buffo

[boo-foh; It. boof-faw]

buf·fo

[boo-foh; It. boof-faw]
noun, plural buf·fi [-fee] , buf·fos. Music.
1.
(in opera) a comedy part, usually bass.
2.
a male opera singer who specializes in comic roles.

Origin:
1755–65; < Italian: ridiculous, comic actor who takes comic parts; back formation from buffone buffoon
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Buffo is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
buffo (ˈbʊfəʊ, Italian ˈbuffo)
 
n , pl -fi, -fos
1.  (in Italian opera of the 18th century) a comic part, esp one for a bass
2.  buffo bass, Also called: basso buffo a bass singer who performs such a part
 
[C18: from Italian (adj): comic, from buffo (n) buffoon]

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