kabuki
See also: Kabuki
English
WOTD – 22 December 2006
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /kəˈbuːki/
- (UK) IPA(key): /kəˈbuːkiː/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Hyphenation: ka‧bu‧ki
- Rhymes: -uːki
Noun
kabuki (uncountable)
- (often capitalized) A form of Japanese theatre in which elaborately costumed male performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies.
- 2007 July 19, Charles Isherwood, “Guilty Pleasures of Comic Kabuki”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- Despite its self-consciously assumed irreverence toward traditional practices, “Hokaibo” incorporates all the essential elements of classic Kabuki: the all-male company of actors, exaggerated makeup, the stomping dances, the arresting, cross-eyed poses at moments of high drama that are recognized and applauded.
- (by extension, US) A stylized, pretentious, and often hollow performance; (especially) political posturing.
- 2005 June 12, Michael Kinsley, “No Smoking Gun”, in Washington Post[3]:
- The whole "weapons of mass destruction" concern was phony from the start, and the drama about inspections was just kabuki: going through the motions.
- 2010 March 14, Jon Lackman, “It’s Time To Retire Kabuki: The word doesn’t mean what pundits think it does”, in Slate[4]:
- Health care reform recently brought Kabuki to mind for both Rush Limbaugh—“what you have here is ‘Kabuki theater’”—and New York Times columnist Frank Rich: “[I]f I were to place an incautious bet on which political event will prove the most significant of February 2010, I wouldn’t choose the kabuki health care summit.”
- 2020 January 29, Dan Brooks, “Comedy Written for the Machines”, in New York Times Magazine[5]:
- The boy tells her she will find iPhone chargers if she takes five steps back. Here the performance shifts from mere stiltedness to a kind of hateful Kabuki, an affected defiance of how people naturally act: She walks backward, counting her steps, then turns and slaps her forehead.
Derived terms
Translations
form of Japanese theatre
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Further reading
Anagrams
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka.by.ki/, /ka.bu.ki/
Audio: (file) Audio (Switzerland): (file)
Noun
kabuki m (plural kabukis)
Further reading
- “kabuki”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Indonesian
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaˈbuki/
- Hyphenation: ka‧bu‧ki
Noun
kabuki (plural kabuki-kabuki)
Further reading
- “kabuki” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaˈbu.ki/
- Rhymes: -uki
- Hyphenation: ka‧bù‧ki
Noun
kabuki m (uncountable)
- kabuki (Japanese theatrical genre)
Adjective
kabuki (invariable)
- (relational) kabuki
Further reading
- kabuki in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
- kabuki in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
Japanese
Romanization
kabuki
Polish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaˈbu.ki/
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -uki
- Syllabification: ka‧bu‧ki
Noun
kabuki n (indeclinable)
- kabuki (form of Japanese theatre in which elaborately costumed male performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies)
Further reading
Portuguese
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
Noun
kabuki m (uncountable)
- kabuki (form of Japanese theatre)
Romanian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English kabuki or French kabuki, from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
Noun
kabuki n (uncountable)
Declension
singular only | indefinite | definite |
---|---|---|
nominative-accusative | kabuki | kabukiul |
genitive-dative | kabuki | kabukiului |
vocative | kabukiule |
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowing from Japanese 歌舞伎 (kabuki).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaˈbuki/ [kaˈβ̞u.ki]
- Rhymes: -uki
- Syllabification: ka‧bu‧ki
Noun
kabuki m (plural kabukis)
Adjective
kabuki (invariable)
- (relational) kabuki
Further reading
- “kabuki”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024