Interlude
Interlude , noun
[Old English enterlude, Late Latin interludium; Late Latin inter between + ludus play, from ludere to play: compare French interlude. See Ludicrous.]
1.
A short entertainment exhibited on the stage between the acts of a play, or between the play and the afterpiece, to relieve the tedium of waiting.
Dreams are but interludes, which fancy makes
When monarch reason sleeps.
2.
A form of English drama or play, usually short, merry, and farcical, which succeeded the Moralities or Moral Plays in the transition to the romantic or Elizabethan drama.
3.
(Music) A short piece of instrumental music played between the parts of a song or cantata, or the acts of a drama; especially, in church music, a short passage played by the organist between the stanzas of a hymn, or in German chorals after each line.
4.
Any intervening period of time, space, etc.; a pause between phases of an activity.