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paan also pan

(pän)

Fresh betel leaves wrapped around pieces of betel nut, slaked lime, spices, and often tobacco and other ingredients into small packets, traditionally chewed as a mild stimulant and breath freshener in South and Southeast Asia.

[Hindi and Urdu pān, leaf, paan, from Middle Indic paṇṇa-, from Sanskrit parṇam, feather, leaf; see per-² in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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