/ ˈpædʒənt; NAmE / noun
1.
a public entertainment in which people dress in historical costumes and give performances of scenes from history
2.
( NAmE ) a competition for young women in which their beauty, personal qualities and skills are judged :
a beauty pageant
—compare beauty contest
3.
pageant (of sth) ( literary ) something that is considered as a series of interesting and different events :
life's rich pageant
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English pagyn , of unknown origin.