Scaramouch
Americannoun
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a stock character in commedia dell'arte and farce who is a cowardly braggart, easily beaten and frightened.
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(lowercase) a rascal or scamp.
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Enter Scaramouch, peeping on all sides before he enters.
From The Works of Aphra Behn, Volume III by Montague Summers
Little plays called drolls were exhibited in the taverns and coffee-houses; such plays as Pickle Herring, Taylor riding to Brentford, Harlequin and Scaramouch.
From Stage-coach and Tavern Days by Alice Morse Earle
Various gay masqueraders, interrupted by return of the Doctor, are carried by Scaramouch behind the curtain.
From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Joseph Addison
His dress was something between that of Harlequin and Scaramouch.
From The Infernal Marriage by Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield
This by some has been considered as a dawning of the drama, since the characters probably bore a resemblance to the Arlequin and Scaramouch of the Italian farces.
From History of Roman Literature from its Earliest Period to the Augustan Age. Volume I by John Dunlop
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
