'burlesque' originates from Italian, specifically the word 'burlesco,' where 'burla' meant 'joke or mockery.'

'burlesco' transformed into the French word 'burlesque,' and eventually became the modern English word 'burlesque' through Middle English.

Initially, it meant 'joke or mockery,' but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a work that ridicules by means of grotesque exaggeration.'