panel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpæn.əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English panel,^[2] borrowed from Old French panel (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”) (modern panneau),^[3][4][5] from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, a diminutive of Latin pannus “piece of cloth”,^[3][4][2] the source of pane.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A list of jurors, the jury itself: 1292 in the OED,^[6] about 1378 in Barnhart, in Piers Plowman.^[4] A saddle cloth or pad: before 1300 in the OED, before 1325 in Barnhart, in Cursor Mundi.^[6][4] A piece of cloth: the early 14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Anglo-French legal use a panel was the slip of parchment on which the sheriff wrote the names of jurors, hence the jury itself,^[3][4][5][7] and the general sense, a group of persons called to advise, judge or discuss, is from the 1570s,^[3][6] or 1934, in Shaw, in Barnhart.^[4] A section of a fence is from the 15th century,^[5] and a distinct part of the surface of a wall or door from about 1600, in Shakespeare's As You Like It.^[3][4] A thin board for painting on is from the 18th century.^[5] The verb meant to empanel a jury in 1451,^[4][6] and to furnish a room with panels from the 1630s.^[3][4] Panelist is from 1952, American English.^[4] Old slang panel house was a brothel with sliding panels, used for robbing customers.^[3] In Scotland the panel is the dock in a court, or the accused.^[8]

Timeline

• 1292 – a jury list.^[6]
• a. 1300 – a saddle cloth.^[6]
• 1451 – verb, to empanel.^[4][6]
• 1570s – a group of advisers.^[3]
• 1600 – a section of a wall or door.^[4]
• 1630s – verb, to furnish with panels.^[3]
• 1952 – panelist.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A flat, usually rectangular piece forming part of a door, wall or other surface.
2. A group of people gathered to discuss, judge or advise: a panel of experts.
3. A jury, or a list of people summoned for jury service.
4. A board with the controls or instruments of a machine or vehicle: instrument panel.
5. A section of fabric in a garment.

Verb

1. To cover or decorate with panels.
2. To select a jury; to empanel.

Word family

• panelboard
• repanel
• subpanel
• modesty panel
• panel discussion
• panel house
• panel saw
• panel strip

Related words

• pane
• empanel
• panelist

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)