comparsa

noun

com·​par·​sa

kəmˈpärsə

plural -s

1

: a folk dance and song of Afro-Cuban origin

2

: a masked company of street dancers in Cuban carnival processions

Word History

Etymology

American Spanish, from Spanish, group of revelers costumed alike, entire group of supernumeraries in a play, supernumerary in a play, from Italian, supernumerary in a play, appearance, from feminine of comparso, past participle of comparire to appear, from Latin comparēre, from Latin com- + parēre to be visible

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