kabuki
pronunciation
How to pronounce kabuki in British English:
UK [kəˈbuːki]
How to pronounce kabuki in American English:
US [ kəˈbuːki]
Word Origin
- kabuki (n.)
- 1896, from Japanese, popular theater (as opposed to shadow puppet-plays or lyrical Noh dramas), literally "art of song and dance," from ka "song" + bu "dance" + ki "art, skill" [Barnhart, OED]. Alternative etymology (in Webster's) is from nominal form of kabuku "to be divergent, to deviate," from early opinion of this form of drama. Since c. 1650, all parts are played by males.
Example
- 1. We go to kabuki performances , and recitals of teachers and colleagues .
- 2. Shouldering the kabuki tradition is as much a burden as an honour , however .
- 3. Like sumo and kabuki , the traditional art of making sushi has long been monopolized by men .
- 4. Young people , in particular , sometimes feel shackled by rigid conventions of behavior that can seem as arcane as a kabuki drama .
- 5. The great kabuki actors inherit their title , and if one of them has no suitable heir , he adopts one .