BURLESK', adjective [The termination esque answers to Eng.] Jocular; tending to excite laughter by ludicrous images, or by a contrast between the subject and the manner of treating it, as when a trifling subject is treated with gravity. BURLESQUE, BURLESK', noun Ludicrous representation; a contrast between the subject and the manner of treating it, which tends to excite laughter or ridicule. 1. A composition in which a trifling subject or low incident is treated with great gravity, as a subject of great dignity or importance; or a composition in which the contrast between the subject and the manner of considering it renders it ludicrous or ridiculous; as in Virgil Travestie, the Lutrin of Boileau, Butler's Hudibras and Trumbull's McFingal. BURLESQUE, BURLESK', verb transitive To turn into ridicule; or to make ludicrous by representation; as by treating a low or trifling subject with great gravity.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI