Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A conventional buffoon of the commedia dell'arte, traditionally presented in a mask and parti-colored tights.
- noun A clown; a buffoon.
- adjective Having a pattern of brightly colored diamond shapes.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To play the droll; make sport by playing ludicrous tricks.
- To remove as if by a harlequin's trick; conjure away.
- noun In early Italian and later in French comedy, the buffoon or clown, one of the regular character-types.
- noun Hence A buffoon in general; a fantastic fellow; a droll.
- noun In entomology, the magpie-moth, Abraxas grossulariata.
- noun The Oriental or noble opal.
- Party-colored; extremely or fantastically variegated in color: specifically applied in zoölogy to sundry animals.
- Differing in color or decoration; fancifully varied, as a set of dishes. See
harlequin service , below.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To remove or conjure away, as by a harlequin's trick.
- intransitive verb To play the droll; to make sport by playing ludicrous tricks.
- noun A buffoon, dressed in party-colored clothes, who plays tricks, often without speaking, to divert the bystanders or an audience; a merry-andrew; originally, a droll rogue of Italian comedy.
- noun (Zoöl.) an Indian bat (
Scotophilus ornatus ), curiously variegated with white spots. - noun (Zoöl.) a very large South American beetle (
Acrocinus longimanus ) having very long legs and antennæ. The elytra are curiously marked with red, black, and gray. - noun (Zoöl.) See
Calicoback . - noun (Zoöl.) the larva of an American bombycid moth (
Euchætes egle ) which is covered with black, white, yellow, and orange tufts of hair. - noun (Zoöl.) a North American duck (
Histrionicus histrionicus ). The male is dark ash, curiously streaked with white. - noun (Zoöl.) See
Magpie Moth . - noun See
Opal . - noun (Zoöl.) See
harlequin snake in the vocabulary.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
pantomime fool , typically dressed in checkered clothes - adjective brightly coloured, especially in a pattern like that of a harlequin clown's clothes
- verb transitive To remove or conjure away, as if by a harlequin's trick.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a clown or buffoon (after the Harlequin character in the commedia dell'arte)
- verb variegate with spots or marks
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Of course then there is the desert in harlequin, it comes from the first Harleqin I ever read and it will always be a fav
NZ/Aus Guest Author: Nicola Marsh Nalini Singh 2009
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The film is "just an excuse for Tykwer to wallow in harlequin muck - sometimes thrilling but mostly tacky," writes Ed Gonzalez at Slant - before he really gets angry at it.
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The study examines the recent extinctions of species of Atelopus, also know as the harlequin frogs (even though they apparently belong to the toad family), which live in the American tropics.
Archive 2006-01-01 Nick Anthis 2006
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The study examines the recent extinctions of species of Atelopus, also know as the harlequin frogs (even though they apparently belong to the toad family), which live in the American tropics.
Amphibian Disease Heats Up Nick Anthis 2006
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There is also a man with a black face, who is a kind of devil, and called harlequin; at one time he appears, and at another time hides himself, and sometimes attaches himself to the others, and taking the hands of the dancing girls, he dances with them; he then scampers off, and taking a leap, he jumps through a window.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 10, No. 265, July 21, 1827 Various
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This is called the harlequin bug from its fantastic appearance.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. Ellen Eddy Shaw
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The harlequin was a little girl named Gilchrist, one of the most beautiful children, in face and figure, that I have ever seen.
The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C. L. Dodgson) Stuart Dodgson Collingwood 1903
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The harlequin, which is native to Asia, was introduced to America in 1988 and has become the dominant ladybird species on the American continent.
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Andy Bloxham 2012
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After some vain researches the French consul, M. de St. Sauveur, told me that the harlequin was a young lady of rank, and that the columbine was a handsome young man.
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After some vain researches the French consul, M. de St. Sauveur, told me that the harlequin was a young lady of rank, and that the columbine was a handsome young man.
The Complete Memoirs of Jacques Casanova Giacomo Casanova 1761
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