minstrelsy

noun

min·​strel·​sy ˈmin(t)-strəl-sē 

1

: the singing and playing of a minstrel

2

: a body of minstrels

3

: a group of songs or verse

Synonyms

• poetry

Examples of minstrelsy in a Sentence

the traditional forms of German minstrelsy

Recent Examples on the Web

Maybe if you were deeply invested in the authenticity of Black Sabbath and that incarnation of Ozzy, The Osbournes was a betrayal, turning mayhem into minstrelsy. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025

The minstrelsy of late-night-TV activism Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart protested the cancellation by CBS of his cohort Stephen Colbert’s Late Show by staging an appalling musical routine on The Daily Show, circling the wagons in Colbert’s defense. —Armond White, National Review, 25 July 2025

It was used as a dehumanizing form of minstrelsy that further objectified Black men. —Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 1 May 2025

And those fans, like him, dismissed the notion that the team’s on-court antics crossed the line from comedy to minstrelsy, as many critics had opined over the years. —David Aldridge, The Athletic, 11 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mynstralcye, borrowed from Anglo-French menestralsie, menstralcie, from menestral, menstral minstrel + -sie, -cie -cy

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

minstrelsy

noun

min·​strel·​sy ˈmin(t)-strəl-sē 

plural minstrelsies

1

: the singing and playing of a minstrel

2

: a body of minstrels

3

: a collection of songs or verse