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Punchinello

American  
[puhn-chuh-nel-oh] / ˌpʌn tʃəˈnɛl oʊ /

noun

plural

Punchinellos, Punchinelloes

  1. a grotesque or absurd chief character in a puppet show of Italian origin: the prototype of Punch.

  2. any similarly grotesque or absurd person or thing.

Punchinello British  
/ ˌpʌntʃɪˈnɛləʊ /

noun

  1. a type of clown from Italian burlesque or puppet shows, the prototype of Punch

  2. (sometimes not capital) any grotesque or absurd character

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Punchinello

1660–70; < Italian (Naples dial.) polecenella character in the puppet show, diminutive of polecana turkey-cock chick < Late Latin pullicēnus, derivative of Latin pullus pullet

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.