vaudeville
[ vawd-vil, vohd-, vaw-duh- ]
/ ˈvɔd vɪl, ˈvoʊd-, ˈvɔ də- /
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noun
theatrical entertainment consisting of a number of individual performances, acts, or mixed numbers, as by comedians, singers, dancers, acrobats, and magicians.Compare variety (def. 9).
a theatrical piece of light or amusing character, interspersed with songs and dances.
a satirical cabaret song.
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Origin of vaudeville
1730–40; <French, shortened alteration of Middle French chanson du vau de Vire “song of the vale of Vire,” a valley of Calvados, France, noted for satirical folksongs
Words nearby vaudeville
vatu, Vauban, vauch, Vaucluse, Vaud, vaudeville, vaudevillian, Vaudois, Vaughan, Vaughan Williams, Vaughn
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for vaudeville
British Dictionary definitions for vaudeville
vaudeville
/ (ˈvəʊdəvɪl, ˈvɔː-) /
noun
mainly US and Canadian variety entertainment consisting of short acts such as acrobatic turns, song-and-dance routines, animal acts, etc, popular esp in the early 20th centuryBrit name: music hall
a light or comic theatrical piece interspersed with songs and dances
Word Origin for vaudeville
C18: from French, from vaudevire satirical folk song, shortened from chanson du vau de Vire song of the valley of Vire, a district in Normandy where this type of song flourished
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Cultural definitions for vaudeville
vaudeville
[ (vawd-vuhl, vaw-duh-vil) ]
Light theatrical entertainment, popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consisting of a succession of short acts. A vaudeville show usually included comedians, singers, dancers, jugglers, trained animals, magicians, and the like.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.