A pancake is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying with oil or butter. It is a type of batter bread. Read more in Wikipedia
The two types of pancakes most people are familiar with are:
Crêpes - Thin, French-style crêpes originated in Brittany hundreds of years ago and are now eaten around the globe. They can be eaten with sweet or savoury fillings or toppings and are often crispy around the edges. Crêpes are usually the variety of pancake eaten on Shrove Tuesday.
American-style Pancakes - Thick and fluffy, these types of pancakes are associated with breakfast in the US. They are much fatter than crêpes - due to the addition of baking powder or whipped egg whites to the ingredients, and eaten with sweet foods like fruit, chocolate chips and syrup (as well as thin, crispy bacon).