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burlesque

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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.
Use burlesque in a Sentence
Origin:
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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bur·lesque   (bər-lěsk')   
n.  

  1. A literary or dramatic work that ridicules a subject either by presenting a solemn subject in an undignified style or an inconsequential subject in a dignified style. See Synonyms at caricature.

  2. A ludicrous or mocking imitation; a travesty: The antics of the defense attorneys turned the trial into a burlesque of justice.

  3. A variety show characterized by broad ribald comedy, dancing, and striptease.

v.   bur·lesqued, bur·lesqu·ing, bur·lesques

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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Word Origin & History

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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