics sung by minstrels.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The art or occupation of minstrels; singing and playing in the manner of a minstrel; lyrical song and music.
- noun An assemblage or company of minstrels; a body of singers and players.
- noun A collection of instruments used by minstrels.
- noun A collection or body of lyrical songs and ballad poetry, such as were sung by minstrels: as, Scott's “Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.”
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- noun obsolete Musical instruments.
- noun A collective body of minstrels, or musicians; also, a collective body of minstrels' songs.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The musical and other art and craft of a
minstrel . - noun A group of minstrels.
- noun Any similar modern group performing song and verse.
- noun A collection of minstrel
ballads .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun ballads sung by minstrels
- noun the art of a minstrel
- noun a troupe of minstrels
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Further, Weigel's invocation of "minstrelsy" rankles.
The M Word 2010
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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 Various
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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 Henry Edward Krehbiel 1888
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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.
Shakespeare His Life Art And Characters Hudson, H N 1872
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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.
Shakespeare: His Life, Art, And Characters, Volume I. With An Historical Sketch Of The Origin And Growth Of The Drama In England Henry Norman Hudson 1850
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A common, seemingly fantastical theme in early minstrelsy was the flamboyant dress of the slave characters.
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
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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.”
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
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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.
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
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Blackface minstrelsy was widely popular but not “respectable.”
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
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By the 1880s, minstrelsy had shed some of its lowbrow reputation and attained a degree of mainstream respectability.
A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010
seanahan commented on the word minstrelsy
The art or practice of a minstrel.
October 30, 2007