VAUDEVILLE
vaudeville, music hall
(noun) a variety show with songs and comic acts etc.
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
vaudeville (countable and uncountable, plural vaudevilles)
(historical, uncountable) A style of multi-act theatrical entertainment which originated from France and flourished in Europe and North America from the 1880s through the 1920s.
(historical, countable) An entertainment in this style.
Synonyms
• music hall (British)
Coordinate terms
• burlesque
Source: Wiktionary
Vaude"ville, n. Etym: [F., fr. Vau-de-vire, a village in Normandy,
where Olivier Basselin, at the end of the 14th century, composed such
songs.] [Written also vaudevil.]
1. A kind of song of a lively character, frequently embodying a
satire on some person or event, sung to a familiar air in couplets
with a refrain; a street song; a topical song.
2. A theatrical piece, usually a comedy, the dialogue of which is
intermingled with light or satirical songs, set to familiar airs.
The early vaudeville, which is the forerunner of the opera bouffe,
was light, graceful, and piquant. Johnson's Cyc.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition