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co·me·di·an

(kə-mēdē-ən)

1. A professional entertainer who tells jokes or performs various other comic acts.

2. An actor in comedy.

3. A writer of comedy.

4. A person who amuses or tries to be amusing; a clown.

[French comédien, player, comedian, from comédie, comedy, from Medieval Latin cōmēdia; see COMEDY.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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