Definition of VAUDEVILLE

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In the 15th century, several amusing songs became popular across France. These songs were said to have been written by a man named Olivier Basselin who lived in the valley of the river Vire in northwest France. The songs eventually became known as chansons de vau-de-Vire, meaning "songs of the valley of Vire." Other people began writing and performing similar songs, and as this form of entertainment became more widespread, the link to vau-de-Vire was forgotten. The nickname was shortened to one word, vaudevire. As the phenomenon spread beyond France, further changes in pronunciation and spelling shifted vaudevire into vaudeville. The meaning also broadened to include humorous performances and variety shows.

Examples of vaudeville in a Sentence

She became a big star in vaudeville.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the offerings are even more endless now that Summit House has expanded to host Market in the Theater, a market held once a month upstairs in the historic vaudeville theater. — Nancy Ngo, Twin Cities, "Day trip to Chisago City, Lindstrom and Center City for shopping, dining with Scandinavian flair," 7 July 2019 Prior to Oklahoma!, the only other musicals that had really married the genre’s form to plot had also been heavily borrowing from other stage forms — like vaudeville for 1927’s Show Boat, or opera for 1935’s Porgy and Bess. — Aja Romano, Vox, "The new Oklahoma! is a sexy, shocking revival for our times," 2 July 2019 Well Wenches This all-female troupe was founded over 30 years ago and is part-vaudeville and part-sketch comedy, according to the group’s website. — Kaitlyn Bancroft, The Know, "Hear ye, hear ye! Make haste to the Colorado Renaissance Festival," 18 June 2019 When the $140 from that 20-song session ran out, the Mendozas went back on the road — to the sugar-beet fields of Michigan, then a vaudeville show in Detroit. — Paula Allen, ExpressNews.com, "Before she became a Tejano queen, Lydia Mendoza played humble venues," 15 June 2019 Her grandfather was a vaudeville dancer named Peg Leg Jones, and her father, a singer and actor who nurtured his daughter’s love of music, traveled the country hopping freight trains in his youth. — Alison Fenterstock, latimes.com, "Rickie Lee Jones settles down — sort of — at 64: ‘The pressure is off’," 13 June 2019 William Russell Watrous was born on June 8, 1939, in Middletown, Conn., and raised in Niantic, Conn. His father, Ralph, a trombonist who had played in vaudeville and regional bands, became his first role model. — Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, "Bill Watrous, Trombonist and Bandleader, Is Dead at 79," 11 July 2018 In an old vaudeville joke, a fine lady from Philadelphia is enjoying tea with her friend at Boston's Ritz hotel. — Town & Country, "Why is Boston is the Snobbiest City in the World?," 31 Jan. 2017 Unfortunately for me, vaudeville was already dead and gone. — Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, "Lucille Ball dished on 'I Love Lucy' co-stars to reporter, thought television went 'downhill'," 1 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vaudeville.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for vaudeville

borrowed from French, "satirical song, comic theatrical piece," going back to Middle French (chançons de) vaul de ville "topical satirical songs," earlier vau de vire, named (according to 16th-century French authors) after the val de Vire, valley of the Vire River in Normandy, where such songs were allegedly composed

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