droll

droll
drollness, n.drolly, adv.
/drohl/, adj., droller, drollest, n., v.
adj.
1. amusing in an odd way; whimsically humorous; waggish.
n.
2. a droll person; jester; wag.
v.i.
3. Archaic. to jest; joke.
[1615-25; < MF drolle pleasant rascal < MD drol a fat little man]
Syn. 1. diverting, odd, witty. See amusing. 2, 3. clown.
Ant. 1. serious.

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in full  Droll-humour, or Drollery,  

      short comic scene or farce adapted from an existing play or created by actors, performed in England during the period of the Civil Wars and the Commonwealth (1642–60) while the London theatres were closed down by the Puritans. Because stage plays were prohibited at this time, actors developed other, shorter means of entertainment to circumvent the restrictions, performing drolls in inns and at fairs on improvised stages.

      Robert Cox was the leading performer of drolls, and his repertoire included “The Merry Conceits of Bottom the Weaver” from A Midsummer Night's Dream and “The Bouncing Knight, or The Robbers Rob'd” from Henry IV, Part I. Other subjects of drolls were Falstaff, the grave-diggers' scene in Hamlet, and, occasionally, biblical adaptations. Francis Kirkman published a collection of 26 drolls in 1662 titled The Wits; or, Sport upon Sport.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Droll — (dr[=o]l), a. [Compar. {Droller}; superl. {Drollest}.] [F. dr[^o]le; cf. G. & D. drollig, LG. drullig, D. drol a thick and short person, a droll, Sw. troll a magical appearance, demon, trolla to use magic arts, enchant, Dan. trold elf, imp, Icel …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • droll — droll·ery; droll·ing·ly; droll·ness; droll; …   English syllables

  • Droll — Droll, v. t. 1. To lead or influence by jest or trick; to banter or jest; to cajole. [1913 Webster] Men that will not be reasoned into their senses, may yet be laughed or drolled into them. L Estrange. [1913 Webster] 2. To make a jest of; to set… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Droll — Droll, n. 1. One whose practice it is to raise mirth by odd tricks; a jester; a buffoon; a merry andrew. Prior. [1913 Webster] 2. Something exhibited to raise mirth or sport, as a puppet, a farce, and the like. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Droll — Droll, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Drolled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Drolling}.] To jest; to play the buffoon. [R.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • droll — [drōl] adj. [Fr drôle, orig. n., buffoon, jester < MDu drol, short, stout fellow, lit., bowling pin] amusing in an odd or wry way n. Now Rare a droll person; jester vi. Now Rare to joke; play the jester SYN. FUNNY drollness n. drolly adv …   English World dictionary

  • droll — [drəul US droul] adj [Date: 1600 1700; : French; Origin: drôle] amusing in an unusual way …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • droll — [ droul ] adjective funny in an unusual way …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • droll — (adj.) 1620s, from Fr. drôle odd, comical, funny (1580s), in M.Fr. a noun meaning a merry fellow, possibly from M.Du. drol fat little fellow, goblin, or M.H.G. trolle clown, ultimately from O.N. troll giant, troll (see TROLL (Cf. troll) (n.)).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • droll — *laughable, risible, comic, comical, funny, ludicrous, ridiculous, farcical Analogous words: amusing, diverting, entertaining (see AMUSE): absurd, preposterous (see FOOLISH): humorous, *witty, facetious …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • droll — [adj] amusing, farcical absurd, camp, campy, clownish, comic, comical, crack up, diverting, eccentric, entertaining, for grins*, funny, gagged up*, gelastic, humorous, jocular, joshing, laffer, laughable, ludicrous, odd, preposterous, quaint,… …   New thesaurus

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