"broad, shallow vessel of metal used for domestic purposes," Middle Englishpanne, from Old Englishpanne, earlierponne (Mercian) "pan," from Proto-Germanic*panno "pan" (source also of Old Norsepanna, Old Frisianpanne, Middle Dutchpanne, Dutchpan, Old Low Germanpanna, Old High Germanphanna, Germanpfanne), probably an early borrowing (4c. or 5c.) from Vulgar Latin*patna. This is supposed to be from Latinpatina "shallow pan, dish, stew-pan," from Greekpatane "plate, dish," from PIE*pet-ano-, from root*pete- "to spread."

But both the Latin and Germanic words might be from a substrate language [Boutkan]. Irishpanna probably is from English, and Lithuanianpanė is from German.

The word has been used of any hollow thing shaped somewhat like a pan; the sense of "head, top of the head" is by c. 1300. It was used of pan-shaped parts of mechanical apparatus from c. 1590; henceflash in the pan (seeflash (n.1)), a figurative use from early firearms, where a pan held the priming (and the gunpowder might "flash," but no shot ensue). To goout of the (frying) pan into the fire "escape one evil only to fall into a worse" is in Spenser (1596).

"of or pertaining to panic; inclined to panic," 1865, in a U.S. Civil War context, frompanic (n.1) +-y (2). Related:Panickiness.

I remonstrated against it in private conversations and in written despatches, until I am very certain that the parties to whom my remonstrances were made, and those around them, began to think I was getting panicky, as they say, and I had to stop it. [Brig. Gen. A.L. Lee, testimony on the Red River Expedition before the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, 38th Congress, 2nd session, Washington, 1865]