[pag.eant] n [ME pagyn, padgeant, lit., scene of a play, fr. ML pagina, perh. fr. L, page] (14c) 1 a: a mere show: pretense b: an ostentatious display
2: show, exhibition; esp: an elaborate colorful exhibition or spectacle often with music that consists of a series of tableaux, of a loosely unified drama, or of a procession usu. with floats
3: pageantry 1