buffoon
/bəˈfuːn/ noun, verb
Forms buffoons buffooning buffooned
- noun One who performs in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
- noun (derogatory) An unintentionally ridiculous person.
- verb To behave like a buffoon
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A man who makes a practice of amusing others by low tricks, antic gestures, etc.; a droll; a mimic; a harlequin; a clown; a merry-andrew.
- adjective Characteristic of, or like, a buffoon. "Buffoon stories." Macaulay.
- verb To act the part of a buffoon. [R.]
- verb To treat with buffoonery. Glanvill.
Etymology [F. bouffon (cf. It. buffone, buffo, buffa, puff of wind, vanity, nonsense, trick), fr. bouffer to puff out, because the buffoons puffed out their cheeks for the amusement of the spectators. See Buffet a blow.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “buffoon”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details