pantaloon
Americannoun
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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.
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(usually initial capital letter) Also Pantalone (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.
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(in the modern pantomime) a foolish, vicious old man, the butt and accomplice of the clown.
noun
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(in pantomime) an absurd old man, the butt of the clown's tricks
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(usually capital) (in commedia dell'arte) a lecherous old merchant dressed in pantaloons
Etymology
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
Explanation
Use the word pantaloon if you're looking for a more colorful term for your pants or trousers. This is an excellent word choice if you're looking for a more elegant designation than "baggy pants." We get the word from French, which got it from a foolish comic character in Italian commedia dell'arte, Pantalone. It sounds old-fashioned now, but long ago most men wore pantaloons, loose trousers that gathered near the knee. As time went on, the word pantaloon was shortened in the United States to pants.
Vocabulary lists containing pantaloon
Vocabulary from Readings 1, Unit 5
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Bull Run
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Sofía Acosta Makes a Scene
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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.
Panoramic, panini press, panorama, pantaloon, palindrome, you get the picture …, n.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 26, 2021
I recognize Furne’s name from the pantaloon studies.
From Salon • Apr. 7, 2013
Funnyman Will Rogers, the prairie pantaloon, purveyor of bathos to Demos.
From Time Magazine Archive
Satirist Ehrenburg also leads his pantaloon pilgrim to some slapstick swipes at Communist literature of the period.
From Time Magazine Archive
Of the characters of columbine, pantaloon, and clown, we have no contemporary drawings.
From The Evolution of Fashion by Gardiner, Florence Mary
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.
