Basic Details
Word: Minstrel
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A singer or musician in the Middle Ages who travelled from place to place, performing songs and poems for nobles and ordinary people.
Synonyms: bard, troubadour, balladeer
Word origin: Comes from Old French menestrel, an entertainer or servant.
How to Spell Minstrel
Syllables: min - strel
Tricky part: The middle has the cluster str with no vowel after the n, and the word ends in rel, not ral or ril.
Watch out for: minstral, minsterel, minstril
Memory tip: Minstrel ends in r-e-l, the same three letters that close squirrel. Picture a squirrel sitting still to hear the minstrel's song.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The minstrel tuned his lute before singing the story of the siege.
Example 2: Long before radio, a travelling minstrel was how many villages heard the latest news.
Example 3: In the play, Rohit acts as the minstrel who opens each scene with a song.
Fun Fact
Minstrel goes back through Old French menestrel to Late Latin ministerialis, a servant, the same family as minister: a minstrel began as a servant whose duty was to entertain a lord.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
minsterel
a) t
b) e
c) r
d) s
Show answer
b) e. The cluster is str with no vowel: min-strel. Take out the e between t and r.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to minstrel as used in the sentence:
A wandering minstrel sang ballads of brave kings in the great hall of the castle.
a) peasant
b) archer
c) merchant
d) bard
Show answer
d) bard. A bard, like a minstrel, sang or recited poems and stories.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
At the village fair, a nlimerts played the flute for the crowd.
a) minstrel
b) minister
c) monster
d) mistrial
Show answer
a) minstrel. Minstrel is the only option that uses exactly these eight letters and also suits a musician at a fair.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which period were minstrels most common in Europe?
a) the Middle Ages
b) the 21st century
c) the age of dinosaurs
d) the Stone Age
Show answer
a) the Middle Ages
2. Which object would a minstrel most likely carry?
a) a lute
b) a laptop
c) a plough
d) a fishing net
Show answer
a) a lute
