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pantechnicon
Jul. 24th, 2025 07:54 ampantechnicon (pan-TEK-ni-kon) - (UK) n., (obs.) an indoor bazaar, with stalls selling various goods; (dated) a furniture removal van.
Shortened to pantech, that last sense is still in use in Australia, per one dictionary (can anyone confirm?). I don't usually include obsolete senses, but this one is important to the history. In 1831, such a bazaar opened in fashionable Belgravia, London, combined with a furniture store due to the site's odd geometry, and because of the building's Doric front, the proprietors went all in on the Greek and coined the name Pantechnicon from Ancient Greek roots pan-, all + tekhnikón, neuter singular of tekhnikós, technical/skilled/arts. The bazaar part of the business eventually closed down, but not until after the name had spread to other similar establishments. Meanwhile, the furniture business flourished, to the point that the proprietors developed special delivery vans (initially horse-drawn but motorized once that became a thing), and the name again spread as those also were imitated.
---L.
Shortened to pantech, that last sense is still in use in Australia, per one dictionary (can anyone confirm?). I don't usually include obsolete senses, but this one is important to the history. In 1831, such a bazaar opened in fashionable Belgravia, London, combined with a furniture store due to the site's odd geometry, and because of the building's Doric front, the proprietors went all in on the Greek and coined the name Pantechnicon from Ancient Greek roots pan-, all + tekhnikón, neuter singular of tekhnikós, technical/skilled/arts. The bazaar part of the business eventually closed down, but not until after the name had spread to other similar establishments. Meanwhile, the furniture business flourished, to the point that the proprietors developed special delivery vans (initially horse-drawn but motorized once that became a thing), and the name again spread as those also were imitated.
---L.
