hardpan

[ hahrd-pan ]

/ ˈhɑrdˌpæn /

noun

any layer of firm detrital matter, as of clay, underlying soft soil.Compare caliche, duricrust.

hard, unbroken ground.

the fundamental or basic aspect of anything; solid foundation; underlying reality: the hardpan of mathematical theory.

Nearby words

hardly ever, hardman, hardmouthed, hardness, hardouin mansart, hardpan, hardrock, hards, hardscape, hardscrabble, hardship

Origin of hardpan

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; hard + pan¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hardpan

Here and there an attempt had been made by some of the Hardpan women or girls to make flowers grow; but they were sorry gardens.
The Trail Boys on the Plains|Jay Winthrop Allen
Thirty miles east along this Hardpan Spur was his home territory and he followed along the base of it.
The Yellow Horde|Hal G. Evarts
In going this way they passed through the poor suburb known as Hardpan.
The Trail Boys on the Plains|Jay Winthrop Allen
Elsewhere the hardpan or bedrock must have been exceptionally level and near the top of the ground.
The Land of Footprints|Stewart Edward White

Hardpan, the hard, unbroken layer of earth, below the mould or cultivated soil.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy|Catherine Esther Beecher

British Dictionary definitions for hardpan

hardpan

/ (ˈhɑːdˌpæn) /

noun

a hard impervious layer of clay below the soil, resistant to drainage and root growth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for hardpan

hardpan

[ härd′păn′ ]

A hard, usually clay-rich layer of soil lying at or just below the ground surface, in which soil particles are cemented together by silica, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, or organic matter that has precipitated from water percolating through the soil. Hardpans do not soften when exposed to water. Also called caliche