Pantaleons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to multiple male character roles in traditional Italian theater known for their comical, greedy, and often lecherous traits often dressed in distinctive long coats
2. Denoting several stock comic figures originating from commedia dell'arte characterized by their sly, old merchant style and humorous antics
3. Identifying a group of theatrical personas embodying cunning and humorous behavior typically portrayed with exaggerated costumes and mannerisms in classical plays

Etymology: A German musician gave his name to an instrument, and the name then spread into the language. Pantaleon Hebenstreit devised a large hammered dulcimer, and it was called the "pantaleon" after him. The instrument's name is the plural's root, and the stage figures share a related origin, though a different route. The plural "pantaleons" refers to several stock characters of commedia dell'arte, the old merchant types known for their sly, comic antics. Those characters descend from the Venetian "Pantalone," a name linked to Saint Pantaleon. "Pantaleon" and "pantaloon" are doublets: two forms of one name that reached English by different paths.