pannicle

P3A1N1N1I1C3L1E1

noun

A membrane of tissue in the body of a human or animal.

OriginMiddle French pannicle ← Late Latin panniculus ← Latin panniculus →
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Meanings

nounpannicle (plural pannicles)

plural pannicles

  1. anatomyA membrane of tissue in the body of a human or animal.
  2. obsoletemedicineA pannus.
  3. obsoleterareThe skull.

    To him he turned, and with rigour fell / Smote him so rudely on the Pannikell, / That to the chin he cleft his head in twaine [...].

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Latinpanniculus“small rag”
  2. Late Latinpanniculus“membrane”
  3. Middle Frenchpannicle
  4. Englishpannicle

From Middle French pannicle, and its source, Late Latin panniculus (“membrane”), from Latin panniculus (“small rag”), from pannus (“cloth”).

More words from Middle French, Late Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

pinnacle
Cite this entry
APA

pannicle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pannicle

MLA

“pannicle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pannicle. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pannicle,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pannicle.

Source: pannicle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.