Scaramouch

American  

[skar-uh-mauch, -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  

/ ˈskærəˌmaʊtʃ, -ˌmuːtʃ /

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. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Scaramouch

Punch, Scaramouch, and Pierrot are next met by the Doctor, who invites them into a banquet.

From A History of Pantomime by R. J. Broadbent

The great foreign chemist, Professor Scaramouch, has the credit of the discovery.

From Loss and Gain The Story of a Convert by John Henry Newman

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

The third Artist that I looked over was FANTASQUE, dressed like a Venetian Scaramouch.

From The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays by Joseph Addison

Besides these, there was also a comic drama, in which some personages not unlike punch and his wife, Bandemeer and Scaramouch performed capital parts.

From Travels in China, Containing Descriptions, Observations, and Comparisons, Made and Collected in the Course of a Short Residence at the Imperial Palace of Yuen-Min-Yuen, and on a Subsequent Journey through the Country from Pekin to Canton by Sir John Barrow

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