Etymology

pan-pan

Today it means: A radio call indicating a minor emergency requiring some assistance, or priority in handling, but not endangering the safety of the vessel or those aboard. Full definition →

French panne
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

pan-pan · noun1

  1. French · derived frompanne“breakdown”
  2. English todaypan-pan

From French panne (“breakdown”), reduplicated.

pan-pan · noun2

  1. Japanese · borrowed fromパンパン
  2. English todaypan-pan

From Japanese パンパン (panpan), an ellipsis of パンパンガール (panpangāru).

Words from the same roots

Frenchpanne all →

panne

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.