/keuh may"dee euh del ahr"tee/ ; It. /kawm me"dyah del lahrdd"te/ , pl. commedia dell'artes, commedias dell'arte , It. commedie dell'arte /kawm me"dye del lahrdd"te/ .
Italian popular comedy, developed chiefly during the 16th-18th centuries, in which masked entertainers improvised from a plot outline based on themes associated with stock characters and situations.
[ 1875-80; ]