minstrel English · revision 1041

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪnstɹ(ə)l/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|minstral]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) [[bor|fro|menestrel|t=entertainer, servant]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la-med|ministralis|t=servant, jester, singer]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|ministeriālis|t=officer in the imperial household]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|ministerium|t=service, ministry]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The connecting idea is the jester or musician as a position at court.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A servant with a special function (before 1225);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) by 1297 any person whose profession was to entertain others with singing, music or storytelling.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The specific sense “musician” developed in Old French, and the Norman Conquest brought the class to England.^(Etymonline) Until the end of the 16th century ''minstrel'' was a general name for anyone who entertained patrons: singers, storytellers, jugglers and buffoons.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Their standing deteriorated until by Elizabethan times they were counted a public nuisance.^(Etymonline) In the 18th century the word was limited to the historical medieval singer of heroic verse,^(Etymonline) and poetically it came to mean any musician, singer or poet (1718).^(OED 1989) From 1843 it named performers in blackface variety troupes.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1225 – a servant.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1297 – a professional entertainer.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1300 – ''minstrelsy''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1718 – poetically, any musician, singer or poet.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1843 – a member of a blackface troupe.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[medieval]] entertainer, especially one who travelled from place to place singing or reciting poetry to the [[harp]] or another instrument.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[lyric]] poet or a musician.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # One of a troupe of performers in [[blackface]] presenting songs, jokes and comic sketches; also, such a performance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[minstrelsy]]

+ * [[minstrel show]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[minister]]

+ * [[ministry]]

+ * [[troubadour]]

+ * [[bard]]

+ * [[jongleur]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}