panjandrum

[ pan-jan-druh m ]

/ pænˈdʒæn drəm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR panjandrum ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a self-important or pretentious official.

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Origin of panjandrum

1745–55; pseudo-Latin word (based on pan-) coined by Samuel Foote (1720–77), English dramatist and actor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for panjandrum

I live now for three objects only: to defeat the enemy, to restore the Panjandrum, and to hang my solicitor.
Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress|George Bernard Shaw
Same thing, I reckon, by all that you tell about that Panjandrum and his goin's on!
The Faith Healer|William Vaughn Moody
Do not deceive yourself, General: never again will a Panjandrum reign in Beotia.
Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress|George Bernard Shaw
One player is chosen to be the Panjandrum, an important personage requiring a body guard.
Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium|Jessie H. Bancroft

I would have died for my Panjandrum as my father died for his father.
Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress|George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for panjandrum

panjandrum

/ (pænˈdʒændrəm) /

noun

a pompous self-important official or person of rank

Word Origin for panjandrum

C18: after a character, the Grand Panjandrum, in a nonsense work (1755) by Samuel Foote, English playwright and actor

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

Word Origin and History for panjandrum

panjandrum

mock name for a pompous personage, 1755, invented by Samuel Foote (1720-1777) in a long passage full of nonsense written to test the memory of actor Charles Macklin (1697-1797), who said he could repeat anything after hearing it once.