from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pan \Pan\, n. [OE. panne, AS. panne; cf. D. pan, G. pfanne, OHG.
pfanna, Icel., Sw., LL., & Ir. panna, of uncertain origin;
cf. L. patina, E. paten.]
1. A shallow, open dish or vessel, usually of metal, employed
for many domestic uses, as for setting milk for cream, for
frying or baking food, etc.; also employed for various
uses in manufacturing. "A bowl or a pan." --Chaucer.
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2. (Manuf.) A closed vessel for boiling or evaporating. See
{Vacuum pan}, under {Vacuum}.
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3. The part of a flintlock which holds the priming.
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4. The skull, considered as a vessel containing the brain;
the upper part of the head; the brainpan; the cranium.
--Chaucer.
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5. (Carp.) A recess, or bed, for the leaf of a hinge.
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6. The hard stratum of earth that lies below the soil. See
{Hard pan}, under {Hard}.
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7. A natural basin, containing salt or fresh water, or mud.
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{Flash in the pan}. See under {Flash}.
{To savor of the pan}, to suggest the process of cooking or
burning; in a theological sense, to be heretical.
--Ridley. Southey.
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