clown
[ kloun ]
/ klaʊn /
||
noun
a comic performer, as in a circus, theatrical production, or the like, who wears an outlandish costume and makeup and entertains by pantomiming common situations or actions in exaggerated or ridiculous fashion, by juggling or tumbling, etc.
a person who acts like a clown; comedian; joker; buffoon; jester.
a prankster; a practical joker.
Slang. a coarse, ill-bred person; a boor.
a peasant; rustic.
verb (used without object)
to act like a clown.
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RELATED WORDS
fool, jester, mime, buffoon, comedian, comic, prankster, lout, cut-up, madcap, harlequin, wag, ribald, jokester, punch, joker, mountebank, wit, zany, antic
Nearby words
- cloverleaf aerial,
- clovis,
- clovis i,
- clovis point,
- clowder,
- clown anemone,
- clown car,
- clown white,
- clownage,
- clownery
Origin of clown
1555–65; earlier cloyne, clowne, perhaps akin to Old Norse klunni boor, Danish dialect klunds, Swedish dialect klunn log
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for clowning
clown
/ (klaʊn) /
noun
verb (intr)
Word Origin for clown
C16: perhaps of Low German origin; compare Frisian klönne, Icelandic klunni clumsy fellow
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper