harlequin vs goofball

harlequin and goofball both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
harlequin	Yes	No	Yes	No
goofball	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, goofball is a hypernym of harlequin; that is, goofball is a word with a broader meaning than harlequin:

harlequin: a clown or buffoon (after the Harlequin character in the commedia dell'arte)
goofball: a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior

Other hypernyms of harlequin include buffoon, clown, goof, merry andrew.

harlequin (noun)	goofball (noun)
a clown or buffoon (after the Harlequin character in the commedia dell'arte)	a man who is a stupid incompetent fool
	a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior

harlequin (verb)	goofball (verb)
variegate with spots or marks