pan-comb. form

Etymology: < ancient Greek παν-, combining form of πᾶν , neuter of πᾶς all, probably < the same Indo-European base as Tokharian A puk , Tokharian B po , plural ponta . The combining form was freely used in Greek, especially with adjectives to which it stood in adverbial relation in the sense ‘all, wholly, entirely, altogether, by all, of all’, as in πανάγαθος altogether good, πανάγιος all-holy (see Panagia n.), πανακής all-healing (see panace n.), πανάριστος best of all, παναρμόνιος suited to all musical modes (see panharmony n.), πάνδημος relating to all the people, public (see pandemic adj. and n.), πάνοπλος fully-armed (compare panoply n.), πανσέληνος of the full moon (see panselene n.), πάνσοϕος all-wise (see pansophia n.); so from national names, as πανελλήνιος of all the Greeks (see Panhellenic adj.), πανιώνιος of all the Ionians (see pan-Ionian adj. at sense 2a); also in nouns, etc., derived from these adjectives, and some other nouns, as πανδέκτης an all-receiver (see pandect n.¹), πανηγεμών ruler of all, πανήγυρις a universal or general assembly (see panegyris n.), πανοπλία panoplia n.Before a labial παν- became παμ- , and before a guttural παγ- (= paŋ- ), as πάμϕιλος beloved of all (see pamphlet n.), πάγκρεας the sweetbread, the pancreas (see pancreas n.); the former of these is retained in some English derivatives (e.g. pamphysical adj.). pan- occurs in English in words taken or derived from Greek, and in many others formed more or less on the same analogy either in English, post-classical Latin or scientific Latin, or French (formations in which are frequent from the 19th cent.), or occasionally in other European languages (as for example German in pangymnastikon n., panlogism n., etc.). Formations within English are found sporadically from the late 16th cent. (see e.g. panglyphic adj., panpharmacon n., and pantheology n.), but are rare before the middle of the 19th cent., whereafter they are common in various technical, especially scientific, contexts. In sense 2 formations are numerous from the middle of the 19th cent.; a rare, much earlier example in the variant form pam- is pambritannick (see pan-Britannic adj. 1). In sense 2b, apparently earliest in pan-Christian n. and adj. In sense 1 generally combined with elements ultimately of Greek origin, although formations with elements of other origins are increasingly common (e.g. pansexual adj., panselectionism n., panfan n., pancultural adj. at sense 1b, panmaterialistic adj. at sense 1a), and compare also earlier humorous formations such as panguts n., panfrivolium n.