Meaning

• Noun

  1. Originally, an entertainer employed to juggle, play music, sing, tell stories, etc.; a buffoon, a fool, a jester; later, a medieval (especially travelling) entertainer who would recite and sing poetry, often to their own musical accompaniment.
  2. Any lyric poet, musician, or singer.
  3. One of a troupe of entertainers, often a white person who wore black makeup (blackface), to present a so-called minstrel show, being a variety show of banjo music, dance, and song (now sometimes regarded as racist).
  4. (slang) An amphetamine tablet, typically black, or black and white, in colour.

• Verb