cothurnus

American  

[koh-thur-nuhs] / koʊˈθɜr nəs /

Also cothurn

noun

plural

cothurni

1. a grave and elevated style of acting; tragic acting; tragedy.

2. buskin.

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cothurnus British  

/ kəʊˈθɜːnəs, ˈkəʊθɜːn, kəʊˈθɜːn /

noun

1. the buskin worn in ancient Greek tragedy

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Other Word Forms

• cothurnal adjective

Etymology

Origin of cothurnus

1720–30; < Latin < Greek kóthornos buskin, type of boot worn by tragic actors in heroic roles

Example Sentences

But, for right walking, choose The fine, The strict cothurnus, Muse.

From Collected Poems Volume One by Noyes, Alfred

But is it just to exact the severity of the tragical cothurnus in light works of this description?

From Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature by Black, John

Like the Greek actor before masks were invented, the Chinese actor paints his face, and the thick-soled boot which raises the Chinese tragedian from the ground is very much the counterpart of the cothurnus.

From China and the Chinese by Giles, Herbert Allen

But, besides the cothurnus, you have heard of the mask.

From Note Book of an English Opium-Eater by De Quincey, Thomas

It is the cothurnus which gives language an heroic stature.

From Among My Books Second Series by Lowell, James Russell