buffoon

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /bəˈfuːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #20694

Meanings

1

noun
A person who behaves in a ridiculous or foolish way.

He made a complete buffoon of himself at the party.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who behaves in a... clown

Word family

Forms buffoons

Derived forms buffonizebuffoonerybuffoonesquebuffoonicbuffoonishbuffoonismbuffoonlikebuffoonlybuffoonry

Etymology

From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff.

bouffon Middle French buffone Italian

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# buffoon

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /bəˈfuːn/
**Frequency rank:** 20694

## Meanings
1. A person who behaves in a ridiculous or foolish way.

## Examples
- He made a complete buffoon of himself at the party.

## Derived Forms
- buffonize
- buffoonery
- buffoonesque
- buffoonic
- buffoonish
- buffoonism
- buffoonlike
- buffoonly
- buffoonry

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bouffon
- Root: buffone

## Etymology
From Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff.

## AI Etymology
Buffoon is from Middle French bouffon, from Italian buffone (“jester”), from buffare (“to puff out the cheeks”), of onomatopoeic origin. Compare Middle High German buffen ("to puff"; > German büffen), Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). More at English puff. In present-day use, it means a person who behaves in a ridiculous or foolish way. Derived formations include buffonize, buffoonery, buffoonesque, buffoonic, buffoonish.

## Topics
- People & Society

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buffoon

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