Definition of "panne" []

• A special finish for velvet and satin that produces a high luster. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Sailors and pilots also use "pan-pan," from the word panne (breakdown), to indicate an imminent threat."
• "All I know is that we had better not have too many more of these "panne" episodes, or I'll be panhandling for a living, my pen dream having petered out."
• "You add enough sugar (I like to use half brown) to rot the teeth of the entire population of a small French village, like Lourmarin, put in a good supply of creamy dairy butter that would otherwise spread la panne of that same population for a week; and let it caramelise."