pageant sb. (orig.=scene or act in a mediæval mystery play)
1.
theatrical representation; hence,
show, spectacle, sight
Tp. IV. i. 155
“this insubstantial
,”
Gent. IV. iv. 166
“When all our p-s of
delight were play'd,”
MND. III. ii. 114
“their fond ”
(=the foolish spectacle they present),
H8 IV. i. 11
“shows, P-s,”
Troil. III. iii. 276
“the of Ajax”
; occas. false show
Oth. I. iii. 18
“a pageant To keep us in
false gaze.”
2.
device on a moving
car exhibited as a feature of a public show; only
fig. applied to a ship Mer.V. I. i.
11; to clouds Ant. IV. xii.
[xiv.] 8
