pan
UK[pæn]US[pæn]
n
A wide, shallow, open container, typically made of metal, used for cooking food in or for other domestic purposes.
n
A hollow in the ground in which water may collect or in which a deposit of salt remains after water has evaporated.
v
To criticize something severely.
v
To wash gravel in a pan to separate out (gold).
Etymology
The word 'pan' has a remarkably stable history, tracing a direct line from ancient cooking vessels to its modern forms. It originates from the Greek 'patanē', a broad, flat dish, which passed into Latin as 'patina'. This term evolved into the post-classical Latin 'panna', which was then adopted into the Proto-Germanic language as pannō. Borrowed into Old English as 'panne', its core meaning of a broad, shallow container has remained consistent for millennia. The verb senses, such as to criticize harshly or to wash for gold, are metaphorical extensions from the 20th and 19th centuries respectively, playing on the ideas of subjecting something to heat or agitation within a pan.
Analysis
The word is a simplex. It is a direct borrowing from Old English 'panne', which itself came from Proto-Germanic pannō. Its ultimate origin is likely post-classical Latin 'panna', a variant of 'patina', meaning a shallow dish or pan, from Greek 'patanē', a type of flat dish.
Examples
She heated the oil in a large frying pan.
The movie was panned by critics for its weak plot.
Early prospectors would pan for gold in the riverbeds.