Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
brownface. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
brownface, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
brownface in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
brownface you have here. The definition of the word
brownface will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
brownface, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From brown + face, based on earlier blackface.
Pronunciation
Noun
brownface (uncountable)
- A style of theatrical makeup in which a white person colours the face brown in order to represent somebody of another race.
2007 September 2, Terrence Rafferty, “Elmore Leonard’s Men of Few Words, in a Few Words”, in New York Times:The problem isn’t so much Lancaster’s unconvincing brownface makeup — though it looks as if it had been applied by the same heavy laborers who blacktopped Laurence Olivier for “Othello” — as it is the extremely un-Leonardian softness of his presence.