pant

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the noise made by a short puff of steam (as from an engine)
  2. noun (usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately
  3. noun a short labored intake of breath with the mouth open

Etymology

From Middle English panten, whence also English dialectal pank. Possibly from Old French pantoyer, a byform or of Old French pantoisier (“to be breathless”) (compare modern French panteler (“to gasp for breath”)), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Vulgar Latin *pantasiō (“struggling for breath when having a nightmare”), from Ancient Greek φαντασιόω (phantasióō, “to be subject to hallucinations”), from φαντασία (phantasía, “appearance, image, fantasy”).

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