Pan- | Meaning Of Prefix Pan- By Etymonline

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Origin and history of pan-

pan-

word-forming element meaning "all, every, whole, all-inclusive," from Greek pan-, combining form of pas (neuter pan, masculine and neuter genitive pantos) "all," from PIE *pant- "all" (with derivatives found only in Greek and Tocharian).

Commonly used as a prefix in Greek (before a labial pam-; before a guttural pag-), in modern times often with nationality names, the first example of which seems to have been Panslavism (1846). Also panislamic (1881), pan-American (1889), pan-German (1892), pan-African (1900), pan-European (1901), pan-Arabism (1930).

Entries linking to pan-

Pamela

fem. given name, invented by Philip Sidney in "Arcadia," published in the 1590s; it is presumed to have been coined from Greek pan- "all" (before a labial pam-; see pan-) + meli "honey" (also the first element in Melissa; from PIE *melit-ya, suffixed form of root *melit- "honey") with the sense "all-sweetness," but this is conjecture. It was boosted by Samuel Richardson's novel "Pamela" (1741) but did not become popular until the 1920s; it was a top-20 name for girls born in the U.S. from 1947 to 1968.

pamphlet(n.)

"small, unbound treatise," late 14c., pamflet, "brief written text; poem, tract, small book," from Anglo-Latin panfletus, which probably is a popular short form of "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" ("Pamphilus, or about Love"), a short 12c. Latin love poem popular and widely copied in the Middle Ages; the name from Greek pamphilos "loved by all," from pan- "all" (pam- before labials; see pan-) + philos "loving, dear" see -phile).

Meaning "brief work dealing with questions of current interest; short treatise or essay, generally controversial, on some subject of temporary public interest" is from late 16c.

• Pamphylia
• pan
• panacea
• pan-Africanism
• pan-Arabism
• pancratium
• pancreas
• pandemic
• pandemonium
• Pandora
• panegyric
• pan-European
• Pangaea
• pan-German
• Panglossian
• Panhellenic
• pan-Islamic
• panoply
• See All Related Words (34)

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pan"broad, shallow vessel of metal used for domestic purposes," Middle English panne, from Old English panne, earlier ponne (Mercian) "pan," from Proto-Germanic *panno "pan" (source also of Old Norse panna, Old Frisian panne, Middle Dutch panne, Dutch pan, Old Low German panna, Old pandemicof diseases, "incident to a whole people or region," 1660s, from Late Latin pandemus, from Greek pandemos "pertaining to all people; public, common," from pan- "all" (see pan-) + dēmos "people" (see demotic). Modeled on epidemic; OED reports that it is "Distinguished from epidemipandemonium1667, Pandæmonium, in "Paradise Lost" the name of the palace built in the middle of Hell, "the high capital of Satan and all his peers," and the abode of all the demons; coined by John Milton (1608-1674) from Greek pan- "all" (see pan-) + Late Latin daemonium "evil spirit," from frylate 13c., "cook (something) in a shallow pan over a fire," from Old French frire "to fry" (13c.), from Latin frigere "to...Frying pan is recorded from mid-14c. (friing panne)....patinaThis appears to be from Latin patina "shallow pan, dish, stew-pan" (from Greek patane "plate, dish," from PIE *pet-ano-,...flashFlash in the pan (1704 literal, 1705 figurative) is from old-style firearms, where the powder might ignite in the pan but...pawn(mid-12c. as Anglo-Latin pandum), from Old French pan, pant "pledge, security," also "booty, plunder," perhaps from Frankish...The Old French word is formally identical to pan "cloth, piece of cloth," from Latin pannum (nominative pannus) "cloth, piece...deputyc. 1400, "subordinate officer, one given the full power of an officer without holding the office," from Anglo-French deputé, noun use of past-participle of Old French députer "appoint, assign" (14c.), from Late Latin deputare "to destine, allot," in classical Latin "to esteem, codriveOld English drifan "to compel or urge to move, impel in some direction or manner; to hunt (deer), pursue; to rush against" (class I strong verb; past tense draf, past participle drifen), from Proto-Germanic *dreibanan (source also of Old Frisian driva "I lead, impel, drive (away)imagination"faculty of the mind which forms and manipulates images," mid-14c., ymaginacion, from Old French imaginacion "concept, mental picture; hallucination," from Latin imaginationem (nominative imaginatio) "imagination, a fancy," noun of action from past participle stem of imaginari "t

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/pan-CopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/pan-">Etymology of pan- by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of pan-. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 9, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/pan-CopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of pan-," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed March 9, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/pan-.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of pan-." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/pan-. Accessed 9 March, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of pan-." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/pan- (accessed March 9, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near pan-

• pampered
• pamphlet
• pamphleteer
• Pamphylia
• Pamplona
• pan-
• pan
• panacea
• panache
• pan-Africanism
• Panama

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