Yor‧ick /ˈjɒrɪk $ ˈjɔː-/
a character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. He was once the King’s jester (=someone whose job was to entertain the King and make him laugh), but is now dead. Hamlet finds his skull and says ‘Alas! poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio.’ This line is very well known, although it is often wrongly said as ‘Alas! poor Yorick. I knew him well’.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲