spec. A light shoe worn by comic actors on the ancient Greek and Roman stage; hence used allusively to denote comedy or the comic muse. sock and b…

Dramatic performance as an art, institution, or profession; the theatre; the stage. Usually with the. Obsolete.

With the: The dramatic branch of literature; the dramatic art.

transferred. Dramatic performances as a branch of art, or as an institution; the drama. Also, the drama of a particular time or place; dramatic art…

plural. Dramatic compositions or representations; the drama. Also transferred and figurative.

Dramatic composition; the dramatic art.

The world of the theatre; dramatic art. Cf. stage, n. 5b. Now rare.