vaudeville

[vawd-vil, vohd-, vaw-duh-]

noun

1. theatrical entertainment consisting of a number of individual performances, acts, or mixed numbers, as by comedians, singers, dancers, acrobats, and magicians.

2. a theatrical piece of light or amusing character, interspersed with songs and dances.

3. a satirical cabaret song.

vaudeville

/ ˈvəʊdəvɪl, ˈvɔː- /

noun

1. Brit name: music hall. variety entertainment consisting of short acts such as acrobatic turns, song-and-dance routines, animal acts, etc, popular esp in the early 20th century

2. a light or comic theatrical piece interspersed with songs and dances

vaudeville

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of vaudeville¹

1730–40; < French, shortened alteration of Middle French chanson du vau de Vire “song of the vale ( def. ) of Vire,” a valley of Calvados, France, noted for satirical folksongs

Word History and Origins

Origin of vaudeville¹

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

Example Sentences

It plays out cheerily as a kind of vaudeville show.

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With his country twang and aw-shucks mannerisms belying a keen intellect, Will Rogers was the lasso-roping star of vaudeville and the Broadway stage.

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Jude turns it into a vaudeville that, even at its most entertaining, is best described by a common bat-related term that’s more scatological.

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His new vaudeville show, “Mister Romantic,” came from a moment of deep reflection.

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As a local kid growing up near the theater, he would walk by and stare in awe at the 1,400-seat venue that showcased vaudeville performances when it opened in 1925.

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