clown

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See also: Clown

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From earlier clowne, cloyne (“man of rustic or coarse manners, boor, peasant”), likely of North Germanic origin, akin to Icelandic klunni (“clumsy fellow, klutz”). Compare also North Frisian klönne (“clumsy fellow, klutz”), Dutch kluns (“clumsy fellow”). Unlikely from Latin colōnus (“colonist, farmer”), although learned awareness of this term may have influenced semantic development.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: kloun, IPA(key): /klaʊn/
    • Audio (UK):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aʊn

Noun

A clown
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

clown (plural clowns)

  1. 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.
    • 2008, Lich King, "Black Metal Sucks", Toxic Zombie Onslaught.
      Over there in Norway, the churches all burn down / Let's go dress in goth clothes and get painted like a clown
  2. A person who acts in a silly fashion.
    He was regarded as the clown of the school, always playing pranks.
  3. A stupid or badly-behaved person.
    • 2013, Kim Stanley Robinson, The Gold Coast: Three Californias (Wild Shore Triptych; 2)‎[1], Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 122:
      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.
    • 2017, Arron Crascall, See Ya Later: The World According to Arron Crascall
      'Breaking my sister's heart then getting pissed with his mates in the very next pub while she's sobbing alone?' I dragged this clown away from the fruitie and back to Amy next door, running my mouth off at him as we went.
  4. (obsolete) A man of coarse nature and manners; an awkward fellow; an illbred person; a boor.
  5. (obsolete) One who works upon the soil; a rustic; a churl; a yokel.
    • 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson;  […], →OCLC:
      The clown, the child of nature, without guile.
    • August 25, 1759, Samuel Johnson, The Idler No. 71
      He […] began to descend to familiar questions, endeavouring to accommodate his discourse to the grossness of rustic understandings. The clowns soon found that he did not know wheat from rye, and began to despise him; one of the boys, by pretending to show him a bird's nest, decoyed him into a ditch; […]
  6. A clownfish.
    • 2006, Tropical Fish Hobbyist (volume 54, issues 5-8, page 32)
      While the tomato clownfish Amphiprion frenatus has been spawned in captivity, wild-caught tomato clowns are more often seen for sale.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

clown (third-person singular simple present clowns, present participle clowning, simple past and past participle clowned)

  1. (intransitive) To act in a silly or playful fashion.
  2. (transitive, African-American Vernacular) To ridicule.
    Synonym: clown on
    • 2002, Vibe (volume 10, number 11, page 62)
      The show Dismissed was one of my favorites, because I like to see people get clowned.
    • 2017, Darrell Smith, Miracle Baby
      All my comrades were laughing and clowning me, but shit, that didn't stop me from talking more shit.

Derived terms

See also

Dutch

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

Borrowed from English clown.

Pronunciation

Noun

clown m (plural clowns, diminutive clowntje n)

  1. clown (entertainer)

Derived terms

See also

French

Etymology

From English clown.

Pronunciation

Noun

clown m (plural clowns, feminine clownesse)

  1. clown (performer)
    Synonym: (Louisiana) macaque
  2. clown (person who acts in a comic way)

Derived terms

Further reading

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia it

Pronunciation

Noun

clown m (invariable)

  1. clown (artist)
    Synonym: pagliaccio

References

  1. ^ clown in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English clown.

Pronunciation

Noun

clown m pers

  1. (comedy) Alternative spelling of klaun

Declension

Declension of clown
singular plural
nominative clown clowni/clowny (deprecative)
genitive clowna clownów
dative clownowi clownom
accusative clowna clownów
instrumental clownem clownami
locative clownie clownach
vocative clownie clowni

Derived terms

adjective
noun

Further reading

  • clown in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • clown in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English clown.

Pronunciation

Noun

clown m (plural clownes)

  1. clown (circus performance artist)
    Synonym: payaso

Further reading

Swedish

Etymology

From English clown.

Pronunciation

Noun

clown c

  1. clown

Declension

Declension of clown 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative clown clownen clowner clownerna
Genitive clowns clownens clowners clownernas

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

Welsh

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English clown.

Noun

clown m (plural clowniaid)

  1. clown

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

  • closwn (colloquial, first-person singular conditional)

Verb

clown

  1. first-person plural present/future of cloi
  2. first-person singular imperfect/conditional of cloi
  3. (literary) first-person plural imperative of cloi

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
clown glown nghlown chlown
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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