Dictionary


har•le•quin



Pronunciation: (här'lu-kwin, -kin), [key]
—n.
1. (often cap.) a comic character in commedia dell'arte and the harlequinade, usually masked, dressed in multicolored, diamond-patterned tights, and carrying a wooden sword or magic wand.
2. a buffoon.
3. any of various small snakes having bright diamond-pattern scales.

—adj.
1. fancifully varied in color, decoration, etc.: harlequin pants.
2. resembling a harlequin's mask: harlequin glasses.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

Harlem Renaissanceharlequinade
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