harlequin

See also: Harlequin

English

Etymology

From earlier Harlicken, from Middle French Harlequin (in Italian Arlecchino, the name of a popular servant character in commedia dell'arte plays), from Old French Harlequin, Halequin, Herlequin, Hellequin, Hierlekin, Hellekin (a demon, malevolent spirit), probably of Germanic origin, connected to the Old English figure of Herla Cyning (“King Herla”, a mythical figure identified with Woden) or possibly to Old Frisian helle kin, Old English helle cyn, Old Norse heljar kyn (“the kindred of Hell”). Related to Middle English Hurlewain (“a mischievous sprite or goblin”).

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːlɪkwɪn/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
(US) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹlɪkwɪn/

Noun

harlequin (plural harlequins)

A pantomime fool, typically dressed in colorful checkered clothes.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:
  […] were certainly the worst and dullest company into which an audience was ever introduced; and (which was a secret known to few) were actually intended so to be, in order to contrast the comic part of the entertainment, and to display the tricks of harlequin to the better advantage.
- 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], OCLC 24531354, page 241:
  Motives are like harlequins—there is always a second dress beneath their first.
A greenish-chartreuse color.
harlequin:
(informal) A harlequin duck.
(entomology) Any of various riodinid butterflies of the genera Taxila and Praetaxila.

Usage notes

Because of its origin in the name of an Italian theatrical character, Harlequin is often used as a proper noun.

Translations

pantomime fool

Azerbaijani: arlekin
Basque: arlekin
Bulgarian: арлекин m (arlekin), арлекино m (arlekino)
Catalan: arlequí (ca) m
Czech: harlekýn m
Danish: harlekin c
Dutch: harlekijn (nl) m
Esperanto: arlekeno
Estonian: arlekiin
Finnish: harlekiini (fi)
French: arlequin (fr) m
Galician: arlequín (gl) m
German: Harlekin (de) m
Alemannic German: Harlekin m
Greek: αρλεκίνος (el) m (arlekínos)
Hebrew: מוּקְיוֹן‎ (he) m (muqyón)
Hungarian: harlekin (hu)
Ido: arlekino (io)
Irish: airleacán m
Italian: arlecchino (it) m
Japanese: アルレッキーノ (arurekkīno)
Korean: 아를레키노 (areullekino)
Latvian: arlekīns m
Lithuanian: arlekinas m
Lombard: (Western) arlechin m, (Eastern) arlechì m
Macedonian: арлекин m (arlekin)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: harlekin m
Nynorsk: harlekin m
Polish: arlekin (pl) m
Portuguese: arlequim (pt) m
Romanian: arlechin (ro) m
Russian: арлеки́н (ru) m (arlekín)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: харлѐкӣн m, арлѐкӣн m
Roman: harlèkīn (sh) m, arlèkīn (sh) m
Slovak: harlekýn (sk) m
Spanish: arlequín (es) m
Swedish: harlekin (sv) c
Tagalog: harlekin
Tibetan: ཨར་ལེ་ཀི་ནོ། (ar le ki no)
Turkish: arleken
Ukrainian: арлекі́н (uk) m (arlekín)
Uzbek: arlikin, arlekino
Walloon: harlikin (wa) m

Adjective

harlequin (not comparable)

Brightly colored, especially in a pattern like that of a harlequin clown's clothes.
Of a greenish-chartreuse color.

Derived terms

harlequinade
harlequin bat
harlequin beetle
harlequin cabbage bug
harlequin caterpillar
harlequin duck
harlequinesque
harlequin ice cream
harlequin moth
harlequin opal
harlequin snake
yellow harlequin

Translations

brightly colored

Finnish: riemunkirjava (brightly colored); harlekiinikuvioinen (with harlequin pattern)
Italian: arlecchino (it)

Verb

harlequin (third-person singular simple present harlequins, present participle harlequining, simple past and past participle harlequined)

(transitive) To remove or conjure away, as if by a harlequin's trick.
- 1737, Matthew Green, The Spleen:
  And kitten, if the humour hit / Has harlequin'd away the fit.
(intransitive) To make sport by playing ludicrous tricks.