quasimodo

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Quasimodo \Quas`i*mo"do\ (kw[a^]s`[i^]*m[=o]"d[-o]), n. [So
   called from the first words of the Latin introit, quasi modo
   geniti infantes as newborn babes, --1 Pet. ii. 2.] (R. C.
   Ch.)
   The first Sunday after Easter; Low Sunday.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Quasimodo \Quas`i*mo"do\ (kw[.a]z`[-e]*m[=o]"d[-o]), prop. n.
   (Fiction)
   The main character in Victor Hugo's novel "The Hunchback of
   Notre Dame". The novel was first published in French under
   the title [ldqo]Notre Dame de Paris". Quasimodo is a deformed
   and ugly hunchback who is bellringer at the cathedral of
   Notre Dame during the reign of Louis XI. He rescues a gypsy
   girl Esmeralda, falsely convicted of a crime and about to be
   excuted, and carries her to sanctuary in the cathedral. Near
   the end of the book he dies while again rescuing her from an
   abductor. In a movie made in 1923 Quasimodo was portrayed by
   the actor Lon Chaney, whose impressive makeup and superb
   acting drew many plaudits. His shout of "Sanctuary!
   Sanctuary!" when rescuing Esmeralda is still sometimes
   imitated for humorous or dramatic effect.
   [PJC]
    

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