Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A special finish for velvet and satin that produces a high luster.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A soft, shining fabric, plain or printed, used for trimmings and dresses.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A fabric resembling velvet, but having the nap flat and less close.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a lustrous finish applied to velvet and satin
  • noun ecology a wetland consisting of a small depression, with or without standing water, often in a salt marsh or other coastal wetland

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, a soft cloth, from Old French penne, pane, fur lining, from Latin pinna, penna, feather; see penna.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word panne.

Examples

  • Sailors and pilots also use "pan-pan," from the word panne (breakdown), to indicate an imminent threat.

    ASK TIP SHEET 2007

  • All I know is that we had better not have too many more of these "panne" episodes, or I'll be panhandling for a living, my pen dream having petered out.

    Savoir Vivre 2010

  • All I know is that we had better not have too many more of these "panne" episodes, or I'll be panhandling for a living, my pen dream having petered out.

    Savoir Vivre 2010

  • Also: panné (e) = broke (c'est une panné = he's penniless) une panne de courant/d'électricité = power failure une panne de moteur = engine failure

    Savoir Vivre 2010

  • Wednesday, September 15, 2004 une panne une panne (pan) noun, feminine

    Savoir Vivre 2010

  • You add enough sugar (I like to use half brown) to rot the teeth of the entire population of a small French village, like Lourmarin, put in a good supply of creamy dairy butter that would otherwise spread la panne of that same population for a week; and let it caramelise.

    Metro Boulot Dodo - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • Mr. Jacobs, having ditched his 60's futurist pastiche from last season, had worked like a dog to turn out a brilliant collection of unpornographic, unironic romanticism: flirty tea dresses, Virginia Woolf coats in denim tweed and gorgeous panne velvet flapper frocks.

    Marc Jacobs, Circa 2003: Long Hair, Neck Brace & Sweaty (PHOTO) Hilary Moss 2010

  • Expressions: en panne = out of order panne sèche = out of gas tomber en panne d'essence = to run out of gas laisser quelqu'un en panne = to let someone down avoir une panne d'oreiller = to oversleep rester en panne devant une difficulté = to be stumped (by a problem)

    Savoir Vivre 2010

  • Mr. Jacobs, having ditched his 60's futurist pastiche from last season, had worked like a dog to turn out a brilliant collection of unpornographic, unironic romanticism: flirty tea dresses, Virginia Woolf coats in denim tweed and gorgeous panne velvet flapper frocks.

    Marc Jacobs, Circa 2003: Long Hair, Neck Brace & Sweaty (PHOTO) Hilary Moss 2010

  • Mr. Jacobs, having ditched his 60's futurist pastiche from last season, had worked like a dog to turn out a brilliant collection of unpornographic, unironic romanticism: flirty tea dresses, Virginia Woolf coats in denim tweed and gorgeous panne velvet flapper frocks.

    Marc Jacobs, Circa 2003: Long Hair, Neck Brace & Sweaty (PHOTO) The Huffington Post News Team 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.