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pant¹

(pănt)

v. pant·ed, pant·ing, pants

v.intr.

1. To breathe rapidly in short gasps, as after exertion.

2. To beat loudly or heavily; throb or pulsate.

3. To give off loud puffs, especially while moving.

4. To long demonstratively; yearn: was panting for a chance to play.

v.tr.

To utter hurriedly or breathlessly: I panted my congratulations to the winner of the race.

1. A short labored breath; a gasp.

2. A throb; a pulsation.

3. A short loud puff, as of steam from an engine.

[Middle English panten, perhaps alteration of Old French pantaisier, from Vulgar Latin *pantasiāre, to have a nightmare, feel oppressed or short of breath from emotion, from Greek phantasioun, to form mental images, from phantasiā, appearance; see FANTASY.]

panting·ly adv.

pant²

(pănt)

n. often pants

1. An outer garment that covers the body below the waist, usually to the ankles, and is divided into sections to fit each leg separately: She decided to wear pants instead of a skirt. He bought a new pair of pants.

2. Underpants.

Idiom:

with (one's) pants down Slang

In an embarrassing position.

[Short for PANTALOON.]

Usage Note: You can refer to a single garment either as "pants" or as "a pair of pants." The same holds true not only for other similar garments such as shorts or trousers, but also for other single items that consist of two connected parts, such as glasses or scissors. With pants, the "pair" alludes to the fact that there are two openings for the legs. The use of the singular pant is largely confined to the fields of design, textiles, and fashion: The stylist recommended that the model wear a pant with a checkered print. Pant is also commonly used as the attributive form: pant leg, pant cuff, pant pocket.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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