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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

panel.

A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpænəl/Received-Pronunciation[ˈpæn.ɫ̩]Received-Pronunciation/ˈpænəl/Canada, General-American[ˈpæn.ɫ̩]Canada, General-American
  1. A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.

    Behind the picture was a panel on the wall.
  2. A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc. A sunken compartment with raised margins, moulded or otherwise, as in ceilings, wainscotings, etc.

  3. A group of people gathered to judge, interview, discuss etc. as on a television or radio broadcast for example.

    Today’s panel includes John Smith.
  4. A portion of text or other material within a book, newspaper, web page, etc. set apart from the main body or separated by a border.

  5. An individual frame or drawing in a comic.

    The last panel of a comic strip usually contains a punchline.
  6. A type of GUI widget, such as a control panel.

    admin panel
  7. A document containing the names of persons summoned as jurors by the sheriff.

  8. The whole jury.

  9. A prisoner arraigned for trial at the bar of a criminal court.

  10. A piece of cloth serving as a saddle.

    obsolete
  11. A soft pad beneath a saddletree to prevent chafing.

  12. A board having its edges inserted in the groove of a surrounding frame.

    the panel of a door
  13. One of the faces of a hewn stone.

  14. A slab or plank of wood used instead of a canvas for painting on.

  15. A heap of dressed ore.

  16. One of the districts divided by pillars of extra size, into which a mine is laid off in one system of extracting coal.

  17. A plain strip or band, as of velvet or plush, placed at intervals lengthwise on the skirt of a dress, for ornament.

  18. A portion of a framed structure between adjacent posts or struts, as in a bridge truss.

  19. A list of doctors who could provide limited free healthcare prior to the introduction of the NHS.

    UK · historical
  20. A group of tests or assays, a battery.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English panel (“piece of cloth, saddle pad, pane of glass, piece of ice, part, division, jury list, jury members”), from Anglo-Norman panel, panelle (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”), from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, diminutive of Latin pannus (“cloth, rag, garment”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“fabric”). Cognate with Old English fana (“a piece of cloth, patch, banner, flag, vane”). Doublet of vane.

verb/ˈpænəl/Received-Pronunciation[ˈpæn.ɫ̩]Received-Pronunciation/ˈpænəl/Canada, General-American[ˈpæn.ɫ̩]Canada, General-American
  1. To enter (jury members) on an official list of jurors; to empanel.

    obsolete · transitive
  2. To fit (an animal, especially a mule or ass) with a panel or simple padded saddle.

    obsolete · transitive
  3. To fit (a room etc.) with panels.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English panel (“piece of cloth, saddle pad, pane of glass, piece of ice, part, division, jury list, jury members”), from Anglo-Norman panel, panelle (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”), from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, diminutive of Latin pannus (“cloth, rag, garment”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“fabric”). Cognate with Old English fana (“a piece of cloth, patch, banner, flag, vane”). Doublet of vane.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.