# panel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpænəl/ · frequency rank #2,749

## Definitions
1. A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.
2. A (usually) rectangular section of a surface, or of a covering or of a wall, fence etc.
3. A group of people gathered to judge, interview, discuss etc. as on a television or radio broadcast for example.
4. A portion of text or other material within a book, newspaper, web page, etc. set apart from the main body or separated by a border.
5. An individual frame or drawing in a comic.
6. A type of GUI widget, such as a control panel.
7. A document containing the names of persons summoned as jurors by the sheriff.
8. The whole jury.
9. A prisoner arraigned for trial at the bar of a criminal court.
10. A piece of cloth serving as a saddle.
11. A soft pad beneath a saddletree to prevent chafing.
12. A board having its edges inserted in the groove of a surrounding frame.
13. One of the faces of a hewn stone.
14. A slab or plank of wood used instead of a canvas for painting on.
15. A heap of dressed ore.
16. One of the districts divided by pillars of extra size, into which a mine is laid off in one system of extracting coal.
17. A plain strip or band, as of velvet or plush, placed at intervals lengthwise on the skirt of a dress, for ornament.
18. A portion of a framed structure between adjacent posts or struts, as in a bridge truss.
19. A list of doctors who could provide limited free healthcare prior to the introduction of the NHS.
20. A group of tests or assays, a battery.

## Etymology
From Middle English panel (“piece of cloth, saddle pad, pane of glass, piece of ice, part, division, jury list, jury members”), from Anglo-Norman panel, panelle (“piece of cloth, saddle cushion”), from Vulgar Latin *pannellus, diminutive of Latin pannus (“cloth, rag, garment”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“fabric”). Cognate with Old English fana (“a piece of cloth, patch, banner, flag, vane”). Doublet of vane.

## Easily confused with
- **Paul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-paul)
- **pine** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pine)
- **peel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-peel)
- **pans** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pans)
- **Pune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pune)
- **pave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pave)
- **pant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pant)
- **pang** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pang)
- **pate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pate)
- **pare** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pare)
- **Pape** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pape)
- **paper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-paper)
- **plane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-plane)
- **pants** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pants)
- **panic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-panic)
- **Payne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-payne)
- **pixel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-pixel)
- **paved** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-paved)
- **Patel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-patel)
- **penal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/panel-vs-penal)

## Common misspellings (7)
`apnel`, `paenl`, `panell`, `panle`, `pannel`, `pnael`, `ppanel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/panel