pantaloon
[ pan-tl-oon ]
/ ˌpæn tlˈun /
noun
pantaloons, a man's close-fitting garment for the hips and legs, worn especially in the 19th century, but varying in form from period to period; trousers.
(usually initial capital letter) Also Pan·ta·lo·ne [pan-tl-oh-ney, pahn-; Italian pahn-tah-law-ne] /ˌpæn tlˈoʊ neɪ, ˌpɑn-; Italian ˌpɑn tɑˈlɔ nɛ/. (in commedia dell'arte) a foolish old Venetian merchant, usually the head of a household, generally lascivious and frequently deceived in the course of lovers' intrigues.
(in the modern pantomime) a foolish, vicious old man, the butt and accomplice of the clown.
RELATED WORDS
jokester, clown, trousers, underpants, shorts, knickers, fool, madcap, trickster, antic, harlequin, wag, actor, joker, wit, comedian, buffoon, comic, humorist
Nearby words
- pant-,
- pantagraph,
- pantagruel,
- pantalets,
- pantalgia,
- pantaloons,
- pantechnicon,
- pantelleria,
- panth,
- panthalassa
Origin of pantaloon
1580–90; < Middle French Pantalon < Upper Italian (Venetian) Pantalone nickname for a Venetian, variant of Pantaleone, name of a 4th-century saint once a favorite of the Venetians
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pantaloon
pantaloon
/ (ˌpæntəˈluːn) /
noun theatre
(in pantomime) an absurd old man, the butt of the clown's tricks
(usually capital) (in commedia dell'arte) a lecherous old merchant dressed in pantaloons
Word Origin for pantaloon
C16: from French Pantalon, from Italian Pantalone, local nickname for a Venetian, probably from San Pantaleone, a fourth-century Venetian saint
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Pantaloon
skinny, foolish old man in Italian comedy, 1580s; see pantaloons. As a kind of leggings, 1660s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper