commedia dell'arte

[ kuh-mey-dee-uh del-ahr-tee; Italian kawm-me-dyah del-lahr-te ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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].

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.

commedia dell'arte

/ kɔmˈmeːdia delˈlarte /

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

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1875–80; < Italian: literally, comedy of art

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Italian, literally: comedy of art

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One form of comedy only was and remained national—the unwritten, improvised Commedia dellArte.

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