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); skirmish ( def. )

Example Sentences

On his return to the metropolis the old humour broke out at the representation of the inimitable Scaramouch of the Italian theatre.

From Literary Character of Men of Genius Drawn from Their Own Feelings and Confessions by Disraeli, Isaac

Gherardi, in his treatise, "The�tre Italien," speaks of a Scaramouch, who, waiting for his master, Harlequin, seats and plays on the guitar.

From A History of Pantomime by Broadbent, R. J.

Presently the curtain is drawn up and discovers where Scaramouch has   'plac'd them all in the Hanging in which they make the Figures, where   they stand without Motion in Postures.'

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

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

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 Dunlop, John