Wiktionary

clown

See also: Clown

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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.[1]

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.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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.
    • 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume III: The Breakdown, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozkład (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 148:
      Apart from the many instances in which Stalin himself held the top position-as philosopher, theoretician, statesman, strategist, economist, etc.--it was known, for example, who was the greatest painter, biologist, or circus clown.
    • 2008, Lich King, “Black Metal Sucks”, in 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.
    Synonym: buffoon
    He was regarded as the clown of the school, always playing pranks.
  3. A stupid person.
    • 1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 81:
      "The dealers snatched at the state of intellectual exhaustion and scepticism of all values that followed the first world war to abolish values and substitute for them an arbitrary mumbo-jumbo of occultism and pseudo-Freudianism, which they tagged on to the works of studio clowns like Picasso and Modigliani and the like."
    • 1966, “The Incredible Hulk (theme song)”, Jacques Urbont (lyrics) (The Marvel Super Heroes (television series)):
      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!
    • 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. (archaic) A man of coarse nature and manners; an awkward fellow; an illbred person; a boor.
  5. (archaic) 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, numbers 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

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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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.
    • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 128:
      Except for Rasheena, the rest of the baby mamas was at least struggling to live halfway right. They used to clown and act shitty whenever they came by Noojie's and saw Carmiesha there. But every last one of them ended up being grateful to her for the things she did for their kids.
  2. (transitive, African-American Vernacular) To ridicule, make fun of.
    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

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 356-64

Basque

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Etymology

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From English clown.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /klau̯n/ [klãũ̯n]
  • Rhymes: -au̯n
  • Hyphenation: clown

Noun

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clown anim

  1. clown (entertainer)
    Synonym: pailazo

Declension

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Declension of clown (anim C-stem1)
indefinite singular plural proximal plural
absolutive clown clowna clownak clownok
ergative clownek clownak clownek clownok
dative clowni clownari clownei clownoi
genitive clownen clownaren clownen clownon
comitative clownekin clownarekin clownekin clownokin
causative clownengatik clownarengatik clownengatik clownongatik
benefactive clownentzat clownarentzat clownentzat clownontzat
instrumental clownez clownaz clownez clownotaz
inessive clownengan clownarengan clownengan clownongan
locative — — — —
allative clownengana clownarengana clownengana clownongana
terminative clownenganaino clownarenganaino clownenganaino clownonganaino
directive clownenganantz clownarenganantz clownenganantz clownonganantz
destinative clownenganako clownarenganako clownenganako clownonganako
ablative clownengandik clownarengandik clownengandik clownongandik
partitive clownik — — —
prolative clowntzat — — —

1. Optionally, case suffixes can be separated from the root with a hyphen.

Further reading

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  • “clown”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]

Dutch

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Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

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Borrowed from English clown.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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clown m (plural clowns, diminutive clowntje n)

  1. clown (entertainer)

Derived terms

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See also

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French

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Etymology

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    Borrowed from English clown.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    clown m or f (plural clowns, feminine clownesse)

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

    Derived terms

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    Further reading

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    Italian

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    Italian Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia it

    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from English clown.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    clown m (invariable)

    1. clown (artist)
      Synonym: pagliaccio

    References

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

    Polish

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    Etymology

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      Unadapted borrowing from English clown.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      clown m pers

      1. (comedy) alternative spelling of klaun

      Declension

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      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

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      adjective
      noun

      Further reading

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      • “clown”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
      • “clown”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[3] (in Polish)

      Romanian

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      Noun

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      clown m (plural clowni)

      1. alternative form of clovn

      Declension

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      singular plural
      indefinite definite indefinite definite
      nominative-accusative clown clownul clowni clownii
      genitive-dative clown clownului clowni clownilor
      vocative clownule clownilor

      References

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      • clown in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

      Spanish

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      Alternative forms

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      Etymology

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        Unadapted borrowing from English clown.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /ˈklaun/ [ˈklãũn], /ˈklon/ [ˈklõn], /ˈkloun/ [ˈklõũn]
        • Rhymes: -aun, -on, -oun

        Noun

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        clown m (plural clowns or clownes)

        1. clown (circus performance artist)
          Synonym: payaso

        Usage notes

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        According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

        Further reading

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        Swedish

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        Etymology

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        Borrowed from English clown.

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        clown c

        1. clown
          När vi slutade grundskolan fick jag titeln som klassens clown.
          When we graduated from primary school, I got the title of class clown.

        Declension

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        Declension of clown
        nominative genitive
        singular indefinite clown clowns
        definite clownen clownens
        plural indefinite clowner clowners
        definite clownerna clownernas

        Synonyms

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        Derived terms

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        References

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        Welsh

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        Pronunciation

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        Etymology 1

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        Borrowed from English clown.

        Noun

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        clown m (plural clowniaid)

        1. clown

        Etymology 2

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        Alternative forms

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        • closwn (colloquial, first-person singular conditional)

        Verb

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        clown

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

        Mutation

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        Mutated forms of clown
        radical soft nasal aspirate
        clown glown nghlown chlown

        Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
        All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

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