clown
nounEtymology
From earlier clowne, cloyne (“man of rustic or coarse manners, boor, peasant”); likely of North Germanic origin, akin to Icelandic klunni (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Swedish kluns (“clumsy fellow”), all from Middle Low German klunz, from klunt (“pile, lump, something thick”); according to Pokorny, this could be related to a group of Germanic derivatives of Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up; amass”), such as Proto-West Germanic *klott (“lump”), Proto-Germanic *klūtaz (“clod, lump”), *kultaz (“lump, bundle”), etc. Alternatively, directly from Low German (compare North Frisian klönne (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Dutch kluns (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Dutch kloen (“uncouth person, lout”)), themselves from the same ultimate source as above. Unlikely from Latin colōnus (“colonist, farmer”), although learned awareness of this term may have influenced semantic development.
Definitions
A slapstick performance artist often associated with a circus and usually characterized…
A slapstick performance artist often associated with a circus and usually characterized by bright, oversized clothing, a red nose, face paint, and a brightly colored wig.
- Over there in Norway, the churches all burn down / Let's go dress in goth clothes and get painted like a clown
A person who acts in a silly fashion.
- He was regarded as the clown of the school, always playing pranks.
A stupid person.
- Doc Bruce Banner, belted by gamma rays, Turns into the Hulk – Ain’t he unglamour-rays! [unglamorous] Wreckin’ the town with the power of a bull, Ain’t no monster, clown. Who is as lovable As ever-lovin’ Hulk? - Hulk! Hulk!
- Everything’s on the table, the specs are there in the RFP and can’t be changed by some clown in the Air Force who happens to come up with a new idea.
›+ 5 more definitionsshow fewer
A man of coarse nature and manners
A man of coarse nature and manners; an awkward fellow; an illbred person; a boor.
- This loutish clown is such that you never saw so ill - favoured a vizar
- […] three things ought always to be kept under: a mastiff dog, a stone horse and a clown; and really I think a snarling, cross-grained clown to be the most unlucky beast of three.
One who works upon the soil
One who works upon the soil; a rustic; a churl; a yokel.
- The clown, the child of nature, without guile.
A clownfish.
- While the tomato clownfish Amphiprion frenatus has been spawned in captivity, wild-caught tomato clowns are more often seen for sale.
To act in a silly or playful fashion.
To ridicule, make fun of.
- The show Dismissed was one of my favorites, because I like to see people get clowned.
- All my comrades were laughing and clowning me, but shit, that didn't stop me from talking more shit.
The neighborhood
- synonymjester
- synonymand laughingstock
- neighborcoulrophobia
- neighborjester
- neighborjackpudding
Derived
assclown, ass clown, beclown, class clown, clownage, clown anemone, clown beetle, clown car, clown-car primary, clowncel, clowncore, clown doctor, clowndom, clownery, clowness, clownette, clown fish, clownfish, clownhood, clown horn, clowniness, clownish, clownism, clownless, clownlike, clownly, clown mantis shrimp, clownness, clown nose, clownology, clown prince, clown princess, clownship, clown shoe, clown show, clownstep, clown therapy, clown world, clussy, laughing clown · +6 more
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at clown. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at clown. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
9 hops · closes at clown
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA