Etymology Dictionary

HARLEQUIN,  the leading character in a pantomime.  (F.)   'The joy of a king for a victory must not be like that of a harlequin upon a letter from his mistress;' Dryden (in Todd's Johnson; no reference).—F. arlequin, a harlequin; spelt harlequin in the 16th cent.   Cf. Ital. arlecchino, a harlequin, buffoon, jester.   β. Some derive the F. word from the Italian; but it is not an old word in the latter language, and the borrowing seems to have been the other way.   γ. It seems best to connect F. arlequin (harlequin) with the O.F. hierlekin or hellequin (13th century) for which Littré gives quotations.   This word was used in the phrase li maisnie hierlekin (Low Lat. harlequini familias) which meant a troop of demons that haunted lonely places, called in Middle-English Hurlewaynes kynne or Hurlewaynes meyné = Hurlewain's kin or troop, mentioned in Richard the Redeles, i. 90, and in the Prologue to the Tale of Beryn, l. 8.   The orig. signification of O.F. hierlekin, Low Lat. harlequinus, and M.E. hurlewayn seems to have been a demon, perhaps the devil.   Cf. also Ital. Alichino, the name of a demon in Dante, Inf. xxi. 118.   The origin of the name is wholly unknown.   See note to Rich. Redeles, ed. Skeat. i. 90.   ¶ I shall here venture my guess.   Perhaps hierlekin may have been of O. Low German origin; thus O. Friesic helle kin (A.S. helle cyn, Icel. heljar kyn) would mean 'the kindred of hell' or 'the host of hell,' hence a troop of demons.   The sense being lost, the O.F. maisnie would be added to keep up the idea of 'host,' turning hierlekin into (apparently) a personal name of a single demon.   The change from hellekin to herlequin, &c., arose from a popular etymology which connected the word with Charles Quint (Charles V.); see the story in Max Müller, Lectures, ii. 581.