har·le·quin (här'lĭ-kwĭn, -kĭn)
n.

1. Harlequin A conventional buffoon of the commedia dell'arte, traditionally presented in a mask and parti-colored tights.
2. A clown; a buffoon.

adj.
Having a pattern of brightly colored diamond shapes.

[Obsolete French, from Old French Herlequin, Hellequin, a demon, perhaps from Middle English *Herleking, from Old English Herla cyning, King Herla, a mythical figure identified with Woden.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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