A short or light comedy, especially a brief comic musical piece or operetta.
From Italian 'comedietta,' a diminutive of 'commedia' (comedy), using the Italian diminutive suffix '-etta.' The term was used in 19th-century musical theater for short comic operas or theatrical sketches.
The suffix '-etta' means 'little,' so comedietta is literally a 'little comedy'—Italian composers loved this term for short comic operas that were actually hilarious, not the heavy tragedies that made people cry!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.