harlequin
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
harlequin /ˈhɑːlɪkwɪn/
▶noun
- 1 (Harlequin) a mute character in traditional pantomime, typically masked and dressed in a diamond-patterned costume.
■ historical a stock comic character in Italian commedia dell'arte.
- 2 a small duck of fast-flowing streams around the Arctic and North Pacific, the male having mainly grey-blue plumage with bold white markings. [Histrionicus histrionicus.]
– origin C16: from obs. Fr., from earlier Herlequin, the leader of a legendary troop of demon horsemen.
'harlequin' also found in these Oxford entries:
