Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pan \Pan\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Panned}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Panning}.] (Mining)
   To separate, as gold, from dirt or sand, by washing in a kind
   of pan. [U. S.]

         We . . . witnessed the process of cleaning up and
         panning out, which is the last process of separating
         the pure gold from the fine dirt and black sand. --Gen.
                                                  W. T. Sherman.

Source : WordNet®

pan
     n 1: cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel [syn: {cooking
          pan}]
     2: (Greek mythology) god of fields and woods and shepherds and
        flocks; represented as a man with goat's legs and horns
        and ears; identified with Roman Sylvanus or Faunus [syn: {the
        goat god}]
     3: shallow container made of metal
     4: chimpanzees; more closely related to Australopithecus than
        to other pongids [syn: {genus Pan}]
     [also: {panning}, {panned}]

pan
     v 1: make a sweeping movement; "The camera panned across the
          room"
     2: wash dirt in a pan to separate out the precious minerals
        [syn: {pan out}, {pan off}]
     3: express a totally negative opinion of; "The critics panned
        the performance" [syn: {tear apart}, {trash}]
     [also: {panning}, {panned}]

panning
     See {pan}