pantomime
/ˈpæntəˌmaɪm/PAN-tuh-mym
/ˈpæntəˌmaɪm/PAN-tuh-mym
Meaningimitator of all
Common meaning: theatrical performance using gesture or a traditional British stage show
- pantomimeimitator of allSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 419 · scan
Journey through time
- Greekpantomimos‘imitator of all’source
- Latinmeaning shiftsimitator of all → actor playing many partspantomimus‘actor playing many parts’source
- Frenchpantomime‘pantomime’source
- Englishmeaning shiftsactor playing many parts → theatrical performance using gesture or a traditional British stage showpantomime‘theatrical performance using gesture or a traditional British stage show’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek pantomimos ‘imitator of all’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry PANTOMIME, p. 419 · dictionary scan
Roots
- pantomimos Greek “imitator of all”
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