<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>Sir John: the jovial, fat knight of brazen assurance and few scruples in Shakespeare's <em>Henry IV</em>, Parts 1 and 2, and <em>The Merry Wives of Windsor</em>.</li><li>an opera (1893) by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito based on the Shakespearean character.</li></ul>