(Fr. travestie, from travestir, to disguise, se travestir, to change one's clothes; Lat. trans, across, and vestige, to clothe), a burlesque, particularly a grotesque imitation of a serious work of literature or art, in which the subject, characters, &c., are retained, but the style, language and treatment generally are exaggerated and distorted to excite ridicule (see also Burlesque) .