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pan

 - 26 dictionary results

pan

1[pan] noun, verb, panned, pan⋅ning.
–noun
1. a broad, shallow container of metal, usually having sides flaring outward toward the top, used in various forms for frying, baking, washing, etc.
2. any similar receptacle or part, as the scales of a balance.
3. the amount a pan holds or can hold; panful: a pan of shelled peas.
4. any of various open or closed containers used in industrial or mechanical processes.
5. a container in which silver ores are ground and amalgamated.
6. a container in which gold or other heavy, valuable metals are separated from gravel or other substances by agitation with water.
7. a drifting piece of flat, thin ice, as formed on a shore or bay.
8. a natural depression in the ground, as one containing water, mud, or mineral salts.
9. a similar depression made artificially, as for evaporating salt water to make salt.
10. (in old guns) the depressed part of the lock, holding the priming.
11. Also, panning. an unfavorable review, critique, or appraisal: The show got one rave and three pans.
12. Slang. the face.
–verb (used with object)
13. Informal. to criticize severely, as in a review of a play.
14. to wash (gravel, sand, etc.) in a pan to separate gold or other heavy valuable metal.
15. to cook (oysters, clams, etc.) in a pan.
–verb (used without object)
16. to wash gravel, sand, etc., in a pan in seeking gold or the like.
17. to yield gold or the like, as gravel washed in a pan.
18. pan out, Informal. to turn out, esp. successfully: The couple's reconciliation just didn't pan out.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE panne; c. D pan, G Pfanne, ON panna


panner, noun

pan

2[pahn]
–noun
1. the leaf of the betel.
2. a substance, esp. betel nut or a betel-nut mixture, used for chewing.

Origin:
1610–20; < Hindi pān; cf. Pali, Prakrit paṇṇa, Skt parṇa leaf, betel leaf

pan

3[pan] verb, panned, pan⋅ning, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to photograph or televise while rotating a camera on its vertical or horizontal axis in order to keep a moving person or object in view or allow the film to record a panorama: to pan from one end of the playing field to the other during the opening of the football game.
2. (of a camera) to be moved or manipulated in such a manner: The cameras panned occasionally during the scene.
–verb (used with object)
3. to move (a camera) in such a manner: to pan the camera across the scene.
4. to photograph or televise (a scene, moving character, etc.) by panning the camera.
–noun
5. the act of panning a camera.
6. Also called panning shot. the filmed shot resulting from this.

Origin:
1920–25; shortening of panorama

pan

4[pan]
–noun
1. a major vertical division of a wall.
2. a nogged panel of half-timber construction.

Origin:
1735–45; < F, MF: pane

pan

5[pahn]
–noun Informal.
panguingue.

Origin:
by shortening

pan

6[pan]
–noun
Pan.

Pan

[pan]
–noun
the ancient Greek god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds, represented with the head, chest, and arms of a man and the legs and sometimes the horns and ears of a goat.

Pan

[pan]
–noun
an international distress signal used by shore stations to inform a ship, aircraft, etc., of something vital to its safety or that of one of its passengers.
Also, pan.

pan-

a combining form meaning “all,” occurring originally in loanwords from Greek (panacea; panoply), but now used freely as a general formative (panleukopenia; panorama; pantelegraph; pantheism; pantonality), and esp. in terms, formed at will, implying the union of all branches of a group (Pan-Christian; Panhellenic; Pan-Slavism). The hyphen and the second capital tend with longer use to be lost, unless they are retained in order to set off clearly the component parts.
Also, pant-, panto-.


Origin:
< Gk pan- comb. form of pâs (neut. pân) all, every, pân everything

Pan.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pan
pan 1   (pān)   
n.  
  1. A shallow, wide, open container, usually of metal and without a lid, used for holding liquids, cooking, and other domestic purposes.

  2. A vessel similar in form to a pan, especially:

    1. An open metal dish used to separate gold or other metal from gravel or waste by washing.

    2. Either of the receptacles on a balance or pair of scales.

    3. A vessel used for boiling and evaporating liquids.

    4. A basin or depression in the earth, often containing mud or water.

    5. A natural or artificial basin used to obtain salt by evaporating brine.

    6. Hardpan.

    1. A basin or depression in the earth, often containing mud or water.

    2. A natural or artificial basin used to obtain salt by evaporating brine.

    3. Hardpan.

  3. A freely floating piece of ice that has broken off a larger floe.

  4. The small cavity in the lock of a flintlock used to hold powder.

  5. Music A steel drum.

  6. Slang The face.

  7. Informal Severe criticism, especially a negative review: gave the film a pan.

v.   panned, pan·ning, pans

v.   tr.
  1. To wash (gravel, for example) in a pan for gold or other precious metal.

  2. To cook (food) in a pan: panned the fish right after catching it.

  3. Informal To criticize or review harshly.

v.   intr.
  1. To wash gravel, sand, or other sediment in a pan.

  2. To yield gold as a result of washing in a pan.

Phrasal Verb(s):
pan outTo turn out well; be successful: "If I don't pan out as an actor I can still go back to school" (Saul Bellow).

[Middle English, from Old English panne, from West Germanic *panna, probably from Vulgar Latin *patna, from Latin patina, shallow pan, platter, from Greek patanē; see petə- in Indo-European roots.]
pan 2   (pän)   
n.  
  1. A leaf of the betel vine.

  2. A chewing preparation of this leaf with betel nuts, spices, and lime, used in the Far East.


[Hindi pān, from Sanskrit parṇam, feather, betel leaf; see per-2 in Indo-European roots.]
pan 3   (pān)   
v.   panned, pan·ning, pans

v.   intr.
To move a movie or television camera to follow an object or create a panoramic effect.
v.   tr.
To move (a camera) so as to follow a moving object or create a panoramic effect.

[Short for panorama or panoramic.]
Pan   (pān)   
n.  
  1. Greek Mythology The god of woods, fields, and flocks, having a human torso and head with a goat's legs, horns, and ears.

  2. The satellite of Saturn that is closest to the planet.


[Middle English, from Latin Pān, from Greek.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

Pan

The Greek god of flocks, forests, meadows, and shepherds. He had the horns and feet of a goat. Pan frolicked about the landscape, playing delightful tunes.

Note: Pan's musical instrument was a set of reed pipes, the “pipes of Pan.”
Note: According to legend, Pan was the source of scary noises in the wilderness at night. Fright at these noises was called “panic.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
pan

  1. n.
    the face. (See also deadpan.) : Look at that guy! I've never seen such an ugly pan in my life.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

pan  (n.)
O.E. panne, earlier ponne (Mercian), from W.Gmc. *panna (cf. O.N. panna, O.Fris. panne, O.L.G. panna, O.H.G. phanna, Ger. pfanne), probably an early borrowing (4c. or 5c.) from V.L. *patna, from L. patina "shallow, pan, dish," from Gk. patane "plate, dish," from PIE base *pet- "to spread." Ir. panna probably is from Eng., and Lith. pana is from German. Used of pan-shaped parts of mechanical apparatus from c.1590, hence flash in the pan, a fig. use from early firearms, where a pan held the priming (and the gunpowder might "flash," but no shot ensue). The verb meaning "criticize severely" is from 1911. Pancake is c.1430; as symbol of flatness c.1600. To pan out "turn out, succeed" (1868) is a fig. use of the lit. sense (1839) from panning for gold. To go out of the pan into the fire (1596) is first found in Spenser.

pan  (v.)
"follow with a camera," 1913 shortening of panoramic, from panoramic camera (1878). Meaning "to swing from one object to another in a scene" is from 1931. Panavision (1955) is a proprietary name of a type of wide-screen lens.

Pan 
Arcadian shepherd god with upper body of a man and lower part like a goat, c.1369, a god of the woods and fields, from L., from Gk. Pan, perhaps cognate with Skt. pusan, a Vedic god, guardian and multiplier of cattle and other human possessions, lit. "nourisher." Similarity to pan "all" (see pan-) led to his being regarded as a personification of nature. Pan-pipe, upon which he supposedly played, is attested from 1820.

pan- 
prefix meaning "all, whole, all-inclusive," from Gk. pan-, combining form of pas (neut. pan, masc. and neut. gen. pantos) "all," of unknown origin. Commonly used as a prefix in Gk., in modern times often with nationality names, the first example of which seems to have been Panslavism (1846, q.v.). Also panislamic (1881), pan-American (1889), pan-German (1892), pan-African (1900), pan-European (1901), pan-Arabism (1930).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: Pan
Pronunciation: 'pan
Function: noun
: a genus of anthropoid apes containing the chimpanzee

Main Entry: PAN
Function: abbreviation
peroxyacetyl nitrate
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

pan- pref.

  1. All: panagglutinins.

  2. General; whole: panimmunity.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Bible Dictionary

Pan

a vessel of metal or earthenware used in culinary operations; a cooking-pan or frying-pan frequently referred to in the Old Testament (Lev. 2:5; 6:21; Num. 11:8; 1 Sam. 2:14, etc.). The "ash-pans" mentioned in Ex. 27:3 were made of copper, and were used in connection with the altar of burnt-offering. The "iron pan" mentioned in Ezek. 4:3 (marg., "flat plate " or "slice") was probably a mere plate of iron used for baking. The "fire-pans" of Ex. 27:3 were fire-shovels used for taking up coals. The same Hebrew word is rendered "snuff-dishes" (25:38; 37:23) and "censers" (Lev. 10:1; 16:12; Num. 4:14, etc.). These were probably simply metal vessels employed for carrying burning embers from the brazen altar to the altar of incense. The "frying-pan" mentioned in Lev. 2:7; 7:9 was a pot for boiling.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Idioms & Phrases

pan

In addition to the idiom beginning with pan, also see flash in the pan; out of the frying pan.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
PAN
  1. peroxyacetyl nitrate

  2. personal area network

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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