bergomask

English

Alternative forms

• bergamask
• bergamesca
• bergamasca

Etymology

So called in ridicule of the people of Bergamo, Italy, formerly noted for their clownishness.

Noun

bergomask (plural bergomasks)

1. (obsolete) A kind of rustic dance.
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Will it please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a bergomask dance between two of our company?

References

• “bergomask”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.