Nearby Words

clowning

[kloun] Origin

clown

[kloun]
noun
1.
a comic performer, as in a circus, theatrical production, or the like, who wears an outlandish costume and makeup and entertains by pantomiming common situations or actions in exaggerated or ridiculous fashion, by juggling or tumbling, etc.
2.
a person who acts like a clown; comedian; joker; buffoon; jester.
3.
a prankster; a practical joker.
4.
Slang. a coarse, ill-bred person; a boor.
5.
a peasant; rustic.
verb (used without object)
6.
to act like a clown.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Clowning is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

Origin:
1555–65; earlier cloyne, clowne, perhaps akin to Old Norse klunni boor, Danish dialect klunds, Swedish dialect klunn log

clown·ish, adjective
clown·ish·ly, adverb
clown·ish·ness, noun


3. lout, churl. 4. bumpkin.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To clowning
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

clown
1560s, origin uncertain. Perhaps from Scand. dial., or akin to N.Fris. klonne "clumsy person," or, less likely, from L. colonus "colonist, farmer," hence, "rustic, boor," which apparently was the earliest Eng. sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

clown definition


  1. n.
    a fool. : Tell that clown in the front row to shut up.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature