com·me·dia dell’ar·te (k?-m??d?-? d?l-är?t?, -t?, -m?d??-?)n. A type of comedy developed in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries and characterized by improvisation from a standard plot outline and the use of stock characters, often in traditional masks and costumes.[Italian : commedia, comedy + dell’arte, of the guild, professional (from arte, art, craft, guild).]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.commedia dell’arte (Italian k?m?me?dia del?larte) n (Theatre) a form of popular comedy developed in Italy during the 16th to 18th centuries, with stock characters such as Punchinello, Harlequin, and Columbine, in situations improvised from a plot outline[Italian, literally: comedy of art]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014com?me?dia dell’ar?te (k??me? di ? d?l??r ti, -??r te?) n. Italian popular comedy of the 16th through 18th centuries, in which masked actors improvised from plot outlines based on stock characters. [1875?80;