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PIERROT

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Pi⋅er⋅rot

[pee-uh-roh; Fr. pye-roh]
–noun, plural -rots [-rohz; Fr. -roh] .
1. a male character in certain French pantomime, having a whitened face and wearing a loose, white, fancy costume.
2. (lowercase) an actor, masquerader, or buffoon so made up.

Origin:
1735–45; < F, dim. of Pierre Peter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Pier·rot   (pē'ə-rō', pyě-rō')   
n.  A character in French pantomime, dressed in a floppy white outfit.

[French, diminutive of the name Pierre, Peter, from Old French, from Latin Petrus.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

Pierrot

stock character of the Italian commedia dell'arte, a simpleminded and honest servant, usually a young and personable valet. One of the comic servants, or zanni, Pedrolino functioned in the commedia as an unsuccessful lover and a victim of the pranks of his fellow comedians. His costume consisted of a white jacket with a neck ruff and large buttons down the front, loose trousers, and a hat with a wide, floppy brim. Unlike most of the other stock characters, he played without a mask, his face whitened with powder.

Learn more about Pierrot with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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