panic

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A sudden strong feeling of fear that stops you thinking clearly.

   There was panic in the crowd when the fire alarm rang.

2. 2
   verb

   To suddenly feel so afraid that you cannot think or act sensibly.

   The students panicked when they heard the exam was tomorrow.

3. 3
   verb

   To make someone suddenly feel great fear.

   The loud bang panicked the horses.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Panic derives from the name of Pan, the Greek god of flocks and herds, whose sudden appearance was believed to cause terror like that of a frightened, stampeding herd. Pan’s name probably originally meant “the feeder,” referring to his role as god of flocks, although it was early interpreted as deriving from Greek pan, “all,” and he was identified with nature or the universe.

From Late Middle English panik, panyk (“plant of the genus Panicum”), borrowed from Latin pānicum, pānīcum (“foxtail millet or Italian millet (Setaria italica); plant of the genus Panicum, panicgrass”); further etymology uncertain, probably either from pānis (“bread; loaf”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- (“to graze; to protect; to shepherd”)) or pānus (“ear of millet; thread wound on a bobbin”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)penh₁- (“to twist; to weave”)) + -cum (suffix forming neuter nouns). Doublet of bannock and bonnag

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary