clown
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See also: Clown
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown (plural clowns)
- 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
- 2008, Lich King, "Black Metal Sucks", Toxic Zombie Onslaught.
- A person who acts in a silly fashion.
- A stupid 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.
- (obsolete) A man of coarse nature and manners; an awkward fellow; an illbred person; a boor.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Philip Sidney to this entry?)
- 1700, Timothy Nourse, Campania Foelix, pp. 15–16
- […] 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.
- (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 228757725:
- 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; […]
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
performance artist working in a circus
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person acting in a silly fashion
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Verb[edit]
clown (third-person singular simple present clowns, present participle clowning, simple past and past participle clowned)
- (intransitive) To act in a silly or playful fashion.
- (transitive, African-American Vernacular) To ridicule.
- 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.
- 2002, Vibe (volume 10, number 11, page 62)
Derived terms[edit]
- clown about (British)
- clown around
See also[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown m (plural clowns, diminutive clowntje n)
- clown (entertainer)
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown m (plural clowns)
Synonyms[edit]
- (performer): (Louisiana) macaque
Further reading[edit]
- “clown” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Italian[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown m (invariable)
- clown (artist)
Synonyms[edit]
Polish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown m pers
Declension[edit]
declension of clown
Derived terms[edit]
- (noun) clownada
- (adjective) clownowski
Further reading[edit]
- clown in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- clown in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Spanish[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown m (plural clownes)
Swedish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown c
Declension[edit]
Declension of clown | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | clown | clownen | clowner | clownerna |
Genitive | clowns | clownens | clowners | clownernas |
Derived terms[edit]
References[edit]
Welsh[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
clown m (plural clowniaid)
Etymology 2[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- closwn (colloquial, first-person singular conditional)
Verb[edit]
clown
- first-person plural present/future of cloi
- first-person singular imperfect/conditional of cloi
- (literary) first-person plural imperative of cloi
Mutation[edit]
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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- African-American Vernacular English
- en:Circus
- en:Comedy
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- cy:Occupations