pane

noun

ˈpān How to pronounce pane (audio)
: 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 How to pronounce pane (audio)
adjective
paneless
ˈpān-ləs How to pronounce pane (audio)
adjective

Examples of pane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One of Ted Bundy is trapped behind a pane of glass at the back of the bar. — Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026 Click the Add sources button from the left pane and pick Play Books from the subsequent window. — Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026 Up there, the wind is your neighbor, whistling through the walls and frail window panes. — Megan Rose Murray, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026 The cube also needed an eight-foot-wide door, which was engineered onto the structure with each pane weighing in at nearly 300 pounds. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pane

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of pane was in the 14th century

Rhymes for pane

See All Rhymes for pane

Browse Nearby Words

pandy
pane
paned
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pane. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

pane

noun
ˈpān How to pronounce pane (audio)
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
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