Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Vaudeville
‖
Vaude′ville
,Noun.
[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.