minstrelsy

[ min-struhl-see ]

noun

1. the art or practice of a minstrel.
2. minstrels' songs, ballads, etc.:

   a collection of Scottish minstrelsy.

minstrelsy

/ ˈmɪnstrəlsɪ /

noun

1. the art of a minstrel
2. the poems, music, or songs of a minstrel
3. a troupe of minstrels

Word History and Origins

Origin of minstrelsy¹

1275–1325; Middle English minstralcie (< Anglo-French menestralsie ) < Anglo-Latin ministralcia, menestralcia. See minstrel, -cy

Example Sentences

Was the blackface scene with Gene Wilder in Silver Streak an important step in how American audiences view minstrelsy?

From The Daily Beast

The Madea films thrive on an ugly mix of minstrelsy and moralism.

From The Daily Beast

The drop below his signal eloquence was a submission to the kind of minstrelsy demanded of anyone, high or low, these days.

From The Daily Beast

I soon thought of this new and amoral cynicism as the most pernicious form of minstrelsy ever created and popularized.

From The Daily Beast

Scotts ballad in the Minstrelsy spoils its own effect by converting the spirit into the devil.

From Project Gutenberg

All the wild life of the wood haunted the chapel, and the place was musical with forest minstrelsy.

From Project Gutenberg

And then begin the minstrels to make their minstrelsy on divers instruments, with all the melody that they can devise.

From Project Gutenberg

At last he arose abruptly and shut down the sash, muffling the minstrelsy at the height of its wildest abandon.

From Project Gutenberg

But if the amorous selections of that crude minstrelsy made any impression upon her, she gave no indication.

From Project Gutenberg