masque

or mask

[mask, mahsk]

See more synonyms for masque on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.
a dramatic composition for such entertainment.
a masquerade; masked ball; revel.

mask(def 14).

Origin of masque

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

Can be confusedmask masque mosque

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for masque

mask, masquerade, masque

Examples from the Web for masque

Contemporary Examples of masque

Masque of the Red Death was the second-to-last Poe film I made.
Roger Corman: My Nine Most Memorable Films, From ‘The Trip’ to ‘Battle Beyond the Stars’
Roger Corman
December 16, 2011
V.S. Naipaul's new book, The Masque of Africa, has not been well received by critics.
The Best of Brit Lit
Peter Stothard
October 7, 2010

Historical Examples of masque

For himself, he has played and played and played, at the 'Masque,' till even I bade him stop.
The Genius
Margaret Horton Potter
"There is going to be a night masque, and a mock combat at the Louvre," the man said.
Saint Bartholomew's Eve
G. A. Henty
Somehow he had not seen the real story, but some game or masque.
The Innocence of Father Brown
G. K. Chesterton
It is a masque of the gods, and not a ballad like the Winning of Thor's Hammer.
Epic and Romance
W. P. Ker
We have given a few in the case of the masque and the 'Midsummer Night's Dream.'
The Valet's Tragedy and Other Stories
Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for masque

masque

mask

noun

a dramatic entertainment of the 16th to 17th centuries in England, consisting of pantomime, dancing, dialogue, and song, often performed at court
the words and music written for a masque
short for masquerade

Word Origin for masque

C16: variant of mask

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for masque

"masquerade, masked ball," 1510s, from Middle French masque; see mask (n.), with which it was originally identical. It developed a special sense of "amateur theatrical performance" (1560s) in Elizabethan times, when such entertainments (originally performed in masks) were popular among the nobility.