What is a Buffoon?
A buffoon is a fool. The term is used both to describe amusing, yet entertaining fools such as clowns, and people who publicly make fools of themselves, like inept officials. The term is also used more generally to describe someone who is foolish or clumsy. Generally speaking, one does not consider the term complementary unless one is a professional clown or jester. The term has been used in English since at least 1549, and it was probably borrowed from the Old French. The French actually took the word from the Italians, who referred to a jester as a buffone, a word derived from buffare, a word which means “to puff up the checks.” Buffare is believed to be imitative in origin. In any case, the English, along with many other European nations, had court jesters, buffoons, and clowns who entertained people with their antics in the Middle Ages. In the sense of a clown or jester, a buffoon is a form of professional entertainer. Buffoons in the Middle Ages often wore brightly colored, garish
