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.
2. (Manuf.) A closed vessel for boiling or evaporating. See Vacuum pan, under Vacuum.
3. The part of a flintlock which holds the priming.
4. The skull, considered as a vessel containing the brain; the upper part of the head; the brainpan; the cranium. Chaucer.
5. (Carp.) A recess, or bed, for the leaf of a hinge.
6. The hard stratum of earth that lies below the soil. See Hard pan, under Hard.
7. A natural basin, containing salt or fresh water, or mud.
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.