travesty

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations
  2. noun a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way
  3. verb make a travesty of

Etymology

From French travesti (“disguised, burlesqued”), past participle of travestir (“to disguise”), borrowed from Italian travestire (“to dress up, disguise”), from tra- (“across”) + vestire (“to dress”), from Latin vestiō (“to clothe, dress”), from Proto-Italic *westis (“clothing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wéstis (“dressing”) from verbal root *wes- (“to dress, clothe”); cognate to English wear. Doublet of travesti.

In classic literature

Synonyms

farce, farce comedy

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