Harlequin is a word associated to a clown or a buffoon. It is a term adopted from the Italian Commedia dell'Arte. Commedia dell'Arte is a play by professionals and means "comedy of humours". It is the popular denotation of the comic servant characters in this play. Harlequin is an English word. It is pronounced as Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French, Harlekin in German and Arlequim in Portuguese.
This word existed even before 1572 and some believe that it originates from Dante's Inferno, where one of the devils was named as Alichino though there are no concrete evidences to prove it and thus remains uncertain. There are theories that state harlequin emerged from, France, Africa and Italy. Physical agility and nimbleness are the special characteristics of Harlequin. He can perform a lot of acrobatics and would prefer to do a cartwheel or a backflip instead of a simple movement. It was a greatly elastic character and was superbly executed by an actor named Visentini who lived during the 17th century.
This word existed even before 1572 and some believe that it originates from Dante's Inferno, where one of the devils was named as Alichino though there are no concrete evidences to prove it and thus remains uncertain. There are theories that state harlequin emerged from, France, Africa and Italy. Physical agility and nimbleness are the special characteristics of Harlequin. He can perform a lot of acrobatics and would prefer to do a cartwheel or a backflip instead of a simple movement. It was a greatly elastic character and was superbly executed by an actor named Visentini who lived during the 17th century.