pageant

[paj-uhnt]

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.

3. a show or exhibition, especially one consisting of a succession of participants or events.

   a beauty pageant.

4. something comparable to a procession in colorful variety, splendor, or grandeur.

   the pageant of Renaissance history.

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

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

7. display or pageantry.

8. Obsolete.,  a stage bearing any kind of spectacle.

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

Other Word Forms

• pageanteer noun
• pageantic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pageant¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pageant¹

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

Example Sentences

Muskan Sharma stood up to men who tried to bully her over her clothes - and went on to win hearts and a beauty pageant.

Read more on BBC

For Hulse, a Miss South Dakota turned Republican state senator, it seemed not just a pageant victory but a cultural watershed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It is open to all pies and all people because it’s not a contest or a pageant, but a communal celebration of stories.

Read more on Salon

As she prepared for last year's Miss World pageant, she said: "I really put myself in the zone of service. I really channelled it for this big crown."

Read more on BBC

This pageant of puppetry includes a flutter of butterflies, a goat with a plaintive bleat, a menagerie of wild animals and, at one point, a school of glowing fish.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• celebration 
• extravaganza 
• fair 
• parade 
• procession 
• ritual 
• tableau