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Definition of pants - 10 dictionary results
pants
[pants] 
–noun (used with a plural verb
)
—Idiom) | 1. | trousers (def. 1). |
| 2. | underpants, esp. for women and children; panties. |
| 3. | British. men's underpants, esp. long drawers. |
| 4. | wear the pants, to have the dominant role; be in charge: I guess we know who wears the pants in that family. |
Origin:
1830–40; short for pantaloons
1830–40; short for pantaloons
pant
1 [pant] –verb (used without object)
| 1. | to breathe hard and quickly, as after exertion. |
| 2. | to gasp, as for air. |
| 3. | to long with breathless or intense eagerness; yearn: to pant for revenge. |
| 4. | to throb or heave violently or rapidly; palpitate. |
| 5. | to emit steam or the like in loud puffs. |
| 6. | Nautical. (of the bow or stern of a ship) to work with the shock of contact with a succession of waves. Compare work (def. 24). |
–verb (used with object)
| 7. | to breathe or utter gaspingly. |
–noun
| 8. | the act of panting. |
| 9. | a short, quick, labored effort at breathing; gasp. |
| 10. | a puff, as of an engine. |
| 11. | a throb or heave, as of the breast. |
Origin:
1400–50; late ME panten < MF pant(a)is(i)er < VL *phantasiāre to have visions < Gk phantasioûn to have or form images. See fantasy
1400–50; late ME panten < MF pant(a)is(i)er < VL *phantasiāre to have visions < Gk phantasioûn to have or form images. See fantasy
Related forms:
pant⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Synonyms:
1. puff, blow. Pant, gasp suggest breathing with more effort than usual. Pant suggests rapid, convulsive breathing, as from violent exertion or excitement: to pant after running for the train. Gasp suggests catching one's breath in a single quick intake, as from amazement, terror, and the like, or a series of such quick intakes of breath, as in painful breathing: to gasp with horror; to gasp for breath. 3. thirst, hunger.
1. puff, blow. Pant, gasp suggest breathing with more effort than usual. Pant suggests rapid, convulsive breathing, as from violent exertion or excitement: to pant after running for the train. Gasp suggests catching one's breath in a single quick intake, as from amazement, terror, and the like, or a series of such quick intakes of breath, as in painful breathing: to gasp with horror; to gasp for breath. 3. thirst, hunger.
trou⋅sers
[trou-zerz] –noun (used with a plural verb)
) | 1. | Sometimes, trouser. Also called pants. a usually loose-fitting outer garment for the lower part of the body, having individual leg portions that reach typically to the ankle but sometimes to any of various other points from the upper leg down. Compare Bermuda shorts, breeches, knickers (def. 1), short (def. 29a), slacks. |
| 2. | pantalets. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To pants
| pant 1 (pānt) v. pant·ed, pant·ing, pants v. intr.
To utter hurriedly or breathlessly: I panted my congratulations to the winner of the race. n.
[Middle English panten, perhaps alteration of Old French pantaisier, from Vulgar Latin *pantasiāre, from Greek phantasioun, to form images, from phantasiā, appearance; see fantasy.] pant'ing·ly adv. |
| pant 2 (pānt) n.
[Short for pantaloon.] Word History: One would not expect a word for a modern article of clothing to come ultimately from the name of a 4th-century Roman Catholic saint, but that is the case with the word pants. It can be traced back to Pantaleon, the patron saint of Venice. He became so closely associated with the inhabitants of that city that the Venetians were popularly known as Pantaloni. Consequently, among the commedia dell'arte's stock characters the representative Venetian (a stereotypically wealthy but miserly merchant) was called Pantalone, or Pantalon in French. In the mid-17th century the French came to identify him with one particular style of trousers, a style which became known as pantaloons in English. Pantaloons was later applied to another style that came into fashion in the late 18th century, tight-fitting garments that had begun to replace knee breeches. After that pantaloons was used to refer to trousers in general. The abbreviation of pantaloons to pants met with some resistance at first; it was considered vulgar and, as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, "a word not made for gentlemen, but 'gents.'" First found in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe in 1840, pants has replaced the "gentleman's word" in English and has lost all obvious connection to Saint Pantaleon. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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pants
1840, see pantaloons. Colloquial sing. pant is attested from 1893. To wear the pants "be the dominant member of a household" is first attested 1931. To do something by the seat of (one's) pants "by human instinct" is from 1942, originally of pilots, perhaps with some notion of being able to sense the condition and situation of the plane by engine vibrations, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Language Translation for : pants
Spanish:
calzoncillos (para hombre), bragas (para mujer),
German:
die Unterhose,
Japanese:
パンツ
pants
In addition to the idiom beginning with pants, also see ants in one's pants; beat the pants off; caught with one's pants down; get the lead out of (one's pants); kick in the pants; seat of the pants; talk someone's arm (pants) off; wear the pants.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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pants
an outer garment covering the lower half of the body from the waist to the ankles and divided into sections to cover each leg separately. In attempting to define trousers, historians often explain that if any portion of a garment passed between the legs, it was an ancestor of the trousers. Thus defined, trousers can be traced to ancient times as worn, for example, by the Scythians, Persians, Japanese, and Hindus
Learn more about pants with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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