Relating to crude, improvised theatrical performances or farces, especially referring to ancient Roman comedies with simple plots and physical humor.
From Latin 'Atella,' a town in ancient Campania (Italy), where such crude farces originated and were performed. The term refers to the 'Fabulae Atellanae,' early Roman theatrical form that influenced later comedy.
The ancient Romans had 'Atellan farces'—wild, improvised shows with stock characters and slapstick that somehow influenced everything from commedia dell'arte to modern sitcoms; crude humor has a surprisingly noble pedigree!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.