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burlesque - 7 dictionary results
bur⋅lesque
[ber-lesk] 
noun, adjective, verb, -lesqued, -lesquing.–noun
| 1. | an artistic composition, esp. literary or dramatic, that, for the sake of laughter, vulgarizes lofty material or treats ordinary material with mock dignity. |
| 2. | any ludicrous parody or grotesque caricature. |
| 3. | Also, bur⋅lesk. a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus. |
–adjective
| 4. | involving ludicrous or mocking treatment of a solemn subject. |
| 5. | of, pertaining to, or like stage-show burlesque. |
–verb (used with object)
| 6. | to make ridiculous by mocking representation. |
–verb (used without object)
| 7. | to use caricature. |
Origin:
1650–60; < F < It burlesco, equiv. to burl(a) jest (perh. < Sp; cf. burladero ) + -esco -esque
1650–60; < F < It burlesco, equiv. to burl(a) jest (perh. < Sp; cf. burladero ) + -esco -esque
Related forms:
bur⋅lesque⋅ly, adverb
bur⋅lesqu⋅er, noun
Synonyms:
1. satire, lampoon, farce. Burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty refer to the literary or dramatic forms that imitate serious works or subjects to achieve a humorous or satiric purpose. The characteristic device of burlesque is mockery of both high and low through association with their opposites: a burlesque of high and low life. Caricature, usually associated with visual arts or with visual effects in literary works, implies exaggeration of characteristic details: The caricature emphasized his nose. Parody achieves its humor through application of the manner or technique, usually of a well-known writer, to unaccustomed subjects: a parody by Swift. Travesty implies a grotesque form of burlesque: characters so changed as to produce a travesty.
1. satire, lampoon, farce. Burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty refer to the literary or dramatic forms that imitate serious works or subjects to achieve a humorous or satiric purpose. The characteristic device of burlesque is mockery of both high and low through association with their opposites: a burlesque of high and low life. Caricature, usually associated with visual arts or with visual effects in literary works, implies exaggeration of characteristic details: The caricature emphasized his nose. Parody achieves its humor through application of the manner or technique, usually of a well-known writer, to unaccustomed subjects: a parody by Swift. Travesty implies a grotesque form of burlesque: characters so changed as to produce a travesty.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To burlesque
| bur·lesque (bər-lěsk') n.
v. tr. To imitate mockingly or humorously: "always bringing junk . . . home, as if he were burlesquing his role as provider" (John Updike). v. intr. To use the methods or techniques of burlesque. [From French, comical, from Italian burlesco, from burla, joke, probably from Spanish, from Vulgar Latin *burrula, diminutive of Late Latin burrae, nonsense, from burra, wool.] bur·lesque' adj., bur·lesque'ly adv., bur·lesqu'er n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Burlesque
Bur*lesque"\, a. [F. burlesque, fr. It. burlesco, fr. burla jest, mockery, perh. for burrula, dim. of L. burrae trifles. See Bur.] Tending to excite laughter or contempt by extravagant images, or by a contrast between the subject and the manner of treating it, as when a trifling subject is treated with mock gravity; jocular; ironical. It is a dispute among the critics, whether burlesque poetry runs best in heroic verse, like that of the Dispensary, or in doggerel, like that of Hudibras. --Addison.Burlesque
Bur*lesque"\, n. 1. Ludicrous representation; exaggerated parody; grotesque satire. Burlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in the accouterments of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people. --Addison. 2. An ironical or satirical composition intended to excite laughter, or to ridicule anything. The dull burlesque appeared with impudence, And pleased by novelty in spite of sense. --Dryden. 3. A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion. Who is it that admires, and from the heart is attached to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute? --Burke. Syn: Mockery; farce; travesty; mimicry.Burlesque
Bur*lesque"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burlesqued; p. pr. & vb. n. Burlesquing.] To ridicule, or to make ludicrous by grotesque representation in action or in language. They burlesqued the prophet Jeremiah's words, and turned the expression he used into ridicule. --Stillingfleet.Burlesque
Bur*lesque"\, v. i. To employ burlesque.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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burlesque
1667, "derisive imitation, grotesque parody," from Fr. burlesque, from It. burlesco, from burla "joke, fun, mockery," possibly ult. from L.L. burra "trifle, nonsense," lit. "flock of wool." Modern sense of "variety show featuring striptease" is Amer.Eng., 1870. Originally (1857) "the sketches at the end of minstrel shows."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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