pannier

American  

[pan-yer, -ee-er] / ˈpæn yər, -i ər /

Also panier

noun

1. a basket, especially a large one, for carrying goods, provisions, etc.

2. a basket for carrying on a person's back, or one of a pair to be slung across the back of a beast of burden.

3. a similar type of bag, usually one of a pair, fastened over a bicycle's rear wheel.

4. (on a dress, skirt, etc.) a puffed arrangement of drapery at the hips.

5. an oval framework formerly used for distending the skirt of a woman's dress at the hips.

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pannier British  

/ ˈpænɪə /

noun

1. a large basket, esp one of a pair slung over a beast of burden

2. one of a pair of bags slung either side of the back wheel of a motorcycle, bicycle, etc

3. 1. a hooped framework to distend a woman's skirt

   2. one of two puffed-out loops of material worn drawn back onto the hips to reveal the underskirt

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Other Word Forms

• panniered adjective
• unpanniered adjective

Etymology

Origin of pannier

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English panier, from Middle French, from Latin pānārium “breadbasket,” equivalent to pān(is) “bread” + -ārium noun and adjective suffix; -ary, -ier ²

Example Sentences

She pulls out another item from her pannier, which she's modified herself.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2022

Starfish pannier stuffed with your laptop, lunch, and rain gear.

From The Verge • Mar. 31, 2020

Twenty minutes later, we shook off the Matador, tucked it back into its attached bag, threw it in the bike pannier, and were on our way.

From Slate • Sep. 4, 2018

My few pieces of spare clothing, stuffed in a 30-year-old pannier, were also pretty damp.

From Washington Post • Sep. 22, 2016

“Madam,” I pressed, “I have it on the best authority that among the finest mantua makers of London, the pannier is no longer the mode.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• dress
• kilt
• petticoat
• sarong