buffoon

English

Etymology

From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bəˈfuːn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːn

Noun

buffoon (plural buffoons)

1. One who performs in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
   • 1810, W. Melmoth, transl., Letters of Pliny:

     To divert the audience with buffoon postures and antic dances.

2. (derogatory) An unintentionally ridiculous person.

Usage notes

• In the United States the term most commonly refers to inappropriate, clownish figures on the public stage; here the behavior of a variety of public figures have caused them to be referred to as buffoons by their political opponents.
• In the United Kingdom the term is used more broadly, to refer to such people who are retained in popular regard but who nevertheless engender amusement with their pronouncements and acts.

Derived terms

• buffonize
• buffoonery
• buffoonesque
• buffoonic
• buffoonish
• buffoonism
• buffoonlike
• buffoonly
• buffoonry

Translations

one who acts in a silly or ridiculous fashion

Arabic: مُهَرِّج m (muharrij) Armenian: please add this translation if you can Belarusian: бла́зан m (blázan) Bulgarian: шут (bg) m (šut), паля́чо (bg) n (paljáčo) Chinese: Mandarin: 小丑 (zh) (xiǎochǒu) Czech: kašpar m, šašek (cs) m Dutch: clown (nl) m Esperanto: bufono Finnish: ilveilijä (fi), narri (fi), pelle (fi) French: bouffon (fr) m Galician: bufón m, alvardán m Georgian: please add this translation if you can German: Hanswurst (de) m, Kasper (de) m Greek: Ancient: γελωτοποιός m (gelōtopoiós) Hindi: मसख़रा m (masxarā), भाँड m (bhā̃ḍ) Hungarian: pojáca (hu), ripacs (hu) Ingrian: petruška Irish: abhlóir m, drúth m, fuirseoir m, miodhlach f, óinmhid f Italian: pagliaccio (it) m, buffone (it) m Khmer: please add this translation if you can Macedonian: шут m (šut), палја́чо m (paljáčo) Maori: heahea Ottoman Turkish: میمون (maymun) Persian: Iranian Persian: شوت (fa) (šut), مَسْخَرِه (masxare) Plautdietsch: Noa m Polish: pajac (pl) m, błazen (pl) m Portuguese: palhaço (pt) m, bufão (pt) m Romanian: bufon (ro) m Russian: шут (ru) m (šut), пая́ц (ru) m (pajác), скоморо́х (ru) m (skomoróx), фигля́р (ru) m (figljár), буффо́н (ru) m (buffón) Sicilian: buffuni m Spanish: bufón (es) m Swedish: pajas (sv) c Ukrainian: бла́зень (uk) m (blázenʹ), кло́ун (uk) m (klóun) Urdu: مَسْخَرَہ m (masxara), مَسْخَرا m (masxarā), بھانْڈ m (bhānḍ)

unintentionally ridiculous person

Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can Chinese: Mandarin: 活寶 / 活宝 (zh) (huóbǎo) Dutch: sufferd (nl) m Finnish: narri (fi), mäntti (fi) French: please add this translation if you can German: Narr (de) m, Närrin (de) f Macedonian: please add this translation if you can Russian: please add this translation if you can Spanish: please add this translation if you can Swedish: pajas (sv) c, fjant (sv) c

Verb

buffoon (third-person singular simple present buffoons, present participle buffooning, simple past and past participle buffooned)

1. To behave like a buffoon
   • 1988 January 22, Henry Sheehan, “Little Boy Blue”, in Chicago Reader‎:

     His mimicry of gay speech and facial expressions is analogous to an Amos 'n' Andy routine, in which white men buffooned their way through incredibly demeaning impersonations of black men.

Translations

to behave like buffoon

Finnish: pelleillä (fi), ilveillä (fi) German: kaspern (de), herumkaspern Macedonian: се глупи́ра impf (se glupíra), се ше́гува impf (se šéguva)