Scaramouch

American  

[skar-uh-mouch, -moosh] / ˈskær əˌmaʊtʃ, -ˌmuʃ /

Or Scaramouche

noun

1. a stock character in commedia dell'arte and farce who is a cowardly braggart, easily beaten and frightened.

2. (lowercase) a rascal or scamp.

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Scaramouch British  

/ -ˌmuːtʃ, ˈskærəˌmaʊtʃ /

noun

1. a stock character who appears as a boastful coward in commedia dell'arte and farce

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Etymology

Origin of Scaramouch

First recorded in 1662; from French Scaramouche, from Italian Scaramuccia, proper noun use of scaramuccia “skirmish” (applied in jest); see origin at skirmish ( def. )

Example Sentences

Fiorelli, Tiberio of Naples, the famous Scaramouch, i.

From The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the First by Gozzi, Carlo

Run, run, Scaramouch, my Master's conjuring for you like mad below, he calls up all his little Devils with horrid Names, his Microscope, his Horoscope, his Telescope, and all his Scopes.

From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume III by Summers, Montague

Lapet, the very prince of cowards; in the French drama, La Capitan, Metamore, and Scaramouch.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham

But I speak no Italian; only a few broken scraps, which I picked from Scaramouch and Harlequin at Paris.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 06 by Scott, Walter, Sir

Well, say no more, honest Scaramouch; thou shalt find a Friend at need of me—and if I do not fit you with a Spouse, say that a Woman has out-witted me.

From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume III by Summers, Montague