Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HAR'LE-QUIN, n. [Fr. harlequin, a buffoon; It. arlecchino; Sp. arlequin; Arm. harliqin, furluqin, a juggler. I know not the origin of this word. It has been suggested that the last component part of the word is from the Gothic, Sw. leka, to play, and a story is told about a comedian who frequented the house of M. de Harley, but I place no reliance on these suggestions.]

A buffoon, dressed in party-colored clothes, who plays tricks, like a merry-andrew, to divert the populace. This character was first introduced into Italian comedy, but is now a standing character in English pantomime entertainments. Encyc. [Boundless and mad, disorder'd rhyme was seen; / Disguis'd Apollo chang'd to Harlequin. Boileau's Art of Poetry; English Translation of his Works, Lond. 1712, vol. i. p. 89. – E. H. B.]