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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for February 16, 1999
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vaudeville [n. VOD-vil]
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The stage entertainment called vaudeville may include a variety of
short acts such as song-and-dance routines, comedy, juggling, animal
acts, acrobatics, and tap dancing.
The word looks like it might be the name of a place, like Centerville
or Amityville. There is a place name involved, but it's not a -ville.
In 15th century France, there was a minstrel named Oliver Basselin,
who composed some popular, lively, light-hearted tunes. He named them
"chansons du Vau de Vire" (songs from the valley of Vire), after the
valley in Calvados, Normandy, where he was born. That was shortened
to vaudevire, and eventually it migrated into English.
Originally the word applied primarily to popular songs. It began to
be applied to variety shows in the early 19th century. Some say
vaudeville is dead today, but a look at popular TV shows might
convince you otherwise.
A vintage vaudeville site, with lots of pictures and audio clips:
http://bestwebs.com/vaudeville/
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