Webster's English Dictionary

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pan

1. pan \'pan\ n [ME panne, fr. OE; akin to OHG phanna pan; both fr. a 
   prehistoric W]Gmc-NGmc word borrowed fr. L patina, fr. Gk patane-; akin to 
   L pate-re to be open - more at FATHOM 1a: a container usu. broad, shallow, 
   and open for domestic use  1b: any of various similar usu. metal 
   receptacles : as  1b1: either of the receptacles in a pair of scales  1b2: 
   a round shallow metal container to separate gold or other metal from w aste 
   by washing 2a: a natural basin or depression  2b: an artificial basin  2c: 
   a drifting fragment of the flat thin ice that forms in bays or along th e 
   shore 3: HARDPAN  slang  4: FACE 
2. pan vb or panned;  or pan.ning 1: to wash earth, gravel, or other 
   material in a pan in search of gold or  other metal 2a: to yield precious 
   metal in the process of panning  2b: to turn out well : SUCCEED {a visit 
   that panned out}  1a: to wash in a pan for the purpose of separating heavy 
   particles  1b: to separate (as gold) by panning  2: to criticize severely 
3. pan \'pa:n\ n [Hindi pa-n, fr. Skt parna wing, leaf - more at FERN] : a 
   betel leaf; also : a masticatory of betel nut, lime, and pan 
4. pan \'pan\ vb or panned;  or pan.ning [panorama] 1: to rotate a 
   motion-picture or television camera so as to keep an object  in the picture 
   or secure a panoramic effect of a camera  2: to undergo such rotation  : to 
   cause to pan 
5. pan \'pan\ n : the process of panning a motion-picture or television 
   camera Pan \'pan\ n [L, fr. Gk] : the Greek god of forests, pastures, 
   flocks, and shepherds represented as  having the legs and sometimes the 
   ears and horns of a goat