buffoon
[buh-foon]
noun
a person who amuses others by tricks, jokes, odd gestures and postures, etc.
a person given to coarse or undignified joking.
Origin of buffoon
1540–50; earlier buffon < French < Italian buffone, equivalent to buff- (expressive base; compare buffa puff of breath, buffare to puff, puff up one's checks) + -one agent suffix ≪ Latin -ō, accusative -ōnem
Synonyms for buffoon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for buffoonery
pun, humor, antic, farce, one-liner, trick, laugh, parody, gag, stunt, wisecrack, prank, caricature, mockery, sarcasm, jeer, disdain, satire, derision, tauntExamples from the Web for buffoonery
Contemporary Examples of buffoonery
This CNN clip taken on a flooded street on Long Island serves up a buffet of buffoonery.
Hurricane Sandy’s Biggest Idiots: Jet Skiing on the Hudson & More (VIDEO)Kevin Fallon
October 30, 2012
Historical Examples of buffoonery
It was cruel that his extreme unhappiness should have in it something of buffoonery.
The Moon and SixpenceW. Somerset Maugham
As late as 1783 the buffoonery of this kind of exhibition continued.
The Standard OratoriosGeorge P. Upton
O'Mally, for all his buffoonery, was a keen one to read a face.
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
One of the eye-witnesses said to us: 'We thought that this was part of the buffoonery.'
Napoleon the LittleVictor Hugo
This is not a criticism of the phallus on grounds of obscenity, but on grounds of buffoonery.
FolkwaysWilliam Graham Sumner
buffoon
noun
Word Origin for buffoon
C16: from French bouffon, from Italian buffone, from Medieval Latin būfō, from Latin: toad
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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buffoon
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper