panning

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of washing sediment to separate gold, or of harshly criticizing

   The film's panning by reviewers hurt its box office.

Gerund of the verb pan, from pan (the vessel), from Old English panne, of West Germanic origin, probably an early borrowing from Latin patina 'shallow dish'. The criticism sense comes from the image of washing away dross to leave only worthlessness.

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