pander

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈpændər/ UK /ˈpændə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to gratify or indulge an immoral or distasteful desire

Tabloids pander to readers' appetite for scandal.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to gratify or indulge an... indulge gratify cater humor pimp procure

Opposites

resist refuse deny

Word family

Derived forms pandererpandering

Simplified etymology

Pander comes from Pandare, the name of the character who acts as a lovers’ go-between in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, a story Chaucer took from Boccaccio. The sense “to indulge” did not appear until the 19th century.

Etymology

From Pandare (Pandarus), the character in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde who acts as a go-between for the lovers; the name derives ultimately from Greek Pándaros, a Trojan warrior in the Iliad. The general sense of indulging base desires developed from the procuring role.

Pándaros Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# pander

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpændər/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpændə/

## Meanings
1. to gratify or indulge an immoral or distasteful desire

## Examples
- Tabloids pander to readers' appetite for scandal.

## Synonyms
- indulge
- gratify
- cater
- humor
- pimp
- procure

## Antonyms
- resist
- refuse
- deny

## Derived Forms
- panderer
- pandering

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: Pándaros

## Etymology
From Pandare (Pandarus), the character in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde who acts as a go-between for the lovers; the name derives ultimately from Greek Pándaros, a Trojan warrior in the Iliad. The general sense of indulging base desires developed from the procuring role.

## AI Etymology
Pander is from Pandare (Pandarus), the character in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde who acts as a go-between for the lovers; the name derives ultimately from Greek Pándaros, a Trojan warrior in the Iliad. The general sense of indulging base desires developed from the procuring role. Important recorded forms include Pándaros (Ancient Greek). Morphologically, the ending or combining element turns the older base into the present English part of speech. The modern sense follows that older lexical line closely. In current use it covers to gratify or indulge an immoral or distasteful desire. The wider family includes derived forms such as panderer and pandering.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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