See Also: minstrel(dictionary)
minstrel(encyclopedia)
minstrel(dictionary)
minstrel show(encyclopedia)

minstrel (iou)



minstrel noun. ME.

A servant with a special function. rare. Only in ME.
Orig., a person employed by a patron to entertain with singing, story-telling, buffoonery, etc.; a jester. Now (Hist.), a medieval singer or musician, esp. one singing or reciting heroic or lyric poetry and providing musical accompaniment. ME.
transf. Any musician, singer, or poet. poet. & rhet. E18.
Hist. A member of a band of entertainers with blacked faces, performing songs and music ostensibly of black origin. Usu. in pl. M19.
blackface minstrel, Negro minstrel.
minstrelship noun minstrelsy, the performance of music L15-E19.