masques

Noun

masque (plural masques)

1. (historical) 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
2. 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
3. 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...1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 184
4. A facial mask.
   • mud masque; clay masque