Definition of Minstrel

1. Noun. A singer of folk songs.


2. Verb. Celebrate by singing, in the style of minstrels. "Sam and Sue minstrel"
Category relationships: Music
Generic synonyms: Sing

3. Noun. A performer in a minstrel show.
Group relationships: Minstrel Show
Specialized synonyms: Corner Man, End Man, Interlocutor, Middleman
Generic synonyms: Performer, Performing Artist

Definition of Minstrel

1. n. In the Middle Ages, one of an order of men who subsisted by the arts of poetry and music, and sang verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other instrument; in modern times, a poet; a bard; a singer and harper; a musician.

Definition of Minstrel

1. Noun. (historical) A medieval traveling entertainer who would sing and recite poetry, often to his own musical accompaniment. ¹

2. Noun. One of a troupe of entertainers who wore black makeup (blackface) to present a variety show of song, dance and banjo music; now considered racist. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Minstrel

1. a medieval musician [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Minstrel

minour
minovery
minow
minows
minoxidil
minoxidils
minrecordite
minretumomab
mins
minse
minshuku
minshukus
minsitive
minster
minsters
minstrel (current term)
minstrel gallery
minstrel show
minstrelry
minstrels
minstrelsies
minstrelsy
mint(a)
mint candy
mint chocolate chip
mint condition
mint cream
mint family
mint geranium

Literary usage of Minstrel

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Complete Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott by Walter Scott (1900)
"He passed where Newark's stately tower Looks out from Yarrow's birchen bower: The minstrel gazed with wishful eye— No humbler resting-place was nigh. ..."

2. History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth by James Anthony Froude (1858)
"Then the said Isaac commanded the said minstrel to sing a song he had sung at one Fair- bank's house in Crossthwaite, in the county of Westmoreland, ..."

3. Library of the World's Best Literature: Ancient and Modern by Edward Cornelius Towne (1897)
"THE LAST minstrel Prelude to the <Lay of the Last minstrel ' THE way was long, the wind was cold, The minstrel was infirm and old; His withered cheek, ..."

4. The English Poets: Selections with Critical Introductions by Thomas Humphry Ward (1917)
"[F:oa1 The Lay a/ 1ht Last minstrel. Introduction to Canto l. The way was long, ... The minstrel was infirm and old ; His wither'd cheek, and tresses grey. ..."

5. The Growth and Influence of Classical Greek Poetry: Lectures Delivered in by Richard Claverhouse Jebb (1894)
"Thus the minstrel appears in the Odyssey as a singer whom men believe to be ... Power- 1 • r minstrel's rapt attention with which the audience listens, ..."

6. A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901 by Thomas Allston Brown (1903)
"WOOD'S minstrel HALL THE old Jewish synagogue, situated at 514 Broadway, ... The first occupant of the place was Henry Wood and his minstrel company ..."

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