masque en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /mask/ (Northern-England, Scotland)
- (General-American) audio
- /mɑːsk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /mæsk/ (General-American)
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French masque. Doublet of mask and mesh.
Meanings
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(historical, in 16th- and 17th-century England and Europe) A dramatic performance, often performed at court as a royal entertainment, consisting of dancing, dialogue, pantomime and song.
"I think," said Anne to Madame de Mercœur, "we must obtain your protégée's services for our intended masque; however, I shall leave that to you young people to settle," turning to Louis as she spoke.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 221:
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Words and music written for a masque.
Over six sections – a prologue, a life-story, a dream-quest, a dirge, a masque and an epilogue – they meditate on their lives, their hopes, their losses, and on the human condition.
2010 April 9, Glyn Maxwell, “WH Auden's ‘The Age of Anxiety’”, in The Guardian:
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A masquerade.
The game of pretence is enhanced by dressing-up, and it is natural for a child to copy some grown-up hero. The game was also played by all those people who have attended masques and fancy-dress parties and by Marie-Antoinette when she played at being a milkmaid, it is only the fashion which had altered.
1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 184:
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(alt-of, obsolete) Obsolete spelling of mask.
alt of mask
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A facial mask.
mud masque; clay masque
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| masques | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (1)
fr masque (dramatic performance)