I. ˈmin(t)strəl noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English minstrale, menestrel, from Old French menestrel minstrel, official, servant, from Late Latin ministerialis imperial household officer — more at ministerial
1. : one of a class of medieval professional musical entertainers ; especially : a singer of verses to the accompaniment of a harp or other instrument — compare gleeman , jongleur
2. : one (as a musician or poet) felt to resemble a medieval minstrel
3.
a. : one of a troupe of musical performers and comedians of a kind originating early in the 19th century in the United States and typically giving a program of Negro melodies, jokes, and impersonations and usually blacked in imitation of Negroes
small troupes of blackface minstrels were among the earliest … traveling companies — American Guide Series: Washington
b. : minstrel show
the first full-scale minstrel staged by the church — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to celebrate in song especially in the style of a minstrel