noun
Polite form of 鍋; used when speaking politely about a cooking pot or pan.
See also: 鍋
お鍋に野菜を入れて煮てください。
Please put the vegetables in the pot and simmer them.
noun
transgender man (FTM); butch lesbian; female transvestite
Slang, often derogatory; used in LGBTQ+ and subcultural contexts. Usually written in kana.
彼はおなべとして生きている。
He lives as a transgender man.
あの人はおなべだって聞いたよ。
I heard that person is a butch lesbian.
noun
Archaic; originally used as a name for female servants in Edo-period literature.
江戸時代の小説には、おなべという女中がよく登場する。
In Edo-period novels, a maidservant called おなべ often appears.
noun
Archaic; rare historical usage referring to night work.
古文書には「おなべ」を夜の仕事の意味で使った例がある。
There are examples in old documents where おなべ is used to mean night work.
Sense 1 is the polite form of 鍋 (pot/pan). Sense 2 is slang derived from the pot/pan meaning, possibly through analogy with お釜 (pot → gay man). Senses 3 and 4 are archaic uses whose exact derivations are uncertain.