minstrel

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a travelling musician, singer, poet, or storyteller, especially in medieval Europe

   The minstrel sang a narrative poem while accompanying himself on a harp.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a performer in a nineteenth- or early twentieth-century minstrel show, a form of entertainment commonly built on racist caricature

   The archive documents how the minstrel performed in degrading racial stereotypes.

From Middle English menestrel and Old French menestrel, 'servant, artisan, or itinerant musician,' from Late Latin ministerialis, a household officer or retainer. The medieval entertainer sense became dominant; the later American minstrel-show sense requires explicit historical and racist-context labeling.

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