TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

BLACKFACE [3 records]

Record 1 2023-01-24

English

Subject field(s)
  • Makeup and Costumes
DEF

Make-up worn by a non-black person to imitate the appearance of a black person, [especially] as part of a performance.

CONT

By the mid-20th century, changing attitudes about race and racism effectively ended the prominence of blackface makeup used in performance ...

French

Domaine(s)
  • Maquillage et costumes
CONT

[...] l'intention sous-jacente des critiques n'est pas tant la suppression du maquillage noir que l'engagement d'un ténor noir pour interpréter le rôle [...]

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Maquillaje y vestuario
Save record 1

Record 2 2022-02-21

English

Subject field(s)
  • Performing Arts
  • Sociology of Human Relations
CONT

The first minstrel shows were performed in 1830s New York by white performers with blackened faces … and tattered clothing who imitated and mimicked enslaved Africans on Southern plantations. … Blackface and the codifying of blackness — language, movement, deportment, and character — as caricature persists through mass media and public performances ...

OBS

The practice of blackface carries a racist connotation and is considered offensive.

Key term(s)
  • black face

French

Domaine(s)
  • Arts du spectacle
  • Sociologie des relations humaines
CONT

Le «blackface» […] renvoie à une pratique théâtrale qui s'est développée à partir du 19[e exposant] siècle aux États-Unis. Durant les spectacles appelés «minstrel shows», des acteurs blancs se [maquillaient] le visage en noir pour interpréter des personnages caricaturaux de noirs […] toujours hilares et portés sur la danse et la musique.

OBS

Cette pratique a une connotation raciste et est considérée offensante.

Key term(s)
  • black face

Spanish

Save record 2

Record 3 1999-09-15

English

Subject field(s)
  • Typesetting and Imagesetting
DEF

Typeface that is heavier and darker than the body typeface, used especially for center and side headings to distinguish them from related text.

OBS

boldface: term opposed to "lightface".

Key term(s)
  • boldface character
  • bold

French

Domaine(s)
  • Composition (Imprimerie)
DEF

Caractère dont les traits, plus épais que d'autres, paraissent plus noirs; permet de mettre en vedette une partie de texte.

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Composición (Imprenta)
Save record 3

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