| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
pan1 (pæn) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. a wide metal vessel used in cooking |
| b. (in combination): saucepan | |
| 2. | Also called: panful the amount such a vessel will hold |
| 3. | any of various similar vessels used esp in industry, as for boiling liquids |
| 4. | a dish used by prospectors, esp gold prospectors, for separating a valuable mineral from the gravel or earth containing it by washing and agitating |
| 5. | either of the two dishlike receptacles on a balance |
| 6. | (Brit) Also called: lavatory pan the bowl of a lavatory |
| 7. | a. a natural or artificial depression in the ground where salt can be obtained by the evaporation of brine |
| b. a natural depression containing water or mud | |
| 8. | (Caribbean) the indented top from an oil drum used as the treble drum in a steel band |
| 9. | hardpan See brainpan |
| 10. | a small ice floe |
| 11. | a slang word for face |
| 12. | a small cavity containing priming powder in the locks of old guns |
| 13. | a hard substratum of soil |
| 14. | short for pan loaf |
| —vb (when tr, | |
| 15. | to wash (gravel) in a pan to separate particles of (valuable minerals) from it |
| 16. | (of gravel) to yield valuable minerals by this process |
| 17. | informal (tr) to criticize harshly: the critics panned his new play |
| [Old English panne; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse panna, Old High German pfanna] | |
| pan out | |
| —vb | |
| informal (intr, adverb) to work out; turn out; result | |
pan- pref.
All: panagglutinins.
General; whole: panimmunity.
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.”
pan definition
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pan out definition
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PAN
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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.
pan out
Turn out well, succeed, as in If I don't pan out as a musician, I can always go back to school. This expression alludes to washing gold from gravel in a pan. [Mid-1800s]