burlesque

C2+ Topic:Theater & Performance

US /bɚˈlɛsk/ UK /bɜːˈlɛsk/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a comic, exaggerated parody; to mock by such caricature

The play was a burlesque of courtly manners.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a comic, exaggerated... parody caricature travesty satire lampoonspoofmockerysend-up

Word family

Derived forms burlesquer

Related forms burletta

Etymology

From French burlesque, from Italian burlesco, from burla ('jest, mockery'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Late Latin burra ('trifle, nonsense; shaggy garment').

burlesco Italian burla Italian

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Theater & Performance General Vocabulary

External links

# burlesque

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bɚˈlɛsk/
**IPA (UK):** /bɜːˈlɛsk/

## Meanings
1. a comic, exaggerated parody; to mock by such caricature

## Examples
- The play was a burlesque of courtly manners.

## Synonyms
- parody
- caricature
- travesty
- satire
- lampoon
- spoof
- mockery
- send-up

## Derived Forms
- burlesquer

## Related Forms
- burletta

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: burlesco
- Root: burla

## Etymology
From French burlesque, from Italian burlesco, from burla ('jest, mockery'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Late Latin burra ('trifle, nonsense; shaggy garment').

## AI Etymology
Burlesque comes from French burlesque, from Italian burlesco, from burla ('jest, mockery'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Late Latin burra ('trifle, nonsense; shaggy garment'). The historical trail runs through burlesco in Italian and burla in Italian. The history must be left partly open, preserving the uncertainty rather than forcing a single unsupported ancestry. Used as a noun and verb, burlesque now means "a comic, exaggerated parody; to mock by such caricature", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as burlesquer and related forms such as burletta. That uncertainty is part of the entry: the safest account is the attested form and the limited comparisons preserved with it.

## Topics
- Theater & Performance
- General Vocabulary

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