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pan

section, panel, flap

noun PAHN Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Sizes & Shapes

Also means

bang! (onomatopoeia)

Usage Note

Pan (as a noun) refers to a flat section or face of something: un pan de mur (a section of wall), un pan de veste (a shirt-tail). Metaphorically, un pan de l'histoire means a chapter or slice of history. Separately, pan! as an interjection imitates a bang or slap. The two uses are homographs and entirely unrelated in meaning.

Examples

"Un pan de mur s'est effondré."

Natural Translation

A section of wall collapsed.

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