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Definition of pantaloon - 5 dictionary results

pan⋅ta⋅loon

  [pan-tl-oon]
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–noun
1. pantaloons, a man's close-fitting garment for the hips and legs, worn esp. in the 19th century, but varying in form from period to period; trousers.
2. (usually initial capital letter) Also, Pan⋅ta⋅lo⋅ne  [pan-tl-oh-ney, pahn-; It. pahn-tah-law-ne] . (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.
3. (in the modern pantomime) a foolish, vicious old man, the butt and accomplice of the clown.
Origin:
1580–90; < MF Pantalon < Upper It (Venetian) Pantalone nickname for a Venetian, var. of Pantaleone, name of a 4th-century saint once a favorite of the Venetians
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pan·ta·loon   (pān'tə-lōōn')   
n.  
    1. Men's wide breeches extending from waist to ankle, worn especially in England in the late 17th century. Often used in the plural.
    2. Tight trousers extending from waist to ankle with straps passing under the instep, worn especially in the 19th century. Often used in the plural.
  2. Trousers; pants. Often used in the plural.

[French pantalon, a kind of trouser, from Pantalon, Pantaloon; see Pantaloon.]
Pan·ta·loon   (pān'tə-lōōn')   
n.  
  1. often Pan·ta·lo·ne (pān'tə-lō'nā, pän'tä-lō'ně) A character in the commedia dell'arte, portrayed as a foolish old man in tight trousers and slippers.
  2. A stock character in modern pantomime, the butt of a clown's jokes.

[French Pantalon, from Italian Pantalone, after San Pantalone, or Saint Pantaleon (died A.D. 303), Roman physician and martyr.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pantaloon

Pan`ta*loon"\, n. [F. pantalon, fr. It. pantalone, a masked character in the Italian comedy, who wore breeches and stockings that were all of one piece, from Pantaleone, the patron saint of Venice, which, as a baptismal name, is very frequent among the Venetians, and is applied to them by the other Italians as a nickname, fr. Gr. ?, lit., all lion, a Greek personal name.]

1. A ridiculous character, or an old dotard, in the Italian comedy; also, a buffoon in pantomimes. --Addison.

The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon. --Shak.

2. pl. A bifurcated garment for a man, covering the body from the waist downwards, and consisting of breeches and stockings in one.

3. pl. In recent times, same as Trousers.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Pantaloon

stock character of the 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte-a cunning and rapacious yet often deceived Venetian merchant.

Learn more about Pantaloon with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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