Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Punchinello \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.