paann.
/pɑːn/, U.S. /pɑn/ Chiefly South Asian.
A preparation of betel leaves chewed as a stimulant; spec. a mixture of chopped areca nut, slaked lime, and other ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > pods, seeds, leaves, or flowers > [noun] > betel or coca leaf
vitele1582
betel1585
paan1598
coca1616
betel-leaf1681
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > yielding masticatory products > [noun] > betel plant > betel leaf
betel1585
paan1598
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. lx. 108/1 In Malabar, this leafe is called Bettele, in Decam Gusurate, and Canam, it is called Pam.
1616 Sir T. Roe in S. Purchas Pilgrims (1625) i. iv. xvi. 576 The King giuing mee..two pieces of his Pawne out of his dish.
a1667 P. Mundy Trav. (1914) II. 96 Wee also sawe some fields of Paan [pān], which is a kind of leafe much used to be eaten in this Countrie, thus: First they take a kinde of Nutt called Saparoz [supāri, areca-nut] and comonly with us Bettlenutt, which broken in pieces they infold in one of the said leaves, and soe put it in their mouthes.
1696 J. Ovington Voy. Suratt 123 The Beetle-nut resembles a Nutmeg..Chinam is Lime made of Cockle-shells..and Pawn is the Leaf of a Tree, wherein the other two are wrapped up.
1772 W. Bolts Considerations India Affairs (ed. 2) I. Gloss. p. xvii Beetle-leaf..is called paān by the natives.
1809 Visct. Valentia Voy. I. 101 On our departure, paun and roses were presented.
1844 W. H. Sleeman Rambles & Recoll. Indian Official II. xv. 204 The civil, military, and ecclesiastical officers..ate their pawns, and enjoyed their dancing and music.
1888 R. Kipling City of Dreadful Night vi. 42 They grin and jabber and chew pan and spit.
1921 E. M. Forster Let. 20 July in Hill of Devi (1953) 96 Attar and Pan were then distributed to our side by the other—the usual ceremonial.
1971 Illustr. Weekly India 4 Apr. 51/2 The Mughal rulers were great connoisseurs of paan.
2000 M. Hamid Moth Smoke viii. 124 We've decided to get a couple of paans since my appointment isn't for another half hour.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
paan-box n.
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1856 H. Yule in Blackwood's Mag. May 558/2 A fresh supply was taken from the golden pawn-box.
1923 E. M. Forster in Criterion July 407 Bidar..has produced beautiful pan-boxes of a lead alloy inlaid with silver.
1982 Mod. Asian Stud. 16 296 Among middle and upper class Muslim families of North India and Pakistan it is common for the husband to give his wife a regular allowance, termed kharch-i-pandan, literally ‘expenses of the pan-box’.
paan-garden n.
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1923 Blackwood's Mag. Dec. 769/1 In one of these pan-gardens, as they are called, a boar had taken up his quarters.
paan juice n.
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1901 R. Kipling Kim ii, in McClure's Mag. Jan. 274/2 He spat red pan-juice on the floor.
2002 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 10 Nov. 8/1 His lips are covered with red paan juice.
paan leaf n.
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1901 R. Kipling Kim ix, in McClure's Mag. May 75/2 It was a cheap, heart-shaped brass thing with three compartments for carrying the eternal betel-nut, lime, and pan-leaf.
2002 India Abroad (Nexis) 29 Nov. 15 The betel nut tree and paan leaf grow abundantly in the state because of its tropical climate.
b. Objective.
paan-chewing n. and adj.
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1856 H. Yule in Blackwood's Mag. May 558/2 The constant and excessive pawn-chewing.
1892 Chambers's Jrnl. 14 May 320 After a long course of pawn~chewing, the utterance becomes thick and indistinct, and the teeth black.
1969 Enactment (Delhi) Oct. 8/1 Close-up. Peevish face of the pan-chewing Babu, answering him reluctantly, all the time looking at a tram car off the scene. (5 seconds). Cut.
1971 Illustr. Weekly India 4 Apr. 48/1 Paan chewing is an ancient Indian habit.
1992 N. Bhattacharya Hem & Football iii. 35 It was Mrs Madhuri Roy, the portly pan-chewing English teacher, who first noticed our posters when she came down.
paan-seller n.
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1839 P. M. Taylor Confessions of Thug III. xiv. 341 Sitting one morning at the shop of a pān seller, some persons stopped at it.
1997 V. Chandra Love & Longing in Bombay (1998) 134 Katekar was waiting at the end of the lane.., smoking a bidi near a paan-seller's kiosk.
C2.
paan masala n. (usually in form pan masala) a mixture of chopped areca nut, lime and other ingredients (sometimes including tobacco), for chewing either by itself or wrapped in a betel leaf.
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1988 United Press Internat. Newswire (Nexis) 21 Feb. In the late 1970s entrepreneurs began freeze-drying betel nuts and the accompanying ingredients and marketing them under the generic label of ‘pan masala’ in small foil packets and tins that allow users to chew at their convenience.
1996 Jrnl. Toxicol. (Nexis) 24 317 During recent years, with the advent of attractive, conveniently packed sachets and mass media advertisement, consumption of pan masala by younger people has increased.
2003 Times of India (Nexis) 19 June Maharashtra has become the only state in the country to impose a total ban on the possession and consumption of gutkha and paan masala, making offenders liable for imprisonment ranging from six months to three years.
paan shop n. a shop or stall selling paan and cigarettes.
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1973 Stud. Family Planning 4 188/1 About 33 percent by other types of retail outlet, which mainly include ‘paan-bidi shops’ (small shops selling cigarettes, betel nuts and so on).]
1979 P. Nihalani et al. Indian & Brit. Eng. 135 We go to the pan-shop every night after dinner.
2000 A. Ghosh Glass Palace (2001) xlii. 495 Not far from Lankasuka there was a paan shop that stocked these cheroots.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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