Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PAN, n.¹ [Sax. panna; Sw. panna; G. pfanne; D. pan; W. id.]

1. A vessel broad and somewhat hollow or depressed in the middle, or with a raised border; used for setting milk and other domestic purposes. – Dryden.
2. The part of a gun-lock or other fire-arms which holds the priming that communicates with the charge.
3. Something hollow; as, the brain pan.
4. Among farmers, the hard stratum of earth that lies below the soil; called the hard pan.
5. The top of the head. – Chaucer.