Etymology : Middle English, modification of Middle French pantaisier, from Vulgar Latin phantasiare to have hallucinations, from Greek phantasioun, from phantasia appearance, imagination; more at FANCY
Pronunciation : 'pant
Function : verb
Date : 14th century
1. trousers, pantaloons; underwear, panties, underpants; (British) shorts. pantspapal infallibility belief of the roman catholic church that god protects the pope from error when he speaks about faith or morality [syn: papal infallibility].
2. To breathe quickly or in a labored manner, as after exertion or from eagerness or excitement; to respire with heaving of the breast; to gasp.
3. Hence: To long eagerly; to desire earnestly.
4. To beat with unnatural violence or rapidity; to palpitate, or throb; said of the heart.
5. To sigh; to flutter; to languish.
6. To breathe forth quickly or in a labored manner; to gasp out.
7. To long for; to be eager after.
8. A quick breathing; a catching of the breath; a gasp.
9. A violent palpitation of the heart. the noise made by a short puff of steam breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted; "The runners reached the finish line, panting heavily" utter while panting, as if out of breath.
10. 1. Pants are a piece of underwear which have two holes to put your legs through and elastic around the top to hold them up round your waist or hips. I put on my bra and pants. = knickers.
11. Pants are a piece of clothing that covers the lower part of your body and each leg. He wore brown corduroy pants and a white cotton shirt.
12. If you say that something is pants, you mean that it is very poor in quality. The place is pants, yet so popular.
13. emphasis If someone bores, charms, or scares the pants off you, for example, they bore, charm, or scare you a lot. You'll bore the pants off your grandchildren.
14. If you fly by the seat of your pants or do something by the seat of your pants, you use your instincts to tell you what to do in a new or difficult situation rather than following a plan or relying on equipment.
15. to wear the pants: see:
wear. very bad.