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dead·pan

(dĕdpăn′)

1. A blank, expressionless face.

2. A person, especially a performer, who has or assumes a blank expression.

adj.

Impassively matter-of-fact, as in style, behavior, or expression: deadpan delivery of the joke.

adv.

With a blank, expressionless face.

v. dead·panned, dead·pan·ning, dead·pans

v. tr.

To express in an impassive, matter-of-fact way.

v. intr.

To express oneself in an impassive, matter-of-fact way.

[DEAD + PAN, the face.]

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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