ménestrel

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ménestrel (Fr.). Minstrel. Type of Fr. public mus. entertainer in 14th cent., orig. called ménestrier, the profession being known as ménestrandie. Spreading over the channel to Eng., the term became ‘minstrel’. The minstrels (in effect professional musicians) formed a guild c.1350. See also jongleurs, Meistersinger, and Minnesinger.