Etymology
Origin of paneling
Explanation
The collective panels used to decorate or cover a wall are called paneling. If you have really dark wood paneling in your house, you can try to lighten it up with paint, but use a primer first because the dark stain tends to show through paint. Although paneling usually refers to wood covering on a wall, the word paneling is derived from panel, which originally referred to cloth. Panel is an Old French word meaning a piece of cloth, and that word is from the Latin word pannus, which has the same meaning. Today, there are many different types of wood paneling, including board and batten, bead board, tongue and groove, and flat or raised panels.
Vocabulary lists containing paneling
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"Firegirl" by Tony Abbott, Chapters 1–6
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said it could involve a presentation of toys and other items among the chamber’s leather benches and hardwood paneling, followed by a nationwide tour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Large solar developments can transform hundreds, or even thousands, of acres of rural land, paneling them with crystalline silicon and tempered glass.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026
Inside, the house had “wall-to-wall carpets on both floors that were heavily stained and worn, dated wood paneling on the walls, holes in the walls,” Fahmy says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
From the outside, the home features white paneling, lush greenery, and a striking red door, complete with an American flag hanging in front of the garage.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 18, 2026
She purchased a dirt-cheap, used red Ford Pinto with fake-wood paneling.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
