masque

American  

[mask, mahsk] / mæsk, mɑsk /

Or mask

noun

• masques
  plural

1. a form of aristocratic entertainment in England in the 16th and 17th centuries, originally consisting of pantomime and dancing but later including dialogue and song, presented in elaborate productions given by amateur and professional actors.

2. a dramatic composition for such entertainment.

3. a masquerade; masked ball; revel.

4. mask.

---

masque British  

/ mɑːsk /

noun

1. a dramatic entertainment of the 16th to 17th centuries in England, consisting of pantomime, dancing, dialogue, and song, often performed at court

2. the words and music written for a masque

3. short for masquerade

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• masques
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of masque

From Middle French, dating back to 1505–15; see origin at mask

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

masque masques

The actual transformation occurs in Jonson’s subsequent masque.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

The masque, performed by gentle spirits, enchants the betrothed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2025

The spirit trumpet is one of a number of arcane and intriguing objects in Linder’s exhibition, which is titled The House of Fame, in tribute to a Ben Jonson masque and Chaucer’s dream poem.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 22, 2018

No production, including this one, manages completely to resolve the stylistic tensions built into “Candide,” which hovers between opera and musical theater, and strives to be satirical masque and cautionary tale.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2017

Years ago, her grandfather had taken her to see a masque in Bridgetown, in which a troupe of players from England had acted out the ancient Christmas story.

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare

Salieri adroitly handles the dizzying array of situations that Beaumarchais throws his way, generating Oriental marches, love duets, shepherd masques, and bloodthirsty monologues.

From The New Yorker ● May 27, 2019

“Including 55 serious operas, 6 cantatas, 53 comic operas, 17 operettas, 6 sing-spiele, 4 ballets, 4 vaudevilles, 2 oratorios, one each of fares, pastorales, masques, ballads and buffas.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 1, 2017

This was a 21st-century equivalent of those court masques loved and indulged in by Tudor monarchs.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 5, 2012

“As You Like It” and “The Tempest” contain festive masques with dancing.

From Washington Post

I am but a poor scholar, Madam; knowing the names and stories of gods and heroes only from songs and masques.

From Limbo and Other Essays To which is now added Ariadne in Mantua by Vernon Lee

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---