masque
noun/mɑːsk/
/mæsk/
- a play written in verse, often with music and dancing, popular in England in the 16th and 17th centuriesCultureMany of the most popular masques were written by Ben Jonson, with costumes and scenery designed by Inigo Jones. Although masques died out after the English Civil War, many of its features were used in later forms of theatre, opera and ballet.Topics Film and theatrec2Word Originearly 16th cent. (in the sense ‘masquerade or masked ball’): probably a back-formation (influenced by French masque ‘mask’) from masker, from Italian mascar ‘person wearing a mask’.
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masque