pageant

[ paj-uhnt ]
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noun
  1. an elaborate public spectacle illustrative of the history of a place, institution, or the like, often given in dramatic form or as a procession of colorful floats.

  2. a costumed procession, masque, allegorical tableau, or the like forming part of public or social festivities.

  1. a show or exhibition, especially one consisting of a succession of participants or events: a beauty pageant.

  2. something comparable to a procession in colorful variety, splendor, or grandeur: the pageant of Renaissance history.

  3. a pretentious display or show that conceals a lack of real importance or meaning.

  4. (in medieval times) a platform or stage, usually moving on wheels, on which scenes from mystery plays were presented.

  5. display or pageantry.

  6. Obsolete. a stage bearing any kind of spectacle.

Origin of pageant

1
1350–1400; Middle English pagyn, pagaunt, pagand<Anglo-Latin pāgina a stage for plays, scene, platform, perhaps special use of Latin pāginapage1

Other words from pageant

  • pag·eant·eer, noun
  • pa·gean·tic [puh-jan-tik], /pəˈdʒæn tɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby pageant

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How to use pageant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pageant

pageant

/ (ˈpædʒənt) /


noun
  1. an elaborate colourful parade or display portraying scenes from history, esp one involving rich costume

  2. any magnificent or showy display, procession, etc

Origin of pageant

1
C14: from Medieval Latin pāgina scene of a play, from Latin: page 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012