Etymologically
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panorama

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌpæn.əˈɹæm.ə/, /ˌpæn.əˈɹɑː.mə/[1]
  • US: /ˌpæn.əˈɹæm.ə/, /ˌpæn.əˈɹɑː.mə/[1]

Etymology

It was coined by the painter Robert Barker (1739–1806) as the name for his large circular paintings of a scene,[2][3][4] literally “a view of all”.[4][5] Its first part is the prefix pan-, all, and its second is from Ancient Greek ὅραμα (hórama, “sight, view, that which is seen”),[2][4][6][5] which comes from ὁράω (horáō, “to see”).[2][7][4] The OED traces the Greek verb to the same Indo-European base as ware and wary,[2][6] and Etymonline connects it, with some hesitation, with Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to perceive, watch out for”).[4] Barker is called Irish by Etymonline and Ayto[4][8] and Scottish by Barnhart.[6] The sources date the coinage differently: the OED says he invented the method in 1787,[2] Word Origins in 1788,[9] and Barnhart and Etymonline date the word to about 1789;[6][4] Hoad notes that his patent of 1787 called it La nature à coup d'œil, "nature at a glance".[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

A picture of a landscape or other scene, either painted round the inside of a cylinder and viewed from the centre, or unrolled before the spectator: 1791, in a title.[2][11] Etymonline and Barnhart date this sense to 1796.[4][6] Barker's first such picture was a view of Edinburgh, shown in London,[9][3] and in 1793 he opened a building in Leicester Square, the Panorama, where the public could see them.[8]

Semantic evolution

By the early 19th century the word had all its modern extended senses.[8][9] It meant a complete survey of a subject from 1800 or 1801,[2][4][6] an unbroken view of the whole surrounding region from 1802,[2] and a continuously passing scene, or a series of images passing before the mind, from 1813, in a letter of M. Edgeworth.[2] Barnhart finds it curious that the figurative sense of a survey appears before the sense of a wide view, which he dates only to 1828.[6] The adjective panoramic followed in 1813,[6] and the film term pan is a shortening of the noun.[9] Late 19th-century British slang used panorama for a lover, a corruption of paramour, and rhyming slang for a hammer.[12]

Timeline

  • 1787 – Barker's invention of the painting method.[2]
  • 1791 – a picture painted round the inside of a cylinder or unrolled before the viewer.[2][11]
  • 1793 – Barker's Panorama opens in Leicester Square.[8]
  • 1800 – a comprehensive survey of a subject.[2]
  • 1802 – an unbroken view of the surrounding region.[2]
  • 1813 – a continuously passing scene; the adjective panoramic.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wide, unbroken view of an area in every direction: From the summit the walkers took in a panorama of lakes and hills.[13][11][2]
  2. A complete survey or presentation of a subject: a panorama of the year's events.[13][11][2]
  3. A scene or series of images that passes continuously before the viewer or the mind.[2][11]
  4. A large picture of a scene painted round the inside of a cylinder and viewed from the centre (a cyclorama), or one unrolled before the spectators a part at a time.[13][11][2]
  5. A photograph showing a wide view.[11]

Word family

  • panoramic
  • panoramically
  • -orama

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  8. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  9. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  12. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins