Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Buffoon

Buf·foon′, n. [F. bouffon (cf. It. buffone, buffo, buffa, puff of wind, vanity, nonsense, trick), fr. bouffer to puff out, because the buffoons puffed out their cheeks for the amusement of the spectators. See Buffet a blow.] A man who makes a practice of amusing others by low tricks, antic gestures, etc.; a droll; a mimic; a harlequin; a clown; a merry-andrew.

Buf·foon′ (bŭf·foon′), a. Characteristic of, or like, a buffoon. "Buffoon stories." Macaulay.

To divert the audience with buffoon postures and antic dances. Melmoth.

Buf·foon′, v. i. To act the part of a buffoon. [R.]

Buf·foon′, v. t. To treat with buffoonery. Glanvill.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.