minstrel

American  

[min-struhl] / ˈmɪn strəl /

noun

• minstrels
  plural

1. a medieval poet and musician who sang or recited while accompanying himself on a stringed instrument, either as a member of a noble household or as an itinerant troubadour.

2. a musician, singer, or poet.

3. one of a troupe of comedians, usually white men in blackface, presenting songs, jokes, etc., and portraying negative racial stereotypes.

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minstrel British  

/ ˈmɪnstrəl /

noun

1. a medieval wandering musician who performed songs or recited poetry with instrumental accompaniment

2. a performer in a minstrel show

3. archaic any poet, musician, or singer

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• minstrels
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of minstrel

1175–1225; Middle English ministrel < Old French < Late Latin ministeriālis servant (noun use of adj.); see ministerial

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Explanation

If you were a lord in medieval times — back before radio or TV — you may have employed a minstrel for entertainment. The minstrel would keep your household amused by playing music and singing songs about faraway places. The word minstrel traces back to the Old French word menestral, meaning “entertainer, servant.” In medieval times, nobles would often employ a minstrel to recite poems and sing songs accompanied by music, so the minstrel was both entertainer and servant. A “wandering minstrel” is a singer who wanders from house to house for pay. Minstrel shows were traveling variety shows in 19th century America, considered offensive now because performers often wore "blackface" makeup and performed ugly racial stereotypes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minstrel minstrels

These would influence the American musical, but also shaping the genre were homegrown entertainments—the minstrel show, the revues of Florenz Ziegfeld, vaudeville and burlesque.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

The screams wouldn’t have reached the Hollywood Hills, where Bill Whitten wound down after a typical Sunday cooking Southern-style collard greens and cornbread in his eclectic home filled with African and Black American minstrel art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025

White minstrel performers like Joel Walker Sweeney were credited with popularizing the instrument that inspired a vital part of popular music in the country seen as "hillbilly" music.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2024

Redd’s father took him to see traveling minstrel shows when he was a boy, and he was particularly struck by the one-legged tap dancer Peg Leg Bates moving to the rhythm of a trap drummer.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

He turned, led the procession, and those princes followed, while his herald sought the minstrel.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

My vision of Queens, when it’s perfect, is: There’s a hill with the sun behind it, and this crippled army of minstrels comes over the horizon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2025

During the Middle Ages, minstrels were retained by royal courts to provide pleasant atmosphere.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022

We are the last wandering minstrels, racing town to town, big clubs and small, piano player to piano player.

From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2022

The composer and songwriter Stephen Foster, a white Pittsburgher, wrote the 1853 melody, which blackface minstrels made into a hit.

From Salon ● May 5, 2022

As Elrond entered and went towards the seat prepared for him, elvish minstrels began to make sweet music.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

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Related Words

• troubadour

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