masque
Americannoun
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masques
plural
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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.
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a dramatic composition for such entertainment.
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a masquerade; masked ball; revel.
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mask.
noun
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a dramatic entertainment of the 16th to 17th centuries in England, consisting of pantomime, dancing, dialogue, and song, often performed at court
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the words and music written for a masque
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short for masquerade
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of masque
From Middle French, dating back to 1505–15; see origin at mask
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The actual transformation occurs in Jonson’s subsequent masque.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025
I also got a hydrating, collagen-boosting facial, an herbal hair steam and a conditioning hair masque.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
By the time you get to the masque near the end, featuring impenetrable spoofs of the nine classical “worthies,” you may doubt young Shakespeare’s judgment of worthiness.
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
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
Ash wondered suddenly if Ana and Clara were dancing with the hunters at the royal masque.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Its Baroque references connect medieval France to the glittery splendor of 17th-century allegorical court masques.
From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2023
The sort of masques that influenced “The Tempest” were designed to show royal authority bringing order out of chaos.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 2, 2016
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
In the Duke of Devonshire’s collection of drawings, by Inigo Jones, are several cries, drawn in pen-and-ink, for the masques at court in the reigns of James I. and Charles I.
From A History of the Cries of London Ancient and Modern by Charles Hindley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
