pane

noun

ˈpān 

: a piece, section, or side of something: such as

a

: a framed sheet of glass in a window or door

frost on a window pane

b

: one of the sections into which a sheet of postage stamps is cut for distribution

paned

ˈpānd 

adjective

paneless

ˈpān-ləs 

adjective

Examples of pane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My personality is Paleozoic: sea urchin, horn lantern with the panes of horn left out. —Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 10 Jan. 2025

Trying to adjust the heat by tapping blindly at a smooth pane of glass while careening down a highway at 75mph isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. —Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 9 Jan. 2025

That field passes through the glass – and through the air gap between panes of glass – producing an alternating electric current in the receiver's induction coil. —Ben Coxworth, New Atlas, 7 Jan. 2025

The latticed window beside him was open, drawing a breeze down the stone spiral staircase, and Gabriel pushed the pane wide to lean out. —Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pane, pan, payne, peyne "panel of an ornamental hanging or a curtain, side of a building, section of a wall, windowpane," borrowed from Anglo-French pan, pane "piece of cloth, tail of a shirt, skirt of a coat, parcel, stretch, territory" (also continental Old & Middle French), going back to Latin pannus "piece of cloth, rag" — more at vane

Note: Homonymous with Middle English pane in these senses is pane "cloak, mantle, fur lining or trim of a garment, rich fur or fabric," borrowed from Anglo-French and Old French penne, panne in these senses. Middle English Dictionary groups these with all the other senses of panne, but the Oxford English Dictionary and Anglo-Norman Dictionary treat them separately, as descended from Latin pinna "feather" (see pen entry 3), reflecting a calque of Old High German fedara, meaning both "feather" and "article made of fur" (or a cognate Germanic form).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pane

noun

ˈpān 

1

: a piece, section, or side of something (as a sheet of glass in a window)

2

: one of the sections (as of 50 or 100 stamps) into which a sheet of postage stamps is divided