buffoon

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 acts in a silly or ridiculous fashion; a clown or fool.
   • 1810, W. Melmoth (translator), 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

• buffoonery

Translations

one who acts in a silly or ridiculous fashion

Arabic: مُهَرِّج‎ m (muharrij) Armenian: please add this translation if you can Bulgarian: шут (bg) m (šut), паля́чо (bg) n (paljáčo) Chinese: Mandarin: 小丑 (zh) (xiǎochǒu) 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) Hungarian: pojáca (hu), ripacs (hu) Irish: abhlóir m, drúth m, fuirseoir m, miodhlach f, óinmhid f Italian: pagliaccio (it) m Khmer: please add this translation if you can Macedonian: шут m (šut), палја́чо m (paljáčo) Maori: heahea Persian: شوت‎ (fa) (šut) Plautdietsch: Noa m Polish: pajac (pl) m Portuguese: palhaço (pt) m, bufão (pt) m Russian: шут (ru) m (šut), пая́ц (ru) m (pajác), скоморо́х (ru) m (skomoróx), фигля́р (ru) m (figljár), буффо́н (ru) m (buffón) Spanish: bufón (es) m Swedish: pajas (sv) c, fjant (sv) c Ukrainian: блазень (uk) m (blazenʹ), клоун (uk) m (kloun)

unintentionally ridiculous person

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

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”, in Little Boy Blue‎:

     His mimicry of gay speech and facial expressions is analagous 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) Macedonian: се глупи́ра impf (se glupíra), се ше́гува impf (se šéguva) German: kaspern (de), herumkaspern