buf·foon 
(bə-fn)
(bə-fn)n.
1. A clown; a jester: a court buffoon.
2. A person given to clowning and joking.
3. A ludicrous or bumbling person; a fool.
[French bouffon, from Old Italian buffone, from buffa, jest, from buffare, to puff, of imitative origin.]
buf·fooner·y (bə-fnə-rē) n.