Meaning
2 senses(also, attributive, figuratively, transitive)To play (a tune on a musical instrument); to sing (a song).
(also, attributive, figuratively, intransitive)To act as a minstrel; to entertain by playing a musical instrument, singing, etc.
- celebrate by singing, in the style of minstrels
Examples
1 sentencesThe minstrels dress up in face paint and colorful satin costumes with fancy hats and parasols.
Origin
The noun is derived from Middle English minstral, menestrel (“actor; juggler; mime; musiciThe 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
minstrels, minstreling, minstreled, minstreled| Base form | minstrel · to minstrel |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | minstrels |
| Present participle | minstreling |
| Past simple | minstreled / minstrelled |
| Past participle | minstreled / minstrelled |
regular · Lesson
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.