minstrel
Syllables: mins·trelUK/ˈmɪnstɹ(ə)l/
minstrel noun: originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.
Noun
minstrel (plural minstrels)
- Originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.
- I forgette to tel you what a ſtirre he keepes againſt dumbe ministers, and neuer writes nor talkes of them, but hee calleth them minſtrels, […][1589?], Cutbert Curry-knaue [pseudonym; Thomas Nashe], An Almond for a Parrat, or Cutbert Curry-knaues Almes. […], [London]: […] [Eliot’s Court Press], →OCLC, folio [8], verso
- Should a Minſtrel ſing to a ſweet tune with her voice, and play to another with her hand that is harſh and diſpleaſing; ſuch muſick would more grate the judicious ear, than if ſhe had ſung to what ſhe plaid? Thus to ſing to truth with our judgement, and play wickedneſs with our heart and hand in...1669, William Gurnall, “A Short Point from the Connexion of This Piece of Armour with the First; Righteousness with Truth”, in The Christian in Compleat Armour. Or, A Treatise, of the Saints VVar...
- Synonyms:
- bard, jongleur, troubadour
- Any lyric poet, musician, or singer.
- One flame-winged brought a white-winged harp-player / Even where my lady and I lay all alone; / Saying: "Behold, this minstrel is unknown; / Bid him depart, for I am minstrel here: / Only my strains are to Love's dear ones dear."1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “The House of Life. Sonnet IX. Passion and Worship.”, in Ballads and Sonnets, London: Ellis and White, […], →OCLC, part I (Youth and Change), page 171
- One of a troupe of entertainers, often a white person who wore black makeup (blackface), to present a so-called minstrel show, being a variety show of banjo music, dance, and song (now regarded as racist).
- After tea it was the entertainment. Songs and conjuring and a play called "Box and Cox," very amusing, and a lot of throwing things about in it—bacon and chops and things—and nigger minstrels. We clapped till our hands were sore.1904, E[dith] Nesbit, “(please specify the page)”, in New Treasure Seekers, London: Ernest Benn, →OCLC
- An amphetamine tablet, typically black, or black and white, in colour.
- These include dexamphetamine ( Dexedrine 'dexies ' or 'oranges'), methylamphetamine (Methedrine—'speed'), dexamphetamine combined with amylobarbitone (Drinamyl—'purple hearts' or 'blues'), amphetamine combined with dexamphetamine (Anorexine 12.5 mg - black and white minstrels' and Anorexine 20...1970, SAMT, page 613
- Lacking food, Jimmy reverts to his “minstrels'” — speed — and in a paranoia of drugs and near-starvation the pair fall out.2008, Julian Evans, Semi-Invisible Man: The Life of Norman Lewis, page 510
Verb
minstrel (third-person singular simple present minstrels, present participle (US) minstreling or (UK) minstrelling, simple past and past participle (US) minstreled or (UK) minstrelled)
- To play (a tune on a musical instrument); to sing (a song).
- Blest be the impulse which did urge me forth, / Minstrelling winds with music, which did melt / Into kind ears like softly opening showers, / To those who asked if beggar wanted bread.1858, J[ohn] F[razer] Corkan, An Hour Ago: Or Time in Dreamland. A Mystery, London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, →OCLC, page 93
- And instantly from the depts of the black recesses behind the reredos of the altar there slid like slanting light-rays through the air a little creature, a tenuous grey bird, an embodied breeze, a flash of life. It settled, still minstreling its luted sibboleth, to a fluttering rest in the panting...1896, M[atthew] P[hipps] Shiel, “Part II—Shape III: Phorfor”, in Shapes in the Fire: Being a Mid-winter-night’s Entertainment in Two Parts and an Interlude (The Keynotes Series; 29), London: John...
- To act as a minstrel; to entertain by playing a musical instrument, singing, etc.
- Crown me, therefore,—and minstrelling near to thy fanes, Bacchus, thickly-adorned with rosy chaplets will I dance with a full-bosomed maid.1830, Anacreon, “Ode V. On the Rose.”, in T. W. C. Edwards, transl., Τα του Ανακρεοντος του Τηιου Μελη = The Odes of Anacreon the Teian Bard, Literally Translated into English Prose; […], London: […]...
- [T]here are hotels in Kertch, the keepers of which bring over a band of musicians, singing men and singing women, especially the latter, every year for the amusement of [ship] masters, who, […] lavishly distribute bottles of champagne, and other delicacies, to these minstreling angels—women, and...1872 March 26, Peter Barrow, “Correspondence. Lightening Ships over Yenicalee Bar.”, in The Nautical Magazine. A Journal of Papers on Subjects Connected with Maritime Affairs, volume XLI (New...
minstrel meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
minstrel in Tamil
- அரசவைப் பாடகர், நாடோடிப் பாடகர், பாணர், இசைவாணர்
minstrel in Urdu
- بھانڈ, گائک, میراثی
minstrel in Bengali
- চারণকবি, মধ্যযুগের ভ্রাম্যমাণ গায়ক
minstrel in Malayalam
- singer, musician, balladeer
- ഗായകൻ, ഭാഗവതർ, ഭട്ടൻ, സ്തുതിപാഠകൻ, സ്തോതാവ്, ഗാതാവ്
More languagesFewer languages
- minstrel in Kannada
- ಚಾರಣ ಗಾಯಕ, ಅಲೆಮಾರಿ ಗಾಯಕ, ಸಂಚಾರಿ ಗಾಯಕ, ಲಾವಣಿಗಾರ
Examples of minstrel in a sentence
- But louder still the clamour grew, / And louder still the minstrels blew, / When, from beneath the greenwood tree, / Rode forth Lord Howard's chivalry; […]1805, Walter Scott, “Canto Fourth”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and...
- The Minstrel-Boy to the war is gone, / In the ranks of death you'll find him; / His father's sword he has girded on, / And his wild harp slung behind him.1813, Thomas Moore (lyricist), John Stevenson (composer), “The Minstrel-Boy”, in A Selection of Irish Melodies. […], number 5, London: J....
- A wandering minstrel I— / A thing of shreds and patches, / Of ballads, songs and snatches, / And dreamy lullaby!1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, composer, […] The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu, London: Chappel & Co., […], →OCLC...
- Harry tipped the contents of Billy's bag on to his desk: boosters, purple hearts, black bombers, French blues, nigger minstrels spilled out, popping across the desk like jumping beans.2018, J. L. Walker, Jump and Dance, page 151:
Synonyms of minstrel
Forms of minstrel
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | minstrels |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | minstrels |
| present participle US | minstreling |
| present participle UK | minstrelling |
| past participle US | minstreled |
| past US | minstreled |
| past participle UK | minstrelled |
| past UK | minstrelled |
Origin of minstrel
The noun is derived from Middle English minstral, menestrel (“actor; juggler; mime; musician; singer; storyteller; (military) soldier playing a horn or trumpet as a signal”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman menestrel [and other forms] and Old French menestrel (“artisan; servant; itinerant musician or poet; worker”) [and other forms] (modern French ménestrel (“minstrel”)), from Late Latin ministerialis (“official or retainer owing household and military service to a feudal lord, a ministerial or ministerialis”), from Latin ministerium (“employment, ministration; office of a minister, ministry; action or attendance by an inferior person such as a slave, service”) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives). Ministerium is derived from minister (“accomplice; agent; aide; attendant; servant; waiter”) (probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey-n- (“little, small”) + *-yōs (“-er”, comparative suffix) + *-teros (contrastive or oppositional suffix forming adjectives)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns). Doublet of ministerial and ministerialis. The verb is derived from the noun.
Words formed from minstrel
Phrases with minstrel
Questions about minstrel
- What does minstrel mean?
- Minstrel means originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.
- What is minstrel in Tamil?
- Minstrel in Tamil is அரசவைப் பாடகர், நாடோடிப் பாடகர், பாணர். See Minstrel meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use minstrel in a sentence?
- But louder still the clamour grew, / And louder still the minstrels blew, / When, from beneath the greenwood tree, / Rode forth Lord Howard's chivalry; […]
- What part of speech is minstrel?
- Minstrel can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce minstrel?
- Minstrel is pronounced /ˈmɪnstɹ(ə)l/ (UK).
- What is the plural of minstrel?
- The plural of minstrel is minstrels.
Words near minstrel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: minstrel (page history and authors); minstrel (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); minstrel (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); minstrel (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); minstrel (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); minstrel (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-minstrel.ogg.
Cite this entry: “minstrel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/minstrel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.