noun
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spectacular display or ceremony
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archaic pageants collectively
Etymology
Origin of pageantry
Explanation
Pageantry is the grandeur that turns an event into an elaborate spectacle. The long ritual of a new queen's coronation is a good example of pageantry. In contrast to the simplicity of a small wedding ceremony in a friend's back yard, a grand, expensive wedding might include such pageantry as a parade of bridesmaids in rainbow-colored gowns, followed by a mariachi band and the bride arriving on the back of an elephant. Pageantry comes from pageant, which today is a "showy spectacle or parade," but in Middle English meant "stage or scene of a play."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“But we’re a family. Pageantry is about volunteering together, and, like, breathing in hair spray, and going to six-hour photo shoots, and just having fun.”
From The New Yorker • Sep. 10, 2018
Pageantry opened doors for modeling and networking opportunities.
From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2018
Pageantry supporters say they are honoring their Spanish heritage, paying homage to the Roman Catholic faith and highlighting reconciliation.
From Washington Times • Sep. 8, 2017
Pageantry means little to today’s elite quiz bowlers, who are focused on little else besides winning.
From Slate • May 3, 2012
Our arrival in most towns was more of an event than the Midwinter Pageantry and Solinade Games rolled together.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
