Pantomime
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈpantəˌmʌɪm/
Origin
Circa 17th century, from Latin pantomÄ«mus, from Ancient Greek παντόμιμος, from πᾶς (pas, "each, all") + μιμÎομαι (mimeomai, "I mimic").
Full definition of pantomime
Noun
pantomime
(plural pantomimes)- (now rare) A Classical comic actor, especially one who works mainly through gesture and mime. from 17th c.
- TylorHe saw a pantomime perform so well that he could follow the performance from the action alone.
- (historical) The drama in ancient Greece and Rome featuring such performers; or (later) any of various kinds of performance modelled on such work. from 17th c.
- (UK) A traditional theatrical entertainment, originally based on the commedia dell'arte, but later aimed mostly at children and involving physical comedy, topical jokes, and fairy-tale plots. from 18th c.
- Gesturing without speaking; dumb-show, mime. from 18th c.
- 1851, Herman Melville, ,A staid, steadfast man, whose life for the most part was a telling pantomime of action, and not a tame chapter of sounds.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 26:In pantomime, Chief Joyi would fling his spear and creep along the veld as he narrated the victories and defeats.
- 2011, October 20, Michael da Silva, Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv, With the Stoke supporters jeering Ziv's every subsequent touch, the pantomime atmosphere created by the home crowd reached a crescendo when Ziv was shown a straight red shortly after the break in extraordinary circumstances.