/pan kres"teuhn/ , n.
a proposed explanation intended to address a complex problem by trying to account for all possible contingencies but typically proving to be too broadly conceived and therefore oversimplified to be of any practical use.
[ 1625-35; pánchreston, neut. of pánchrestos good for everything, equiv. to pan- PAN- + chres-, verbid s. of chrâsthai to be useful + -tos v. adj. suffix ]