Wordwyrt

clown

/kˈlaʊn/KLOWN
/kˈlaʊn/KLOWN

Meaninga clumsy, boorish fellow

Common meaning: a comic entertainer

Other meanings: a clumsy fellow

Journey through time

  1. Old Norse (Icelandic)klunni‘a clumsy fellow’source
  2. Danishmeaning shiftsa clumsy fellow → a log, a blockklunt‘a log, a block’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftsa log, a block → a comic entertainerclown‘a comic entertainer’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old Norse (Icelandic) klunni ‘a clumsy, boorish fellow’.

Roots

  • klunni Old Norse (Icelandic) “a clumsy, boorish fellow”

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