Literary notes about pant (AI summary)
The word "pant" appears in literature with a remarkable range of meanings that blend the literal with the metaphorical. In many works, it denotes the physical act of heavy, labored breathing—illustrating moments of exhaustion, physical exertion, or even the buildup of dramatic tension, as when characters strain after a burst of effort or terror ([1], [2], [3], [4]). In other texts, it is used metaphorically to express an almost desperate longing or desire, such as a yearning for domestic life or the pursuit of an unattained goal ([5], [6], [7]). At times, "Pant" even functions as a proper name, lending a distinctive persona to a character whose identity emerges immediately upon speaking or acting ([8], [9]). The varied usage extends into classical writings—where in translations of Greek and Latin texts, it serves as a descriptor for natural phenomena or mythic exertions ([10], [11], [12])—demonstrating both the flexibility and the enduring appeal of this evocative term.
- And, running out as fast as I was able, I found the military commandant Stretch'd in the street, and able scarce to pant.
— from Don Juan by Baron George Gordon Byron Byron - I stop two or three times and pant and wheeze and make it ten stories and collapse.
— from Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow - I heard the poor boy pant; his breathing became short and hurried.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - I was glad to get home; my legs shook under me, and I could only stand and pant.
— from Black Beauty by Anna Sewell - I am perfectly aware of the oppression under which your present office lays your mind, and of the ardor with which you pant for domestic life.
— from The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 3 (of 9)
Being His Autobiography, Correspondence, Reports, Messages, Addresses, and Other Writings, Official and Private by Thomas Jefferson - Only two years have hardened me so that I actually pant for the blood of the renegade who has robbed me.
— from The Spirit of the Border: A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio Valley by Zane Grey - Of this passage Oliver Wendell Holmes said that Emerson "speaks of woman in language that seems to pant for rhythm and rhyme."
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson - “Why, it’s you!” said Pant, waking up and dragging off his heavy glasses to have a good look at Johnny.
— from The Firebug by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell - “Johnny,” Pant sat up quite suddenly, his strange eyes gleaming, his tone mysterious.
— from Red DynamiteA Mystery Story for Boys by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell - thaumazousi men gar auton hôs theon kai pant' alêtheuein nomizousin.
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen - pantê diateinomena th' hama kai trephomena.
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen - pantôs pou kai hautai dia men tôn autôn organôn gignontai, tropô de kinêseôs te kai phoras tôn hylôn diapherousin.
— from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen