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Glite Dictionary
Pantalone

Pantalone

1 9.9
An old foolish man in Italian comic theatre who is greedy with money and makes people laugh
  • noun
  • /ˌpæn.təˈloʊn/
  • Literature
translation icon : Pantalone
  • The Dottore, Pulcinella, Pantalone, Scapin.

Examples

  • -Pantalone?

    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

  • I think that tonight we're the sisters of these pantalones.

    The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)

  • -Oh, vuole pantalone!

    Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

  • Tonight he will strip the GOP lies from the pantalones of Mitthood and the other legitimate rapists, including the lying marathon runner.

    Blog text (25)

  • While the part of Pantalone in this Polish version of the commedia dell'arte was well performed by either Uncle Sam or John Bull, the role of Columbine was more diversified and was assigned alternatively to different countries and people.

    Academic text (1990)

  • In the play, Pantalone provided comic relief as the cranky old merchant who always tried to cheat others.

  • The character of Pantalone is often portrayed as a miser, always worrying about losing his money.

  • Many jokes in commedia dell'arte revolve around the foolish antics of Pantalone, making audiences laugh.

Synonyms

pantaloon
vsPantalone
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A foolish old man character often tricked in comic plays

emphasizes the old man's stinginess and being the butt of jokes

Surface Forms

Pantalone singular
Pantaloni plural

Etymology

Pantalone comes from an old Italian name, from the saint Pantaleon, and it became the name of a comic stage figure who wore tight trousers called pantaloons. So Pantalone now means the familiar silly, stingy old man from those plays, and this is why English also used 'pantaloon' for an old-fashioned, foolish man.