German

Noun

Passant m ‎(genitive Passanten, plural Passanten, feminine Passantin)

1. passer-by

Declension

English

Alternative forms

• passaunt (obsolete)

Adjective

passant ‎(not comparable)

1. (heraldry, of a four-legged animal) Walking, usually to the right, and looking straight ahead with the right forepaw raised from the ground. [from 15th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.i:

     He them espying, gan himselfe prepare, / And on his arme addresse his goodly shield / That bore a Lion passant in a golden field.

2. (obsolete) Currently in use; in vogue. [17th-19th c.]
   • 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.7:

     Many opinions are passant concerning the basilisk, or little king of serpents, commonly called the cockatrice [...].

Catalan

Verb

passant

1. present participle of passar

Preposition

passant

1. beyond, past
2. around (e.g. a corner)

   La botiga és només passant la cantonada.

   The shop is just around the corner.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: pas‧sant

Etymology

From Middle French passant.

Noun

passant m ‎(plural passanten, diminutive passantje n)

1. passer-by

   De passanten negeerden de doedelzakspeler voornamelijk, maar sommigen gooiden wat in zijn pet.

   The passers-by mostly ignored the piper, but some threw something in his cap.

Synonyms

• voorbijganger

French

Etymology

First attested in Old French.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa.sɑ̃/

Noun

passant m ‎(plural passants)

1. passer-by
   • 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manche, volume 1, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Chapter XXXV:

     « Arrête, larron ! s’écriait-il ; arrête, félon, bandit, détrousseur de passants ; je te tiens ici, et ton cimeterre ne te sera bon à rien. »

     "Stop, thief!" cried he; "Stop, traitor, bandit, robber of passers-by; I hold thee here, and thy scimitar will be of no use to thee."

2. loop (in belt etc.)

Adjective

passant m ‎(feminine singular passante, masculine plural passants, feminine plural passantes)

1. busy (as in a busy street)
2. (heraldry) passant

Verb

passant

1. present participle of passer

Latin

Verb

passant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of passō

Old French

Verb

passant

1. present participle of passer

Descendants

• English: passant