|ma(a)rēə|net, |mer-, usu -ed.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: French marionnette, from Middle French maryonete, from Marion (diminutive of the name Marie Mary) + Middle French -ete -ette; probably from the conception that a puppet resembles an image of the Virgin Mary
1. : a puppet moved by strings or by hand (as in a puppet show)
the puppeteer makes a distinction … that a puppet is manipulated directly by hand, as in a Punch-and-Judy show, or sometimes with a rod or a stick from below; a marionette is manipulated by strings or wires, or occasionally by a rod, from above — A.H.Eaton
2. : bufflehead 2
3. : a mechanism that actuates the shuttle racks in a ribbon loom