English
panel
Panel comes from Middle English panel ‘piece of cloth’, from Anglo-Norman panel, from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, a diminutive of Latin pannus ‘cloth’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpannus1‘cloth’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pannellus1reconstructeddiminutive of pannus
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400panel1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500panel1‘piece of cloth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1557panel1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English panel
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1557, Thomas Tusser: “A panel and wanty, packsaddle and ped, with line…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpannusWiktionary, English panel‘cloth’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*pannellusWiktionary, English panelreconstructeddiminutive of pannus
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400panelWiktionary, English panel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500panelWiktionary, English panel‘piece of cloth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1557panelWiktionary, English panel. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1557, Thomas Tusser: “A panel and wanty, packsaddle and ped, with line…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with panel, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- ‘fabric’
2 more relatives in the full family tree
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Today it means
noun A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “panel”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin pannus / panel