vaudeville
Use Vaudeville in a sentence
vɪl, ˈvoʊd-, ˈvɔ noun
1.
theatrical entertainment consisting of a number of individual performances, acts, or mixed numbers, as by comedians, singers, dancers, acrobats, and magicians. Compare variety ( def 9 ).
2.
a theatrical piece of light or amusing character, interspersed with songs and dances.
3.
a satirical cabaret song.
Origin:
1730–40; < French, shortened alteration of Middle French chanson du vau de Vire song of the vale1 of Vire, a valley of Calvados, France, noted for satirical folksongs
1730–40; < French, shortened alteration of Middle French chanson du vau de Vire song of the vale1 of Vire, a valley of Calvados, France, noted for satirical folksongs
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To vaudeville
00:10
Vaudeville
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
vaudeville (ˈvəʊdəvɪl, ˈvɔː-) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | chiefly (US), (Canadian) Brit name: music hall variety entertainment consisting of short acts such as acrobatic turns, song-and-dance routines, animal acts, etc, popular esp in the early 20th century |
| 2. | a light or comic theatrical piece interspersed with songs and dances |
| [C18: from French, from vaudevire satirical folk song, shortened from chanson du vau de Vire song of the valley of Vire, a district in Normandy where this type of song flourished] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
vaudeville
1739, "light, popular song," especially one sung on the stage, from Fr. vaudeville, alteration (by influence of ville "town") of M.Fr. vaudevire, said to be from (chanson du) Vau de Vire "(song of the) valley of Vire," in the Calvados region of Normandy, first applied to the popular satirical songs of
Olivier Basselin, a 15c. poet who lived in Vire. The other alternative is that vaudevire derives from M.Fr. dialectal vauder "to go" + virer "to turn." The meaning "theatrical entertainment interspersed with songs" first recorded 1827. Vaudevillian (n.) is attested from 1913.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
vaudeville [(vawd-vuhl, vaw-duh-vil)]Light theatrical entertainment, popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consisting of a succession of short acts. A vaudeville show usually included comedians, singers, dancers, jugglers, trained animals, magicians, and the like.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
These performances consist of vaudeville-style entertainment.
And yes, even vaudeville stars and politicians have been known to lie.
At mid-century the comics were dominated by action and adventure, vaudeville and melodrama, slapstick and gags.
He started as an operator of penny arcades and soon moved on to larger nickelodeons and then to small-time vaudeville theaters.
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