In English, "Pan-German" was first attested in 1892.

In German various concepts can be included under the heading of Pan-Germanism, though often with slight or significant differences in meaning. For example adjectives such as "alldeutsch" or "gesamtdeutsch", which can be translated as "pan-german", typically refer to the Alldeutsche Bewegung, a political movement which sought to unite all German speaking people in one country, whereas "Pangermanismus" can refer to both the pursuit of uniting all the German-speaking people and movements