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Pan

pan

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

pan1 / pan/ • n. 1. a container made of metal and used for cooking food in. ∎  an amount of something contained in such a container: a pan of hot water. ∎  a large container used in a technical or manufacturing process for subjecting a material to heat or a mechanical or chemical process. ∎  a bowl fitted at either end of a balance, in which items to be weighed are set. ∎  another term for steel drum. ∎  a shallow bowl in which gold is separated from gravel and mud by agitation and washing. ∎  a hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated. ∎  a small ice floe. ∎  a part of the lock that held the priming in old types of guns. 2. inf. a face. 3. a hard stratum of compacted soil. • v. (panned , pan·ning ) [tr.] 1. (often be panned) inf. criticize (someone or something) severely: the movie was panned by the critics. 2. wash gravel in a pan to separate out (gold): the old-timers panned gold | [intr.] prospectors panned for gold in the Yukon. PHRASAL VERBS: pan out (of gravel) yield gold. ∎  turn out well: Harold's idea had been a good one even if it hadn't panned out. ∎  end up; conclude: he's happy with the way the deal panned out. DERIVATIVES: pan·ful / -ˌfoŏl/ n. (pl. -fuls) . pan2 • v. (panned , pan·ning ) [tr.] swing (a video or movie camera) in a horizontal or vertical plane, typically to give a panoramic effect or follow a subject. ∎  [intr.] (of a camera) be swung in such a way: the camera panned to the dead dictator. • n. a panning movement: that slow pan over Los Angeles. PHRASES: pan and scan a technique for narrowing the aspect ratio of a wide-screen movie to fit the squarer shape of a television screen by continuously selecting the portion of the original picture with the most significance, rather than just the middle portion.

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Pan

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Pan , in Greek religion and mythology, pastoral god of fertility. He was worshiped principally in Arcadia, and one legend states that he was the son of Hermes, another Arcadian god. Pan was supposed to make flocks fertile; when he did not, his image was flogged to stimulate him. He was depicted as a merry, ugly man with the horns, ears, and legs of a goat. Occasionally ill-tempered, he loved to frighten unwary travelers (hence the word panic ). All his myths deal with amorous affairs. In a famous tale he pursued the nymph Syrinx, but before she was overtaken her sister nymphs changed her into a reed. Thus Pan plays the reed, or syrinx, in memory of her. Later, when Pan was worshiped in other parts of Greece and in Rome, he became associated with the Greek Dionysus and identified with the Roman Faunus, both gods of fertility.

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Pan

Myths and Legends of the World | 2001 | Copyright

Pan

Pan was a Greek fertility god associated with flocks and shepherds. From his waist down, he looked like a goat, but above the waist, he had human features, except for goat's ears and horns. Most often considered the son of Hermes*, he was abandoned by his mother at birth and raised by nymphs.

nymph minor goddess of nature, usually represented as young and beautiful

An accomplished musician, Pan played a reed pipe called a syrinx, named after a nymph that Pan had pursued. The nymph asked the gods to change her into a group of reeds to save her from the attentions of Pan. Pan then gathered these reeds and fashioned them into the instrument.

Although Pan was a playful figure who enjoyed chasing nymphs, he could be very ill-tempered if his sleep was disturbed. He could also cause irrational fear, hence the origin of the English word panic. In Greek mythology, Pan helped Zeus* and the other gods of Olympus* overthrow the early gods called Titans. He did this by blowing into a shell and making a loud roar that frightened the Titans.

See also Greek Mythology.

Titan one of a family of giants who ruled the earth until overthrown by the Greek gods of Olympus
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pan

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

pan
A. broad shallow vessel OE.; †skull (brain pan) XIV;

B. depression in the ground XVI;

C. hard substratum of the soil XVIII. OE. panne = OS. panna, (M)LG., MDu. panne (Du. pan), OHG. pfanna, (G. pfanne):- WGmc. *panna; perh. — popL. *panna :— L. patina (see PATEN).
Hence pan vb. wash (gravel, etc.) in a pan, separate the gold; (usu. with out) yield gold when so washed; also fig. XIX. pancake XV, prob. after MLG. pannekōke (Du. pannekoek).
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T. F. HOAD. "pan." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "pan." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pan.html

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Pan

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

Pan / pan/ Greek Mythol. a god of flocks and herds, typically represented with the horns, ears, and legs of a goat on a man's body. His sudden appearance was supposed to cause terror similar to that of a frightened and stampeding herd, and the word panic is derived from his name.

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Pan

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Pan In Greek mythology, the god of woods and fields, shepherds and their flocks. He is depicted with the horns, legs and hoofs of a goat. A forest dweller, he pursued and loved the dryads and led their dances while playing the syrinx, the reed pipes that were his invention.
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pan

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Copyright

pan A soil horizon, usually in the subsoil, that is strongly compacted, indurated (see induration), cemented, or very high in clay content, when it is called a ‘clay pan’.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "pan." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pan

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

pan.
1. Wall-plate.

2. Part of an exterior wall, especially the panel between the structural horizontal and verticals in a timber-framed building.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pan." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pan

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences | 1998 | | Copyright

pan A soil horizon, usually in the subsoil, that is strongly compacted, indurated (see INDURATION), cemented, or very high in clay content.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "pan." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pan

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

pan go down the pan reach a stage of abject failure or uselessness; pan here is short for lavatory pan.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pan." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pan." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pan.html

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Pan

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Copyright

Pan (Saturn XVIII) One of the minor satellites of Saturn, with a radius of 10 km; visual albedo 0.5.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Pan." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pan

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Copyright

pan (clay pan) Soil horizon, usually in the subsoil, that is strongly compacted, indurated, cemented, or very high in clay content.
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pan

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

pan n. a part of the lock that held the priming in old types of guns.
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PAN

A Dictionary of the Internet | 2001 | | Copyright

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DARREL INCE. "PAN." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DARREL INCE. "PAN." A Dictionary of the Internet. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-PAN.html

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PAN

A Dictionary of Ecology | 2004 | | Copyright

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "PAN." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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pan

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition | 2005 | | Copyright

pan See betel.
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DAVID A. BENDER. "pan." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAVID A. BENDER. "pan." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-pan.html

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pan

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

pan •Abadan, Abidjan, Amman, Antoine, Arne, Aswan, Avon, Azerbaijan, Baltistan, Baluchistan, Bantustan, barn, Bhutan, Dagestan, darn, dewan, Farne, guan, Hahn, Hanuman, Hindustan, Huascarán, Iban, Iran, Isfahan, Juan, Kazakhstan, khan, Koran, Kurdistan, Kurgan, Kyrgyzstan, macédoine, Mahon, maidan, Marne, Michoacán, Oman, Pakistan, pan, Pathan, Qumran, Rajasthan, Shan, Siân, Sichuan, skarn, soutane, Sudan, Tai'an, t'ai chi ch'uan, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Taklimakan, tarn, Tatarstan, Tehran, Tenochtitlán, Turkestan, Turkmenistan, tzigane, Uzbekistan, Vientiane, yarn, Yinchuan, yuan, Yucatán •Autobahn • Lindisfarne •Bildungsroman • Nisan • Khoisan •Afghanistan • bhagwan • Karajan

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