Buffoon

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bəˈfuːn/

Definitions

1. A person who acts foolishly or ridiculously, either deliberately for amusement or through genuine stupidity, thereby becoming an object of mockery or laughter
2. An individual who engages in absurd antics or speaks nonsensically, serving as either an intentional entertainer or an involuntary subject of derision
3. a person who deliberately acts absurdly or foolishly to provoke laughter, or one regarded as ridiculous and contemptible
4. someone who engages in clownish antics and foolish behavior for amusement, or is simply viewed as a laughable fool

Etymology: The most striking thing about "buffoon" is how physical its origin is: it comes from an Italian verb meaning "to puff out the cheeks." An Italian "buffone" was a jester, and the image behind the name is a performer with swollen, puffed-up cheeks, mugging for the crowd. The Italian verb "buffare" is thought to be onomatopoeic, imitating the sound of blowing air. The word reached English through Middle French "bouffon," which carried the same jester sense. Its relatives across Europe show how old the idea of blowing and puffing is in these roots: Middle High German "buffen" meant "to puff," and Old English "pyffan" meant "to breathe out, blow with the mouth," a distant cousin of the English word "puff."

Synonyms: fool, clown, jest, simpleton, jester

Antonyms: genius, intellectual, sage