commedia dell'arte

American  

[kuh-mey-dee-uh del-ahr-tee, kawm-me-dyah del-lahr-te] / kəˈmeɪ di ə dɛlˈɑr ti, kɔmˈmɛ dyɑ dɛlˈlɑr tɛ /

noun

commedia dell'artes, plural commedias dell'arte, plural commedie dell'arte plural

1. Italian popular comedy, developed chiefly during the 16th–18th centuries, in which masked entertainers improvised from a plot outline based on themes associated with stock characters and situations.

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commedia dell'arte British  

/ kɔmˈmeːdia delˈlarte /

noun

1. a form of popular comedy developed in Italy during the 16th to 18th centuries, with stock characters such as Punchinello, Harlequin, and Columbine, in situations improvised from a plot outline

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• commedias dell'arte
  plural
• commedia dell'artes
  plural
• commedie dell'arte
  plural

Etymology

Origin of commedia dell'arte

1875–80; < Italian: literally, comedy of art

Example Sentences

He pulled out one of the books he’s reading, an illustrated tome about commedia dell’arte.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024

Now there are programs in prisons that have been running for almost a decade and the self-guided groups are creating their own plays and performances through commedia dell’arte.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2023

The actors josh with each other and the audience in the madcap communal spirit of commedia dell’arte troupers.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2021

I never gave much thought to the history of comedy until I started studying commedia dell’arte.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2021

A recurring bit includes one of them choking on French fries; commedia dell’arte experience helpful.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle