Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Dash; verve.
  • noun A bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In architecture, the triangular surface of a pendentive.
  • noun A plume as worn in a hat or helmet or in a woman's hair; especially, in medieval armor, a massive group of feathers set erect, often used as a heraldic bearing.
  • noun In zoology, a tuft, bunch, or cluster of hairs, feathers, or the like; a scopula; a panicle.
  • noun In astronomy, a tuft-like solar protuberance of eruption.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A plume or bunch of feathers, esp. such a bunch worn on the helmet; any military plume, or ornamental group of feathers.
  • noun A pleasingly flamboyant style or manner; flair{4}; verve.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable An ornamental plume on a helmet.
  • noun uncountable Flamboyant, energetic style or action; dash; verve.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun distinctive and stylish elegance
  • noun a feathered plume on a helmet

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, plume, verve, from Italian pinnacchio, plume, from Late Latin pinnāculum, diminutive of Latin pinna, feather, wing; see pet- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Borrowing from French panache, from Middle French pennache ("plume of feathers"), from Italian pennacchio, from Latin pinnaculum.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "In lowcorsaged opal balldress and elbowlength ivory gloves, wearing a sabletrimmed brick quilted dolman, a comb of brilliants and panache of osprey in her hair."

    Joyce, Ulysses, 15

    February 5, 2007

  • "The bump in my forehead is the result of a regrettable cooking accident", explained Tom with panache.

    December 8, 2007

  • Brought into English by Rostand in his play Cyrano de Bergerac; his dying words declare that it is the only thing that cannot be taken away from him.

    August 19, 2008

  • pan ache

    November 21, 2013