Pun`chi*nel"lo (?), n. [It. pulcinella, probably originally a word of endearment, dim. of pulcina, pulcino, a chicken, from L. pullicenus, pullus. See Pullet.]
A punch; a buffoon; originally, in a puppet show, a character represented as fat, short, and humpbacked.
Spectator.
© Webster 1913.