commedia dell'arte
[ kuh-mey-dee-uh del-ahr-tee; Italian kawm-me-dyah del-lahr-te ]
/ kəˈmeɪ di ə dɛlˈɑr ti; Italian kɔmˈmɛ dyɑ dɛlˈlɑr tɛ /
noun, plural com·me·di·a dell'ar·tes, com·me·di·as dell'ar·te, Italian com·me·die dell'ar·te [kawm-me-dye del-lahr-te] /kɔmˈmɛ dyɛ dɛlˈlɑr tɛ/.
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.
Origin of commedia dell'arte
1875–80; < Italian: literally, comedy of art
Words nearby commedia dell'arte
commando procedure,
comme ci, comme ça,
comme il faut,
commeasurable,
commeasure,
commedia dell'arte,
commemorate,
commemoration,
commemorative,
commemoratory,
commence
British Dictionary definitions for commedia dell'arte
commedia dell'arte
/ (Italian kɔmˈmeːdia delˈlarte) /
noun
a form of popular comedy developed in Italy during the 16th to 18th centuries, with stock characters such as Punchinello, Harlequin, and Columbine, in situations improvised from a plot outline
Word Origin for commedia dell'arte
Italian, literally: comedy of art