From earlier clowne, cloyne.

Alternatively, directly from Low German - (compare Northern Frisian klönne, Dutch kluns, Dutch kloen), themselves from the same ultimate source as above.

Unlikely from Latin colōnus (“colonist, farmer”), although learned awareness of this term may have influenced semantic development.

• enPR: kloun, IPA: /klaʊn/

clown (plural clowns)

1. A slapstick performance artist often associated with a circus and usually characterized by bright, oversized clothing, a red nose, face paint, and a brightly colored wig.
   • 2008, Lich King, “Black Metal Sucks”, in Toxic Zombie Onslaught:

     Over there in Norway, the churches all burn down / Let's go dress in goth clothes and get painted like a clown

2. A person who acts in a silly fashion.

   He was regarded as the clown of the school, always playing pranks.

3. A stupid or badly-behaved person.
   • 2017, Arron Crascall, See Ya Later: The World According to Arron Crascall:

     'Breaking my sister's heart then getting pissed with his mates in the very next pub while she's sobbing alone?' I dragged this clown away from the fruitie and back to Amy next door, running my mouth off at him as we went.

4. (obsolete) A man of coarse nature and manners; an awkward fellow; an illbred person; a boor.
   • a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC ↗:

     This loutish clown is such that you never saw so ill - favoured a vizar

   • 1700, Timothy Nourse, Campania Foelix, pages 15–16:

     […] three things ought always to be kept under: a mastiff dog, a stone horse and a clown; and really I think a snarling, cross-grained clown to be the most unlucky beast of three.

5. (obsolete) One who works upon the soil; a rustic; a churl; a yokel.
   • 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson;  […], →OCLC ↗:

     The clown, the child of nature, without guile.

   • August 25, 1759, Samuel Johnson, The Idler No. 71

     He […] began to descend to familiar questions, endeavouring to accommodate his discourse to the grossness of rustic understandings. The clowns soon found that he did not know wheat from rye, and began to despise him; one of the boys, by pretending to show him a bird's nest, decoyed him into a ditch; […]

6. A clownfish.

• (person who acts in a silly fashion) See Thesaurus:fool, jester, & laughingstock

• French: clown, clownesse, pitre, bouffon, bouffonne
• German: Clown, Clownin
• Italian: pagliaccio, pagliaccia
• Portuguese: palhaço, palhaça
• Russian: кло́ун
• Spanish: payaso, payasa, clown, clon

• French: bouffon, bouffonne, pitre, guignol, idiot, idiote, andouille, mariole
• German: Trottel, Witzfigur
• Italian: buffone, buffona
• Portuguese: palhaço, palhaça
• Russian: кло́ун
• Spanish: payaso, payasa

clown (clowns, present participle clowning; simple past and past participle clowned)

1. (intransitive) To act in a silly or playful fashion.
   • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 128 ↗:

     Except for Rasheena, the rest of the baby mamas was at least struggling to live halfway right. They used to clown and act shitty whenever they came by Noojie's and saw Carmiesha there. But every last one of them ended up being grateful to her for the things she did for their kids.

2. (transitive, AAVE) To ridicule, make fun of.

   Synonyms: clown on

   • 2017, Darrell Smith, Miracle Baby:

     All my comrades were laughing and clowning me, but shit, that didn't stop me from talking more shit.